Puss in Boots (the voice of Antonio Banderas) first appeared in Shrek 2 in 2004, before showing up again in a couple of other Shrek sequels and then a standalone film in 2011. Now the swashbuckling adventurer returns in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. This time, he’s facing his biggest challenge – losing his…
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is fanciful fun for the whole family. This lightweight fare will put a smile on the faces of littlies, their parents and grandparents. It’s a live action/CGI musical comedy – a bit of colour, song and silliness to soften even the hardest of hearts. Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem) is a wannabe…
The artistic merger of Pixar and Disney is just about complete. While the business merger was done long ago, both Disney and Pixar have been producing distinctly different product. But now Disney has released Strange World, a Pixar movie in all but name. Under the direction of Don Hall (Raya and the Last Dragon) and…
Disney enlists Lin-Manuel Miranda for Encanto, an animated family adventure that comes off a bit like In the Heights transplanted to rural Colombia. While this is a film filled with colour and energy, its rather muddled plot and lashings of treacle diminished its impact for me. Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith share…
Two by Two Overboard follows mischievous animal best friends Finny and Leah as they navigate living on Noah’s Ark, with their misadventures implicating every other species during the flood. This family-friendly sequel to the 2015 predecessor Ooops! Noah is Gone…, is a left-field approach to the biblical tale as it illustrates how the animal kingdom…
Peter Rabbit was a delightful revelation when it was released in 2018, readily blending live action and animation. It brought us the tale of a recalcitrant bunny (the voice of James Corden) and his prickly relationship with Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson). You may recall Thomas inherited the farm next door to nature lover, Bea (Rose Byrne)….
Kids may find more than adults in the far-fetched children’s fantasy Four Kids and It. Thirteen year-old Ros (Teddie Malleson-Allen) is a bookworm, with aspirations of becoming a writer. But she’s yet to find her own voice. She, and her younger brother, Robbie (Billy Jenkins), are good kids – being brought up by their British…
Okay, a few caveats. I am most definitely not the target audience for Trolls: World Tour – because I’m not 8 years old. That disconnect makes reviewing this film difficult, because what I see isn’t what an 8 year-old sees. The character design alone made me nauseous; but they’ll love it. The film operates on…
What started out as cringe-worthy fare became anything but as laughter, hijinks and a cute and savvy youngster’s performance took over and carried the day. Written by Erich and Jon Hoeber (who together wrote RED) and directed by Peter Segal (Second Act), it became a most enjoyable spy spoof. A lot has to do with…
