CinemaSerf

"Roz" is pre-programmed to help. Whatever it is that needs doing, it is there to make it happen - even when it is wrecked on an island populated by animals whose main desire in life is to eat each other. At least the arrival of the "monster" manages to galvanise them into one brief moment of hostile unanimity and so when they are not trying to cannibalise it, they are shunning it's efforts to be friends. After spending a year learning their various languages, there follows a calamitous escapade with a nest, a chase with an hungry fox ("Fink") and the creation of the most unlikely of family units charged with rearing a particularly timid little gosling whom they name "Brightbill". The scene is now set for some entertaining adventures as "Roz" has to teach her new-found charge how to eat, to swim and then ultimately to fly away so as to avoid the harsh winter. Each of those tasks comes with it's own hazards but maybe, just maybe, our little team can manage to get project "Brightbill" off the ground? No, of course there's no jeopardy here at all, and at times it's comes across as an amalgam of "Wall:E" (2008) with some Hans Christian Anderson thrown in for good measure. That's no bad thing, though, as the characterisation of the android is personable and develops amiably as his programming starts to evolve into something far more akin to a soul than a brain. It does tackle some more serious subjects - loneliness, rejection, isolation and issues with self-esteem to name a few, but always in fashion that illustrates a point then offers some sort of optimism that a solution can be found for even the most difficult challenges. The standard of animation is engagingly natural and it's genuinely quite funny with some of the observations, especially from the fox, working well within the framework of a touching story that extols the values of caring, teamwork and even a little forgiveness, without becoming gloopy or dialogue-heavy. It looks great on a big screen and is well worth a gander...!

With "All Might" having lost most of his powers and now taken a back seat, it falls to the students of class 1A of the academy to do the policing of the undesirables in society and use their adaptable array of quirks to deliver these miscreants to the authorities. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there appears a serious challenge to their regime when "Dark Might" emerges bent of replacing his august predecessor and imposing his own form of rule on a Japan he considers a pale imitation of it's former self. He is not without his own powerful hench-folk, and unwittingly one of those is the powerful "Anna" who can augment and corrupt the powers of others and whilst under an hypnotic spell be used to make this new oppressor nigh on unstoppable. It's down to the determined "Deku" and his new found ally "Giulio" to galvanise his nimble friends and find a way to thwart this monster before his city-sized aerial fort destroys their school, "All Might" and all that they stand for. It's a bit on the long side this, but there's still a solid story of good vs. Evil underpinned by plenty of animated combat action, some great smashes - "Manchester" and "Torino" maybe being a little more potent than "Grape Juice" and some effort has been made to imbue the characters with a little more personality as we discover more about who both their nemesis and the manipulated "Anna" actually are. It can be a bit repetitive at times and it has a couple of goes at concluding, but I still quite enjoyed it.

Hats off to Naomi Scott for throwing just about everything at her role as "Skye Riley" in this otherwise rather weak horror sequel. We learn, quite cleverly, at the start of the film the source of her current mental predicament as she attempts to return to the public fold after a road accident that left her scarred and traumatised. As she gradually re-accustoms to the glare of the public, though, she also starts to experience some fairly vivid and ghastly hallucinations. Are they hallucinations though, or might they be real manifestations and perhaps she is becoming possessed by something distinctly demonic, brutal and menacing? Remember "Fallen" from 1998? This, as was the first "Smile" (2022), is really just a variation on that theme with loads of anticipatory storytelling but very little actual action or scary scenes and far too much preamble as the plot gets itself firmly stuck in some really well travelled gory tramlines. It's trying to introduce some psychological elements to the malevolence of the story, but somehow the editing and the scoring end up more intrusive than menacing as, dare I say, auteur Parker Finn eyes up a "Smile 3" next year, maybe? Sponsored by Perrier? Perhaps had it shaved half an hour from the over-long running time and tightened up the storyline, it might have resonated a bit better - but I just felt I'd seen this all before, and pretty recently too.

The feisty princess is in love with the slightly geeky "Ronan" but her father is more concerned that her future husband be capable of defending the kingdom and so favours a more robust suitor for his daughter's hand. Maybe that's the local beefcake "Rogdai" (think "Gaston" from "Beauty and the Beast"). Before any of this has to be decided, however, the nasty sorcerer "Kezabor" sends his pet dragon to kidnap her and desperate to retrieve her, the king promises her to her rescuer. "Ronan", "Rogdai" and the rather maternally henpecked "Fa Chan" now set off on some adventures to find the sorcerer's castle and hopefully save the youngster from a fate worse than death. Nope, there's nothing original here but to be fair it isn't trying to hide that fact. There are nods to established folklore ("Rapunzel" chief amongst them) as we encounter loads of mythical beasties and prove that the most valiant is not necessarily the biggest, bravest or boldest. The Arabian Nights style theme works fine for ninety minutes with some colourfully vivid animation - lots of big eyes and out of proportion bodies, and the plot delivers exactly what you might expect. It's a competently produced story that ought to engage the kids on the television at Christmas, but it's all pretty run-of-the-mill stuff that you will soon forget. Nothing wrong with a bit of turban-charged girl power.

I'd have to say that this is one of my favourite outings for Stan and Ollie - but like most of the slapstick comedy of the 30s, it has not aged at all well. Ollie has fallen for a young French woman, but she has eyes on a refined, posh, Captain and so he is rejected! In the depths of despair, he considers (joint) suicide in the Seine (inhabited by a deadly killer shark) before alighting on a cunning plan to join the Foreign Legion, thereby assured of certain death.... well, hmmm - not quite: instead they end up in charge of the largest mountain of laundry since the Ark landed on Mount Ararat after 40 days of rain - and, for a mere 3 cents per day. Of course, chaos ensues and when he bumps into his long lost love again, that just makes matters worse... The bond between the stars, and their wonderful affinity with each other is great to see; but the jokes are all very tame and the inclusion of "Shine on Harvey Moon" though really quite accomplished, has no obvious place in the narrative... It is simple, harmless fun that ought to be seen.

Alice Lowe did virtually everything in this quirky drama about the immortal "Agnes" who travels through time desperate to reunite with an highwayman (Aneurin Bernard) who robbed her sometime in the 17th century. Snag is - every time she manages to engineer a scenario when they can be together, she ends up dead! We reset, and moving steadily through time we encounter her in different guises and him likewise evolving, ultimately into a jaded rock star. Along the way, she is guided by the omnipresent "Scipio" (Jacob Anderson) who plays a role similar to one of Shakespeare's fools, by her maid/best pal "Meg" (Tanya Reynolds) and slightly bonkers husband (Nick Frost) as loads of daft adventures ensue. It's a sort of hybrid of Peter Greenaway meets Terry Gilliam this, with shades of "Monty Python" as the humour has a slapstick goriness to it that starts off quite funny but all too quickly runs out of steam. Indeed, this really is the problem with this, It's more of a short story that's been drawn out to fill ninety minutes. Once the point has been made and the joke established, it seems content just to shift the timeline and then tell us a similar story all over again. I did like the premiss, and there's no doubt that Lowe does have some good comedy timing at the start as her hate-hate rapport with her rakish husband is demonstrated, but Bernard was always more about his smile than his skill and sadly the whole thing just faded away. Zach Wyatt is quite entertaining as the dubious tarot reader but in the end it's too close to a rather weak farce for me.

When her aged mother dies, Donna Martin (Nika King) feels like she has lost her best friend and is completely bereft. No consolation from her pastor husband WC (Demetrius Grosse) nor their children can help her with her grief. Then, in an almost Damascene moment, she hears of a young child struggling through the East Texas care system and decides that it's going to be her calling to help where she can. WC needs quite a bit of convincing as their house is already full, their income limited and their time stretched too - but he agrees to investigate with local child support worker Susan Ramsey (Elizabeth Mitchell). Next thing, they are bringing home some orphans and the congregation at their lively community church are likewise encouraged to do what they can to help these kids. In full swing, there are some seventy-odd children housed amidst this loving but quite financially poor community - and that's the gist of the rest of the film. How folks cope. Many of these youngsters, of varying ages, don't have their troubles to seek. Years of neglect and indifference have created demons that test the patience, love and commitment of the well-meaning would-be parents with not just their task at hand, but with their Christian faith. The Martin's are not immune to these challenges either, especially when they take in Terri (Diaana Babnocova) who retreats into the persona of a cat following a childhood of beatings and abuse, and that in turn manages to readily antagonise their own daughter Ladonna (Kaysi J. Bradley). This is quite an empowering story of just what can be done when there is a will to try and despite there being a paucity of resources these people remain determined that they can and will make a difference, even if it means discomfort and stress for themselves. That's all well presented by the supporting ensemble cast who support a strong effort from both King and Babnicova that marries well determination, frustration and raw emotion. It also takes a tangential swipe at the priorities of a church perhaps more concerned with edifices than education which, though briefly exhibited, is still quite a potent indictment of attitudes. It's probably twenty minutes too long, it does meander a little at the start, but as a drama about real people confronting issues that are, quite literally, life and death - it's worth a watch.

"Adam" (Muhammad Abed Elrahman) and his recently incarcerated brother "Yacoub" (Mahmoud Bakri) are facing the compulsory demolition of their home to facilitate the arrival of new Israeli settlers and an altercation sees the latter lad killed and the former bent of revenge. His teacher "Basem" (Saleh Bakri) and a visiting volunteer "Lisa" (Imogen Poots) try to intervene to stop him doing anything stupid, and insist that they follow legal process. Well it's fairly clear that that isn't going to deliver very much, but as the teacher and the volunteer start to become a little more familiar with each other, we also realise it's equally clear that "Basem" is a little more hands-on with the resistance than his public persona might suggest. Indeed, when he becomes actively embroiled in the search for a kidnapped Israeli soldier of American parentage, his relationship with both the audience and the increasingly frustrated youth becomes rather different. It's really quite a touching story, this one. Not in an overly sentimental way, but in a manner that illustrates clearly how people feel when they are wronged and then failed by a judicial system that is institutionally stacked against them. State sponsored indifference and cruelty coupled with a general sense of lawlessness (on both sides) potently fuels generations of hatred and mistrust and here we see just how it readily perpetuates long-held feelings of anger and loathing. The production looks grimly authentic, and both both Poots and Bakri deliver well but it's really the effort from the young Elrahman that stands out. Initially a decent and calming influence on his more impetuous brother, circumstances force him to become something that he might not have otherwise been. Once on that course, is he beyond any restraining from taking a journey down a very black brick road? The inclusion of the searching US parents - mainly Stanley Townsend as the father, serves to remind us that there are two sides to the story and that brutality isn't just a tool reserved for whomsoever might appear the oppressor here, and as the story concludes it does so as it starts, amidst an environment of uncertainty and fear whilst ruins pile up around those whose only real goal is to live in peace amongst the olive groves their families have harvested for centuries. It's a powerful drama that only goes to prove how much easier it is to destroy than to build.

After the original orgasmatron, we find ourselves back at the very start of the transformer's history with all of the "Prime" contraptions having been destroyed in a war and now only "Sentinel Prime" exists to lead the bots in a self-perpetuating existence of mining for the fuel that allows them to continue to mine for the fuel. You get the drift. Many of the robots don't have the cogs in their chests necessary to do any transforming, and that includes the lively "Orion Pax", his pal "D-16" and their feisty supervisor "Elita-1", but when a series of incidents occur that sees them escape from their mine onto the forbidden surface they discover an whole new truth that questions not just the history that's been drummed into them, but the very integrity of their leadership. Thing is, can they do anything to thwart a dastardly plan the could ensure the bots stay slaves for ever? As origin stories go, this is one of the better ones. Plenty of action throughout sets a story that doesn't rely (too heavily) on your knowledge of the Hasbro universe, it just allows you to root for the good guys as they battle the menacing and overwhelming forces lined up against them to ensure the new status quo endures and the dead stay exactly that. The story deals with the usual aspects of brotherhood, loyalty, ambition and though there's little actual jeopardy throughout - and, less face it, it's part of an ongoing franchise that's going to run, and run, and run - there's plenty to enjoy as it sets the scene for what's to come. It probably does need a cinema screening to get the best from the grand scale animation and visual effects, and the story and characterisations are not half bad, either.

Celebrated author "Ben" (Lewis Pullman) returns to his childhood home looking to do some investigations into his own youth when he discovers that there's something distinctly unsavoury going on in the "Lot". That all seems to centre around the long abandoned "Marsten" house whose basement has recently received a strange package before a local urchin goes missing. Luckily for our intrepid writer, he has hooked up with "Susan" (Makenzie Leigh), somewhat sceptical local doctor "Cody" (Alfre Woodard) and with the savvy young "Mark" (Jordan Preston Carter) and as it becomes pretty clear what's going on, they have to work out a strategy that will keep them all alive! This, sadly, hasn't an original bone in it's body - falling somewhere between mediocre Hammer and that "Penny Dreadful" television series we saw ten years ago. The acting is pretty woeful, but no worse than the overly descriptive dialogue and with the possible exception of the young Carter who at least puts some effort into the proceedings, the rest of this follows all too predictable lines before a denouement that offers us nothing new either. Sure, reinventing this particular wheel is nigh-on impossible, but then why make it? It's not as if it has any sense of menace or peril, there are no gruesome special effects or harrowing scenes of gore and blood-lust; it's more like a series of unfunny comedy sketches set in an eerie scenario where just turning on the light (or not going into the place in the first place) might have been a better solution. It's far too long and slow to get going, and all I can think of really is bring back David Soul. Standard television fayre for Halloween, no need to trek to the cinema for this.

When a dockworker hears some strange noises emanating from a box recently arrived from Gabon, he's maybe not so surprised to discover that it's cargo is human - and bound for London. Detained by the immigration officials, the young and nimble "Idrissa" (Blondin Miguel) manages to evade his captors and whilst in flight encounters the slightly down-at-heel "Marcel" (André Wilms). The older man takes pity on this nervous new arrival and takes him into his home whilst they decide what's best to do next. It's a small town community and pretty quickly just about everyone at the local pub knows who and where the youngster is, but instead of turning him in, they decide that maybe they can help him. He's no thief, nor malcontent - just a young man bewildered and personable. As "Marcel" begins to learn a little more of his new charge, he determines to try and help him make it to the UK - but with a grudging fifth-columnist amongst their friends and the determined "Insp. Monet" (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) on his trail, things are not going to be a simple case of jumping onto the Eurostar. "Marcel" has other emotional fish to fry, too, as his ailing wife languishes in an hospital facing a prognosis that we, the audience, appreciate but he does not, as yet, know. Choices have to be made and priorities established for everyone as time and circumstances close in. I found there to be a strong and effective dynamic between Wilms and the young Miguel here, and the sparing script allows the characters to breathe and us to observe their respective, and ultimately conjoined, predicaments as the lad struggles without any real roots. At times it has a slightly documentary-style look to it, which adds a little authenticity to the investigative aspects of the drama - a policeman who does his job efficiently, but does he relish it? It packs quite a bit of food for thought into ninety minutes, and does ask us a few questions about our own attitudes - "There but for the grace of God" sort of things. It doesn't attempt to deliver much by way of the relative merits of illegal immigration nor of heinous people trafficking, per se, but again we are presented with a canvas that's drawn by just about everyone - friend and foe - but not much by the young man himself.

"Mary" and "Tom" arrive in New York from Ireland only to find that their uncle "Niall" isn't there to meet them. Indeed, the only acquaintance they do make make hanging around the docks is a small dog that she takes a bit of a shine to and names "Sparky". Concluding that he isn't likely to show up, they decide to take a punt and go to California and find him. Problem? Well the trains don't take punts - only dollars, so they have just an hour to raise the fare. Or... Well maybe they could just blend in with a group of travelling children and blag their way onto the train. It turns out that these kids are orphans too, being relocated to kindly families along the route. Except, perhaps, for the paralysed and wheelchair-bound "Nick" who isn't exactly top of anyone's adoption list. Between playing games with their new friends and avoiding the ticket inspector, they gradually make progress until disaster strikes. Disaster that puts them into the clutch of the deadly Cheyenne before befalling some even more ruthless bandits whose leader looks a lot like Lee Van Cleef, and who run a gold mine populated by slave labour. How to rescue themselves, their fellow miners, "Sparky", "Nick" and still find uncle "Niall" - well that's the fun part in this quickly paced and engaging big-eyed animation. It combines the intrepidness of the pioneering spirit with some good old fashioned wild west adventure scenarios and provides us with a little bit of "Temple of Doom" (1984) into the bargain. Apparently it's based on some real-life sibling experiences and readily passes ninety minutes raising the odd smile as we travel the breadth of a vast and untapped wilderness looking for a needle in a very large haystack.

I loved the optimistic notion of "Aunt Lucy" when she convinces the young "Paddington" to travel from darkest Peru to London safe in the knowledge that the wartime spirit will soon see him adopted by a loving family and bathing in a sea of marmalade! His arrival at the eponymous London railway station after stowing away on a boat is certainly more akin to the arrivals I've made in this bustling terminus where nobody gives anyone else a second look, though. Luckily for our rare bear visitor, the late night arrival of the "Brown" family from a tour of a wool museum sees mum "Mary" (Sally Hawkins) take pity on our forlorn stranger. This is to the chagrin of her suspicious husband "Henry" (Hugh Bonneville), the indifference of headphone-clad daughter "Judy" (Madeleine Harris) but the enthusiasm of son "Jonathan" (Samuel Joslin). One night can't do any harm, surely? Of course we just know it's never going to be that simple but after a bit of a ropey start, the family begin to take a bit of a shine to their new lodger. Meantime, over at the Natural History Museum, it's chief taxidermist "Millicent" (Nicole Kidman) doesn't really mind from where she obtains her samples to display in the museum, and a chance conversion with her procurer reveals that this Peruvian bear is newly in town. What now ensues puts an whole new meaning on the expression "get stuffed" as we discover a little more about the provenance of both "Paddington" and his new, menacing, antagonist. It's great fun, this film, with plenty of slapstick comedy and strong performances from Bonneville and Hawkins as well as Peter Capaldi as the irritating neighbour, Julie Walters (just about) holds her Scots accent together as the sagely "Mrs Bird" and Kidman seems to be enjoying herself as a sort of cross between "Lara Croft" and "Hannibal Lector". Like the original Michael Bond (he does feature here briefly) stories, the sentiment is short on gloop but long on the characteristics of politeness, respect and decency and of course there's little jeopardy that our kindly ursine is gonna prevail. The production design and standard of animation is first rate, there's plenty of light-heartedness from the script and as family dramas go - this offers just about everyone something to smile about. As "Aunt Lucy" always says....

"Rita" (Zoe Saldana) is a lawyer in Mexico who finds her professionalism attracting the attention of the powerful drug lord "Manitas". He spends his time heavily guarded and constantly on the move as he pretty much controls the synthetic drug trade in and out of his country. What does he want with "Rita" though? Well tempted by a great deal of money, she makes the perilous trip to meet him and find out. Suffice to say she gets quite a shock when she discovers that he is determined to become a woman. "Rita" is now charged with the ultra-discrete task of finding a surgeon who can turn "Manitas" into "Emilia". Not only is this highly dangerous for the lawyer, but it's also no walk in the park for the gangster or his family who will need to be relocated and convinced that dad is no more. What now ensues tests the mettle of both characters, especially as the erstwhile father struggles rather more than he'd anticipated when it comes to losing his wife "Jessi" (Selena Gomez) and his two young children. Can he stay out of their lives for ever or might he succumb to that temptation and set the cat amongst the familial pigeons? The story is a bit too episodic and the characterisations superficial at times, which is a shame. That said, though, there is still a strong and emotionally powerful effort from Karla Sofía Gascón as the ruthlessly violent killer who undergoes more than a physical transformation over the four or five year period this drama covers. Saldana also holds this together well delivering an engaging performance as a character who has perhaps lost faith in what the system can do to make things better for ordinary people, so adopts a more "inside the tent of the enemy" approach. It's peppered with musical numbers. Some of those work better than others at introducing delicacy, love, lust and anger into the proceedings but let's be under no illusions that there are any great singers here. I found the denouement a bit rushed and frankly rather weak, but the whole film does shine rather a provocative light on attitudes to gender identification and just as importantly to corruption and the relatively minimal value placed on human life in country where someone almost always works for someone else. It's just a little over two hours, but once it gets into gear it doesn't hang around making for a decent watch tackling important topics that's worth a gander.

When the Princess "Lin Hwa" (Lotus Long) is killed by a poisoned dart in the home of our eponymous San Francisco detective (Boris Karloff) she leaves him one, singly enigmatic, clue which he must utilise to thwart a gang involved with the Japanese occupation of China. Local plod "Capt. Street" (Grant Withers) bucks the trend of many similar style adventure films, and demonstrates some competence as the pair soon discover the foggy docks of their city harbour much more than just ships. There is never any doubt who will come a cropper in the end, but William Nigh gets a lot from his star, a limited script and an even more limited budget and presents us with a basic, but acceptable murder mystery with shades of political intrigue.

This maybe hit the cinemas a month too early as there's a distinctly festive feel to this latest outing for the menacing "Art" the clown. He descends upon the townsfolk with blood-thirsty enthusiasm causing some brutal carnage but then he and his equally heinous pal "Vicky" (Samantha Scaffidi) go for a long nap. It's a pair of unfortunate demolition guys who provide their wake up entertainment and rejuvenated, they set out in search of "Sienna" (Lauren LaVera) and brother "Jonathan" (Elliott Fulham) - and woe betides anyone who gets in the way - even if you are dressed as Santa Claus. This is by far the best of the three so far, I think. There's much less repetition with the standard slashing-fayre and a bit more, dare I say, intimacy from our "Terrifier" as David Howard Thornton imbues his character with more akin to an emotional and quirky mime artist. There's more sadness, mischief and playfulness as he wields everything from an axe to a chain-saw. Shower sex might never be the same again! It's really the last half hour that gets it moving and though that scenario is largely predictable and I have to say that none of the speaking-part acting here is really very good, the tension mounts nicely and there's an entertaining degree of shock mixed with dark humour and Christmas gifts to raise a smile and maybe the one hair on the back of your neck towards the denouement. Sure, it's formulaic and there aren't so many surprises, but they are getting better and moving away from the Hammer style of ketchup gore and annoying, hysterical, frat-style characters that we've seen before. It's entirely forgettable, and far too long, but I did quite enjoy it.

"Shaun" (Simon Pegg) shares a house with his lazy old pal "Ed" (Nick Frost) living a life of mundanity. His girlfriend "Liz" (Kate Ashfield) is getting a bit fed up with his haplessness, and eventually decides that she is just too bored of their evenings in the local boozer. Suddenly, there start to appear reports on the television reports that there's some sort of plague going on. The two men are fairly oblivious to this until they discover strangers in their garden who seem impervious to shouts of abuse and latterly having things chucked at them. Quickly they repair indoors and realise that flesh-eating zombies have taken over the place. Quickly, the two men decide that they have to rescue "Liz" and her mum (Penelope Wilton) and try to find safety, ideally in their usual fortress-like watering hole - the "Winchester". Can they survive the throng of marauding creatures to gather everyone together? Then what? Can they live on crisps and beer for the rest of their lives? With panic setting in and tempers flaring, it's down to this intrepid bunch to stop from being munched upon and facing a fate worse than death. It's it's very normality that makes this work. Ordinary people, thinking on their feet, dealing with a catastrophe whilst simultaneously coping with the daft problems of day-to-day, turbulent, relationships. The writing is quickly paced and frequently quite witty, with engaging and cohesive efforts from the two at the top of the bill, but also from the briefly used Bill Nighy and the always reliable Wilton who has considerable skill when it comes to comedy timing and accompanying facial expressions. I can't say I've ever seen a collection of vinyl LPs used as an offence weapon before, and that sets the tone for the entertainingly spoofy daftness of the proceedings that isn't maybe the most original ninety minutes of cinema you'll ever have seen, but it stays the right side of slapstick and is good fun throughout.

I was really quite disappointed with this. It focusses on the rise of Donald Trump, and in that role Sebastian Stan proves quite effective at mimicking some of the famous mannerisms of the man himself. The facial expressions and the habit of repeating himself to thrust home his point are well captured by this performance. The rest of it, though, came across as little better than crude, occasionally violent, speculation centred around his relationship with the celebrated, and much feared, attorney Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) whose thinly disguised homosexuality proves to be a more telling indictment of a New York that was beginning to come to terms with AIDS. Trump's rise from wealth to greater wealth and prosperity is skirted over too superficially with little meat put on the bones of his property acquisitions, developments and battles with an Ed Koch-led city hall, and it's all presented a bit too episodically weakly. Maria Bakalova acquits herself well enough as Ivana but as to the drama concerning the rest of his family, that's undercooked and I struggled to identify the accent(s) that seemed to be coming from his mother (Catherine McNally) as the importance of that torrid family unit struggles to impact on the story. For me, Strong steals his scenes and delivers well as the manipulative and scheming lawyer with few scruples, but the rest of this is all a bit of a soap that will probably polarise opinion as effectively as does Donald Trump himself.

A gentle biopic of the early life and career that established Abraham Lincoln on the road to his place in US history. Henry Fonda plays the naive and deeply principled country lawyer in an engaging, if at times slightly ponderous, fashion - aided well by Marjorie Weaver ("Mary Todd"). His eloquence prevents a lynching and he embarks on his first big legal case in Illinois. John Ford starts this retrospective with a gripping, frequently amusing, court case and what follows emphasises the wit, style and incisive honesty of Lincoln. Spencer Charters ("Judge Bell"); Ward Bond and a typically charismatic performance from Donald Meek as the prosecuting counsel keep this drama interesting. The production is simple, but not basic - and well worth a watch as a drama (not an historical documentary).

"G" (Colman Domingo) spends much of his time in prison leading their amateur dramatics society. This quite disparate group of felons are quite adept at turning their hand to everything from Shakespeare to things he's written himself, and with his clemency hearing looming and him having new evidence that he didn't commit the crime he's in for, he is generally an upbeat and optimistic man. They are one person short on their team, and so decide to approach new arrival Clarence Maclin to see if he will join their group. He does, but he takes a different approach to the whole operation and that looks like it is going to set the two men on a collision course. Their next performance is to be a comedy - but as the story unfolds we find that there isn't so much funny about the various scenarios of the incarcerated characters. There's very little emphasis here on who did what to get behind bars in the first place, the thrust focusses more on the characterisations of the men - many of whom are actually former prisoners themselves, as director Greg Kwedar uses the stage - and, occasionally, the costumes, as the perfect setting to explore the lives of these people. Some of them are hopeful of release, some less so. Some protest their innocence, others - well maybe not so much. Then there's the increasingly potent dynamic between Domingo and Maclin. One assuming he is better placed to help the other, but is that true? Could there be more in common between them than it initially appears? Domingo is on great form, especially towards the end, but it's actually Maclin who delivers the stronger character here. That's doubtless informed by his real experiences, but he still brings a degree of nuance to a role that has little expectation of release nor belief in the rehabilitative powers of the routine day-to-day life in "Sing Sing". It's an intense and engaging drama that does draw us in to care what happens whilst creating personalties that are flawed, yes, but not beyond redemption and that are distinctly human.

"Edward" (Sebastian Stan) is a facially disfigured man, stuck in a rundown apartment, whose life isn't really going anywhere fast. Then he gets a new neighbour. "Ingrid" (Renato Reinsve) is a writer who befriends him and promises him a part in her play. Meantime, his doctors manage to get him on a radical course of treatment that gradually returns his face to a more normal visage. Returning to his flat, and with some fairly grotesque things emerging from his leaky ceiling, he realises that nobody recognises him anymore so he has to assume a different identity. That's when he discovers that "Ingrid" is, indeed, putting on a play - and that the old "Edward" is the title and the topic. He wants the part. It's his part. How to get it though without giving the game away? Add to his frustrations the arrival of "Oswald" (Adam Pearson) who is an ostensibly decent character but who also wants the role, and he has the aesthetics as opposed to the prosthetics. "Ingrid" has tough choices to make but where might this leave "Edward"? There's something quite circular about the way this story pans out. A sort of be careful what you wish for type scenario that gives and removes hope from "Edward" and almost creates a villain of the piece too! Is that merited or is that justified? The drama shines a light on the more shallow attitudes amidst society, on our intolerances and assumptions but it also swipes at the fickleness of friendships, fame and success - all rather engagingly delivered by both Stan and Pearson. It's the former man who positively exudes exasperation as the denouement (only vaguely) skirts the Chaplinesque. It's on that note that it's worth saying this is quite funny at times, too - the writing doesn't try to impose any morals on us, rather it presents us with some scenarios and lets us enjoy and evaluate as we go. It doesn't hang about, and right from the start we hit the ground running as the characters develop, the personalities emerge - for good or bad, and it's well worth a couple of hours in a cinema. I got more from it second time round as I was able to focus a little more on the nuance than the imagery.

Anyone else think the soundtrack to this reminded them of the BBC "Sherlock" series with Benedict Cumberbatch? Anyway, this one sees our renowned diminutive detective "Conan" brought in to help "Insp. Nakamori" investigate the theft of some priceless Samurai swords. Now they are valuable enough, but somehow our sleuth reckons there is much more to it, and when the legendary "Kaito Kid" - usually noted for his jewel thievery - is seen at the scene, the game is well and truly afoot. We've got a generous (and duplicitous) millionaire vying with our investigators and the white caped-kid as the clues start to suggest that the swords could form a code that will lead the way to a secret weapon that could spell doom for the whole nation. Can our intrepid team thwart this evil intent in time? I like these animated stories. Though this one is a little on the long side, and there's a rather annoying romance cluttering things up from time to time, there are plenty of characters to suspect, we are given an inclusive idiots guide to crime-fighting and are led down plenty of blind alleys and shown loads of red herrings whilst the animators deliver some fast-moving sword fights, flying acrobatics and airborne escapades the length and breadth of Japan. I found the ending to be a bit weak, but I like the idea of us all using our little grey cells to sort out a problem that marries crime with history, mystery and myth.

I've never found Mia Farrow to be a very versatile actor, but she certainly delivers the best performance of her career in this gripping story of Satanic manipulation. "Rosemary" is married to "Guy" (John Cassavetes) and they live in one of those lovely great buildings that overlook New York's Central Park. Their neighbours are a bit eccentric, to day the least, with "Minnie" (the almost perfect Ruth Gordon) and "Roman" (Sidney Blackmer) chief amongst those who take an increasing interest in this couple when it appears that a baby is on the way. Gradually, she begins to suspect that something is amiss with not just her pregnancy, but with her marital relationship as she seems to see less and less of those previously close to her and becomes little better than a prisoner in her own apartment. She is becoming increasingly paranoid, confused and resentful of a seemingly indofferent husband who seems content to let just about everyone interfere as the due date approaches. This is also Roman Polanski at his best as he manages to amalgamate the sinister and the coercive with the religiosity of a story that exudes menace and panic whilst also calling into question established societal values around faith and trust. It's almost claustrophobic by design, and their small apartment soon takes on the mantle of a cell occupied by a woman who is very much not in control of her own destiny - whichever way she tries to turn, and with the careful use of a score from Christopher Komeda that could rival Bernard Herrmann then we have a story of visceral fear that looks great on a big screen. Gripping and genuinely quite terrifying at times, it's amongst the best of this genre.

I didn't love the first of these (2016) but I thought that maybe after a few years they could improve on the formula. Sadly, not to be. It's more or less the same as the last one, only this time our menacingly rampaging clown "Art" is targeting would be trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Personally, I'm with him all the way as that's an habit that deserves all it gets with irritating spoilt kids marauding the streets demanding candy. Utilising to best effect his natural disguise, "Art" alights on "Sienna" (Lauren Silva) and her geeky brother "Jonathan" (Elliott Fulham) and a-slashing we all go. Unfortunately, the acting and writing aren't up to much but that's not so bad as the repetitively procedural nature of the gory violence. From one implausible scenario to another and with characters who make the most stupid of decisions when facing a crisis, we plod along relentlessly with loads of screaming and histrionics. It's just like one of those video games where the dead never stay dead for long, and so with this immortality comes a sense of ennui as the plot struggles to engage or innovate and ends up like an extended edition of "Scooby Do". The sinister characterisation of the baddie has long since lost any sort of impact and I"m afraid that I just found this an exceptionally long and dreary old watch that was yelling franchise at us from fairly early on. Terrifying? Well no, not remotely.

The pink-maned "Freddy" is more akin to a poodle than a wolf, but he is spirited when it comes to helping out his pack of lupine super-heroes who try to help out those in distress! Fed up constantly being put down, he looks skyward and makes a wish. Next thing, there's a moon spirit "Moopoo" before him and he's no longer a wimp. Thing is, though, his new blue friend needs life energy to survive, and so they have to find a way to repatriate him with his own kind on the moon else a catastrophe will befall all of us! There's only one way to do that, and that's to find "Max" - an ostracised wolf who lives deep in the forest and who possesses the magic spell required. Off they go on their search, but will the grudge-bearing "Max" even want to help them or might she have her own cunning plan to avenge herself on those who cast her out? It's quite a fun family adventure this but it does struggle to find it's audience. The very young probably won't appreciate the sense of (tea time) menace, especially towards the end - and those a bit older will probably be put off by the initially rather childish characterisation of "Freddy". It's also probably twenty minutes too long, but as a simple light-hearted drama it does what it says on the tin, touching of the aspirations of all of us when we are young and wanting to fit in, to lead and be valued. Forgettable stuff, but it's decently animated and watchable enough.