A right royal let down

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

Directed by Joe Cornish this film stars Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Dean Chuamoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Doris and Angus Imrie. In modern day Britain a 12 year old boy pulls Excalibur from a stone.

I have been impressed with Joe Cornish's work so far but this film for children fell fairly flat for me. More like a CBBC television series than a full on film this was just a little too simplistic. Angus Imrie pretty much steals the entire film and is the one promising talent here.

2/5

All fun, no thought

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Directed by Rob Marshall this sequel stars Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranada, Ben Wishaw and Emily Mortimer. Twenty-five years after the events of the first film Mary Poppins returns to help the second generation of Banks children save the family home.

I must have seen the original film at some point but it has long slipped from memory, still this sequel was easy enough to follow despite coming over 50 years later. The plot does not have a lot to it when you actually look at it and comes from a questionable era when the working class just exist to support the fantasy of the upper middle class. I do like the way the film fits in with the visual style of it's predecessor but beyond the visuals there is not a huge amount to this film.

3/5

Not a saga

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Written & directed by Simon Kinberg this film stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and Sophie Turner. After a rescue mission to space Jean Grey is imbued with the power of the phoenix force.

Retreading ground we have already seen on the big screen this is a pretty middle of the road adaptation of the Dark Phoenix Saga. Lacking character and a real focus on what makes the X-Men unique, minority rights issues, this is not as bad as some would have you believe but still fairly forgettable. About the biggest surprise here was seeing Jessica Chastain appear as the token bad guy.

3/5

Back to the building blocks

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

Directed by Mike Mitchell this film has voices from Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett and Tiffany Haddish. Five years after the events of the first film everything is not awesome as the lego people must learn to play with aliens from a sister galaxy.

Fitting in well with the tone of it's predecessor this film has a decent heart to it but some how just falls short of the original Lego film. There is a lot to enjoy but maybe a little less surprise factor to carry things through. While I enjoyed this film I am not sure how memorable it is.

3/5

Not queen of accuracy

Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

Directed by Josie Rourke this film based on real events stars Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie. During the reign of Elizabeth I both England and Scotland face succession crisis surrounding the Scottish queen Mary.

Taking a fascinating historical period this is a pretty interesting film but gets a little caught up at times in imposing modern views on sex on the story. Despite historical inaccuracies this is still a good look at two women trying to hold onto power in an era completely dominated by men. Worth watching but be prepared to take elements with a pinch of salt.

3/5

The end of the beginning?

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo this film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson. After Thanos wins our heroes must find a way to come together and fix things.

What this film does well is not lose the focus on characters despite all the large events and action sequences. It would have been really easy to lose the human connections here but this manages to be a surprisingly emotional film despite the cast of thousands. Pulling together a fitting end to the MCU, or at least this chapter of the MCU, this is a great send off for all that Marvel Studios has built so far.

4/5

The pied piano

The Irresistible Piano (1907)

Directed by Alice Guy-Blache this is an early short film. People find themselves compelled to dance when they hear a piano play.

Not a huge amount to this short but a bunch of people dancing. Essentially this is just one joke spread over four minutes and not terribly funny. Nothing bad about this film but little to make it stand out.

3/5