The Grinch ***
Solid family entertainment that may feel lacking in wider, original narrative, but borrows or mimics the elements that made the previous kids classics like Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets so highly successful.
Tag: Benedict Cumberbatch
Doctor Strange ****
Some of the slower parts of the film go unnoticed because Cumberbatch always commands a presence and is immensely enthralling to watch.
Zoolander 2 **
Zoolander 2 is a cheap knock-off of its haute couture 2001 comedy gem. The only positive is getting to see Derek and Hansel back together, so a small victory for Stiller and Owen, nevertheless.
Penguins of Madagascar ****
If you ever thought the quartet of zoo penguins in Madagascar deserved their own film, this is it. Skipper (Tom McGrath), Rico (John DiMaggio), Kowalski (Jeff Bennett), and Private (James Patrick Stuart) regroup in a Bond-style adventure that starts off with a comical March of the Penguins spoof. This sets the sharp-witted tone ahead with …
LFF 2014: The Imitation Game ****
The life of the brilliant-minded Alan Turing is not known by most. That will certainly change after this film, The Imitation Game, with the genius British logician and cryptologist forever associated with cracking the Nazis’ Enigma Code and helping the Allies win World War II. But inventor of the modern-day computer – as is suggested here, …
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ****
Tomas Alfredson came to attention in 2008 after his atmospheric thriller, the acclaimed Let The Right One In, about a young boy who befriends a vampire. The Swedish director now takes his chills-making expertise and coolly applies it to a John le Carré spy thriller adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and adds a spectacular …