Buster Moon talks himself into trouble mounting a show in a Las Vegas-style resort. Dayglo jukebox animation sequel that doesn’t have the focus of the first flick, but nevertheless delivers jokes, visuals, and a musical palette from Mercury Rev to System of a Down via Prince, Billie Eilish, and The King and I. Something for everyone, pretty much.
Here’s the trailer.
Natasha Romanoff reunites with her estranged fake family to disrupt a post-Soviet Russian agent programme. Patchy Marvel SF/spy adventure (the first Phase 4 movie) awkwardly balancing dysfunctional familial bickering and action set-pieces. A strong cast helps, as does a relatively low-stakes approach and some attempts at character.
Here’s the trailer.
A former high-flying chef finds himself again as a food-truck operator after being humbled. At once obvious and sentimental yet fun, sweet and charming, bolstered by great character actor performances, Chef is a treat if you go with it.
The remaining Avengers plan an elaborate time heist to recover the infinity stones and undo the events of the recent war. Crowd-pleasing sequel/series endpoint that succeeds in narrative closure and fanservice terms. It’s TV by this stage, but impeccably done.
After discovering the truth about their existence, two clones escape their high-tech facility. Okay near-future (set in 2019) chase thriller that takes a while to get going, but then delivers in the kinetic style typical of its director.
A widowed father buys a run-down zoo, and battles to have it open in time for the summer. Sunny-enough feelgood comedy/drama/romance with absolutely no surprises but some neat moments and an impeccable – if over-used – soundtrack.
The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy team up with others to prevent Thanos obtaining all the infinity stones. Dayglo all-star Marvel tag-team mash-up. For series fans only; tho it’s kinda fun while it’s on, CG fights get dull. TV, not a movie.
A live-action/mocap/CG version of the Disney animation based on the Kipling stories. And pretty good it is too, with a stunning central performance and plenty of visual wonderment if you don’t mind a little uncanny valley in your family-friendly entertainment.
Brisk, breathless SF/action mashup of Limitless, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Besson’s own La Femme Nikita plus a dozen other sources to make something daffy, hugely enjoyable, and totally nonsensical.
A Hollywood fixer’s day from hell. Delirious Coen Brothers’ farce, affectionately spoofing 1950s movies, while spinning another of their noirish kidnapping-goes-wrong yarns. Tons of fun, with everyone concerned clearly having a great time. Recommended.
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