★★★
It’s a warm autumn hue that welcomes us back to the Massachusetts of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, this time realised by Bird Box director Susanne Bier. As legacy sequels to muddled nineties flops go, Practical Magic 2 is perfectly fine. Good humour goes a long way here, with an overlong runtime and lack of drive counterbalanced well enough by the sheer charisma of a winning Sandra Bullock. Nicole Kidman returns too.
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In a post-Andy world, the heart and soul of the Toy Story saga ended sixteen years ago, all since rendered adjunctive. The Bonnie years have yet to drop the ball but lack necessity. Where Toy Story 4 charted life post-Andy imitatively, however, the fifth does stray from the beaten path. Just a smidge. Toy Story 5 may feel no more essential than its 2019 predecessor but the film does, at least, boast a certain tonal distinction. For the first time in thirty years, Randy Newman doesn’t sing. Oh, and Tom Hanks’ Woody is no longer the lead.
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The real world has caught up with Runway. Apparently. Just don’t tell The Devil Wears Prada 2, the twenty years gestated, gloss-fest sequel to David Frankel’s well-remembered original. Budget cuts may be à la mode in a breezy script by returning writer Aline Brosh McKenna but, when the top to bottom of Frankel’s (also back) screen looks every bit the $100m budget, it’s a somewhat shallow punch. Nostalgia can, after all, prove poisoned chalice. Sure, there’s a lot to like here but, make no mistake, the film wants heavily for its predecessor’s zippier outsider energy.
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