★★★
Perhaps hoping to replicate the success of Paul King’s Paddington franchise, Disney’s latest Winnie-the-Pooh film is a real world affair. Forget escapism then and embrace the misery of growing up. Who better to save Christopher Robin from his lost innocent in adulthood that a gravely voiced bear, anxious pig and depressed donkey. What to do, what to do, what to do?
★★
Something to do with a horse, a whip and a screaming woman. That’s just about it when it comes to motivating a psychopath in the world of Bad Samaritan, a Hitchcock-lite, cat and mouse thriller from Dean Devlin. After the preposterous bombast of the director’s first film – Geostorm – this sophomore effort is oddly innocuous.
★★★★
Albert Hughes’ first solo venture – finally apart from his brother and usual co-director Allen after a couple of false starts – is a remarkable cinematic achievement. Visually stunning from open to close, Alpha sees Hughes weave three familiar tales together – a son trying to appease his father, the bonding of boy and canine and the quest to journey home – into a captivating whole.
The Film Blog 