Finding Dory (2016)
Genre: Animation
Certification: U
Duration: 97 minutes
Directed by: Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane
Voices of: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Idris Elba, Dominic West
KRS Releasing Ltd

Thirteen years after the successful Finding Nemo comes its sequel, Finding Dory, in which Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks reprise their voicing roles as Dory and Marlin, Nemo’s father.

The protagonist is, of course, Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), the wide-eyed, blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss every 10 seconds or so.

The one thing she can remember is that she somehow became separated from her parents as a child. With the help from her friends Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence) and Marlin, Dory embarks on an epic adventure to find them.

Her journey brings her to the Marine Life Institute, a conservatory that houses diverse ocean species. She now knows that her family reunion will only happen if she can save her parents from captivity.

The long wait for this sequel may have been worth it as critics praised the film on various levels, including the voicing cast and technical achievements.

Jimi Famurewa of Empire Magazine wrote: “This is a dazzling and technically impressive return to form that delivers a similar high to Finding Nemo without feeling like a retread.”

The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Funny, poignant, and thought-provoking, Finding Dory delivers a beautifully animated adventure that adds another entertaining chapter to its predecessor’s classic story.”

While lauding DeGeneres, Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian, however, would have preferred a llighter touch: “A heavy- handed approach threatens to drown the film’s disability message.”

The $200 million budget film has excelled at the box office. It had a worldwide opening of $185.7 million, which is the second biggest of all time for an animated picture behind Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($218.4 million). And so far, it has grossed $469 million in North America and $361.5 million worldwide since its release in the US on June 17.

The film’s soundtrack was composed by Thomas Newman but also features Louis Armstrong’s version of What a Wonderful World and Sia’s cover of Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Empire Magazine: 4 stars

Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: Action
Certification: 15
Duration: 130 minutes
Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney
KRS Releasing Ltd

The DC Comics antihero team of the same name makes its way to the big screen in this film directed by David Ayer (Training Day, Sabotage, Fury).

Margot Robbie plays one of the supervillains who are freed from jail to join a secret mission in Suicide Squad.Margot Robbie plays one of the supervillains who are freed from jail to join a secret mission in Suicide Squad.

The plot sees intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembling a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission, including Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney).

Figuring it has nothing to lose, the US government supplies the new Suicide Squad with weapons to defeat a mysterious and powerful entity while contending with the antics of the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto).

The film will be released internationally on Friday, including Malta, but some advanced screenings have already taken place in the US.

An early screening was held in Union City, California a couple of days ago and people have taken to Twitter to voice their thoughts on Ayer’s upcoming film, with some calling it “insane” and “amazing”.

Other viewers said that Suicide Squad is better than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice because it’s “not as dark and depressing”.

Warner Bros is anticipating a huge first weekend for the super-villain team-up, which also stars Batman and the Flash in small supporting roles.

Suicide Squad is the third instalment in the DC Extended Universe after Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). It is to be followed by Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), The Flash (2018), Aquaman (2018) and Shazam (2019), among other titles.

Ratings
IMDB: 9.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Empire Magazine: N/A

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