Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Sci-fi
Certification: 12A
Duration: 133 minutes
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen
KRS Releasing Ltd

Directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla), Rogue One is the first standalone film in Disney's Star Wars reboot. It stars a brand new cast in a storyline that does not follow Disney’s third trilogy that started with last year’s hit, The Force Awakens.

The film explores the journey preceding the events that launched George Lucas's intergalactic saga with 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

The plot revolves around the daughter of a weapons specialist, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones),  who has been in hiding under another name for years. Her fate is quickly tied in with Rebel Alliance pilot Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) who defects from the dark side.

The trio band together with more rebels to fight the evil Darth Vader's plans for intergalactic domination.

At the film’s world premiere last Saturday in California, Ben Mendelsohn, who plays Imperial Commander Orson Krennic, described the film as “the really tough cousin” to previous Star Wars films.

He said: “People are going to understand exactly where it lives in the Star Wars world and timeline, and I feel like this is a much grittier, harder-edged film.”

The film has been plagued by reports of production troubles and extensive reshoots, so fans of the space saga are no doubt on edge to see the outcome of all this.

But early reactions were very positive.  Variety reported that the film “thrilled the audience at the premiere”, while Time Out London said that fans described Rogue One as “fantastic, exciting and incredibly satisfying”. Others said it exceeded expectations.

Praise was heaped on every department – the action, the story and the characters. Although nothing detailed about the plot was revealed, there seems to be a number of suprise twists and turns.

The official reviews were not available until the time of print as the reviews embargo was lifted at 11pm (Malta time) yesterday.

The film is being released worldwide, including Malta, on Friday.

Ratings
IMDB: 8.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Empire: N/A

Office Christmas Party (2016)
Genre: Comedy
Certification: 15
Duration: 105 minutes
Directed by: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Starring: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, Courtney B. Vance
KRS Releasing Ltd

T.J. Miller (left) joins forces with Courtney B. Vance to organise a wild bash in Office Christmas Party.

This Christmas film for grown-ups sees a CEO (Jennifer Aniston) of a tech company trying  to close her hard-partying brother's (T.J. Miller) branch.

In view of this, he and his chief technical officer (Jason Bateman) rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that would save their jobs.

The film, which boasts a great ensemble cast, has received mixed reviews. Critics have described it as a “formulaic comedy” and “a broad, bawdy comedy ”.

Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media wrote: “This over-the-top party movie isn't without its pleasures – particularly the cast – but it's too predictable to be a blast, and unsettling violence overshadows the jokes.”

Ariel Scotti of the New York Daily News was disappointed because “for a movie that was advertised as the wildest bash of the year, Office Christmas Party has too little actual debauchery”.

The film, made on a $45 million budget, has grossed $33.9 million worldwide since its release this weekend. It fared fairly well at the US where it opened in second place at the box office.

Ratings
IMDB: 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 43%
Empire: 2 stars