Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow
Duration: 133 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

After the successful trilogy of Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire and the ill-fated reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield, comes another reboot of the beloved comic book superhero’s adventures.

Tom Holland plays a young Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

This time, it’s the turn of Tom Holland to take on the role of the webslinger but he plays a younger version of Peter Parker. His character already appeared in Captain America: Civil War last year.

Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Parker now returns home to live with his Aunt May.

Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine but he must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture  (Michael Keaton) emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.

The film also stars Marisa Tomei as May Parker, Peter’s aunt and the widow of Ben Parker and  Jon Favreau, who resumes his role as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s closest friend and his former bodyguard and chauffeur.

Gwyneth Paltrow also resumes her role as Pepper Potts, the love interest of Tony Stark from the Iron Man and The Avengers movies.

The Sony Pictures and Disney’s Marvel Studio film, directed by Jon Watts, has received strong reviews even though it still has to open in the US.

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Spider-Man: Homecoming does whatever a second reboot can, delivering a colourful, fun adventure that fits snugly in the sprawling MCU without getting bogged down in franchise-building.”

Tufayel Ahmed of Newsweek called it “the best Spider-Man movie to date”.

Robbie Collin of The Telegraph was, however, less impressed as he described the film as “a slack and spiritless solo escapade, spun off from an initially intriguing premise that deflates around you with a low whine as you watch, like a punctured bouncy castle”.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Empire: 4 stars

The Book of Henry (2017)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, Jacob Tremblay, Sarah Silverman
Duration: 105 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

The film, directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Star Wars Episode IV), follows a single mother, Susan Carpenter (Naomi Watts), who works as a waitress with her family friend Sheila. She finds support in her older son, Henry, who likes to take care of everyone and everything in his own way.

Jaeden Lieberher has a very caring attitude in The Book of Henry.

One day, Susan discovers that the family next door harbours a dark secret and learns that Henry has devised a plan to help the family’s young daughter.

The film received poor reviews, mostly owing to its mash-up of genres.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: “The film’s muted yet still rather flamboyant terribleness derives from the fact that it seems to be juggling three or four borderline schlock genres at once.”

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times agreed: “A weepie, a thriller, a tragedy, a sub-Spielbergian pastiche, The Book of Henry is mostly a tedious mess.”

Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post expressed the same concept in a more creative way: “It’s the film-making equivalent of a monkey with the head of a goat, the tail of a fish, wings and teeny-tiny rat claws.”

The critics’ consenus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “The Book of Henry deserves a few points for ambition, but its tonal juggling act – and a deeply maudlin twist – may leave viewers gaping in disbelief rather than choking back tears.”

The film has so far earned $3.8 million in box office sales in the US since its release in June.

Ratings
IMDB: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 23%
Empire: 3 stars

All Eyez on Me (2017)
Genre: Biopic
Director: Benny Boom
Starring: Demetrius Shipp Jr, Danai Gurira, Kat Graham
Duration: 139 minutes
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

This is the biopic of the late US rapper, actor and activist Tupac Shakur,  who was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996.

Demetrius Shipp Jr as Tupac Shakur in All Eyez on Me.

The film, titled after his fourth studio album of the same name, follows Shakur’s (played by Demetrius Shipp Jr) career from his early days in New York to his status as one of the world’s greatest and most influential rappers of all time.

The film did not earn very good reviews with critics saying that All Eyez on Me does not give enough insight into the artist’s thought or personality, however, some said it was worth watching.

Owen Glieberman of Variety was of such an opinion. He commented: “Highly worth seeing, because in its volatility and hunger, and the hidden desperation of its violence, it captures something about the space in which Tupac Shakur lived.”

Others, such as Emily Yoshida of  Vulture magazine, thought he deserved a better picture.

She wrote: “Tupac deserved a storyteller as good as himself. It's a shame he didn’t get one.”

Ratings
IMDB: 6.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 17%
Empire: N/A