Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Genre: Comedy, fantasy
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw
Duration: 130 minutes
Class: U
KRS Releasing Ltd
Almost 55 years after Disney debuted P.L. Travers’ practically perfect nanny on the big screen, Mary Poppins Returns makes a comeback with a fresh face in the title role and a new story to impart.
Picking up 20 years after the end of the first film, on the same house in Cherry Tree Lane. The now-grown-up Michael (Ben Whishaw) is a widowed father of three, so wrapped up in the grief of the loss of his wife that he’s let the family finances slip.
Jane (Emily Mortimer), his ever practical elder sister, steps in to prevent their house from getting repossessed. The pressure from the financial strain and the loss of their mother takes a toll on the three children; Annabel, John and Georgie.
It’s at this precarious stage that Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) swoops in on a breeze to pull the Banks children back on their feet and teach the importance of family and optimism.
The film has received largely positive reviews with many praising Blunt’s turn in the character as a safe but equally magical sequel.
“A Spoonful of Sugar to a rough year,” writes Dana Stevens of Slate.
“This childlike whimsy and wonder only occasionally start to feel strenuous. The cast is spirited and charming, the evocation of 1930s-era London is playful and painterly.”
Charles Bramesco of The AV Club was less positive, calling it “less heartwarming than heart microwaving”. “Every effort to update or refresh that actually succeeds then ends up contaminated by a reminder of the film’s overeagerness to sell itself,” he writes.
“It’s a work of recreation, it’s full of nice touches. But it’s a bit of a dud,” says David Edelstein of Vulture
Mary Poppins Returns opens in Malta on Friday.
Ratings
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Empire: 4 stars
Hera Hilmar as the orphaned bandit Hester Shaw in Mortal Engines.Mortal Engines (2018)
Genre: Action, fantasy
Director: Christian Rivers
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Robert Sheehan, Hera Hilmar
Duration: 111 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd
Bringing Philip Reeves’ novel to the big screen, Mortal Engines brings a mechanical, post-apocalyptic London to the fore.
Following the devastating conflict of the Sixty Minute War, humanity transforms their cities into moving machines and take to the skies. Under the philosophy of ‘Municipal Darwinism’ large cities hunt and absorb smaller ones, seeing countries and continents pitted against each other.
Hester Shaw and Tom Natsworthy are thrown together by chance and must traverse the savage underworld of the Great Hunting Ground, while things up above are not always what they seem.
Critics have largely panned Mortal Engines, saying it’s dazzling special effects did very little to elevate the other lacking elements of the film.
“This is a headache-inducing spectacle that raises more questions than it answers”, writes Katie Rife of The AV Club.
“It does little to inspire viewers to go find the answers themselves.”
Emily Yoshida of Vulture takes a softer approach, enjoying the film’s aesthetic despite its shortcomings. “It’s well-designed as a means to transport and entertain effectively. It’s for you.”
“For all its flashy digital scene-setting, says Andrew Baker of Variety, Mortal Engines is rarely capable of staging impactful sequences withinthat scenery.”
Ratings
IMDB: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 28%
Empire: 3 stars