Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Genre: Adventure
Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Bobby Cannavale, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Rhys Darby
Duration: 119 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

Karen Gillan, Dwayne Johnson and Jack Black are trapped in a dangerous video game in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

The action adventure film serves as a stand-alone sequel to the 1995 film Jumanji, which starred Robin Williams. The film is in fact a tribute to the late actor.

When four high-school children discover an old video game console with a game they have never heard of – Jumanji – they are immediately drawn into the game’s jungle setting, literally becoming the avatars they chose: gamer Spencer becomes a brawny adventurer (Dwayne Johnson); football jock Fridge loses (in his words) and becomes an Einstein (Kevin Hart); popular girl Bethany becomes a middle-aged male professor (Jack Black); and wallflower Martha becomes a badass warrior (Karen Gillan).

They soon discover that you do not just play Jumanji, you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they will have to go on a dangerous adventure, discover what Alan Parrish (Robin Williams) left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves – or they will be stuck in the game forever.

Directed by Jake Kasan (Sex Tape, Bad Teacher), the film has received positive reviews.

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material.”

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote: “This sequel turns out to be a comedy of manners, of all things, and an agreeable one, a movie that will get you laughing and suck you in.”

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was of the same opinion. He commented: “It’s a likeable film which borrows liberally from everything and everyone, and if it’s put together by numbers, well, then it is done capably enough.

Others were less sure. Owen Gleiberman of Variety, in fact, lamented: “It’s like watching the lamest Indiana Jones sequel ever imagined, minus Indiana Jones.”

The film is opening world-wide today.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Empire: N/A

The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Musical
Director: Michael Gracey
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson
Duration: 105 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

Hugh Jackman portrays P.T. Barnum, the founder of a renowned travelling circus, in The Greatest Showman.

The US biographical musical drama is inspired by the story of US politician, showman and businessman P.T. Barnum, who is known for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the travelling Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was billed as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’.

The musical depicts how Barnum (Hugh Jackman) found fame and fortune by starting a circus in 1870s America and follows the lives of its attractions, most of whom were considered ‘freaks’.

These included bearded women, tattooed men, little people and conjoined twins.

The film, directed by Australian director Michael Gracey, posts Barnum as the creator of modern showbusiness, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

The film is being released in the US today, seven months after the circus stopped operating for good.

No reviews were available until the time of print. However, the film has just received three Golden Globe nominations, best motion picture, musical or comedy, best actor  for Jackman and best song for This is Me.

Critics, however, doubt whether the film will show who the real Barnum was. The impresario  was more interested in exploiting people than empowering them, says Steve Rose of The Guardian.

He mentions that Barnum exhibited ‘strange and savage tribes’ along with exotic animals, usually consisting of bewildered indigenous people or fake ones in costumes. He also presented African-Americans with birth defects, affirming their racial “inferiority”.

The main cast includes Zac Efron as Phillip Carlyle, stage actor, Michelle Williams as Charity Barnum, the wife of P.T. Barnum, Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny Lind, a famous Swedish singer, artist Zendaya as an acrobat, trapeze artist.

The Greatest Showman opens in Malta on Christmas Day.

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

Ferdinand (2017)
Genre: Animation
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Voices of: John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Cannavale, Jeremy Sisto, Juanes, Jerrod Carmichael
Duration: 106 minutes
Class: U
KRS Releasing

A big bull with a giant heart is the protagonist of Ferdinand.

This 3D computer-animated film is based on the children’s book The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson. It is interesting to note that this story of a bull who would rather smell the flowers than gore matadors was banned by Francisco Franco, burned by Hitler and unavailable in many countries for years.

The film follows how after being mistaken for a dangerous beast, the big bull with a giant heart (voiced by John Cena) is captured and torn from his home, Spain. Determined to return to his family, he rallies a misfit team on the ultimate adventure.

Critics quite liked the movie and the voicing cast. Jane Horwitz of The Washington Post said: “In the title role, wrestler-turned-actor John Cena gives Ferdinand just the right balance of sweetness and strength. He becomes the wholly convincing centre of the parable.”

James Dyer of Empire magazine wrote: “It’s a charming enough story and the book’s moral centre –  that it’s okay to be who you are, not what people want you to be – survives intact.”

The film, made on a $111 million production budget, has so far grossed $19.5 million since its US release on December 15.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Empire: 3 stars