A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Ava DuVernay
Starring: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Deric McCabe, Levi Miller, Chris Pine, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Pena, Mindy Kaling
Duration: 109 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

Based on a 1962 novel of the same name by Madeleine L’Engle, the fantasy adventure film celebrates female empowerment and diversity with an A-list Hollywood cast that includes Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. It is also the first  big-budget ($100 million) live-action film to be directed by a black woman, Ava DuVernay, known for the films Selma (2014) and Middle of Nowhere (2012), among others.

The plot follows a young girl named Meg Murry (Storm Reid) and her little brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), whose  scientist father, Mr Murry (Chris Pine) has been missing since he discovered a new planet and used the concept known as a tesseract to travel there.  Joined by Meg’s classmate Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller) and guided by three mysterious astral travellers known as Mrs Whatsit (Witherspoon), Mrs Who  (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs Which (Winfrey), the children brave a dangerous journey to a planet that possesses all of the evil in the universe.

The film received mixed reviews,  with critics mostly lamenting about  the plot holes but praising the female empowerment and diversity message.

Molly Freeman of Screen Rant, described the film as “an engaging family-friendly sci-fi adventure” but said “it falls short of reaching the potential of its talented cast and director”.

Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal was disappointed by this adaptation of the novel and said that Disney’s version “is a magical mystery tour minus the magic and mystery”.

And the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “A Wrinkle in Time is visually gorgeous, big-hearted and, occasionally, quite moving; unfortunately, it’s also wildly ambitious to a fault and often less than the sum of its classic parts.”

The film, released in the US on March 9, has so far grossed $71 million worldwide. It will open in Malta on Friday.

Ratings
IMDB: 4.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 40%
Empire: 3 stars

Peter Rabbit proves to be a wily animal in in the new film based on Beatrix Potter’s stories.Peter Rabbit proves to be a wily animal in in the new film based on Beatrix Potter’s stories.

Peter Rabbit (2018)
Genre: Animation
Director: Will Gluck
Starring/voices of: James Corden, Fayssal Bazzi, Domhnall Gleeson, Sia, Colin Moody, Sam Neill, Margot Robbie, Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki
Duration: 95 minutes
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

The 3D live-action/computer-animated film is based on Beatrix Potter’s stories of Peter Rabbit.

The plot finds Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Corden) and his three sisters – Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cotton-Tail (Daisy Ridley) – enjoying their days in Mr McGregor’s (Sam Neill) vegetable garden. But when one of McGregor’s relatives (Domhnall Gleeson) suddenly moves in, he is  less than thrilled to discover a family of rabbits in his new home.

A battle of wills soon breaks out as the new owner hatches scheme after scheme to get rid of Peter but the resourceful rabbit proves to be a worthy and wily opponent.

The film received mixed reviews.

Olly Richards of Empire magazine wrote: “The animals are cute and Gleeson is extremely game. What keeps Peter from Paddington-style delight is a self-conscious need to distance itself from its source material.”

Jeffrey M. Anderson of Common Sense Media, in fact, says that the Peter Rabbit books were “simple and charming” but that this adaptation “just tries too hard”.

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times was, however, pleased with the end result, saying: “The storyline of this Peter Rabbit adaptation is clean; the live-action actors, particularly Rose Byrne, bring their onscreen-appeal A game; and the computer-generated animals are charming.”

The film, which had a production budget of $50 million, has grossed $146 million worldwide since its release in the US on February 9.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 59%
Empire: 3 stars

John Boyega once again fights for justice in the world in Pacific Rim Uprising.John Boyega once again fights for justice in the world in Pacific Rim Uprising.

Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)
Genre: Sci-fi
Director: Steven S. DeKnight
Starring: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Rinko Kikuchi, Tian Jing
Duration: 139 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

Steven S. DeKinight makes his feature-film directorial debut with the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 Pacific Rim.

The new episode once again features the gigantic struggle between the Jaegers and the Kaiju.

John Boyega stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity's victory against the monstrous Kaiju. Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld.

But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed, he is given one last chance to live up to his father's legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) who is leading a brave new generation of pilots.

As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces that are annihilating the world.

The film is being released internationally, including Malta, on Friday, and no reviews were available until the time of print.

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

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