Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Genre: Fantasy
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Olsen, Josh Brolin, Tom Holland, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Linda Cardellini, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Zoe Saldana, Tom Hiddleston
Duration: 149 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

The sequel to Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) hits global cinema screens tomorrow amid a lot of hype.

The film, starring an A-list ensemble cast, is touted to be a crossover between/sequel to Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2., Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther. The plot is set two years after the Avengers were torn apart during the events of Captain America: Civil War.

The evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) arrives on earth on a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, with the aim to use the artefacts to bend reality to his will. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the rest of the Avengers thus join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop him.

The film is opening across the world on April 27 (April 26 at midnight) but it had its world premiere in Hollywood on Monday night, with reviews embargoed until midnight yesterday. However,  the first reactions have been shared on social media, with some describing the film as “jaw-dropping” and “epic”. Marvel fans seem to be in for a treat.

Ratings
IMDB: 9.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Empire: N/A

Martin Freeman plays a tormented financier in Ghost Stories.

Ghost Stories (2017)
Genre: Horror
Directors: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman
Starring: Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, Nicholas Burns
Duration: 98 minutes
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd

The British horror film is adapted from an Oliver-nominated stage play by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, who direct the film.

Nyman reprises his role from the play of professor Phillip Goodman, a psychologist and sceptic, who has his rationality tested to the hilt when he stumbles across a long-lost file containing details of three terrifying hauntings.

Shaken by what he reads, Goodman embarks on a mission to find rational explanations for these ghostly stories. As he investigates, he meets three tormented people – a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse), a teenager (Alex Lawther) and a financier (Martin Freeman) each with a tale more frightening and inexplicable than the last.

The film, which premiered at the London Film Festival last October but was only released in the UK on April 8, has received good reviews, with most critics lauding the creepy factor.

Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter called it a “witty and well-crafted love letter to old-school horror tropes” while Phil Semlyen of Time Out wrote: “This world is weirdly familiar and yet alien. It’s also darn scary.”

Alex Godfrey of Empire magazine commented: “Not quite a terrifying thrill-ride, Ghost Stories is a creepy, disturbing ghost train with a beefier backbone than its source material, trading on tropes but still making your skin itch.”

And the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Ghost Stories offers a well-crafted, skilfully told horror anthology that cleverly toys with genre tropes while adding a few devilishly frightful twists.”

Ratings
IMDB: 6.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Empire: 4 stars

Madison Wolfe lives in a fantasy utopia in I Kill Giants.

I Kill Giants (2017)
Genre: Fantasy thriller
Director: Anders Walter
Starring: Madison Wolfe, Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots, Sydney Wade, Rory Jackson
Duration: 106 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

The fantasy thriller, based on Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura’s graphic novel of the same name, tells about a teen named Barbara (Madison Wolfe) who is struggling to come to terms with her mother’s terminall illness while living with her supportive older sister.

She is also bullied at school and in an attempt to cope with her troubles, she creates a detailed imaginary life in which she is a skilled giant killer.

Most critics liked the movie. Molly Freeman of Screen Rant wrote: “I Kill Giants faithfully adapts the graphic novel for a striking coming-of-age movie that blends magical realism with heartbreaking drama.”

Jeannette Catsoulis of The NY Times was equally impressed: “Pondering grief and denial, lost dreams and irrevocably altered futures, director Anders Walter proves you don’t need a giant-sized special-effects budget to conjure enchantment and danger.”

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, however, panned the movie, saying: “This trashy family fantasy – in which a lonely girl hunts giants in a handily creepy forest – confuses fake jeopardy with drama.”

Ratings
IMDB: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Empire: N/A