The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

Considering how little I cared for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, although I didn't outright hate it, I knew that I wouldn't be in the target demographic for this sequel. There's an extra Princess (Rosalina, voiced by Brie Larson, alongside Princess Peach), an extra baddie (Bowser Junior, voiced by Benny Safdie), and even an appearance from another Nintendo hero, Fox McCloud (voiced by Glen Powell). A lot of people will love it. I am not one of those people, but I will start this review by saying that I slightly preferred it to the first film. Maybe I was in a better mood. Or maybe it's actually a better film.

There's no reason to fully summarise the plot. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are living their best life. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) is also happy enough, as are both Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and a cute little newcomer going by the name of Yoshi (Donald Glover). Bowser (Jack Black) has been kept in a shrunken and harmless form, working through his anger management issues, but he may be the one character able to help everyone when Bowser Junior starts kidnapping royalty and developing a ginormous super-weapon.

It's a good sign, in general, when everyone returns to their main roles for any sequel. As well as the extensive voice cast, writer Matthew Fogel is back for this adventure, as are directors and co-directors Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, and Pabien Polack. They may not be making a film aimed specifically at me, but they certainly know how to make a cute and colourful film that should keep Mario fans amused and entertained throughout. Every scene is bright and busy, but somehow avoids being too much of either, and the score from Brian Tyler, also returning, continues to blend in plenty of reworked game themes and fun audio cues.

Pratt and Day are fine in their roles, but nobody feels like a full-on lead here. This is a sprawling ensemble piece, with plenty of time given to fun moments featuring the other characters. Black is a bit more restrained this time around, but actually works better for it, Safdie is very entertaining, and both Taylor-Joy and Brie are the most excellent princesses since the two excellent princesses won over by the charms of Bill & Ted. As well as Glover and Key, who both work well for their characters, there are enjoyable small roles for Roxana Ortega, Luis Guzmán, Issa Rae, as well as the star cameo from Powell.

If you liked the first movie then you're sure to like this one. Even if you didn't really like the first movie, but didn't hate it either, this might just win you over. Despite cramming in more references for fans of the game series, it somehow feels more free. There's no need to pretend that we need any more "tutorial guide" moments, nor any complicated origin tales, when we can just get to Mario and Luigi wandering around various environments, bashing bricks, being helped by Yoshi, and finding a variety of timely power-ups. I may even end up rewatching the first film, and perhaps warming to it, after enjoying this one so much more.

7/10

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Anaconda (2025)

If the world was crying out for a comedic reboot of the Anaconda movie series then nobody decided to mention that to me. There's a chance that the world wasn't crying out for such a thing, but then . . . why would this exist otherwise?

Jack Black plays Doug McCallister, a man stuck making wedding videos when he really wants to be directing movies. His long-time friend, Ronald Griffin Jr. (Paul Rudd), is an actor unable to really gain any momentum in his career. Ronald doesn't have much going for him, but he does have the rights to Anaconda, apparently, which leads to him convincing Doug, Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) to travel to the Amazon and rework a movie they all have a strangely strong connection with. They meet Ana (Daniela Melchior) once over there, a capable woman who ends up being added to the small cast of their movie, and eventually also meet a very real, and very large, anaconda.

Written by Kevin Etten and directed by Tom Gormican, who both entertained me with their last collaboration, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, this is one of the strangest and least satisfying mainstream movies I have watched in some time. Okay, I wasn't exactly hyped for this when I first heard about the tonal change in the series, but I still assumed that my appreciation of the main cast members would allow me to get some enjoyment from it. I was VERY wrong.

Jack Black can be very funny, Paul Rudd is someone I consider a bit of a treasure, Steve Zahn has been delivering delightful turns for decades now, and Thandiwe Newton has done enough good work by now to make me forgive her stilted performance in the second Mission: Impossible movie. I want to be clear about how much I like all of these people in the right movies. This is not the right movie. It's a tonal mess that doesn't do well enough with the jokes about film-making, doesn't deliver any proper snakey thrills, and doesn't have anything else going for it, with the exception of a couple of fun cameos. Zahn is a highlight, but Dan Silveira upstages everyone as a snake-handler named Timo who has the advantage of possessing a snake that he claims is friendly and obedient, despite the size of the thing. Melchior, and the entire sub-plot that she's involved with, feels completely unnecessary, and I would have much preferred the movie to concentrate on the other added conflict that is brought up at just around the halfway mark before being fumbled and discarded within the space of a few scenes.

Undemanding viewers should still find one or two chuckles here, but they're too few and far between throughout the 99-minute runtime. Other than those fleeting bright spots, nothing else works. At all. And it's saying something when you watch a 2025 Anaconda movie and start thinking fondly of the uneven special effects in the 1997 film.

Maybe not the worst mainstream movie I've seen this decade, but I am currently struggling to think of one I would rank below it. 

3/10

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A Minecraft Movie (2025)

Five writers worked on this screenplay. FIVE. And someone else helped two of those writers to come up with the story idea. So that's six people who had a helping hand in getting this into something resembling a movie. And the best they could come up with was a fan-pleasing collage of absolute nonsense that will leave viewers wondering why everyone involved just tried to remake The LEGO Movie, but make it shit.

Jack Black plays Steve, a man who is happy to find himself in the Overworld (AKA Minecraft world). Unfortunately, his happiness is curtailed when he is transported to the Nether, ruled over by a Piglin leader named Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House). Steve hides away the powerful artefacts that Malgosha wants to own, which are then found by young Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and a down-on-his-luck ex-videogame champ named Garrett (Jason Momoa). Henry is followed by his sister, Natalie (Emma Myers), and a friendly realtor named Dawn (Danielle Brooks). Meanwhile, one of the Overworld inhabitants ends up in our world, where they end up on a date with Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge).

Trust me, that made about as much sense to me while I wrote it as it did to you while you tried to read it. That paragraph may seem like a mess, but it's nothing when compared to the mess that is this movie. It's worth saying right now, however, that my own negative opinion of the film is redundant. It's already been a huge success, I am sure it will continue to be beloved by the fanbase for some time to come, and I am at the disadvantage of viewing it as someone with only the most cursory passing knowledge of the videogame it is based on.

I'm still allowed to complain about the time I wasted on this though, and complain I bloody well will. I'll give most of the blame to the writers, but there's a large part of me that suspects I should also save some finger-pointing for anyone who encouraged Black and Momoa to basically fool around in front of the cameras while they came up with numerous extra references and gags. This is a loud and busy film, for the most part, and Black and Momoa are the main reason for that. Whether you're a fan of the game or not, I'd love to hear from anyone who listens to the opening exposition dump from Jack Black's character and wants to try telling me how that was the best way to open this film. And yet . . . that opening soon becomes the only time that has Black being bearable.

Director Jared Hess can do quirky, of course. He's made it his brand for the past two decades, and a couple of the writers here are used to that (having worked with him on a couple of his previous projects), but A Minecraft Movie isn't the kind of quirky that we've seen in his better films. It's quirky in a way that feels far too random and incoherent, barely holding together as the thin plot moves from start to finish. Which may feel appropriate for those who know that Minecraft isn't really a story-driven game, but falls down for those after a movie experience that they can get their head around.

Hansen is decent as the one lead who feels like a fairly normal human, and Myers is really good as his concerned sister. Brooks is a lot of fun in her role, and manages to show how to be funny without shouting over everyone around her or gurning through an amusing selection of facial expressions (a la Coolidge, who I still enjoy here, but it's not her finest hour). House is always a fun addition, and her vocal performance is entertaining, and that covers the main performers who seem to stay at least somewhat tethered to something resembling a constructed reality. Momoa and Black are orbiting one another in a separate solar system from everyone else, a vacuum that ensures a deadening of their constant stream of blurted game-related terms and unfunny gags.

The score is bad, the visuals are . . . in line with the game (which gives them a great excuse), and the only time I really chuckled was during scenes with Coolidge falling for the odd-looking "escapee". Nobody will care about this dissenting opinion though. I'm not the target audience, and I'm not going to change the mind of anyone who IS. I've said it many times before though, you're allowed to enjoy something tailored to your own tastes and preferences while also wanting something that has been made with care and passion. This feels like it lacks both of those qualities, and I am surprised that Minecraft players have helped to make it such a resounding success.

3/10

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Dear Santa (2024)

Based on a joke that seems to have been around at least since I was born, which is fast coming up on half a century now, Dear Santa is, in a way, exactly what you'd expect a Christmas comedy from the Farrelly brothers to be. It's also one of their weaker efforts.

Robert Timothy Smith plays Liam Turner, a young boy with dyslexia who struggles to make friends and avoid embarrassment in most social situations. His bestie is Gibby (Jaden Carson Baker), a young boy who has his own social obstacle, simply due to having some large upper teeth. When Liam writes a letter to Santa he mis-spells the name of the recipient, leading to the letter instead being delivered to the fiery underworld. Which is where a devilish Jack Black comes into the picture. Much like a standard genie, he will offer Liam three wishes. Is there any catch? Of course there is, but it's easy for Liam to forget about that when he can get a chance to ask Emma (Kai Cech) out on a date, be friends with Post Malone, and maybe even fix whatever has become broken in the marriage of his parents (played by Brianne Howey and Hayes MacArthur).

Director Bobby Farrelly really seems unsure of what he wants to do here. The screenplay, by Ricky Blitt and Peter Farrelly (developing a story they created with Dan Ewen), doesn't help. Not only is it weak when compared to other Farrelly brother outings, it doesn't even manage to have fun with the Christmas spirit of it all. It doesn't help that it makes no sense, with rules being carefully spelled out near the start of the movie that are completely ignored by the frankly bizarre final scenes. There's some fun to be had, but it's thanks to a couple of fun set-pieces and the sweet screen presence of Smith.

Black does his usual thing, and he's amusing enough with it, but the younger cast members get to steal the movie by simply emphasising their relative innocence. Smith is endearingly hapless, Baker is very sweet, Cech is just the right kind of loveliness to make her seem worth the effort that Smith is making, and Post Malone has fun playing himself. Both Howey and MacArthur do well enough as the parents who have clearly gone through some kind of trauma that has affected the whole family, and P. J. Byrne, Keegan-Michael Key, and Cate Freedman add some laughs. There's also a fantastic cameo from Ben Stiller, just about recognisable despite all the make up he is wearing for his one scene.

Maybe others will enjoy this more than I did, and maybe I had my viewing experience shaded by considering the real-life tragedy that Bobby Farrelly experienced over a decade ago. Maybe those things are inextricably linked though. It certainly seems as if this is a very pointed film, which is another thing working against the comedy and silliness, and there's a lot of pain and hurt at the centre of it that cannot be easily pushed aside before the end credits roll. 

I guess that it sometimes takes more than a half-assed shart gag to counter-balance an exploration of the dark and deep wells of grief that we often have to carry around within us for far too many years.

4/10

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Borderlands (2024)

A sci-fi action movie based on a videogame I haven't played from a director who usually does his best work in the horror genre, and starring Kevin Hart in a role that would seem to be ideal for almost anyone other than Kevin Hart? I couldn't work up any enthusiasm to see Borderlands when it landed in cinemas, after a very long delay, and the disappointing box office performance and many negative reviews made me believe that I had been right to keep it low on my list of priorities. I knew I would get to it eventually though. And today was the fateful day. Maybe I should have delayed it by another few weeks or years though.

Cate Blanchett plays Lilith, a bounty hunter who ends up joining a group of people who all end up on a quest to locate and open a secret vault on the planet of Pandora. There's Roland (Hart, trying to be the leader of the gang), Krieg (the strong and silent type, played by Florian Munteanu), a small robot named Claptrap (voice by Jack Black), and the destruction-loving Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). They will eventually be joined, at least temporarily, by Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), and someone named Atlas (Edgar Ramírez) who may be hiding his true motivation for wanting to stay close to the crew.

There may be lots of little details here for fans of the videogames, (I don't know) and there may be some production design and character arcs that have been directly translated, (again . . . I don't know), but what there IS here is some horrible plotting, a complete lack of any excitement, and a couple of action set-pieces that do nothing to justify the time spent enduring the rest of the film. Because it is an endurance test. Few of the cast feel well-suited to their roles, and the film itself is exactly in line with a trailer that gave many people the idea of making a meme joke in the format that ends with the line "we have Guardians Of The Galaxy at home" and then shows the poster for this as the aforementioned lesser substitute option.

None of the characters here have anything really going on below the surface, but Blanchett manages to make her own involvement rewarding to those who can enjoy her simply swaggering around onscreen with a fantasticaly-sculpted bright red hairdo atop her head. Hart is never convincing, Greenblatt has a higher energy level that keeps her out of sync with the rest of the group, and makes her slightly annoying for most of her screentime, and Jack Black's vocal performance is the equivalent of being stuck beside the most annoying "office joker" for the entirety of the big annual night out. Munteanu is decent, helped by the fact that he doesn't really have much to say, Curtis has some fun in her thankless role, and there's a fun cameo from Gina Gershon. As for Ramírez, he's one of the weakest movie villains in recent years. Not allowed to make a strong enough impression, his character fails to cast the required shadow over the movie, leaving the actor struggling to be remembered as soon as the end credits roll.

Movies based on videogames nowadays should no longer be dismissed as quickly as they used to be, but this seems determined to take up a place alongside the worst of the game-to-screen adaptations we have seen over the years. I cannot say if there is still enough here to please fans of the game series, but I can definitely say that there's nothing here to please fans of Eli Roth. In fact, there's no real indicator of his involvement, unless you count the fact that he apparently cannot direct decent action set-pieces to save his life (seriously . . . how do you mess up the chance to choreograph a big fight sequence to the Motorhead song "Ace Of Spades"?). Having also written the screenplay with Joe Abercrombie, it's obvious who is most to blame here, but it's also obvious that he might be able to shake himself off and move on quickly enough, having his own credit overshadowed by the brand name that he was given the responsibility of turning into a hit movie.

I would advise those who love the game of Borderlands to keep playing it, rather than giving this movie their time. On the plus side, maybe some confusion will lead people to a very different movie named Borderlands (renamed as Final Prayer in some territories). I give this some bonus points for how much I enjoyed Blanchett here, but others wouldn't be half as kind.

4/10

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Look, whether we want to or not, we can all remember the last time that The Super Mario Bros. were presented in movie form. It wasn’t exactly great, and it wasn’t exactly embraced by audiences. So trying again, but this time in animated form, isn’t a bad thing. And my opinion on this is already fairly redundant, considering the amount of money that this has taken at the global box office. But here it is anyway.

The plot is quite simple. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are two New York plumbers who end up heading down a pipe that takes them through to a whole new world. Luigi lands in the Dark Lands and is almost immediately imprisoned by goons working for the warmongering Bowser (Jack Black). Mario, having landed in a much nicer area, the Mushroom Kingdom, befriends Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), who ends up taking him to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), the person who may be best-equipped to help him reunite with his brother. Meanwhile, a major battle is looming. The odds for our heroes might be boosted if they can enlist the help of Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen).

Although there’s only one man responsible for the script here, Matthew Fogel, due credit should go to everyone who has every helped develop any of the multitude of Mario videogames. While squarely aimed at a very young audience, with the animation style, bright colours, and cute characters, a lot of little references are sprinkled throughout every scene to appeal to those well-versed with the history of the most famous adventuring plumber in the world. The plot is simple though, as simple as most of the games, and really just feels like an excuse to put together some moments that feel like sizzle reels or adverts for the latest instalments in the series (watch Mario attempt an obstacle course run, watch Mario jump up various platforms and use pipes to get quickly to the top of a new area, watch vehicles drive along in a Mario Kart section).

It’s surprising that four people are named as directors and co-directors on this. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic have some fun Teen Titans Go! in their recent past, and Pierre Leduc and Fabien Polack seem to be loyal Illumination staff being rewarded for their work on other projects. All they really have to do is cut and paste things together, or so it would seem, and the real highlights come from the times when the score references some videogame music cues (any time Bowser is at the piano is a real treat).

Pratt and Day are fine in their roles, I guess, but they’re certainly not overflowing with authenticity, from the accents to the shoehorned-in catchphrases. It could have been anyone in these roles, which makes it irritating that Pratt and Day landed them, however you feel about both movie stars. Things are better elsewhere though, with Key and Taylor-Joy feeling much better suited to the characters they are voicing. Black is the star though, so much fun as Bowser, in terms of both the dialogue he gets and how he delivers it, that it’s enough to make up for Seth Rogen playing Donkey Kong as Seth Rogen. You may already have heard the song about Princess Peach, but it’s the best part of the film, and one I could happily watch repeated on a loop without having to revisit anything else here.

I can see why this has done so well, and there are a few wonderful supporting characters that I have failed to mention (including one hilariously nihilistic, but cute, prisoner held in a cage alongside Luigi), but this just felt too bland and uninventive to me. As flawed as the live action movie is, and I would never make a case for it being any kind of misunderstood classic, it at least had people working on it who didn’t just throw together a “greatest hits” selection of gaming moments. And I will remember the weirdness in that film more often than I will remember anything from this.

5/10

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Mubi Monday: Be Kind Rewind (2008)

If you remember Be Kind Rewind as the film in which Jack Black and Yaslin Bey (still being billed here as Mos Def) make cheap recreations of some blockbuster movies then you're quite correct. You're also missing out on the real heart of it though, and the obvious commentary about the divide between art and commerce. Or maybe you also remembered that. If so, you have a better memory than I do. I hadn't watched Be Kind Rewind in over a decade, but I am very happy to have rewatched it now. Because it's a lovely film, full of wit and charm, as well as a great cast all doing great work.

Bey plays Mike, a young man who works in a video store owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). He is put in charge of the store while Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a few days and it's not long until disaster strikes. That disaster is in the shape of Jerry (Black), a friend who doesn't realise that he has been temporarily magnetised, and therefore doesn't realise that his presence in the video store leads to all of the movies being erased. This isn't good, not at all, especially when the business needs to make a lot more money than usual in order to stay solvent. Rushing to replace titles with their own versions of them, Mike and Jerry have to start with Ghostbusters, a title requested by Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow). As they look to get more titles done, they enlist the help of Alma (Melonie Diaz). The three soon become quite the production house, finding their personal visions being appreciated by the local community, and also by film fans who start travelling to the store from further afield.

Written and directed by Michel Gondry, a man who knows how to create some great practical effects on a low budget (as shown in his many creative music videos, as well as films like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and The Science Of Sleep), Be Kind Rewind is easily sold as "that film in which the leads make cheap recreations of some blockbuster titles", but it's much more than that. It serves as a reminder about necessity being the mother of invention, it shows the limitless possibilities that are available to people who have imagination and vision, and there's a subtle-as-a-sledgehammer-to-the-face commentary on the homogenisation of cinema, from the content to the delivery system that gets it out there to viewers. Granted, you have to cringe slightly in a scene that has Jack Black playing Jackie Chan's character in Rush Hour 2, and there are a couple of other moments arguably worse than that, but it's all done with an air of innocence and childish exuberance that shows where the characters are coming from. They're playing dress-up, they're putting on a show for others to enjoy, and they'll take on every role they have to. Despite being adult actors playing adult characters, Black and Bey are very much portrayed as well-intentioned children, with childish dreams and a childish ignorance of how everything should be (of how things are done just because that's always the way that they have been done).

Bey is very sweet in his role, and is also receptive enough to stories told to him that he serves as a way in which the viewer learns another valuable lesson about just how important it can be to believe in stories, especially when reality tries to get in the way and/or grind us down. Black is a lot of fun, bringing his usual energy and physicality to the role. Glover and Farrow, the two "sensible" adults who find out about the movie-making plan at different times in the movie, are both wonderful, and really fit their roles. Glover, especially, gives what may well be his best performance of the past couple of decades. Diaz may be the least familiar of the leads, but she does great work, matching the enthusiasm of her male colleagues while bringing a bit more savvy to any opportunities that arise to make some money.

Not only does this work as a comedy, not only does it work as a love letter to artists making art that isn't necessarily going to reach blockbuster status, it also serves as a lovely analogy for the lifeline of a movie fan. You start off by being told stories by adults, stories that you envision in your mind and you accept as reality (whether or not they are). You then get to enjoy those stories for yourself. You may get a bit lazy here, assuming that everything is always available around you, accepting the mainstream "fast food" without remembering the full range that is out there. You then start to make strong connections with others, bonding over a variety of shared tastes, and maybe even striving to make your own work (in whatever medium you might choose), and that might even lead to you becoming part of a clique. And then, one bright and beautiful day, you realise that you don't have to protect yourself by sheltering in that clique. Many other people enjoy the same art as you, and just as many people will react positively to your passion, even if they're not on the exact same page.

Be Kind Rewind sounds like it would just be about videotapes, but it's not. It's about all film. It's about all art. And it's ultimately about the value it has, not in budgets or box office, but in bringing people together for a communal experience. You should watch/rewatch this, and enjoy it. And you should definitely check out pretty much everything else that Gondry has given us over the years.

8/10

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Prime Time: Year One (2009)

Some films you just watch once and immediately forget about. Some films become firm favourites. Some films require a few viewings for you to really clarify your thoughts. And some films you end up watching a few times simply because you keep forgetting about it almost as soon as the end credits roll. Year One is in that latter category. This is my third time seeing it, and it is a film that really doesn’t warrant repeat viewings. The fact that I also own it is neither here nor there (it was cheap and I have a retail-based obsessive nature).

Jack Black and Michael Cera play Zed and Oh, respectively, two men from ancient times who end up banished from their tribe and encountering a bunch of famous biblical characters. One of them is famous brother-killer Cain (David Cross), one of them is famous son-sacrificer Abraham (Hank Azaria), and there are a whole lot of citizens of Sodom to deal with. That is all you need to know, although the men are also interested in romantically pursuing two female members of their tribe (played by June Diane Raphael and Juno Temple) and there are cameo roles for the likes of Xander Berkeley, Olivia Wilde, Vinnie Jones, Oliver Platt, and quite a few others.

I like Jack Black, despite the fact that many of his best-known movie roles are based around him doing his usual Jack Black schtick. I like Michael Cera, also not really known for his range. They just don’t work here though, feeling wrong in their lead roles and having no decent chemistry with one another. So that has the film starting off with a major disadvantage.

Director Harold Ramis (this was, sadly, the last feature he directed before his passing) seems to think that the script, co-written by himself, Lee Eisenberg, and Gene Stupnitsky, is full of chuckles that will be improved by the performers. He couldn’t be more wrong. The highlights come about despite the writing, many of the jokes are disappointingly obvious, and there are a few too many instances of toilet humour that feel all the worse for being inserted in between the few scenes that have actual wit. The best thing here is the ongoing story strand that allows Cain to remain a central character, but even that is slightly undermined by the fact that his first scenes are so good that it ends up going downhill from there.

As you might have guessed from that last sentence, Cross is a lot of fun in his role here, and arguably steals the movie. Aside from Black and Cera, the rest of the cast often try their best with weak material they are unable to greatly improve. Jones comes onscreen to be tough Vinnie Jones, Azaria is amusing enough for his few minutes, Berkeley had to sit around and look regal, which he does, and Wilde is a potential “fair maiden” alongside Raphael and Temple, with none of them getting to do more than look pretty enough to motivate our leads. Although you can question the choices made in his performance, it’s Oliver Platt who almost rivals Cross for the added comedy value provided, playing his character as a lusty hedonist who takes a fancy to Oh.

Not entirely without entertainment value, Year One is just a huge missed opportunity. What should have been a rapid-fire cavalcade of jokes, be they new, old, smart, or silly, just settles for being a vehicle built around two sorely miscast leads. It is telling that every decent laugh in the film comes from moments not focusing on the main characters.

3/10

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Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

With pretty much everyone returning, unless I am forgetting someone, Jumanji: The Next Level is an enjoyable lesson in how to put everything together competently enough for a sequel to a blockbuster family film.

A few years have gone by since the events of the first film. All is well, sort of. Spencer (Alex Wolff) just isn't feeling right though. Things aren't exactly awful, but he remembers how much better he was when stepping into the world of Jumanji. So he heads back in.  His friends understandably want to rescue him, as soon as they realise what is going on, but they don't get to pick their characters this time. They also have two new players with them, Spencer's grandfather (Danny DeVito) and his friend, Milo (Danny Glover). Once in the game, it is time to have more fun with Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Dwayne Johnson, and Kevin Hart. Which is what viewers really want to see.

Nothing here is as good as it was in the previous movie, but, and this is important, nothing here is a lot worse either. As well as deriving fun from the new players being befuddled by everything, Jumanji: The Next Level also throws a couple of tricks in there to keep everyone on their toes. The emotional content doesn't work, but it is well-intentioned enough, and played well, to make it bearable. Familiarity doesn't breed contempt (dance fighting moves are displayed, Johnson gets to smoulder, and both Black and Hart get plenty of moments to act amusingly frustrated or bemused), but there is wisdom in mixing just enough fresh faces to help it not feel like a complete retread.

Jake Kasdan once again directs, and once again helped to write the screenplay with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, and he does well, handling the action-packed set-pieces as well as the smaller moments of comedic interplay. He's helped by a cast that all seem to emanate that feeling of slipping into familiar and comfortable clothing.

All of the main players are as good in their roles as they were the first time around, and they get to enjoy showing some different sides of their personas, while both Akwafina and Rory NcCann are solid additions, with the latter especially good as the new main villain causing problems in Jumanji-land.

If you liked the last movie then you will like this one. That's all it wants to do, keep fans happy and entertained. I would watch it again. And I would watch a third adventure. Job done.

7/10

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School Of Rock (2003)

If there was ever an award for the Jack Blackiest movie to feature Jack Black in a main role then it would surely go to School Of Rock. You get the rock music, obviously, and the general worshipping at the altar of rock. You get odd improvisational vocal riffs and ridiculous rock posturing. You get a lead character who seems to not be doing much with his life, and also proves himself to be far from the brightest bulb at times. And there's a message about being true to yourself, and not necessarily caring about what others may think as you find your inner cool.

Black plays Dewey Finn, a band member who finds himself with no band. He also has no job. And no money. He owes rent, which is becoming a problem for his friend/flatmate, Ned (played by Mike White, who also wrote the script), mainly because Ned is being told to assert himself by his girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman). When Dewey takes a message by phone for a temp teaching job position for Ned, he decides to take on the role and earn some money. He figures it will be easy, the kids will enjoy not having to actually learn, and nobody will be hurt. And then he finds out that some of the young pupils are pretty good with musical instruments. So he has an idea to create another band.

Directed by Richard Linklater, School Of Rock is an easy crowdpleaser, as long as you don't mind Jack Black (and I think it's fair to say that this was released during the time when he was at the peak of his popularity, before people started to tire of his schtick). Although it seems unlike anything Linklater would want to helm, the fact that every scene feels infused with the sweat of rock legends starts to make you realise that this is a natural pairing.

Black is as you have seen him so many other times, sometimes being lazy and unmotivated and sometimes being a whirling ball of energy as he gets fired up by the power of rock. This remains the best role that he's had for the rock-worshipping side of his personality, and he is consistently excellent. White and Silverman are the negging motivators, with Silverman taking on the thankless role of the main complainer, and both of them are good in their scenes. Joan Cusack excels as the head of the school, a woman who worries so much about the reputation of the school, and the care of the pupils, that she has developed a reputation as someone who never has any fun. But get a Stevie Nicks tune playing and she shows a different side.

Then we have the kids. They may be all painted in rather broad strokes, but they're not usually the butt of the jokes, not once Black settles more into his role and starts to see more in them than they may see themselves. The scene-stealer is Miranda Cosgrove as Summer Hathaway, a girl who prides herself on being a top student, but everyone does well. You get Robert Tsai (Lawrence, keyboard), Joey Gaydos Jr. (Zack, guitar), Kevin Clark (Freddy, drums), Rebecca Brown (Katie, bass), Brian Falduto (Billy, costumes), Zachary Infante (Gordon, lighting), and Maryam Hassan, Caitlin Hale, and Aleisha Allen as singers. Every single one of them gets at least one moment in the spotlight, either through their musical talent or an amusing line of dialogue.

The soundtrack is made up of the obvious greats, making this a treat for the ears, and that script is a perfect example of how to throw enough fun characters and situations onscreen in a way that allows viewers to suspend disbelief as things move towards a completely predictable, and satisfying, grand finale.  Silly and ridiculously implausible as it is, it's also a pretty perfect choice for whenever you are after a movie to please a group with a wide age range.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
American readers can buy it here.

Ani-MAY-tion: Shark Tale (2004)

An animated film that mixes elements of the classic "Jack The Giant Killer" tale and numerous aquatic puns and gags, Shark Tale doesn't reach greatness in any individual aspect, but the silly jokes and excellent voice cast make it a fun way to pass some time.

Will Smith is the voice of Oscar, a small fish that dreams of big things. He works in a whale washing business, employed by a puffer fish named Sykes (Martin Scorsese). So preoccupied is Oscar with his dreams, he is oblivious to the fact that another employee, Angie (Renée Zellweger), seems quite smitten with him. Meanwhile, a mob boss shark (voiced by Robert De Niro) is struggling to get his youngest son, Lenny (Jack Black), to think and act like a proper shark. All of these characters are about to collide as Oscar turns his fortunes around after a major incident involving his close proximity to a dangerous shark that ends up dead.

It's hard not to see a couple films from this time as cynical attempts to grab some of that Finding Nemo money. You had this film and you had The Reef AKA Shark Bait (2006), and neither of them managed to be as good as the Pixar film that seemed to birth them. Thankfully, however, this is closer to the first movie than it is to the later one, which is just cheap (at least it certainly looks cheap), lazy and visually ugly.

That's not to say that directors Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman do much to garner praise here. The visuals are fine throughout, although sometimes it can be easy to forget that things are set under the sea (despite all of the main characters being fish), and the script, co-written by Letterman and Michael J. Wilson, is simple and amusing, keeping everything bright and lively for the intended younger viewers.

But the cast is where the movie shines. Smith is in fine form, all smiles and cockiness even as he looks to move further and further out of his depth, no pun intended. Zellweger is a sweet friend/potential romance, even if her character doesn't get to do much beyond helping Oscar and making heart-eyes at him. Scorsese and De Niro are both wonderful, their voices fitting their very different characters nicely, and their every interaction a treat for film fans. Black is a bit weak in his role, as is Angelina Jolie, also suffering from the fact that her character is shallow and only interested in someone with plenty of money, but the other people lending their voices to the proceedings include Michael Imperioli, Peter Falk, Ziggy Marley, Doug E. Doug, Vincent Pastore, and one or two others you should enjoy.

You'll probably never prioritise this in your viewing schedule unless you have little ones to entertain but you could do a lot worse. It has a decent soundtrack, plenty of colour, and one silly little gag involving a hammerhead shark and a piece of cutlery that makes me laugh heartily every time I see it.

6/10

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The House With A Clock In Its Walls (2018)

IF you don't mind his presence in films, Jack Black has spent the past 10-15 years steadily building up a great selection of family-friendly adventure films. Okay, I'm the only one who enjoyed Gulliver's Travels but most people seemed to enjoy the Kung Fu Panda movies, School Of Rock, Goosebumps, and Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. And here's another to add to the list, a film full of magical delights that is an unexpected directorial effort from Eli Roth (a man more well-known for his gory horror movies and twisted thrillers).

Owen Vaccaro plays Lewis Barnavelt, a young boy who ends up going to stay with his eccentric Uncle Jonathan (Black) after his parents die in a car crash. Uncle Jonathan lives in a very strange house, is himself a very strange individual, and has a good friend in the shape of the very strange Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett). There's a lot of magic being bandied around, and Lewis wants to learn how to use it as soon as he sees it happening, and that clock in the walls, a device placed there by a warlock for reasons unknown. But it's counting down to something, and that something can't be good.

Based on a John Bellairs book that was first published in the early 1970s, The House With A Clock In Its Walls manages to feel surprisingly fresh and fun, despite not being entirely dissimilar to so many other movies we have seen aimed at children in the post-Potter entertainment years. A large part of that is to do with the cast but it's equally down to the surprisingly spot-on handling of the material by Roth, working from a script by Eric Kripke. This is not a film concerned with mystery and personal discovery, it's a film about magic. Young Lewis finds out about it quite quickly, making it a very normal part of his life for most of the movie, and the fun and thrills come from that magic being used, and from a third act that culminates with the final ticking and tocking of the clock.

Black is as energetic and amusing as he usually is (IF you like him, those who don't will want to find some other viewing choice), and Vaccaro is perfectly likeable in his main role, but it's always a lot of fun to see Blanchett in a lighter role, and she's her usual wonderful presence here. You also get Lorenza Izzo in a small, but important, role, and Renee Elise Goldsberry and Kyle MacLachlan as the two main characters who want to be there when the clock finishes the countdown. Colleen Camp is a neighbour who witnesses some odd stuff going on, Sunny Suljic play a boy who befriends Lewis, but may just be using him, and there's an array of enjoyable CGI creations that have fun personalities of their own (the best being a pet armchair that acts like an excitable puppy).

You can probably already guess the main problem that the film has. It's just too similar to so many others that we've seen over the past decade or so. The fantastical elements don't quite go as far as they could, it lacks some tension, and the grand finale feels more like an afterthought. There are also some toilet humour gags that don't feel in line with the rest of the film, just a couple of them but they're in there. These things aren't enough to spoil the whole movie, they just drag it down slightly.

Roth will always have his detractors, no matter what genre he tries his hand at, as will Black, so that also provides a lot of people with more reasons to give this a miss. I think it's worth your time though, especially if you have children at just the right age for it (probably between 6-14 being the optimum demographic . . . or anyone with the same mental age as me).

7/10

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Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (2017)

I was, like a lot of people, hesitant (to say the least) when I heard the announcement of a belated sequel to Jumanji. The first film may not be a perfect classic, but it feels that way to many. And updating it to turn it into a videogame? Would it move too far away from the core fun of the first film?

Thankfully, what we have here is a sequel that is easily the equal of the first film, AND it actually follows on in a way that feels surprisingly natural.

The main plot sees four kids ending up in detention together. They find an old videogame called Jumanji, decided to give it a go, and are immediately sucked into the game world. The scared nerd is transformed into a muscular hero (Dwayne Johnson), the "jock" is reduced to a rather weak backpack valet (Kevin Hart), the smart girl becomes a strong and sexy woman who can impressively dance fight (Karen Gillan), and the selfie-obsessed vain girl becomes a chubby male professor/cartographer (Jack Black). There's someone else already stuck in the game (Nick Jonas) and a villain who wants to ensure that Jumanji stays the way it is forever, because he likes it that way (Bobby Cannavale).

Directed by Jake Kasdan, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle shows how best to update a concept without dismissing everything that came beforehand (in movie terms anyway, I never did see any of the animated TV show). It feels organic as we move from the setting of the first movie through to the modern day, and the script, developing an idea from Chris McKenna, packs in a great mix of action, comedy, and the obligatory personal growth (although, admittedly, some of those growth moments feel a bit rushed). There are a number of nods to the first film, some more obvious than others, and everything feels as if real care was taken to create something less lazy and cynical than some other belated sequels/remakes/reboots I could mention.

The cast are all superb. Johnson and Hart are two for two now as a winning central pairing, Gillan shows she can still do the comedy along with the kickass action, and Black is enjoyably over the top as a young girl stuck in the body of a middle-aged man. The lone Jonas brother of the cast does just fine, and Cannavale is an enjoyable villain, pitched perfectly to be a proper menace and scary enough for the kids to be thrilled. Although I won't name them here, the younger cast also do well, bookending the film with their real life moments that give us all of the information we need for the journey they go on through Jumanji.

Some viewers may be a bit disappointed that this stays within the game world, as opposed to the game elements crashing into our world, but the many little details and fresh elements make it a wise decision, rather than just completely rehashing the original.

8/10

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Bonus Review: Sex Tape (2014)

Sex Tape is mildly amusing. The main stars, Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, pretty much guarantee that, thanks to their willingness to help each other look stupid, and a supporting cast, including Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper and Rob Lowe, also helps to at least supply a few chuckles. Unfortunately, the risque plot and set-pieces provide more groans than chuckles, especially when you realise that this is the kid of comedy that thinks it's being fun AND rude, yet seems designed to provoke titters and/or blushes purely from the middle-aged and middle-class. If you have any doubt about that, please pay careful attention whenever you see a clip from the sex tape of the title.

That's the whole plot, by the way. Segel and Diaz decide to spice up their sex life with a bit of recording shenanigans, which proves disastrous when Segel synchs their escapade with a number of iPads that he's giving away as gifts. Yes, these people give away iPads as gifts, even throwing one to the mailman. Segel doesn't realise his major mistake until he receives a cryptic text, and then it's a race to retrieve the iPads and wipe the video from them all. They enlist the help of their friends - Corddry and Kemper - and head off into a long, dark night of the soul.

Written by Segel, Nicholas Stoller and Kate Angelo, Sex Tape could have been a great comedy. The premise is simple, yet effective, and the potential for the big laughs is easy to see. Yet it does nothing to get anywhere near that potential. Instead, it just meanders around, refusing to push things towards any area that may actually, god forbid, offend anyone. This is shocking stuff for those who, to use a musical equivalent, think the Scissor Sisters are the height of melodic anarchy.

Jake Kasdan is happy to direct in the same, safe manner. Everyone seems to be having a good time, or at least all seem pleased with themselves, and he doesn't do anything to interrupt that vibe. Do I sound like this is a pet peeve of mine? Well, that's because it is. Not because there's anything inherently wrong with the actual content here, but because it's all been tweaked and polished to remove it that touch too far from what it could have been, all the while allowing the stars to mug their way through the whole thing as if they're helping to veritably push at the boundaries of common decency and good taste.

Segel and Diaz are decent enough in the lead roles, although both have been better in at least a dozen movies I could think of, just off the top of my head. Corddry and Kemper do better, perhaps due to the fact that their scenes mean they don't really have to pretend to be involved in something edgy and sexy, and Rob Lowe is quite funny as a straight-laced guy who really likes to let his hair down when he can. Jack Black appears for a scene or two, and is enjoyable enough in a standard Jack Black turn, and a young man named Harrison Holzer gets to play an amusing irritant.

All in all, this has too few laughs, too few risque moments, and absolutely no surprises. And that's just not good enough for a film entitled Sex Tape.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Tape-Blu-ray-Jason-Segel/dp/B00LU7JB66/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415390153&sr=8-2&keywords=sex+tape

The Big Year (2011)

Owen Wilson plays Kenny Bostick, the best birder in the world. His big year total stands as a record that looks almost impossible to beat, yet he's obsessed with defending his title. What IS a big year? Well, it's when birders (aka birdwatchers) head out to spot as many different species as possible in one year and then hand in their results to see just where they stand amongst their equally dedicated peers. Bostick may be the man to beat, but Brad Harris (Jack Black) thinks he can do it. As does Stu Preissler (Steve Martin). As do many other people. But how much do you have to sacrifice in a year that could lead to spotting over 700 different types of birds? These three men may find that out as they vie for the top spot.

Directed by David Frankel, and written by Howard Franklin (based on/inspired by a book by Mark Obmascik), The Big Year is one of those films that's hard to hate. The gentle humour works well, there are some nice moments that try to showcase individual birds to show just why the birders often view them as something so worthy of pursuit. Of course, it's so predictable and desperate to please that it's also a film that's hard to love. It just stays in a very safe middle ground.

Owen Wilson turns in another performance almost exactly like most of his performances from the last two decades, but Martin plays it pretty straight and Jack Black is surprisingly restrained in his role, making a decent average Joe that viewers should want to see actually succeed at the one goal he seems to have in his life.

The real pleasure here, however, is in the supporting cast. Rosamund Pike plays the long-suffering partner of Wilson, Rashida Jones is a fellow birder who isn't even aiming for her own big year, but is rather just doing it for the pleasure of doing it, Joel McHale and Kevin Pollak are two men trying to keep Martin focused on his successful company while JoBeth Williams is his supportive wife. Brian Dennehy and Dianne Wiest play Jack Black's parents, and there are small roles for Anthony Anderson, Tim Blake Nelson, Anjelica Huston, Corbin Bernsen and Jim Parsons.

Worth watching if there's nothing else to occupy your time, this is ultimately just a pleasant diversion that allows viewers to observe people who spend their time observing our feathered friends.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Year-Blu-ray-Jack-Black/dp/B004U5BJQ0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378377762&sr=8-2&keywords=the+big+year