By Kurt Jensen Although its plot centres on a family of friendly witches, the romantic drama Practical Magic 2 (Warner Bros.) involves no advocacy for the dark arts. They simply exist as part of the fanciful premise. Instead, the film's appeal, like that of its 1998 predecessor, is meant to lie in its portrayal of strong female bonding amid adversity. One hint that the occult element is ...

By Kurt Jensen As its title suggests, the comedy Coyote vs. Acme (Ketchup Entertainment), which blends live action with animation, concerns a legal case. Namely, a tort suit brought by Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote against the Acme Corporation alleging that the company has repeatedly sold him dangerously defective products. Adapted from Ian Frazier’s eponymous 1990 article in The...

By John Mulderig There's not much cinematic bounty to be derived from Mutiny (Lionsgate). A star vehicle for the ever-brooding Jason Statham, director Jean-François Richet's action flick is dreary from the start and eventually deteriorates into an explicitly revenge-driven bloodbath. To unravel the conspiracy that led to the gunning down of his beloved employer, Thai shipping magnate Tib...

Even before their bizarrely dangerous situation arises, life for the Platts is not exactly idyllic.

By John Mulderig Peter Parker and his titular alter ego (Tom Holland) face challenges both emotional and physical in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony), an engaging extension of the long-lived franchise. While the film’s underlying values are sound, however, an excess of vulgar dialogue makes it questionable fare even for older teens. Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is pictured in...

The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Photo: Prime Video/5&2 Studios. The official teaser for Season Six of the global hit TV series The Chosen has been released, offering a first glimpse of the season ahead that premieres on 15 November on Prime Video. Three episodes will be released at launch with ne...

By John Mulderig Place one of Western civilisation's foundational texts in the hands of one of the entertainment industry's greatest living auteurs and the results are likely to be impressive. And so it proves with The Odyssey (Universal), writer-director Christopher Nolan's lavish and absorbing adaptation of Homer's epic poem. While taking some liberties with his source material, Nolan ...

By John Mulderig Set primarily in the Hollywood of the 1920s, the delightful, animated comedy Minions & Monsters (Universal) is at once director and co-writer Pierre Coffin's paean to and satire of early Tinseltown. Humorous versions of classic movie scenes abound, all recreated in the key of silly. But even those with little knowledge of cinema history can enjoy this romp through th...

By John Mulderig Why be satisfied with an animated success when a live-action re-working of the same tale might also be a hit at the box office? Catherine Laga'aia stars as Moana in a scene from the movie ‘Moana.’ Photo: OSV News/Disney. That's a question that seems to be on the minds of the folks at the Mouse House these days, and so, after several other examples in recent years, we ...

The Duttons were always going to run out of quiet. Dutton Ranch, the fifth series to grow out of Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone, wastes no time proving it: a wildfire tears through Beth and Rip's hard-won Montana spread before the opening credits, and within two episodes they have gambled everything on a cattle ranch in South Texas. The series began on Paramount+ on 15 May and streamed it...