Some film reviews

Star system

* - hated it. Resented the time spent seeing it

** - mediocre. Wouldn't see again

*** - good film to see on TV. Wouldn't spend money on it.

****- enjoyable film with some flaws

***** - would recommend everyone to go see this

Kung Fu Panda 3 - **** (4)

Po is reunited with his real father. Unfortunately, the evil Kai has returned from the spirit world and Po must travel with his father to a secret panda village in order to learn the secret of chi, the only means of defeating Kai and saving the world.

The third film in a franchise is always tricky. The original conflict has been resolved in the first film, any loose ends tied up in the second, and the third is left looking for something to do and trying to avoid destroying all of the character development set up previously.

Surprisingly, then, Kung Fu Panda 3's issue is not too little content but too much. Its basic premise, the reuniting of Po with his real father and the resulting conflict with his adopted father, is meaty enough on its own terms. Unfortunately, the writers then try to layer on a villain to be defeated, a sub-plot about Po having to learn how to teach kung-fu, a barely used plot about Po having to defeat his mind controlled friends and a barely even there plot about a panda girl that likes Po (seriously, you'd be forgiven for not even noticing this one existing). As a result, none of the elements get the screen time they deserve and the whole film feels rushed.

That said, this is only a poor film in comparison to its predecessors. It's perfectly enjoyable, and the jokes are as funny as ever. It's just a shame that it doesn't retain quite the same magic.

Birdman - ***** (5)

Riggan Thompson, an actor who used to play a superhero, is trying to swap his fame for credibility by mounting an ambitious Broadway play. His sanity seems strained by the experience, however, and he is literally haunted by his Hollywood past – the mocking and taunting Birdman who he used to be.

I took some time to see this film and so had heard too much praise beforehand. Too much because it's hard for anything to live up to its own hype – if it's as good as they say then it merely meets expectations, and if not then it's a disappointment. I'm glad to say, then, that the brilliance of Birdman cannot be put into words. It manages to combine art house surrealism with Hollywood bombast in a way that perfectly captures the nature of Riggan's struggle with the two sides of his profession. The drum based sound track emphasises the feeling that we're watching a play, but, unlike the Dogme style of film-making, it's a story that could only be told via film, fully embracing its medium and the stylistic tricks that can be used for its storytelling.

And there is a story. Mostly the struggle of Riggan to realise his ambition, but also his relationship with his daughter, the desperate neediness of his leading actress, and the complex role played by Ed Norton's character as both Riggan's biggest threat and his greatest supporter.

This is a film I could watch again and again. If only to puzzle out its brilliantly ambiguous ending.

Jurassic World - *** (3)

22 years on, the most dangerous theme park in the world is still open and still taking in paying guests. Guess what. The dinosaurs get loose and everyone's in danger. Again.

Okay, so I may have given it away in the summary, but this is not a movie you will be seeking out again and again. Then again, you get what you pay for and this summer blockbuster is a good mindless action movie, a perfect way of whiling away a couple of hours without having to think too much. There are a few fun digs thrown in at Hollywood's need to reinvent everything bigger, better and with more explosions but, by and large, it's the same plot as the previous movies but with a different set of slap, slap, kiss love interests and a different pair of innocents in danger.

Simple verdict: watch it on a plane when you've got nothing better to do.

The Big Short - ***** (5)

Dramatisation of the events leading up to the sub-prime mortgage crash, and the financial experts who saw it coming.

This is a fun movie. It's also deeply disturbing. Understanding right from the start that the details of financial markets can be boring, the movie deals with this by mixing the character driven drama with breaking the fourth wall asides to camera, and using attractive celebrities to explain the complexities of the mathematics and financial wranglings involved. The characters are also pretty engaging, and you find you really care about their fight to expose the fraud at the heart of the crash, even if ultimately this results in them getting richer and the rest of us getting poorer.

Ultimately, though, this is a morality tale, and the initially quirky feel of the film soon gives way to a very thoughtful take on what really drives people. It also leaves us with some interesting thoughts on what has changed since the crash and how close we are to seeing it all happening again.