Odeon Chelmsford

• 2018
• US

• Directed by: Drew Goddard
• Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm

Four guests (Bridges, Hamm, Erivo, Johnson) check into a Lake Tahoe guest house for different reasons; but there’s a bag of stolen money under the floorboards. This 60s-set pulp thriller may not be as genre-bending as Goddard’s earlier The Cabin in the Woods, but it’s an atmospheric and airtight noir.

• 75%
• 60%

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• 2018
• UK/USA
• 1h 31min

• Directed by: Bryan Singer
• Cast: Joseph Mazzello, Rami Malek, Mike Myers

The story of the rise to fame of one of the most legendary bands of all time: Queen.

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 44min
• PG

• Directed by: Marc Forster
• Cast: Hayley Atwell, Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings

Christopher Robin (McGregor) is a workaholic who neglects his family, until he re-encounters his childhood toys. Whimsical and unoriginal back-to-childhood tale, not saved by McGregor’s dexterity or Cummings’s lovely voice work as Pooh.

• 77%
• 60%

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• 2018
• US
• 2h 18min
• 12A

• Directed by: Damien Chazelle
• Cast: Ryan Gosling, Corey Stoll, Claire Foy

Biopic of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong (Gosling), with subtle and unshowy performances from Gosling and from Foy as his no-BS wife Jan. An intimate and moving character drama with raw and visceral space-peril thrills and a hero whose fame rests on modesty, curiosity and problem-solving purposefulness.

• 77%
• 84%

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• Directed by: Michael Mayer
• Written by: Bob Merrill (lyrics), Jule Styne (music), Isobel Lennart

Natasha J Barnes and Sheridan Smith star in this new adaptation of Funny Girl, which tells the story of the life and career of Broadway star, film actress and comedian Fanny Brice. The musical brought global fame to Barbra Streisand 50 years ago and was originally nominated for eight Tony Awards.

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 30min
• PG

• Directed by: Ari Sandel
• Cast: Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell, Ken Jeong, Jack Black

Kathy (McLendon-Covey) is an exasperated single mother trying to keep her unruly children on the straight and narrow, but then they discover evil ventriloquist’s dummy Slappy (Black). A tediously bland attempt at family horror, with join-the-dots storytelling and only a few perky performances and special effects to recommend it.

• 63%
• 54%

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• 1978
• US
• 1h 31min
• 18

• Directed by: John Carpenter
• Written by: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
• Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, PJ Soles, Nancy Loomis

The first and best of the series – and one of the best of all slasher movies. Escaped psycho Michael Myers returns to the town where he killed his sister several years before and picks up where he left off with remarkable ease. Pleasence is the obsessive psychiatrist on his trail, convinced he is to blame for the escape. A scary reminder of what a blood-soaked genre could achieve if only it recovered from sequelitis.

• 78%
• 78%
• 93%

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• 2018
• US
• 2h 12min
• 12A

• Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
• Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby

Adaptation of the YA novel by Angie Thomas, inspired by the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. Starr (Amandla Stenberg) witnesses the shooting of her best friend by a police officer, and must stand up for what she believes in.

• 59%
• 82%

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 44min
• PG

• Directed by: Eli Roth
• Cast: Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Owen Vaccaro

Lewis (Vaccaro) is an orphan sent to live with his mysterious uncle Jonathan (Black). Roth takes a break from gore to turn this children’s book into family fare, and it’s atmospheric, but lacks charm; still, Black is great casting and the themes of grief and bravery are handled well.

• 63%
• 57%

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• 2018
• US/China

• Directed by: Donovan Marsh
• Cast: Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Michael Nyqvist

Submarine captain Joe Glass (Butler) leads a mission to rescue the Russian president from his own deranged defence minister and so avert WWIII. Gung-ho action, cartoonish politics, a hackneyed story and toe-curling dialogue make for a bland and brainless dud. It may be about subs, but it’s a real floater.

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• 2018
• UK/France
• 1h 28min
• PG

• Directed by: David Kerr
• Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller, Emma Thompson

Johnny English (Atkinson) is called back into action after a cyberattack reveals the identities of British secret agents. The cast are game, but the dialogue lacks snap and the direction and editing are atrocious. The lack of laughs are all the more infuriating because it’s easy to see how it could have been funnier.

• 66%
• 35%

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• 2018
• US
• 2h 8min
• 12A

• Directed by: JA Bayona
• Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, B. D. Wong, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall

Raptor wrangler Owen (Pratt) and his ex, Claire (Howard) return to Isla Nublar to rescue the dinosaurs from an impending volcanic eruption. Lots of ideas and some earnest lessons about conservation can’t hide that the franchise is running out of oomph, but it’s still fun.

• 63%
• 51%

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• 2018
• UK

• Directed by: James Marsh
• Cast: Michael Caine, Charlie Cox, Michael Gambon

Brian (Caine) is an octogenarian gangster who puts together a team of old codgers to rob the Hatton Garden diamond vaults. The biggest and flashiest of the four versions so far of this story has lots of star power but a boring script, dislikeable characters and colourless direction. Pointless and disappointing.

• 60%

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• 2018
• Poland

• Directed by: Wojciech Smarzowski
• Cast: Arkadiusz Jakubik, Robert Wieckiewicz, Jacek Braciak

Three Catholic priests survive a tragedy, and come together on the anniversary of their escape to celebrate.

• 78%

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 51min
• 12A

• Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee
• Cast: Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Brooke Butler

Teddy (Hart) has to go back to school to get his GED, only to run up against teacher Carrie (Haddish). Fitfully amusing comedy which pulls too many punches and shows evidence of having been heavily watered-down in post-production; Haddish isn’t given nearly enough to do and it’s bland and lacking coherence.

• 55%
• 43%

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 41min
• 15

• Directed by: Aneesh Chaganty
• Cast: John Cho, Debra Messing, Michelle La

David (Cho) is mourning the loss of his wife, but when his daughter (La) disappears, he has to look for her with resourceful cop Rosemary (Messing). A childish whodunnit with a ridiculously contrived story, concluding with a convoluted solution that’s farcical to anyone with a basic knowledge of police work.

• 79%
• 71%

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• 2016
• US
• 1h 31min
• U

• Directed by: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney
• Written by: Ken Daurio, Brian Lynch
• Cast: Louis CK, Eric Stonestreet, Ellie Kemper, Jenny Slate

Little Max (Louis CK) is a small dog who gets very lonely when his beloved human Katie (Kemper) leaves each day. But then she brings home a huge, shaggy rescue mutt (Stonestreet) and hijinks ensue. Undeniably derivative but cute and energetic comedy sustained by its fine voice cast.

• 65%
• 61%
• 74%

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 36min
• U

• Directed by: Karey Kirkpatrick, Jason Reisig
• Cast: Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Danny DeVito, Gina Rodriguez, Yara Shahidi, Ely Henry, Jimmy Tatro

Migo (Tatum) is a bigfoot who lives in an isolated community of his fellow creatures, who have heard rumours of the mythical ‘smallfoots’—humans. The songs are fun and drive the story forward, and child-pleasing slapstick is ably mixed with a thoughtful consideration of how a community can deal with challenges to its basic assumptions.

• 68%
• 60%

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• 2018
• US
• 2h 15min
• 15

• Directed by: Bradley Cooper
• Cast: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott

Jackson (Cooper) is a famous musician, his best years behind him, who discovers young singer Ally (Gaga) in a bar one night. What could have been yet another remake is a revelation: Gaga sings up a storm and is nuanced and convincing, but Cooper is extraordinary as co-writer, producer, director and star. Smart, funny and heartbreaking.

• 84%
• 88%

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• 2018
• US
• 1h 52min
• 15

• Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
• Cast: Tom Hardy, Jenny Slate, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Woody Harrelson

Eddie (Hardy) is a reporter trying to expose the nefarious activities of dodgy billionaire Carlton Blake (Ahmed) when he’s grabbed by an alien symbiote that gives him powers. Flailing about between genres, this never finds its tone and Hardy turns in a bizarrely shifty performance. A muddle.

• 71%
• 35%

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