Vue Birmingham

• 2019
• US / China
• 1h 37min
• U

• Directed by: Jill Culton
• Cast: Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin, Michelle Wong

A cute, blue-eyed Yeti is found hiding on the roof of a Shanghai apartment building, and teenager Yi (voiced by Bennett) and her friends Jin (Trainor) and Peng (Tsai) decide to help him get back to the Himalayas. Enjoyable, smartly paced and gorgeously animated; hardly very original, but full of comic relief and heart.

• 71%
• 61%

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• 2019
• UK
• 2h
• 15

• Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh
• Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Piper Perabo

Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerald Butler) evades his own agency as he attempts to find out who framed him for trying to murder the US President.

• 67%
• 45%

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• 2019
• UK
• 1h 36min
• U

• Directed by: Thurop Van Orman
• Cast: Dove Cameron, Awkwafina, Peter Dinklage

When Eagle Island villain Zeta (Jones) starts lobbing ice bombs at Piggy Island, ruler Leonard (Hader) bonds with angry birds (Sudeikis, McBride, Gad) to try and clip her wings. Half-knowing and half-derivative, it’s cheerful but gaudy and relentless and the story isn’t strong enough to support all the half-baked set pieces.

• 64%
• 60%

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• 2019
• India
• 2h 20min

• Directed by: Manav Shah
• Cast: Sonam Bajwa, Mehreen Pirzada

Bollywood romantic drama directed by Manav Shah about an independent and confident woman whose life changes completely after she gets married.

• 77%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 48min
• 15

• Directed by: Deon Taylor
• Cast: Mike Colter, Naomie Harris, Frank Grillo

Alicia (Harris) is a recently qualified police officer returning to New Orleans after serving two tours of duty in the military in Afghanistan; she’s then framed for murder by corrupt narcs. Harris is believably gutsy and isolated and while it’s not exactly subtle, it’s an effective Fugitive-style thriller with a righteous regard for neglected communities.

• 43%

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• 2019
• UK / US
• 1h 28min
• 15

• Directed by: Chris Morris
• Written by: Jesse Armstrong, Chris Morris
• Cast: Marchánt Davis, Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks, Kayvan Novak, Denis O'Hare, Jim Gaffigan

Moses (Davis) is the founder of the Star of Six, an ailing community farm and mission, who refuses to take his psych meds; Kendra (Kendrick) is the FBI agent tasked with making him look like a bona fide terrorist. Well-researched and yet madcap, Morris’ comedy is firmly on the side of the mentally ill, goofball outsider, showing how the ‘war on terror’ became an assault on basic human decency.I.

• 58%
• 70%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 42min
• PG

• Directed by: James Bobin
• Cast: Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Danny Trejo

Dora (Moner) is a teenager who spent her childhood exploring the jungle with her parents (Longoria and Peña), but when her parents go missing, Dora leaves high school to find them. A sweet Spy Kids-style adventure that never serves up anything too scary, complex or upsetting for young viewers; Moner gives a warm and delightful performance and is the main reason to watch.

• 61%
• 63%

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• 2019
• UK
• 2h 2min
• PG

• Directed by: Michael Engler
• Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith

A big screen outing for Downton Abbey and its inhabitants. Directed by Michael Engler.

• 77%
• 64%

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• 2019
• US
• 2h 16min
• 12A

• Directed by: David Leitch
• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Roman Reigns, Eiza Gonzalez, Eddie Marsan, Cliff Curtis, Helen Mirren

Hobbs (Johnson) and Shaw (Statham) reluctantly team up to stop nasty Brixton (Elba) from doing bad things. It should have been a hoot, but while the two leads have proven comedy chops, a sketchy script doesn’t give them enough to do and there’s a general lack of imagination. The tank is half empty on this one.

• 66%
• 60%

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• 2019
• China / US
• 12A

• Directed by: Ang Lee
• Cast: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen

Henry (Smith) is a 51-year-old assassin who develops a conscience, but the powers that be want to retire him; then baddie businessman Varris (Owen) sends a 31-year-old clone of Henry after him. The characters are totally underdeveloped and the effects (include Lee’s favourite high frame rate) make it look cheap. Smith is as watchable as ever, but that’s all.

• 57%
• 38%

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• 1984
• US
• 1h 45min
• 12

• Directed by: Ivan Reitman
• Written by: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
• Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts

Three disgraced parapsychology researchers team up to fight spooks. An efficiently-managed plot, solid jokes, a cast let off the leash – Murray in particular – and thrilling and imaginative effects combine in a masterful balance of respect for the sci-fi genre and mockery of it; sly humour and wide-eyed wonder; star presence (Weaver) and indie self-awareness. A classic.

• 78%
• 71%
• 97%

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• UK
• 1h 3min
• U

• Directed by: Grant Orchard
• Cast: Jasmine Bartholomew, Alexander Armstrong, Poppy Boyes

Episodes of the animated CBeebies show.

• 89%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 47min
• 15

• Directed by: Lorene Scafaria
• Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo, Cardi B

Destiny (Wu) and Ramona (Lopez) are strippers who, with their friends, devise a way of getting more cash out of their clients. Wu gives a sophisticated performance and her dynamic with Lopez pops with convincing intensity, making for a raucous crime story that’s by turns gorgeous, funny and surprisingly moving.

• 66%
• 79%

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• 2019
• US
• 2h 50min
• 15

• Directed by: Andy Muschietti
• Cast: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Skarsgård, Bill Hader

Twenty-seven years after the events of the first film, the town experiences a series of attacks, causing the Losers to reunite. Darker-toned than the first one, it has an impactful story about friendship and buried secrets and if the repetitive CGI lose their impact, there are still surprises in store.

• 69%
• 58%

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• 2019
• US
• 2h 2min
• 15

• Directed by: Todd Phillips
• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro

Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is an unsuccessful clown who wants to be a comedian, but he gradually turns to evil. This dizzying origin story about Batman’s nemesis is like an ode to 1970s New York City; Phoenix is astonishing and Phillips’s grave vision never swerves. Unmissable.

• 89%
• 59%

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• 2019
• UK
• 1h 58min
• 12A

• Directed by: Rupert Goold
• Cast: Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Rufus Sewell

A look at the later life of Judy Garland (Zellweger), as she marries her fifth husband (Wittrock) and performs a five-week run at a London nightclub. Zellweger is captivating as the deeply lonely star, struggling to keep her work commitments, adored but unhappy and wracked with guilt about being away from her children.

• 72%
• 66%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 58min
• PG

• Directed by: Jon Favreau
• Cast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones

The photorealistic version of the beloved Disney story has memorable visuals, impressive set-pieces and adorable yet credible animals, but precisely because they’re so realistic, it’s weird when they speak and even stranger when they sing. All the star voices in the world don’t count when you can’t simulate heart and soul.

• 70%
• 55%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 58min
• PG

• Directed by: Joachim Rønning
• Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Ed Skrein, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michelle Pfeiffer

Sequel to the Disney fantasy starring Angelina Jolie as the evil fairy..

• 71%
• 43%

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• Russia
• U

• Directed by: Oleg Kuzovkov
• Cast: Alina Kukushkina, Boris Kutnevich, Elsie Fisher

Russian animation based on a traditional folk tale.

• 77%

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• 2019
• India

• Directed by: Simerjit Singh
• Cast: Ammy Virk, Wamiqa Gabbi, Nirmal Rishi

The third part of the Nikka Zaildar series, directed by Simerjit Singh. The romantic comedy from Bollywood follows a family whose head is a strict and dominating father and his complete opposite, the reckless and carefree grandson, Nikka.

• 39%

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• 2019
• UK / US
• 1h 52min

• Directed by: Gavin Hood
• Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes

The story of Katharine Gun (Knightley), the GCHQ whistleblower who in 2003 leaked an email containing details of a US eavesdropping operation targeting UN Security Council members concerning the invasion of Iraq. Knightley gives a tightly-wound performance and Hood tells the story with sensationalising it. Possibly one of the most important films of the year.

• 73%
• 63%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 41min
• 18

• Directed by: Adrian Grunberg
• Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Óscar Jaenada

Rambo (Stallone) heads to Mexico to rescue his teenage niece (Monreal) from the cartels. Stallone is even more mumbly incoherent than he was in previous movies. Grunberg delivers a deluge of brutal death and torture scenes, the film’s depiction of Mexicans is frankly Trumpian, and Rambo himself unwittingly comes across as the worst monster of all.

• 67%
• 26%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 35min
• 18

• Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin/Tyler Gillett
• Cast: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien

Grace (Weaving) is all set to wed Alex (O’Brien) when she finds that his eccentric family wants her to play a deadly game of hide and seek. It strikes a neat balance between action, gore and Trading Places-style wealth satire, and Weaving gives a rock-solid turn as the initially bewildered bride who has to overcome her fears.

• 71%
• 64%

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• 2019
• UK
• 1h 26min
• U

• Directed by: Richard Starzak
• Cast: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes

Shaun and his gang of sheep are getting up to mischief that puts them at odds with sensible sheepdog Bitzer; then an alien craft arrives. This dialogue-free pristinely shambolic stop-motion romp is, in its deft way, a crowd-pleaser for everyone, with enough Close Encounters references to keep parents interested.

• 71%

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• 2019
• 2h 14min

• Directed by: Shonali Bose
• Cast: Zaira Wasim, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar

A charming and funny family movie about a couple's 25 years together told by their daughter.

• 66%
• 55%

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• 2019
• US
• 2h 9min
• 12A

• Directed by: Jon Watts
• Cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal

After the events of Endgame, Peter Parker (Holland) is dealing with the loss of his mentor when he and his schoolmates find themselves fighting the Elementals. An enjoyable mix of storming special effects and road trip silliness which manages to work in the believable development in the relationship between Peter and MJ (Zendaya). It returns the fun to the Marvel canon.

• 77%
• 69%

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• 2019
• US
• 2h 8min
• 15

• Directed by: Tim Miller
• Cast: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna, Natalia Reyes, Diego Boneta

Another film in the Terminator franchise. The time-travelling killer robots will, probably, yet again, focus solely on the timelines of Sarah Connor and her son.

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 40min
• U

• Directed by: Josh Cooley
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Joan Cusack, Blake Clark, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Jodi Benson, Michael Keaton, Jeff Pidgeon, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, Jeff Garlin, Laurie Metcalf, Lori Alan

Woody (Tom Hanks) joins new owner Bonnie at kindergarten where he finds a new purpose in protecting her improvised toy Forky (Hale). Pixar manages to further the story with fine new characters and a satisfyingly teary conclusion, for a fine last chapter in the saga.

• 80%
• 84%

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• 2019
• China / Canada / US
• 1h 27min

• Directed by: Kelly Asbury
• Cast: Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monáe

Moxy (Clarkson) is a sock puppet who lives in Uglyville, who travels to the Institute of Perfection to be trained by Lou (Jonas) for introduction to the real world. With a cast largely of music stars phoning in their voice performances, it tries too hard to be cute and the result is a strain.

• 48%
• 39%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 39min
• 15

• Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
• Cast: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson

A decade since we last met them, it's time to catch up with Columbus, Tallahasse, Wichita, and Little Rock.

• 73%
• 56%

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