Film Review No. 50 The Lion King (PG)

Strong Points:
The photorealistic graphics are incredible
Some new jokes and altered lines work well...
A huge technical achievement
The songs and story still contain the magic
Timon and Pumbaa lift the film up to new heights, with their animal friends
Singing was great from all
Subverted expectations
Little extra scenes filling in the transitions were great and didn't slow the pace down

Weak Points:
...Although some lines were oddly removed
Some of the new song additions don't really live up to the originals
Animals aren't anthropomorphised, so there isn't much emotion around the eyes
Photorealism removed the ability of animation to have clever, non-realistic ways to show a shot

Some minor spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 49 Pokémon Detective Pikachu (PG)

Strong Points:
Brilliant designs for the Pokémon
Detailed animation and world-building
Ryan Reynolds is brilliant as Pikachu
Funny
Use of more than the first 151 Pokémon
Small details show the seriousness the filmmakers had with the film
Doesn’t push for a franchise
Some twists and turns I didn’t guess
A mostly well-connected screenplay combining drama, meta-comedy and cheese...

Weak Points:
Some cliché or stilted dialogue
Not a lot of Pokémon battles
...Sometimes crosses the line between knowingly cheesy and cringe-inducing
Most of the human cast doesn’t get a lot to do
Opening minutes crammed a lot of exposition and explanation into itself
Could have done with the classic Pokémon narrator

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 48 Tolkien (12+)

Strong Points:
Great, confident acting from the cast, young and old
Confidence in the audience to have references to Tolkien’s work in the background to find as well as in the foreground
Great cinematography
Nice production design
Focussed on different areas of Tolkien’s life than you might expect
Good, subtle but apparent score
The right amount of fantasy

Weak Points:
The opening ‘montage’/set up didn’t engross me
Slightly ‘by the numbers’
A lot of information was passed on all at once
Pacing issues

Note: as I only have a passing knowledge of Tolkien’s life, I won’t be commenting on any potential historical inaccuracies (I’ll leave that for the comments). However, remember this isn’t a documentary, it’s a dramatic biopic and should be treated as such.

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 47 The Favourite (15+)

Strong Points:
Great production design
Interesting camera shots
Good acting from all
Great casting
Some bits of humour
Original story
Characters constantly change status, including in the minds of the audience
Lots of subtext in dialogue

Weak Points:
Some odd camera shots
Some odd plot choices
Gratuitous with language and sex

Some spoilers below:

Film Review No. 46 A Star Is Born (15+)

Strong Points:
Great acting from all
Brilliant songs with variety
Confident direction
Character's backstories slowly being unveiled
Funny
The 'inevitability but surprise' of the ending
Great concert feels
The dog/cloud/ball of fluff

Weak Points:
The Southern drawl was sometimes impossible to decode
Using real-life award shows for fictional people feels odd
They sort of throw you into the beginning

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 45 Bohemian Rhapsody (12+)

Strong Points:
Outstanding performance by Rami Malek
Great selection of hits - more than you can count
Performance feel for the concerts
Great costumes
Good supporting cast
Very strong second half
Some outstanding scenes...
Some dramatic irony helped to make comedy...
Wayne's World joke and cameo

Weak Points:
Odd pacing
...and some mediocre ones
Some of the hair and makeup seemed cheap
Little development for characters besides Freddie
...but could also come across as patronising
Emotional pacing
The backing score was poor in comparison to the songs

Some spoilers ahead:

Note: I haven't judged the film on any historical accuracy as I, myself, don't know enough about Queen and Freddie Mercury to pass judgement on this. However, if you were expecting a documentary, perhaps look elsewhere.

Film Review No. 44 Christopher Robin (PG)

Strong Points:
Amazing CGI
A great message
Funny
Some great bits of cinematography
Ewan McGregor plays Christopher Robin excellently
Inspired plenty of more games to play
Pooh's way of speaking
Christopher Robin's neighbour
Great chunks of nostalgia
Little bits of traditional animation
Classic songs make a reappearance

Weak Points:
Some of the animals are left out of most of the film
Christopher Robin's neighbour
The film sometimes relies on nostalgia too much, including with the time period - the entire film feels like a memory
Some of the darker elements

Warning: spoilers ahead

Film Review No. 43 Ant-Man and The Wasp (12+)

Strong Points:

More fun and interesting uses of the Pym Particle powers

A great script

Some brilliant one-liners

Interesting villain powers

More Luis lip-syncing

A better look at the Quantum Realm

Some great costumes

Mid-credit scene

Explains the repercussions of Captain America: Civil War and why Ant-Man wasn’t in Infinity War

Paul Rudd as Michelle Pfeiffer

A nice pallet-cleanser after Infinity War

Weak Points:

Felt like a filler episode before Avengers 4

Very quick pacing – because it has to take place in the same time-frame as Infinity War

Perhaps not to do with Ant-Man and The Wasp enough to justify the title

Some comedic breaks in tension fell flat

Spoiler warning for Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War

Film Review No. 42 The Incredibles 2 (PG)

Strong Points:
One of the funniest Pixar movies
The family life details are spot on...
Jack-Jack
Great voice acting from all
Stylish action sequences
Incredibly detailed animation and graphics
Great score
Edna's scene

Weak Points:
Never stops and takes a breath
The villain isn't quite Syndrome
The other heroes aren't really explored
...But the superhero sequences can't quite live up to them
Has some ideas (especially in the monologue) that aren't explored fully
Void's character model seemed off

Nitpick:
Some of the greatest scenes were too short and spoiled in the trailers

Spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 41 Ocean's Eight (12+)

Strong Points:
Entertaining and humorous throughout
Tongue-in-cheek...
Didn't rely on raunchy or over the top jokes as many films do when trying to show 'real female characters'
Clever heists
Multiple twists
Some nice references to the previous trilogy...
Low stakes make for an entertaining popcorn flick...

Weak Points:
...sometimes too much so
Slightly too long
James Corden's role wasn't needed
...But was it really needed?
...albeit a forgettable one
Some characters could have had larger, more fleshed out roles

Spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 40 Solo: A Star Wars Story (12+)

Strong Points:
Likeable characters
Easter eggs
Brilliant special effects
Extreme wide shots and almost painting-like backdrops
Great acting by all, especially Paul Bettany and Alden Ehrenreich
Some good laughs
Cameos
Tense action sequences and dialogue
Subtle score references and remixes

Weak Points:
Very busy on screen at the beginning turns an action scene into a swirl of colour
Emotions didn't always continue as you'd believe
Some themes weren't subtle, some too much so
Some characters should have been in the film more

Nit-pick:
Prequels never really allow you to invest in characters who you know must meet their end or disappear in the film to allow the canon to work

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 39 Avengers: Infinity War (12+)

Strong Points:
One of the best Marvel scripts
Balances humour and drama
Great acting from all
Humanising Thanos
The ending
Slick battle sequences
Great cinematography
Superb CGI
Successfully balances cast of characters
New interactions between well-known characters
Doesn't get bogged down
Risk-taking

Weak Points:
Some sound issues - missing one-liners etc.
Some romantic pairings suffered from pacing issues
Other villains don't have the impact - should have been introduced before hand
Mark Ruffalo in the Hulk Buster Armour had some visual effects tearing

Spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 38 Lady Bird (15+)

Strong Points:
Weaving plot points into general conversation
Superb acting all round
Great attention to detail
Funny and dramatic at the same time
Little theatre references
Grainy film style
Likeable characters
Excellent pacing

Weak Points:
Takes a while to find a plot
Some characters deserved more time

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 37 Black Panther (12+)

Strong Points:
A refreshing new type of Marvel movie
The gadgets
Colour palette - etheral
Great acting from all
Told its own story outside of political and cultural pressures...
...Although treats them with sensitivity as well
The right amount of humour
Wide open fight scenes and small, intimate duels
No CGI army to fight
Impressive CGI
Twists and turns

Weak Points:
Some of Michael B Jordan's lines fell flat
Took me a while to remember the opening was set in the past
Did they fight to kill sometimes?

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 36 The Martian (12+)

Strong Points:
Great acting from all
Realism
Use of music
Simplified enough for science to not be written off as 'mumbo-jumbo'
Tense
Found yourself rooting for the character
Atmosphere of happiness and hope

Weak Points:
Some weak areas in CGI
Could be seen as predictable
Takes a short time to find its feet
Supporting characters were slightly one-dimensional

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 35 The Greatest Showman (PG)

Strong Points:
Awesome songs - high energy, powerful and with meaning
Great choreography
Made me want to clap and stand-up at the end of songs
Some twists and turns I didn't guess
Great parallels between two groups
The critic
Good acting all around
Some lovely wide shots
The editing
Understands the effect of acting

Weak Points:
Some slight pacing issues at the beginning
Some jumps in relationships - you understand but it's still slightly off
Not too sure about Queen Victoria

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 34 Star Wars: The Last Jedi (12+)

Strong Points:
Subverting the Star Wars tropes...
...Although still definitely Star Wars
Amazing CGI
Great acting from all
Back to puppets for the creatures
Porgs
Set piece after set piece
Final battle
Visual imagery
Opening battle's tension
Some returning faces
Risk taking
Benicio Del Toro's character
Andy Serkis's character
Tense throughout
The film shows a difference in style to T:FA but is still noticeably Star Wars
Focus on other characters
A conversation in two halves
Transitions between scenes

Weak Points:
A shouty start
Some odd bits of film (either too real or CGI)
Sometimes visual representations were questionable
Not sure if all the comedy will hold up
Death count was sometimes overly large

No spoiler review:
Go see it. Even if you don't really know about Star Wars, go see it. You won't regret it

Spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 33 Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!

Strong Points:
References to the original series - with slight adjustments
New companions
Good animation
A noticeable score
Risks are taken with the story
Battles...
Incorporating the new Pokémon into the old series
Larger scale than the original series
The dream sequence
Sorrel's backstory

Weak Points:
Pikachu speaking
An odd atmosphere
...Except for missing the final battle
Team Rocket could have been in it more
The dream sequence
Marshadow felt tacked on - didn't really understand his allegiances
Verity's backstory needed to be more fleshed out

Some spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 32 Thor: Ragnarok (12+)

Strong Points:
Great comedic moments
Amazing special effects
Superb fight scenes
Korg
Ties up a load of loose plot threads
Back-references galor
Sets up for Infinity War
The Valkyrie
Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster
Hulk’s Toddler-esque speech
Anthony Hopkins as "Loki"
Chris Hemsworth has been allowed some freedom
Luke Hemsworth and Matt Damon’s cameo
Thor’s lighting powers
Dr. Strange

Weak Points:
Some of the jokes are only going to be funny once or twice - rewatch-ers will miss the tension
Lack of tension due to continuous wisecracks
The whole ‘Hulk being all powerful’ scenario is becoming a bit unbelievable as he keeps losing
Are we supporting Loki now or...?
Where’s Jane Foster (and, for that matter, Lady Sif)?
The Warriors Three's end

Spoilers ahead:

Film Review No. 31 The Meyerowitz Stories (15+)

Strong Points:
Strong ensemble cast
Involving story
Balances drama and comedy nicely...
Nice cameos
Interesting colour correction and filters
Sharp, stilted dialogue works - two conversations are happening at once
Constant back referencing to past conversations really involves the audience
Great uses of music
Use of sharp cuts brings you out of story to focus on another one
Surprisingly emotional by the end

Weak Points:
Slightly too long
...Although sometimes goes too far in trying to get to either end of the spectrum
Emma Thompson's character is underused

Some spoilers ahead: