FILM: Swallows and Amazons (dir: Philippa Lowthorpe, 2016)

"We need to sail closer to the wind."

To be fair, there is little that can be done with the somewhat lightweight but idealised 1930s-fixed setting of the original pre-Second-World-War novel, so what we have here is a very familiar but less sunny and handsomely-mounted remake of the 1974 version with an unconvincingly beefed-up sub-plot about spies and a livelier set-piece ending.  Kelly Macdonald, Rafe Spall, Andrew Scott and Jessica Hynes are all fine in the lead adult roles but have little to do, and apart from a few good moments by Dane Hughes as the older brother John, the children's performances veer between adequate and painful.   The screenplay holds together well thematically (family, absent fathers, coming-of-age, the oncoming conflict) and the scenery is used to maximum big-screen effect, but this 2016 incarnation is quite a languorous if harmless telling of a slight and dated tale. 

FILM: Nine Lives (dir: Barry Sonnenfeld, 2016)

"Ironically, I could really use a mouse right now...."

Even the powerhouse trio of Barry Sonnenfeld directing Kevin Spacey and Christopher Walken has a very hard time selling this movie, which is little more than a generic body-swap-type story.  Occasionally, flashes of Sonnenfeld's quirky style emerge, but overall Spacey is too sardonic for the clearly-intended younger audience, and the comedic/dramatic potential of a possible suicide, corporate takeover and switching off a life-support machine all in the third act is hardly endearing for the little ones.  Everyone tries reasonably with meagre material that trundles along to its inevitable conclusion, although there are some humorous moments, but ultimately this film has the wit and depth of a cute-cat YouTube video - with which this film indeed starts.

FILM: David Brent - Life On The Road (dir: Ricky Gervais, 2016)

"Lesson learned: be what you are."

Like the original mould-breaking TV show of The Office, this long-rumoured follow-up will be divisive, delighting fans who 'get it' and proving painfully unfunny to viewers who do not.  The movie cleverly updates the fly-on-the-wall look at the modern workplace with an even less tolerant and more mean-spirited office than Brent's old stamping ground, but then takes us on the ill-fated, self-funded 'tour' that manages to plumb even greater depths of cringeworthy embarrassment and provides many awkward laughs along the way (his song for the disabled is extraordinary), as Brent becomes increasingly desperate for the attention of a record company and even of his own band members.  It is a shame that more time is not given to banter between Gervais and Doc Brown (Brent's band Foregone Conclusion's rapper) as they make a terrific on-screen pairing.  The style, writing and performances are consistently strong across the movie, and as ever, Gervais finds the humanity of these people with the surprisingly heartfelt closing scenes, making this resurrection enterprise worthwhile, effective and enjoyable.

FILM: Lights Out (dir: David F. Sandberg, 2016)

"Good luck with that one, buddy!"

This relatively simple idea is an effective expansion of Sandberg's own (very) short film.  With a purposeful focus on a core family group and practical effects, Lights Out proves to be neatly constructed, strongly-performed and certainly maintains interest throughout its compact (81 minutes) running time.  The unpleasantly-possessive spirit brings a real sense of malevolence into play (although the peculiar backstory does not convince), especially as the central conceit means she can appear anywhere there is darkness, and the ending is unusually harsh and uncompromising.  Whilst hardly terrifying, Lights Out is nevertheless a generally well-executed and interesting thriller.

FILM: Nerve (dirs: Henry Joost and Arial Schulman, 2016)

"It's fine. Certainly no surprise."

As surmised from the trailer, Nerve is 13: Game Of Death for the iPhone generation with a bit of The Hunger Games thrown in.  Whilst the narrative grinds on in a fairly predictable manner, the film itself is very well made and commands attention, with gorgeous city/night visuals, an unusually strong cool indie/electronic soundtrack and (for the most part) a tight screenplay that keeps moving.  Roberts and Franco play the leads well and work effectively together on-screen (if a little old for the roles), with nice work by Miles Heizer and Emily Meade in secondary roles as Roberts' best friends.  Although let down by a rushed and gutless ending, which also hammers home the film's key messages in a less than subtle manner, Nerve is a stylish and well-made - if somewhat slight - film.

FILM: Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates (dir: Jake Szymanski, 2016)

"I am so dumb."

Doing little more than offered by the trailer, Mike And Dave... is yet another underpowered 'raunchy' comedy, for which the corpsing-laden outtakes played in the end credits are mostly the funniest aspect of the movie.  The scenarios are predictable, the writing thin, with swearing and patchily-successful improvisation desperately replacing wit.  Aubrey Plaza powers through this movie and completely owns it, Adam Devine mostly tries too hard and strains to convince, and Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron do what they do reliably and mostly effectively (and this movie contains an even more-contrived-than-usual reason for Efron to remove his shirt).  Mike And Dave... is what it is, it plays to its target audience adequately, and it will come and go without leaving much of an impression.

FILM: Pete's Dragon (2016) (dir: David Lowery, 2016)

"What's the matter, guys?  Ain't you seen a dragon before?"

Very loosely inspired by the 70s original, Disney's latest updating of its back-catalogue wrings a contemporary tale out of the material but is a 'proper' children's film that works very well.  From its mournfully elegiac opening to the heart-tugging ending, this is in many ways a classic Disney tale of story-telling, family and friendship with a clear environmental message.  Cleverly positioned by the narrative, the largely non-threatening furry small-scale dragon is effectively the orphaned Pete's puppy and is mostly very well realised by CGI  in this live-action film.  Daniel Hart's score goes straight for the emotional jugular, the very rural settings are lushly filmed, and the lead adult cast (Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford and to a lesser extent Karl Urban and Wes Bentley) play well with careful sincerity and warmth.  Pete's Dragon 2016-style proves to be a surprisingly enjoyable enterprise.

FILM: Finding Dory 3D (dir: Andrew Stanton, 2016)

"I like sand.  Sand is squidgy."

Finding Nemo still stands up on re-viewing as a perfectly-formed, complete and rightly well-loved movie from Pixar's golden streak, so to revisit that success thirteen years later might have seemed questionable, but the result is a delight.  Finding Dory is a beautifully-written, gorgeously-realised and smart comfort blanket of a film, that fits seamlessly with the original film but offers great new creatures and some charming ideas along the way.  By focussing on Dory's story and piecing together her gradually-emerging memories of her backstory, her arc and journey through the film become compelling and immensely sympathetic.  Finding Dory is a very worthy successor to the first film and is hugely enjoyable throughout in its own right.

FILM: Suicide Squad 3D 4DX (dir: David Ayer, 2016)

 "They warned me about you."

There are evident tensions in Suicide Squad - particularly the rating/audience being targeted, lack of consistent tone, comic-strip stylings jostling with  blockbuster tropes, and the path to the theatrically-released version - which give rise to mixed results overall.  Whilst not as damaged as last year's Fantastic 4, this compromised alleged cut-and-shut product of Ayer's vision and a hasty studio cut gives rise to uneven use of narrative, pacing and deployment of characters.  Marvel's Avengers movies had the clear benefit of A-List superheroes and solo films to lay the groundwork and introductions; Suicide Squad is saddled with having to (languorously) introduce the characters (which are mostly at best DC's B- and C-list) and not develop them much thereafter.  Nevertheless, the movie has a cracking cast - Hernandez, Smith and the ever-wonderful Robbie are stand-outs - who do their best even when the material remains thin, Delevingne's villain is played well but is unformed and underdeveloped, and for all the reported character work Jared Leto invested in his incarnation of Joker, his take is very interesting but little seen in this movie (like the briefly-used Batfleck, perhaps being saved for the Dark Knight's next outing?).    To cap it all, this is another movie set in gloomy rain-filled night: this movie shows some good character work but mostly lacks the fizzing dialogue, brightness and zip that it deserved.