Christmas is most definitely a time for films, be they new at the cinema or catching up via one streaming service or another. On the caught-up list then is Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean tale, All is True.

The story looks at the closing part of Shakespeare’s life, after The Globe has burnt down and the bard has retired from writing. The focus is on his return to Stratford and while he has no doubt been a huge success he returns home with regret, not been home when his son dies, the broken relationships with his daughter and wife, his desire to be accepted as part of a higher society that will not accept him, all weight heavily upon him.

We watch as he struggles with and later comes to terms with the reality of his choices and their impacts on his life. It’s a story that takes its time and it did take a while for it to grab my attention, but thanks to two, if not surprisingly, excellent central performances from Brannagh and the imperious Judi Dench, the story increasingly engages and draws you in to his mental turmoil.

It’s nicely shot, well written and played and although may not be one of Brannagh’s best, it takes an interesting journey into the private life of histories greatest play-write, some of the story will be true, much is dramatic construct but to be fair whether All is True doesn’t really matter, it’s an enjoyable tale nonetheless.

When you “reboot” a film you always run the risk of getting it wrong, so when “Welcome to the Jungle” was a big hit the bullet was dodged. Choosing then to make a sequel to a film that didn’t have a clear sequel storyline introduces a whole new set of risks.

Luckily though the risk has more than paid off, “The Next Level” sees our heroes from the first film head back into the game and transformed into Johnson, Black, Hart and the increasingly impressive Karen Gillan but with a twist. The addition of Danny Devito and Danny Glover also gives us a new and entertaining dynamic for our in game characters.

Devito and Glover bring real fun to the film and anyone who’s ever tried to explain a video game to an elderly relative will have enjoyed these characters before! They also bring us the surprisingly emotional climax.

The Next Level catches all the humour and fun of the first film, game type action set pieces that keep it sweeping along at a fairly rapid pace and a likeable central cast that all get the chance to play against character, all bring an entertaining and enjoyable sequel.

If you really want more Jumanji, the film even sets up the potential for another installment! Not sure we need it, but then never thought we needed this one and yet here it is and it’s just as enjoyable as the first.

The Irishman is Martin Scorsese’s 3 1/2 hour film based on the book “I heard you paint houses” that follows the life of Frank Sheeran a Teamster union leader and thought to be heavily involved in suggested links between the mob and the unions.

This is certainly an epic, which allows Scorsese to take his time to tell the story and his excellent ensemble cast lead by De Niro and with Al Pacino and Joe Pesci by his side it provides a mob film dream team, to put that story on screen.

But this isn’t a “traditional” mob or even Scorsese film, what he has crafted is a patient story that explores Sheeran’s actions but more importantly the impacts of them on himself and his family, especially the relationship with his daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin).

It’s that exploration of Sheeran’s choices and actions that makes this an interesting watch and more engaging than many a “wise guy” film.

The performances are as you’d expect from such a cast and although occasionally noticable the de-aging special effects work well enough to be unobtrusive.

The Irishman is a well told and involving story, it is 3 1/2 hours on Netflix so treat it as a mini series if that helps, but it is worth the investment.

Saw this on Thursday morning at a midnight screening but wanted to hold back with a review so not to risk spoilers. But I’ve left it a sensible time now, so here’s my thoughts (this will be spoiler free).

Making the 9th film in a saga that has spanned 42 years would seem a thankless task and no version of this film was going to please everyone, even if it was the best Star Wars film ever made, plenty would still be unhappy.

Now, this is not the best of the 9, however what JJ Abrams has done is bring together a more than passable and enjoyable finale, like Force Awakens he makes this a full on space adventure, but that doesn’t mean it’s wall to wall action from the start, he gives the film time to build as we begin to learn how the story arc for the new (and some old) characters will complete.

The film focuses on the culmination of Rey’s story and brings out of Daisy Ridley her best performance of the three, she carries the weight of the film well with energy, humour and emotion when needed. There are also much fuller stories for Finn and Poe, as well as the completion of Leia’s and a couple of nice cameos, one expected, one less so.

The film does try to fit in a lot by trying to tie together a vast amount of loose ends from across the 9 films. The story telling of the 3 sequels suffers a little from Rian Johnson’s excellent but very different Last Jedi, which gives us 3 separate films that need tying together and it pretty much comes off. Rey’s discovery of who she is leads us to the culmination of the Skywalker story with the final battle between the light and the dark, which I felt was well realised in its simplicity and while one of the criticisms of the film is that it took too many easy options, I’m not sure more difficult choices would have allowed episode 9 to end the story in they way they wanted to.

There has, not surprisingly, been criticism of episode 9, alongside a luke warm critical reception (not unusual for a Star Wars film), but for me, while it’s a long way from perfect, it was an enjoyable and satisfying enough end to a saga that has been a part of my life since I was 6.

Go see if for yourselves and of course may the force be with you…. always.

Last week I watched the fabulous “Knives Out” a homage to the whodunnit. In Motherless Brooklyn we have another modern take on a classic genre, as Edward Norton’s passion project delivers a stylish “gumshoe” detective drama.

This well told, well made, melodic paced drama sees Norton play Lionel Essrog a smart, hardworking private detective who struggles to combat his tourette’s style “affliction”, which for the first 10 minutes feels like it will be distracting, to Norton’s credit becomes a charming quirk. Lionel takes on the case to find the killers of his inspirational father figure which leads him into the world of power obsessed officials running corrupt city departments to deliver their “vision” of change.

The story fizzes along well, although, maybe as expected in a 144 minute film, has a baggy 20 minutes as we head into the final act, Norton’s voiceover evokes memories of classic 50’s detective dramas and the story twists and turns its way to a clever conclusion.

Norton is well supported by a strong cast, especially Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Laura Rose and Alec Bladwin as power driven city official Moses Randolph.

Motherless Brooklyn is a well made, well told story, evoking classic detective drama with a modern take. Norton carries the film well with a super central performance, dust off the trench coat and hat and go check it out

Unlike Knives Out the big reveal on Rian Johnson’s modern whodunnit is coming right at the beginning.. absolutely loved this from start to finish and it is right up there with the very best things I’ve watched this year.

It is indeed a big screen modern take on the most classic of stories the whodunnit and it’s a genre Johnson clearly understands and certainly enjoys and that comes through in every one of its 130 minutes.

A wonderful ensemble cast led by a fantastically enjoyable Daniel Craig, getting to reuse his Logan Lucky Southern US accent, who brings a modern take on the super sleuth (a consulting detective no less), but the show is probably stolen by Ana De Armas as our central character Marta, who keeps you guessing throughout with a smart performance.

The story bounds along at a great pace, with enough twists to keep whodunnit fans interested but also with the wit and fun that such an homage to the genre needs.

All of the twists and the payoff fit together beautifully and, as with any really good sleuthing adventure, when you look back, all the clues to the mystery are in plain site and depending how close you watch will depend when you spot them.

Knives Out for me was a fantastic revival of a classic genre, delivered with real care, attention to detail and a sense of fun, each of the stellar cast delivers exactly the performance you want and it gave me one of my most enjoyable cinema trips of the year.

Dust off the deer stalker and give it a go…