Mini Review - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (out Sep 29) has a great cast and some cool ingredients but it just doesn't come together. The storyline is rushed with unexplained gaps in between certain events. Asa Butterfield is also unconvincing in the lead role. The dialogue is just so wooden. Grade: C+.

Mini Review - The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven (out Sep 29) is far from perfect but in a time when westerns are few and far between, it provides a nice throwback to a forgotten genre. Peter Sarsgaard plays the horrid villain and is the pick of the cast. A shame the heroes aren't more interesting and charismatic. Grade: B.

Mini Review - Storks

Storks (out Sep 22) is the tale of a bird looking to become boss of a leading shipping company but finds this efforts thwarted by a clumsy human. The film is overly complex in places (not sure how much kids will understand) but there are a few keynote scenes (a silent fight for example) that earn big points. Grade: B.

Mini Review - Snowden

Snowden (out Sep 22) can't surpass the brilliant 2014 documentary Citizenfour but it's still an interesting, slightly fictionalised telling of the Edward Snowden story. It encapsulates much into its 134 minute running time and will add to the growing debate about the reach of government, rightly or wrongly, into our lives. Grade: A-.

Mini Review - Blair Witch

Blair Witch (out Sep 15) is a dull sequel to the 1999 original. The lead up is too long, you won't care about the characters, and the "scary" finale gets tired quickly. Grade: C.

Mini Review - Spin Out

Spin Out (out Sep 15) is an Australian comedy centred on a Bachelor and Spinsters Ball and ute muster in a small country town. This is 90 minutes of drinking, dancing, driving, and seduction. There are too many characters (many add no value) but it does celebrate the culture of rural Australia while also providing a light-hearted love story. Grade: B-.

Mini Review - Pete's Dragon

Pete's Dragon (out Sep 15) is based on the 1977 film and is the tale of a boy and his pet dragon who are discovered in a secluded forest. The story's confused villain is laughably bad but the rest makes for a fun live-action adventure that kids will enjoy. Grade: B+.

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