Fresh take on old favourites
THESE movies released for the holiday season may look like familiar gift bags under the Christmas tree. You know the packaging isn’t new, but you hope you’ll be excited about what’s inside.
THE GRINCH
The Dr Seuss classic gets an animated freshening up with Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the green villain. The Mean One is still gearing up to de-Christmas Whoville – a town where holiday decorating is nearly a competitive sport – but this time we get a peek into why his heart is so small.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Magi-zoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) returns in this sequel that moves closer to the world of Harry Potter. The wicked Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escapes from jail and plans to unite pureblood wizards to dominate Muggles and all non-magical creatures. A young Dumbledore (Jude Law) needs Newt – a former student of his at Hogwarts – to help stop Grindelwald.
SPIDER-MAN:
INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
New York teen Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) meets Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), and the now-retired Spidey agrees to show the superhero the ropes. Four other spider-folks swoop in from other universes to help them fight evil.
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Jane and Michael Banks, the children in the original movie, aren’t too old to need their practically perfect nanny to get them through a tough time. Mary (Emily Blunt) calls on her friend Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), a lamplighter, for songand-dance support.
AQUAMAN
You may have seen Aquaman
in Batman v Superman or Justice League, but this is the first time the DC Comics character gets the full movie treatment. It’s the story of Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), who is raised by a human dad but learns that his long-lost mom is queen of Atlantis.