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AFTER her unconvincing battle with drug addiction in hiking drama Wild, wholesome Reese Witherspoon is back on familiar ground in Home Again.
Produced by romantic comedy veteran Nancy Meyers and written and directed by her daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer (that must have been a tough interview), it’s a breezy affair penned from deep inside the Hollywood bubble.
After splitting with her New York music producer husband (Michael Sheen), Witherspoon’s Alice and her two daughters have moved back into the Hollywood mansion she was brought up in. While juggling the DON’T be put off by the twee trailer. Winnie the Pooh’s “Hundred Acre Wood” may look idyllic... but you’re sure of a big surprise. This moving and eyeopening biopic reveals life was no picnic for the creator of the world’s most famous teddy bear. Domhnall Gleeson plays writer A.A. Milne as a stuffy self-obsessed toff who returns from World World One with what’s now called post-traumatic stress disorder. Unable to write more of the breezy comedies for which he had become famous, he decides to move his family from London to rural Sussex. In their new tumbledown home, Milne – known to those close to him as Blue – will write a book about school run with setting up an interior design business, she meets three twentysomething film-makers (Pico Alexander, Nat Wolff, Jon Rudnitsky) who are in LA to secure a movie deal.
Her movie star mum (Candice Bergen) has a brilliant idea – let these complete strangers move into the guest house from where they can work on their script, mind the kids and help Alice get her groove back.
If you’re looking for grit, stay away. But don’t underestimate Witherspoon, whose likability and comic timing keep this fluffy fantasy ticking over.
She’s back, and it’s like she never left. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: SALAZAR’S REVENGE (12) JOHNNY Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow, buckling yet more swashes – or at least hoping to – in this fifth instalment of the Pirates franchise.
He’s actually in a pretty bad state when we rejoin him, not least because a scary Spanish ghost-type guy, Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), seems hell-bent on revenge.
Overall, it’s as visually grabbing as ever, and the gags dependably bawdy, but the story itself is kind of samey. If you’ve the futility of war, while his six-year-old son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), will play quietly with his beloved nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald).
Milne’s eureka moment arrives when Olive takes a break from her duties, forcing Blue to play with his son in the woods.
As the pair invent names and characters for his stuffed toys, the idea for a new story takes shape.
But director Simon Curtis is not quite ready for a happy ending. It’s what happens after Winnie is born that is more interesting.
After years of neglect, son Christopher is suddenly at the centre of attention.
Billed as “the real Christopher Robin”, he is forced to take part in radio interviews, appear at toy shops and in publicity photos.
There is a lovely understated turn from Gleeson and a refreshingly unaffected performance from the young Tilston. already seen the previous four in this series, you won’t find much to surprise you.
But then if you love these movies I doubt you’ll be that bothered.
Other stars include Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. SONG TO SONG (15) A GREAT soundtrack and some cool cameos add the finishing touches to this engagingly offbeat romantic drama, with Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara as a songwriting pair looking to make their mark on the music scene in Austin, Texas.
It’s a challenge made (-) (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) (4) (10) (8) (7) (-) (1) (-) (2) (3) (4) (-) (-) (5) (6) £8.5m £2.8m £1.2m £364k £359k £288k £262k £195k £185k £151k $39.0m $29.7m $20.4m $6.2m $3.2m $3.2m $2.0m $1.6m $1.6m $1.2m
THIS gruesome Western isn’t for the faint of heart or the weak of bladder.
For two-and-a-half hours, Dutch writer/ director Martin Koolhoven heaps misery on Dakota Fanning’s young homesteader.
In the opening “chapter”, Fanning’s Liz is a mute midwife living with a decent man and two children in a frontier town. But when a preacher arrives (Guy Pearce) he threatens to punish her for failing to deliver a baby alive.
It’s stylish but some scenes are hard to stomach. Koolhoven is talented but he’s not the type you’d want to go for a pint with. all the more complex for the duo when they become involved with a leading producer (Michael Fassbender) and a waitress who’s under his spell (Natalie Portman). DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (12)
KIEFER Sutherland is the President of the United States.
Not for real (well, not yet) but in this gripping US drama.
His character, Tom Kirkman, is a relatively insignificant politician who finds himself suddenly and reluctantly thrown into the top job – a huge explosion during the State of the Union address having wiped out not only the current chief, but most of his administration’s key figures. LETHAL WEAPON: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (15)
DAMON Wayans and Clayne Crawford play polar opposites Murtaugh and Riggs in this enjoyable TV adaptation of the smash-hit buddy-cop franchise. FIRST KILL (15)
A FATHER-and-son holiday takes an unfortunate turn after they witness the murder of a copper.