ALSO SHOWING
THE STAR (M) There’s about to be a major Nativity scene in a back alley of downtown Bethlehem, and every talking animal in the Middle East wants in on the act. So begins The Star, a cute, colourful and corny animated take on the birth of Jesus Christ. It will be best enjoyed by toddlers who have yet to see a Shrek movie, or prise open a Holy Bible. The central critter in proceedings in Bo the donkey (voiced by Steven Yeun), a hard-working farm animal destined to bear witness to the most famous birth on mankind’s books. Bo’s best friend Dave the dove (Keegan Michael-Key) will be there as well, as long as King Herod’s evil henchdogs don’t show up to ruin the occasion. There are some very fruity casting choices nested away in the credits, the second fruitiest of which is Oprah Winfrey as Deborah the sassy camel. The fruitiest of all? Gina Rodriguez of TV’s Jane the Virgin as — what else? — the Virgin Mary.
THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS (PG) A pleasant enough, if slightly disjointed Christmas film, following hard historical fact with fanciful detours into fiction. In 1843, legendary British author Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) is enduring the worst slump of his prolific career. The three books Dickens has penned since the classic Oliver Twist have all tanked. The next one had better be a hit, or his publisher will cut him loose and creditors will swarm in from all directions. Against all advice - not to mention the prevailing trend of the era - Dickens decides his next work will be an old-fashioned Yuletide yarn. So old-fashioned that it revives the lost tradition of telling ghost stories to commemorate Christmastime. The end result, of course, will be one of Dickens’ greatest works, A Christmas Carol. However, with a deadline looming and distractions everywhere, Dickens’ nightly struggles with a deathly case of writer’s block sees the writer forging deeper into the realm of personal experience for inspiration than ever before.
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (PG) While Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the most beloved children’s book characters of all time, far less is known about his creator, the British playwright and author AA Milne. Needless to say, Goodbye Christopher Robin is looking to fill in a lot of those blanks. As this serious (often bordering on stern) biopic shows us, Milne’s wistful lightness of touch as a writer came from quite a heavy place.