THE TOP 3
The top three movies at the North American box office:
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Six years later, the sequel to Wreck-It Ralph struggles to capture the magic and surprises of the original. But it doesn’t feel like a crass cash grab, and it has some fun bits, not least Gal Gadot as the chief driver in an anarchic muscle-car contest called Slaughter Race. John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman star.
★★1/2 (Chris Knight) The Grinch: Every kid at the movies loves cartoons a lot. But this critic, who sees most of such movies, does NOT! It’s not that I hate them; I just need a reason for CGI antics in any old season. The film should appeal to those very young. To their parents, hooray! No joke involves dung. In the end it squeaks by with a grade that is passable, perhaps because Christmasmakesmelessirascible. ★★1/2 (Chris Knight) Creed II: Michael B. Jordan and Sly Stallone return for a second Creed and the eighth movie overall for the Rocky franchise. This time around, another familiar face returns — Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) brings his son Viktor along to battle Jordan’s Adonis. For those of you with short memories Ivan killed Creed’s father, Apollo, in Rocky IV. ★★★1/2