ALSO SHOWING
PREVIEW: HOLMES & WATSON (15)
ETAN COHEN, director of the 2015 comedy Get Hard, reunites with leading man Will Ferrell for a rumbustious romp based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sherlock Holmes (Ferrell) is a consulting detective in Victorian London, who tackles the most fiendish cases with the help of trusted companion, Dr John Watson (John C. Reilly). The men’s methods are unconventional to say the least, but somehow they unmask criminal masterminds before Inspector Lestrade (Rob Brydon).
During a visit to Buckingham Palace, Holmes and Watson witness a murder.
A note left at the scene, purportedly from Sherlock’s great rival Professor Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes), challenges the detective and his sidekick to solve the case within four days or Queen Victoria (Pam Ferris) will be next to die.
The clock is ticking as Sherlock and Watson sift through the evidence, buoyed by the support of loyal housekeeper Rose Hudson (Kelly Macdonald) and Sherlock’s brother Mycroft (Hugh Laurie).
MARY POPPINS RETURNS (U) ★★★★★
A SPOONFUL of nostalgia – make that several heaped spoonfuls – helps the joy-infused medicine of Rob Marshall’s 1930s-set musical fantasy go down in the most delightful way. Based on the books by PL Travers, this belated sequel to the 1964 classic prescribes two hours of sentiment-soaked escapism.
It has been a year since Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) lost his wife Kate, and with it the light in his heart to guide their children Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh) and Georgie (Joel Dawson). His rabble-rousing sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) helps to care for the brood but the grief-stricken father is three months in arrears on a bank loan secured against 17 Cherry Tree Lane.
Unless Michael can repay his dues in full by the end of the week, the house will be seized.
Thankfully, a high-flying kite snags magical nanny Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt, pictured), who rekindles sparks of joy in her former wards, aided by Cockney lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and Topsy (Meryl Streep), her eccentric “second cousin... many times removed”.
Before you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, we’re grinning from ear to ear as we join the Banks clan on their fantastical odyssey.