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PARASITE (15) ★★★★★
WILY patriarch Kim Ki-tek (Song Kang-ho, right) presides over a family of con artists in this Oscar winning film. He and his sharp-tongued wife Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), mild-mannered son Ki-woo
(Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam), live in a squalid basement apartment in a poor neighbourhood of Seoul with a prime view of drunken passers-by urinating in the street.
Good fortune smiles unexpectedly on Ki-woo when good friend Min-hyuk (Park Seo-joon) recommends him as an English tutor for teenager Park Da-hae ( Jeong Ji-so).
Ki-woo falsifies his qualifications to impress Da-hae’s wealthy mother Yon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) and father Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun).
Once he has earned the couple’s misplaced trust, Ki-woo recommends other members of his clan for positions of responsibility.
However, suspicious housekeeper Mun-kwang (Lee Jung-eun) threaten to expose the deception.
Parasite is a wickedly entertaining, genrebending satire from writer-director Bong Joon-ho, which deserved to become the first film not in the English language to claim the Best Picture statuette at this year’s Oscars.
■ Download/stream and on DVD from June 1.
DOLITTLE (PG) ★★ ★★★
FOLLOWING the death of his adventurer wife (Kasia Smutniak), gifted veterinarian Dr John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr, pictured) closes the doors to his animal hospital.
He becomes a recluse, surrounded by a menagerie of chums including bespectacled lurcher Jip (voiced by Tom Holland), macaw Polynesia (Dame Emma Thompson), gorilla Chee-Chee (Rami Malek), polar bear Yoshi ( John Cena) and ostrich Plimpton (Kumail Nanjiani).
The unexpected intrusion of a boy called Tommy Stubbins (Harry Collett) coincides with an urgent summons to Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria ( Jessie Buckley) has been poisoned with a pernicious variety of nightshade and the only remedy is the fruit of the mythical Eden tree.
Dolittle and fledgling apprentice Tommy embark on a madcap mission to save the ailing monarch with jealous rival Dr Blair Mudfly (Michael Sheen) in hot pursuit.
Dolittle is a special effects-clogged odyssey inspired by Hugh Lofting’s 1922 book, which does little to engage viewers of any age.
■ Download/stream from June 1 and on DVD from June 15.
CATS (U) ★★ ★★★
THIS big-budget, big-screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical was panned by critics when it was released in cinemas. Now you can see what all the fuss was about.
Naive white cat Victoria (Francesca Hayward) is cruelly discarded in a London alleyway as felines gather for the Jellicle Ball, where Old Deuteronomy (Dame Judi Dench) will grant a precious extra life to one member of the congregation. Hopefuls include greedy Bustopher Jones ( James Corden), showman Rum Tum Tugger (Jason Derulo), palsy-afflicted Gus The Theatre Cat (Sir Ian McKellen), outcast Grizabella ( Jennifer Hudson) and lazy tabby Jennyanydots (Rebel Wilson).
When scheming Macavity (Idris Elba) gatecrashes the ball with malevolent intent and a sprinkling of catnip courtesy of alluring Bombalurina (Taylor Swift, pictured), competitors put their differences aside to restore peace.
■ Download/stream now and on DVD from June 1.