Audiences have been spoiled with unique period films – Whit Stillman’s Love & Friendship, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Oscar winner The Favourite, and Greta Gerwig’s take on Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. We’ve been shown that these rustic movies can exist outside of a formula, which makes Autumn de Wilde’s Emma a bit of a retrograded step. But, the conventional choices can be explained.
Part way through Playmobil: The Movie, I was settling into a marginal recommendation. As a colourful distraction for young kids who are starting to show interest in action flicks, it’s generic yet harmless entertainment. But as the story dragged on through shameless attempts to emulate The Lego Movie franchise, Playmobil: The Movie began to pick at my patience.
Curiosity is a quality that keeps on giving. M. Night Shyamalan, for instance, is a filmmaker who is eager to explore his own craft. And while his back catalogue has included projects that have snowballed out of his own range, he’s at least owning his ambition and finding original stories to tell audiences. His latest collaborations with indie empire Blumhouse Productions have been great vehicles to anchor his passion projects and visual filmmaking. Such is…
