12 Films At Christmas - 9 & 10

Two films of relatively recent vintage today, but of very different provenance. The big studio production first. Disney is mining its old back catalogue of cartoons and making shameless real life + CGI rehashes of them. I reviewed the new Jungle Book favourably last year but reserved greater affection for the hand-drawn original. A similar conclusion applies to the new Beauty and the Beast. The action (and the songs) have been broadened slightly but to no telling effect. Plus we have the casting of a bankable star in the shape of the tiresome Emma Watson (a very poor man's Emma Thompson) whose weakish voice has to be augmented by the chorus. Don't get me wrong it's a perfectly entertaining film but, when all's said and done, why bother? 6.5/10.

Confession time. My estimation of Beauty and the  Beast was driven down with each passing second of the next film I watched. I can't recommend Hunt for the Wilderpeople highly enough. Set in the wilds of New Zealand this is by turns tragic, uplifting and very, very funny. A genuinely great picture. 9/10.