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  Certificate: PG Running time: 109 minutes  Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo Directed by: Byron Howard and Jared Bush The story: A young woman must save her magical family home after discovering that it is under threat from forces unknown. The verdict: The sixtieth animated film from Walt Disney Studios sees Disney combining a number of its tried and tested methods, and coming up trumps with a film bursting with colour and meaning. Encanto’s heroine is Mirabel, a sassy and smart young woman who is the only person in her magical filled family without a special gift. Whilst those around her perform incredible feats from everything to super strength to making flowers appear from thin air, Mirabel works hard to establish her own role within the family and tries not to let her lack of a special gift phase her.  Encanto sees original music and songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, who previously collaborated with Disney on Moana. As with Moana, Miranda has given

  Certificate: 12A Running time: 117 minutes  Starring: Kristen Stewart, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, Jack Farthing Directed by: Pablo Larrain  The story: As the Royal Family gathers at Sandringham Estate for Christmas festivities, Princess Diana struggles with tales of Prince Charles’ infidelity and her role as future queen. The verdict: It is Christmas morning, 2019. I have found myself, along with hundreds of other people, waiting in the grounds of Sandringham Estate for a glimpse of the Royal Family as they make their way to the Christmas morning service at the church of St Mary Magdalene.  Convinced by my royalist partner to attend, and originally indifferent to spending my Christmas morning this way, to my immense surprise I soon find myself caught up in the excitement. The crowds are jovial and enthusiastic, in spite of the chill in the air and the frost on the ground, and Union Jack flags are passed around to wave.  Christmas time, 1991 and Spencer paints a rat

  Certificate: 12A Running time: 156 minutes  Starring: Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan Directed by: Chloé Zhao. The story: An immortal alien race, who have been in hiding for thousands of years, emerge to protect the human race against their evil counterparts known as the Deviants. The verdict: No matter how much one tries to avoid it, a film fan cannot help but hear and see whisperings of the latest films before their general release. In the case of Eternals, these whisperings immediately set alarm bells ringing - it’s not very good, it’s boring and slow, it’s the worst marvel film ever. By release day, Eternals had earned its place as the lowest rated Marvel film in the franchise. Could this really be true though? Could Academy Award winning director Chloé Zhao have given Marvel fans a terrible film? Is Zhao even capable of directing a bad film? The answer to all these questions is thankfully a resounding no.