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  Certificate: 12A Running time: 123 minutes  Starring: Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Ben Mendelsohn  Directed by: Joe Wright The story: Though brilliant in many ways, Cyrano de Bergerac is convinced that his appearance means that the woman that he has long loved will never love him back and instead agrees to help her pursue another man. The verdict: The story of Cyrano de Bergerac is no stranger to being shown on screen and director Joe Wright’s version is the latest adaptation to throw its hat into the ring. This version, written by Erica Schmidt, is based on Schmidt’s 2018 play, which in turn was based on the original 1897 play by Edmund Rostand. Some audiences may be surprised to learn that Cyrano is actually a musical and certainly it feels very theatrical in both its staging and visuals. The musical numbers are engaging and performed well. However, when it comes to leaving a lasting impression, it is unlikely that cinema goers will leave the...

    Certificate: 12A Running time: 127 minutes  Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Tom Bateman, Annette Benning, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Letitia Wright, Jennifer Saunders Directed by: Kenneth Branagh  The story: Famous detective Hercule Poirot’s trip to Egypt is interrupted when a murder occurs on a newlyweds’ idyllic honeymoon. The verdict: Plagued by both the pandemic (it was originally scheduled for release in 2019) and by controversies surrounding several of its leading cast, Death on the Nile has been a long time coming. Rather than arriving with the glitzy fanfare in which its trailer suggested, instead it seems to have snuck in to the 2022 release schedule as the Kenneth Branagh directed film that isn’t Belfast.  2017’s Murder on the Orient Express was a sleeper hit and audiences had every right to eagerly anticipate another surprise hit. Unfortunately, Death on the Nile doesn’t...

  Certificate: 12A Running time: 116 minutes  Starring: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Tati Gabrielle, Sophia Ali, Antonio Banderas Directed by: Ruben Fleischer The story: Young, street smart Nathan Drake is drawn into a quest to search for fabled treasure in the hopes that it will lead him to his lost brother. The verdict: Naturally with any type of adaptation, cinema goers are going to fall into one of two categories - you are either familiar with the source material or not. In this case, Uncharted is based on the popular PlayStation game and fans of the game will undoubtedly receive this film completely differently from those unfamiliar with it. For example, there is a certain cameo in the film that was obviously supposed to be quite a significant moment but was lost on me until I looked it up later. This aside, Uncharted is very accessible for the uninitiated and isn’t hard to follow for newcomers. Uncharted is immediately engaging and this is largely thanks to Tom Holland...

  Certificate : 12A Running time: 130 minutes  Starring: Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry, John Bradley, Charlie Plummer, Michael Peña Directed by: Roland Emmerich  The story: Earth comes into peril when the moon is knocked out of its orbit by a mysterious and unknown force. The verdict: If you are looking to hire someone to show Earth being victim to a catastrophic event with major cities being annihilated, then undoubtedly Roland Emmerich is the man for the job. Dubbed the ‘master of disaster,’ there’s not a famous landmark Emmerich won’t destroy with extreme verve. Thus, if you go into Moonfall expecting anything but a big, over the top CGI fest, then you are going to be severely disappointed.  First and foremost, Moonfall’s story and supposed science doesn’t really make much sense. The idea that the moon is being knocked out of its orbit is a reasonably inspired one that even sort of makes sense, but boy oh boy that is only the tip of this disaster iceberg. There is...