School holiday movies are here!

School holiday movies are here!

Rain, winds and the ever present cry of "What are we going to do?" are likely to permeate the air of the coming school holidays.

Thankfully, as ever, the movie have the answer with a clutch of new films out to try and grab your kids' attention while you may be head to elsewhere in the mall to get some relief...

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Bit of a stand-out winner of the animated fare, this one.
Based on Dav Pilkey's series of books, the Dreamworks animation follows the squishier edges pioneered by the Peanuts Movie and gives the film a generally appealing-to-the-eyes feel.
Starring a non-screeching Kevin Hart and Silicon Valley's bumbling Thomas Middleditch as George and Harold, it's the story of how two BFFs manage to turn their grumpy principal (a buoyant Ed Helms) into superhero Captain Underpants.
Posited on the idea that all superheroes wear their underoos on the outside, it's a fast paced mix of fun and frenetic as the duo try to work out how to convert their teacher back and save the day from a Professor determined to rid the world of laughter.
With a crowd-pleasing mix of fart gags and a non-bum-troubling run time of 85 minutes, this is easily a winner.

The Emoji Movie

Roundly bashed as one of the worst films of the year according to the cinema rating Rotten Tomatoes, the truth about The Emoji Movie is far more insidious - namely, that it's just incredibly average animated fare.
Following an Emoji Meh named Gene (Silicon Valley's TJ Miller - we're spotting an animated trend here) who causes chaos when he panics on day one on the job.
You see Gene is an emoji inside a kid's phone - and his blunder means the phone's owner is now planning to delete them permanently.
Inevitably, Gene heads off on a race against time to save the day - along with Anna Faris' hacker and James Corden's redundant Hi-5 emoji.
Lacking the punch and meta edges, but feeling like a push to sell apps, The Emoji Movie is a solid enough piece of animated fare, but it just lacks any edge to stand out in the market-place.
Ironically, your reaction - and your kids - when you come out is going to be a resounding "Meh."

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

The weakest of the recent blocky outings, the Lego Ninjago Movie may have Jackie Chan as the Ninja master, but its tale of a son trying to reconnect with his dad, who just happens to be the bad guy, feels a little average at best.
As the two try to reconnect, they begin a quest that feels all too familiar.
Whereas the prior Lego movies have offered strong stories with doses of zaniness, it has to be said The LEGO Ninjago Movie doesn't differ too much from the formula, treads a lot of familiar ground and consequently does offer up a film of diminishing returns in terms of story ideas, but not pace.
Sure, the frantic pace and slightly insaner edges you'd expect during these outings is present, but given it's hung round more of a weaker frame, it feels like a struggle at times.
That's not to say its target youngster audience won't enjoy the story and the animation, but the attempts to shoehorn in the message veer dangerously close to brow-beating and crowbarring it in as the film heads towards its conclusion.
Although it has Silicon Valley's Kumail Nanjiani and Gabe Woods in as well - surely there's a conspiracy here?

Kedi
The furry favourite from the film festival that centres on the feline population of Turkey may seem like an odd choice to release in the school hols, but given this limited release doco is catnip to anyone but Gareth Morgan, it's fair to say the families of animal lovers will be flocking to it.
Maybe just ensure the route home after the film doesn't take in any pet stores, or you may be feeling you need to give the purr-fect gift to the kids to keep them quiet.

Flatliners
A remake of the 1990s horror movie about medical geniuses sending themselves to the brink of death to feel things, but who start to suffer spooky visions after flirting with the grim reaper.
The original starred Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts at the height of their Brat Pack days - the 2017 remake "for the (slightly more adult) kidz" stars Ellen Page and Grantchester and Happy Valley's James Norton in those roles.
Just because it's not been previewed to media before release doesn't mean this one's dead on arrival - does it?