PRACTICAL MAGIC 2
(12A) 110mins
★★★★☆
IT’S time to pour a midnight margarita and dance around the kitchen, because the Owens are back.
The beloved witches were last on the big screen in 1998, and original cast members Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest have reprised their roles for this long-awaited sequel.
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The foursome — sisters Gillian and Sally, plus their aunts Frances and Bridget — are still together in their white-picket-fence home and, once again, are wreaking havoc on the men in their lives.
This time, the multi- generational family of witches, who have long been cursed to remain without romantic love, attempt to break the spell by confronting some dark secrets.
Now, they have two more ladies in the family, making the eccentric female-only crew even bigger.
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Cake-baking Sally (Bullock) has given up on men completely after the curse killed her great love.
Rebellious, free-spirited Gillian (Kidman) prods her to stop being so uptight and enjoy life more.
Sally is desperate to protect her daughters, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), from the same agony she has endured, but soon realises this will be impossible when Kylie brings home her new boyfriend Gideon (Xolo Mariduena).
As soon as she declares her love for him, the curse strikes again — and Sally has to share the truth behind it with her girls.
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As she puts it: “We are Owens women. Love is our undoing.”
Meanwhile, now-elderly Frances (Channing) and her sister Bridget (Wiest) are wielding their own magic and finding ways to break the powerful jinx.
The adventure sees Sally and Gillian travel to London to meet the charismatic Dr Ian Wright (Lee Pace), with plenty of mischief, humour and a touch of horror along the way.
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There is something very comforting about being back with the sisters, a little like walking into a warm room that smells of baked bread.
The chemistry between them is still natural and feels authentic. And their faces haven’t aged a day. That’s magic, right?
The new generation of sisterhood also perform well together, and there’s plenty of thrill in the slightly chaotic tale to keep audiences under their spell.
This retro, nostalgic film is the epitome of girl power. Supernaturally, of course.
FALL 2: DEADPOINT
(12a) 97mins
★★★☆☆
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IF you like feeling stressed and clammy-palmed at the cinema, this sequel to the 2022 small-budget hit Fall is the film for you.
The monsters in this movie are heights and bad weather.
Mix those with some adrenaline-junkie characters who defy all common sense and are then surprised when things go badly.
The first film saw two young women trying to get over grief by climbing up an abandoned TV tower. It was an astounding success.
This follow-on sees two different young women trying to get over their grief by attempting a sky-high walk on unstable planks along a mountain in Thailand.
The lunatics who make this bizarre decision are Luce (Arsema Thomas) and Jax (Harriet Slater), who, along with handsome American tour guide Jon (Tom Brittney), go on the terrifying trek.
Their reason for doing this is flimsy at best, and nonsensical at worst.
But like its predecessor, it’s best not to overthink the whys.
It is also nicely set up to make a third vertigo thriller.
There are plenty of jumps, squirms and moments you can barely watch.
It made the back of my knees very sweaty indeed.
CALL MY AGENT! THE MOVIE
(15) 117mins
★★★★☆
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OVER four series, hilarious French comedy series Call My Agent focused on the absurd world of celebrity agents for film stars – with plenty of famous cameos from real superstars.
Endlessly inventive, it saw the agents of ASK backstab each other in the hope of getting a good commission, ultimately destroying the entire business.
Now, a feature-length film gets the team back together. We meet powerhouse agent Andrea (Camille Cottin), her former rival, Matthias (Thibault de Montalembert), and her ex- assistant, Noemie (Laure Calamy), who is now excelling as a producer.
Andrea has become a director and is working on a film, but her movie-making goes from one disaster to another.
After trying to hook in George Clooney – who makes a brilliant cameo – she endures other cast members dropping out, a broken nose on set, a wild boar, arrests and a riverbank breaking.
She is also going through a child custody battle and attempting to juggle the egos of actors.
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With the warmth, chaos and hilarity of the TV series, this is another success.
- On Netflix