Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING
Cast: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Dean Chaumoo, Rhianna Doris, Angus Imrie, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart, Denise Gough, Genevieve O'Reilly.
Dir: Joe Cornish.

The first time I saw the trailer and they presented the premise, I rolled my eyes. I'm like, "Oh God, not another King Arthur riff." But then it started winning me over and it seemed it could be a fun movie. The same thing happened, sort of, in the actual film itself. Set in the modern era, a 12 year old boy pulls out a sword from the stone and is destined to save the world from Morgana, the evil sorceress. Directed by Joe Cornish who also did Attack the Block (this is kind of a family-friendly version of that film), the film though set in current times feels nostalgic in its genre trappings, pulling liberally from both Steven Spielberg and quite a bit of Terry Gilliam in the process. The result is a film which I think if I saw it in my pre-teen years would be something I would be watching again and again. The climactic scene, I must say, feels like pure childhood joy. It does nothing groundbreaking but it's very well-made fun for kids.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B

GLASS
Cast: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard.
Dir: M. Night Shyamalan.

The third in a trilogy of films by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan which sort of deconstructs comic book and superhero mythology by imagining them happening in a real-ish world. This is the sequel to both Unbreakable and Split. This time, David Dunn is sent to a mental institution alongside "The Horde" and the titular Mr. Glass. First off, this is not a perfect film. Far from it. The dialogue is at times pretty bad and filled with a bit too much exposition, the film feels overlong and the climactic action-fight scene is a bit disappointing and sadly not very well directed. But, still, I liked it. It's still a unique take on the superhero genre. There are a lot of good ideas here though and I, for one, would be very interested to see where Shyamalan takes this series next.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: B-