Cinderella (G) ****
Kenneth Branagh's been directing films for decades, but in recent years he's brought his movie making to a whole new level. Best known for Shakespearian adaptations and low-budget British comedies, his big turning point came in 2011, when he did a fine job of bringing Marvel's Thor to the big screen.
It proved he was capable of greater-scale filmmaking, and now he's doing it again.
This sumptuous adaptation of the greatest fairy tale of them all combines big and beautiful set pieces with romantic, intimate storytelling. But Branagh's not inventing the wheel here - he's too smart to tinker too much with a classic.
The relatively unknown Lily James takes the central role as the fresh-faced Cinders in this movie which brings a new sense of drama and colour to the story.
But you won't find panto baddies here - the sisters Drisella and Anastasia are neither ugly nor, initially, cruel. And Cate Blanchett is super as Cinder's stepmother, just sometimes showing what a nasty piece of work she can be.
When Ella’s father dies on overseas business, it leaves the young woman who has already lost her mother in their care. Ella gradually becomes a domestic slave, nicknamed Cinderella by her 'family'.
Helena Bonham Carter, meanwhile, shows up as her fairy godmother in one of the film’s funniest and most impressive scenes.
Walt Disney’s 1950 animated version is justifiably regarded as the best take on the story, but Branagh’s new film, released by the same studio, stands up to that classic.
The filmmaker has delivered a funny, moving and visually stunning adaptation of this much-loved story
Get Hard (16) ***
Will Ferrell is up for fun as always, but Get Hard makes itself a film that's hard to love.
Ferrell is James King, an investment banker who’s got it all - the huge house and the hot woman.
But when he's sent to a tough prison for financial irregularities, King needs to learn some tactics to survive.
He offers the only black man he knows - a car valet - to help him toughen up behind bars, in the assumption he's served time because he's black.
Throw in lots of prison rape jokes and stereotypes about hispanics, blacks and gays and you've got Get Hard. The problem is, the material just isn't strong enough, even though the movie is intermittently quite funny.
It's saved, largely, by Ferrell and his co-star Kevin James, who make fine sparring partners and give the film a feeling of raw improvisation. But the gags are too coarse and repetitive.
