Film Reviews by PO

Made me want to read the original book, the characters were great! Not scary at all, and each episode made for a gentle evening's viewing.

The film was less of a thriller and the ending a disappointing surprise. A film I'd never seen but heard lots about and now I've seen it I don't need to see it again!

Sound on this was awful, but the story was ok. Richard Gere has aged very well!

Super performances, particularly by Sally Hawkins, and an insight into mental health problems but didn't really hit a chord with me. Some sweet scenes, some quirky, some very sad and all, as I say, well done. Perhaps I was expecting something a little mystical as in 'The Shape of Water' but i can't say I enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed this more than I expected. I don't know Dickens' story very well - I saw a version many years ago and recall it being rather sad and bleak - this version was colourful, cheerful, a bit zany in places and cheered up a miserable November evening very well. I didn't mind the colours of any of the faces, it just went with the flow and worked alongside the general fun.

The ending of this film made up for any whimsical moments earlier on - full-on drama. The whole series is different to Harry Potter but I'm enjoying it just as much. Great special effects and drama, definitely moved on in darkness from the first 'Fantastic Creatures' film. Can't wait for no 3.

We are LOTR fans and enjoyed the story... particularly spotting clues that might have influenced his middle-Earth stories along the way, from his inventing languages to the horrors of the WW1 trenches. The parts were all well played, his story was interesting and it was well worth watching :)

I knew the book was popular so decided to give the film a go despite not having read the book. We didn't really enjoy this - it was slow and laborious in places and I'm really glad I didn't have to wade through 100s of pages to get to the same ending. The parts were well played and it was attractive on the eye for the main part but I didn't feel there was much of a story. If there was, the film didn't do it justice.

My son and I read the book years ago but I confess that the film really brought it to light in ways that I couldn't visualise! Well put together as you'd expect and it kept us interested to the end. Some larger-than-life characters and a bit tongue-in-cheek in places but better than the critics would suggest.

Read the book years ago, and was surprised that a large part of it was left out in this adaptation. Nevertheless the film flowed well and apart from the kid being a bit more of a brat than I remember, all the parts were played well and it captured the essence of the book on a smaller scale. Well worth watching.

I had heard that the film had gratuitous violence which had put me off watching it at the cinema. I needn't have worried - it was a story of a hard life and a fairytale ending - from the title, the ending is obvious, but the story of how he got there is the clever part. If you enjoyed 'Lion' you'll love this.

Not for the sensitive.... very 'raw and real'. Hanks is brilliant - different type of role for him and he does it very well, supported by a really good cast and horrible effects. Deserved all its oscars but not because it's a particularly enjoyable film...!