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“Everybody stop shouting!” screams Maggie Gyllenhaal’s stressed World War 2 mum at the start of this whimsical modern-day Mary Poppins. If only.
Her five precocious charges seem to operate only at ‘shrill’ in this all-star romp about a magical child-tamer, Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson), who teaches niceness to warring cousins with parental anxieties.
Plus there’s plenty of sticky delights for the nippers with over-flowing treacle and poo jokes.
Thankfully, Gyllenhaal (sporting spot-on plummy twang) and Thompson offset moppet-overload with heartfelt performances that sneak up and sucker-punch adults, while Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans and Bill Bailey have fun as OTT support.
Though cute, sweet and rammed with enchanted animals (the porcine synchronised-swimming is a highlight), McPhee falls a smidgeon short of the original’s charm with a plodding pace, and a final, frantic reel that outstays its welcome.
But like McPhee herself, it’s hard not to like this cinematic hug – warts and all.
"Souls-like meets Fable" is all this indie RPG needed to say to meet its Kickstarter goal, but it added in a Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood nod just for good measure
Gorgeous JRPG homage Clair Obscur sells out its collector's edition months before launch, dev says it didn't think "the demand for our physical editions would be so high"
Turn-based RPG Clair Obscur dev says all-star voice actor lineup includes people like Andy Serkis and Baldur’s Gate 3 alumni by accident: "He was like, 'Isn't that Clive from Final Fantasy?'"
