John Francis Daley

This may be the third reboot of this franchise in 15 years, risking audience exhaustion, but there are plenty of reasons not to miss this one. Most notably, this is the first Spider-Man movie that's part of Marvel's Avengers franchise, which places it in a larger story with lots of cameo possibilities. But more importantly, young British actor Tom Holland seems to have been born to play the role, infusing the entire film with cheeky teenage energy. And it's also one of the funniest, most complex blockbusters of the year.

The film opens with overexcited home videos Peter Parker (Holland) made of his adventure with the Avengers in Civil War. Now he's plunged back to the dull reality of being a high school student living with his sparky Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). He has a crush on classmate Liz (Laura Harrier), but faces rivalry from the school's alpha male Flash (Tony Revolori). And after a night out playing superhero in his Spider-Man costume, his nerdy best pal Ned (Jacob Batalon) is a bit too thrilled to discover his secret alter-ego. Meanwhile, Peter is annoyed that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and his assistant Happy (Jon Favreau) are ignoring his calls, especially after he warns them that he has seen winged bad guy Toomes (Michael Keaton) dealing illegal alien weapons around New York while plotting something nefarious.

Director Jon Watts (Cop Car) cleverly maintains a nimble teen perspective throughout the film, which makes it feel more like a comedy than an action movie. And instead of snarky one-liners, the laughs come from character-based humour, most notably Holland's brilliant reactions to everything that comes along. One memorable sequence, which kicks off the final onslaught of action, is both hilarious and terrifying at the same time, perfectly balanced thanks to a knowing revelation, Watts' subtle direction and Holland's hugely engaging performance. And each breathtaking action set-piece pushes the character forward in positive ways.

Continue reading: Spider-Man: Homecoming Review

Both the characters and the tone have been updated as a new generation of Grizwolds hits the road for a raucous holiday, eliminating the darker edges for a sillier, ruder romp. After the four madcap Vacation movies from 1983 to 1997, the focus moves from Chevy Chase's patriarch Clark to his now-grown son Rusty. As with the earlier films, there are so many jokes flying at the screen that some are bound to make us laugh.

Ed Helms is the fifth actor in five films to play Rusty, and now he's got a family of his own. So he decides to give them a holiday to remember, retracing his childhood trip from Chicago to Wally World in California. His wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) isn't so sure about this, but gamely goes along with it, while their bickering teen sons James and Kevin (Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins) settle into the back seat for the long drive. Along the road, they stop at Debbie's old university and learn a few things about her wild reputation. They also visit Rusty's sister Audrey (Leslie Mann) in Texas, where she's married to a swaggering rancher (Chris Hemsworth). And they drop in on Rusty's parents (Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo). In between, every stop brings a new moment of crazed mayhem.

The script is set up as an homage to the original movie, playfully riffing on the structure and set-pieces. Here, the comedy highlights include a dodgy natural hot springs and a death-defying bit of white-water rafting. All of this is infused with a surprisingly warm family dynamic amid constant gags about excrement and genitalia. Miraculously, writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein never get cynical about the Grizwolds. Rusty and Debbie are still hot for each other, while James and Kevin's vicious rivalry only reveals how much they look out for each other. All four actors are solid, with terrific comical timing and likeable performances.

Continue reading: Vacation Review

With new writers and directors, this frenetic sequel indulges in silliness with less substance than last time. It's a lot of fun, but also rather forgettable, like the movie's surprisingly unimaginative title (honestly, the sky was literally the limit here). So while we laugh at the constant barrage of jokes and the colourful visual mayhem, there's nothing to engage us on a more satisfying level.

It opens with a recap of the first film, then carries on immediately, as young inventor Flint (voiced by Hader) is thrilled that his idol Chester (Forte), head of super-cool mega-company Live Corp, is put in charge of cleaning up the food storm Flint started. With a secret plan to get his hands on Flint's invention, Chester evacuates everyone from the island community Swallow Falls and offers Flint a job at his headquarters in San Franjose, California. But back home the food has come to life and is threatening to attack the world, so Flint is sent to solve the problem, unofficially accompanied by his pals (Faris' weathergirl, Samberg's surfer dude, Bratt's cameraman and Crews' muscle-cop) and his fisherman dad (Caan).

These characters are so hilariously goofy that we can't help but enjoy the chaos as they return to the island, which has been transformed into a Jurassic Park-style jungle overrun by food-pun creatures like shrimpanzees, tacodiles and watermelephants. The animation is gorgeously detailed, with all kinds of visual gags to match the deranged verbal banter. And the snappy voice cast dive in with gusto. The new characters fit in perfectly: Forte is hilariously slimy, while Schaal (as his talking baboon assistant Barb) steals the show as the only person on-screen who has a story arc.

Continue reading: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 Review