Fantasy Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Fantasy

Black dragon-like creature with horns and green eyes resting on sandy ground.
Review

How To Train Your Dragon review – never quite catches the updraft needed to soar to uncharted heights

by Yasmine Kandil

Dream­works’ first for­ay into the world of live-action remakes is fair­ly unre­mark­able despite occa­sion­al sparks of magic.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A woman with short, curly blonde hair gazes intensely at the camera, wearing a black jacket.
Review

Thunderbolts* review – the best Marvel film in a while

by Fatima Sheriff

There’s a lot of super­fi­cial fun to be had with this super­hero romp, which hasn’t been the case in the MCU for a long while.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Four people standing outdoors near a building with red roofs and decorative architectural elements.
Review

Death of a Unicorn review – goodbye horses, good riddance

by Billie Walker

Alex Scharf­man ral­lies togeth­er a cast stacked with comedic actors, but the result of this dull ​‘Eat the Rich’ flick miss­es the mark.

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Vibrant anime-style characters, including a woman with long red hair, a bearded older man in ornate robes, and a blonde man, seated in an ornate, dimly lit chamber.
Review

Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim review – not canon-level

by David Jenkins

This ani­mé-style jour­ney to Mid­dle Earth dials back on risk and charm to robust­ly tell a sim­ple tale of good ver­sus evil.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two female characters in tropical setting, surrounded by palm trees and water.
Review

Moana 2 review – a tidal wave of joy on the big screen

by Yasmine Kandil

Although it doesn’t quite soar to the heights of the orig­i­nal, there’s a lot to enjoy in this delight­ful sequel.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two women, one with blonde hair wearing a pink cardigan, the other with green skin and a dark outfit, posing together in front of Christmas decorations.
Review

Wicked review – Grande and Erivo’s chemistry is unmatched

by Fatima Sheriff

CGI Block­buster visu­als aside, there’s much to love in Jon M Chu’s adap­ta­tion of one of Broadway’s biggest musi­cal successes.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Ornate headdress, elaborate gown, dark red background.
Review

Timestalker review – ripples with insight and emotion

by David Jenkins

Alice Lowe’s mirac­u­lous sec­ond fea­ture is a tri­umph of imag­i­na­tion, soul-search­ing and a refined com­ic instinct.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Person blowing out candles on birthday cake in a kitchen setting.
Festivals

The End – first-look review

by Mark Asch

Joshua Oppen­heimer returns with an ambi­tious, post-apoc­a­lyp­tic musi­cal whose the­mat­ic flights of fan­cy are always just a lit­tle too strident.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two characters in dark attire, one with a striped costume, stand in a shadowy environment.
Review

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review – squelchy, stripy sequel fun

by Hannah Strong

Bur­ton, Keaton and Ryder turn up the juice and see what shakes loose in a sequel 36 years in the mak­ing that man­ages to deliv­er plen­ty of laughs even if it’s all a bit chaotic.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A woman with dark hair wearing a yellow shirt stands in a grassy field with trees in the background.
Review

Tuesday review – a magical realist allegory

by Anton Bitel

A moth­er and her teenage daugh­ter come face to face with death in the form of a strange talk­ing bird in Daina Oni­u­nas-Pusic’s fea­ture debut.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two men, one with a beard and one with grey hair and a beard, applauding in a formal setting.
Review

The American Society of Magical Negroes review – an undercooked, frustrating satire

by Hamza Shehryar

Less Har­ry Pot­ter and more Amer­i­can Fic­tion, this polit­i­cal­ly charged satire is more banal than it first seems.

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Group of people in military-style outfits walking at night with emergency vehicle lights in the background.
Review

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review – formulaic and uninspired

by David Jenkins

Shod­dy, rushed sequel that rides ramshod over past glo­ries with­out offer­ing any­thing new and excit­ing to this stale franchise.

2
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect