What’s it about?
The Bad Moms (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn) are back – and this time they’re taking back Christmas from their own moms.

What did we think?
Lisa Clifford says: Recipe for one great Christmas movie:

• Take one successful comedy
• Double the amount of moms
• Add some Christmas cheer
• Stir
• Expert tip: If you find the premise a little stale, just add a few more penis jokes!

Second time around the story is a little trite, but that’s more than compensated for by hilarious performances from all six (!) featured mothers and the relatable comedy that comes from dealing with our families over the holiday season.

What’s it about?

Each year a Western Australian music festival hosts the same ensemble of die-hard performers and fans. Their stories leap forward every twelve months for three summers.

What we thought

Dan says: Imagine you remade ‘Love Actually’ but instead of being about love and promoting emotionally unhealthy relationships, it was about cultural tolerance and trying to be less of a dick. Ben Elton’s jokes are great. I cackled a lot, but it still feels like he’s directing an episode of Black Adder. Cameras are locked off and dialogue is awkwardly expository as he races for the next gag.

As with all ensemble pieces there’s just not enough time to bring any subtlety to the storytelling. Attempts at pathos feel unearned and he can’t make up his mind whether he wants to respect all cultures or mock them. Good jokes, but it feels like an opportunity to do something wondrous was missed.

What’s it about?
The God of Thunder finds himself weaponless and pitted against a new foe whose power seemingly knows no limit. Will teaming up with friends, old and new, be enough to overcome a goddess of death?

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Funny as bro!

What’s it about?
A 1959 seemingly perfect American town is rocked by both integration and murder, throwing doubts on just how perfect a place it is.

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Imagine a high-quality slow burner where half the plot seems to fizzle out. Well, actually you don’t need to imagine as it now has physical form in Suburbicon. It’s a dark look at the two ugly faces of white America told by two (nominally) interweaving tales in ‘classic America’. I want to call it a dark comedy but the laughs are few and often inspired unintentionally. It’s beautiful tonally but the two stories feel discordant rather than one large coherent one. Still, there’s a lot to like: the acting is top-shelf, Oscar Isaac nearly steals the entire movie, and it will definitely inspire discussion. But for me, the small predictables were going to be offset by a culmination of the stories coming together; an intertwining that sadly never occurred.