What’s it about?
A small Viking Community has embraced their former nemesis’ into their lives but there are bigger dangers than just Dragons lurking in the unexplored seas.

What did we think? Dan says: HTTYD2 presents itself as a film with a moral compass but that compass is spinning like a roulette wheel. The characters empower strong women by letting men rescue them. They instill a sense of duty by showing the value of rebellion. They pursue the idea of non-violent conflict resolution by blowing characters into smaller pieces.

Despite this there are enough bold decisions made by the director to keep children amused and adults from ducking off to the bar. It could have done with some better jokes and less reliance of the power of love.

Or perhaps I’m just jaded.

No, I was right the first time. The power of love is just lazy storytelling.

What’s it about?
Remember they made a comedy movie based on that TV show, which launched Johnny Depp’s career, about undercover cops infiltrating a high school? This is the sequel paying homage to all sequels. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are back and they’re off to college to do “exactly the same mission” they had to do in the first movie.

What did we think?
Tom Harrison says: The movie plays to sequel tropes and works best with its self-aware humour. When it works it works but, with Hill and Tatum bickering about their friendship it quickly falls into the same rut every Judd Apatow “bro-love” styled movie seems to. The humour and pacing are solid and it’s much more enjoyable than the first outing. In the end it does what any good sequel should do, which is be bigger, funnier, and generally better than the first one.

What’s it about?
A series of highly implausible coincidences sees a widower (Adam Sandler) and his three daughters forced to share South African holiday accommodation with a divorcee (Drew Barrymore) who he went on a terrible blind date with and her two sons. Predictable hijinks and the titular “blending” of the families ensue.

What did we think?
It’s not often one thinks to use the term “poor man’s Brady Bunch” but that pretty much sums up this painfully unfunny vehicle. For some reason it seemed a good idea to pair Sandler – doing his wisecracking, sad-sack buffoon shtick yet again – with Barrymore for a third, worst outing. Racial stereotypes and way too many gender-based “jokes” abound. Best to avoid.

The Cherry Ripe I consumed during the screening was quite nice, though, so silver linings and all.