The Ritual (15)
Three stars
Dir: David Bruckner
With: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali
Runtime: 94 minutes
HORROR is having a bit of a moment at the, er, moment. David Bruckner’s British chiller, while hardly on a par with Get Out and It, nevertheless has a lot going for it - for a while, anyway. Rafe Spall stars as Luke, one of a group of lads now in middle age but still determined to holiday like it was their youthful yesterday. Adapted from the novel by Adam Nevill, The Ritual manufactures chills from little more than setting (a forest in winter) and the talent of its cast. Just a pity it cannot beat the curse of most horror movies in that it has to show its hand eventually, and when it does much of the tension bleeds away.
The Lego Ninjago Movie (U)
Three stars
Dirs: Paul Fisher, Charlie Bean, Bob Logan
Voices: Jackie Chan, Dave Franco
Runtime: 101 minutes
SINCE their 2014 debut, the Lego movies have been subject to the law of diminishing returns. In the first one, taking its cue from the theme song, everything was awesome. Lego Batman had lost the thrill of the new, and now this martial arts-themed animated caper takes a long time to get into its scissor-kicking stride. With the added attraction of Jackie Chan playing a ninja master the story of a villainous dad and his virtuous son eventually sorts itself out, there are a couple of decent gags and the action offers lots of bangs for your cinema buck. But at 101 minutes it hardly moves with Bruce Lee-like speed.
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