[wpdevart_youtube]Bf6D-i8YpHg[/wpdevart_youtube]THE GRINCH **
Dir: Yarrow Cheney/Scott Mosier (PG, 90 mins)
Another crack at the Dr. Seuss creation that doesn’t like Christmas after the hyper-kinetic and scarily made-up Jim Carrey mess from 2000. This time he’s a completely CGI creation and comes from the studio that brought you Despicable Me. Bizarrely, Benedict Cumberbatch blandly voices the green monster out to spoil Christmas for the inhabitants of Whoville, who keep on destroying his peace in a cave in Mount Crumpet with their festivities. He wants to put a stop to all the frivolity, becoming a green Santa, stealing presents with gadgetry etc. until his heart is melted by a little girl. So essentially Despicable Me without the supervillain aspect. Instead of minions, sidekick duties fall to a loveable dog and a fat reindeer. Yes, there is also some low-key rapping and Pharrell narrates. A supremely manufactured stab at a Christmas hit, bereft of any real magic and with Cumberbatch sounding ill at ease, this incarnation of the Grinch is to be avoided, like green eggs and ham.
Opens Nov 9
