Directed by Carlos Saldanha Written by Robert L. Baird, Tim Federle, Brad Copeland Produced by Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation Starring John Cena, Bobby Cannavale, Kate McKinnon, Peyton Manning & David Tennant
Directed by James Franco Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber Produced by Good Universe, New Line Cinema, Point Grey Pictures, RabbitBandini Productions, Ramona Films, RatPac-Dune Entertainment Starring Dave Franco, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor & Allison Brie
Directed by Timothy Reckart Written by Carlos Kotkin Produced by Affirm Films, Columbia Pictures, Franklin Entertainment, Jim Henson Company, Sony Pictures Animation, Walden Media Starring Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key, Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Kristen Chenoweth & Oprah Winfrey
Directed by Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina Written by Adrian Molina & Matthew Aldrich Produced by Disney Pixar Starring Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt & Renee Victor
Directed by Paul King Written by Paul King & Simon Farnaby Produced by StudioCanal, Anton Capital Entertainment S.C.A., Amazon Prime Instant Video, Canal+, Ciné+, Heyday Films, Marmalade Films Ltd. Starring Ben Whishaw, Madeline Harris, Samuel Joslin, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville & Hugh Grant
Directed & Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore Produced by Huayi Brothers Pictures & STX Entertainment Starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon & Cheryl Hines
There is nothing that makes me more nervous about seeing a movie than it being a sequel to a comedy… or when it’s a specific holiday-themed movie… or when it has multiple names in multiple countries like this movie. This had everything going against it that makes me worry but lucky for me, it calmed my fears pretty quickly.
Directed by Assaad Yacoub Written by Nick Landa Produced by Wolfe Releasing Starring Lars Berge, Mayhem Miller, Detox Icunt, Bob The Drag Queen, Allusia, Tempest DuJour & Latrice Royale
There is a very small genre of films that revolve around a drag queen. Classics like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert or Too Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Numar are big high points in the genre but there are other great films like Victor Victoria, The Birdcage, Some Like It Hot or Tootsie. Drag is a great topic for a film but you know who very rarely get’s to star in these kinds of movies? Actual drag queens. Since we now live in a post-Drag Race world, someone decided to fix that and god bless them for it.
Directed by Sean Anders Written by Sean Anders, Brian Burns & John Morris Produced by Paramount Pictures, Gary Sanchez Productions & Huahua Media Starring Mark Wahlberg, Will Farrell, Mel Gibson & John Lithgow
According to Merriam Webster the term ‘Patricide’, derived from the latin patricisa, means “One who murders his or her own father” or “The murder of one’s own father”… just a suggestion that every character in this film might like to take on board.
Directed by Bharat Nalluri Written by Susan Coyne, Les Standiford Produced by Mazur/Kaplan Company, Mob Film Company, Parallel Films, Rhombus Media Starring Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce & Miriam Margolyes
Adaptations of A Christmas Carol were dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of their burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Studios signed it: Those adaptations were as dead as a door-nail.
The final film that was shown at Lift Off was also the only feature-length film in the schedule that was completely Australian and was possibly the funniest film of the entire festival just by virtue of the talent leading it.