The Secret Garden (2020), directed by Marc Munden

The end credits say ‘based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett’, but those familiar with the classic book will appreciate how loose this claim is. The main characters have the same names and the story follows the same trajectory, but there the similarities end. Updated to 1947 from the turn of the century for no discernible reason, there are further major departures from the original story that seem to have little point. The novel features nature as therapy, along with fresh air, healthy food and common sense. The film somehow turns this into magical realism, complete with dodgy CGI creatures. While love of the book may heighten criticism, the reality is it this just not a good film. The dialogue is often stilted and some of the acting is very ordinary. The talents of Julie Walters and Colin Firth are wasted. This is a classic case of an unnecessary remake. If you are going to change the original text so much, why bother? Just write your own story.

Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), directed by David Yates

The usual wonderful special effects create the required magical universe, spiriting the audience into 1920s New York, London and Paris. Grindelwald has escaped custody to search for and use the incredibly powerful Creedence. Everyone else is searching for him too – either to kill him or to save him; who will get there first? With the wizarding world divided familiar characters make some unexpected choices as they pick sides. The geeky appeal of Eddie Redmayne as Newt and the charm of Jude Law as the younger Dumbledore carry the film, which makes some unsubtle parallels with real word populists who twist and manipulate the gullible and vulnerable to victimise a segment of society. The film is too long and its inconclusive ending exists solely to set up the next film, without generating any great expectation that it will be worth waiting for.