Life Itself (15)***

Dir: Dan Fogelman

With: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening

Runtime: 117 minutes

THE march of the television subscription channels into cinema continues with this Sky Cinema Original Film. Life Itself is directed by Dan Fogelman, who wrote the screenplays for animated comedies Bolt and Tangled, but is perhaps best known for This is Us, a multi-character, multi-generational television drama which starts off with one couple about to have twins and spreads ever wider. Fogelman is on similar territory here with the story of Will and Abby (Oscar Isaac and Olivia Wilde), a glossy pair who seem to have everything going for them. A starry cast that also includes Mandy Patinkin as Will’s father keeps things watchable even when the whirl of competing stories makes it hard to keep track of what is happening.

COMING SOON

2019 is going to be all about the live action remakes of classic Disney films:Dumbo (March 29), Aladdin (May 24) and The Lion King (July 19). 2019 is also The Year of the McAvoy Boy, with the Scottish actor starring alongside Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson in M Night Shyamalan’s thriller, Glass (January 18). The Glasgow born actor also appears It: Chapter Two (September 6). Director Dexter Fletcher has Rocketman, the story of Elton John, ready for lift off (May 17). Plus: Toy Story 4 (June 21); Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Tarantino directs Brad Pitt and Leo DiCaprio in 1969-set drama (July 26); Downton Abbey, the movie (September 20); and last but certainly not least for fans of the first, Frozen 2 (November 22).