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Another Prequel which tells the story of how young Katie (Chloe Csengery) and her older sister Kristy (Jessica Tyler Brown) coped with strange happenings in the new home they moved into in 1988 with their mum (Lauren Bittner) and her new hubby Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith). You know trouble is brewing once Katie talks about her mysterious invisible friend Toby and the secrets she shares with him. What follows is a wild array of effects which at times are scary, but not because of any build-up of tension but because they're loud, and, quite simply, you can't time them precisely. There are long silences, but they only seem to be there for the sake of filling up some of the plot holes rather than actually creating the same tension of the previous film and especially the first installment in this series. Sometimes predictably, sometimes lifted from its predecessors, but often just very silly, this doesn't work as a horror film. The performances of the two young leads Csengery and Brown are, however, quite remarkably restrained and very effective. If the story is mostly rather off-putting, these girls certainly aren't and they manage to at least keep you slightly interested until the ludicrous finale.

I was, admittedly, very sceptical when I first heard of this film. A Dutch film basically taking on the successful Step Up-franchise is a big challenge, especially as it will take an enormous amount of effort to persuade the sceptics who believe that it doesn't get any better than Step Up. What more can one do than create a film that is full of great music (and I dislike R&B!), loads of dancing with quite an impressive array of brilliant moves and attractive leads? Well, how about making sure that all scenes are wonderfully lit and beautifully shot and editing the film in such a way that you can immediately see that these people really are great dancers, rather than trying to fool the audience with cheap editing tricks? Even the script is better than you would expect. It wastes no time on its strange premise and doesn't try to keep us wondering if this group of misfits is going to succeed. The story lines aren't particularly original, but it's quite refreshing to see a film in which dancing is not presented as a solution to all the problems, but as a means of expressing who you are and what you feel. In the end it's not the victory that counts, but the pains, the hardships, the love and friendship you meet along the way. This isn't highbrow stuff by any means, but dance flicks really don't get any better than this.

This masterfully crafted and splendidly acted slice of history, reminds a nation ever more forgetful about its Royal Past, how the 2nd son of Prince George V - after being forced to ascend the throne when his brother abdicates to marry a recently-divorced commoner - had to overcome a terrible speech impediment to unite his people against its common enemy at the outbreak of World War II, and in doing so became one of the great symbols of faith and hope during the war. All the secondary roles are impeccably cast, although Timothy Spall's obvious imitation of Winston Churchill does tend to distract you from the real story. But this is Colin Firth's movie all the way, and he gives an unforgettably sensitive, dignified and utterly believable portrayal of a man who has to over come great demons from past and present and comes to realize that he can only do that with the help of the man who was to become his greatest friend: Lionel Logue, played with great wit and an unusual restraint by Geoffrey Rush, who also shines in this fascinating drama. His chemistry with Firth makes Firth shine even more, and that is the sign of a truly great piece of acting. It helps if you know the historic importance of George IV's speeches, but this film will move you with or without that knowledge.