Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2025-10-22T17:04:39.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere review – is the Boss biopic worth a cinema trip?
items: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere review – is the biopic worth a cinema trip?
items: The Woman in Cabin 10 review: Keira Knightley's whodunnit sinks without a trace
items: Steve review: Cillian Murphy is in awards-worthy form in this powerful drama
items: Steve review: Cillian Murphy is in awards-worthy form in this powerful film
items: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review – An exercise in nostalgia
items: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review – Such beloved characters deserve a better film
items: The Roses review: Colman and Cumberbatch are at war in a fun but frustratingly toothless ride
items: The Roses review: A fun but frustratingly toothless ride
items: The Naked Gun review: Liam Neeson's legacy sequel is a 90-minute hoot
items: The Naked Gun review: As perennially quotable as its forebears
items: 28 Years Later review: A more reflective, human story that puts the zombie franchise back on track
items: 28 Years Later review: A more reflective, human story that puts the franchise back on track
items: Death of a Unicorn review: A comedy-horror that's stretched beyond its capabilities
items: Death of a Unicorn review: Jenna Ortega comedy-horror is stretched beyond its capabilities
items: Oscars 2025: The case for A Complete Unknown to win Best Picture
items: The case for A Complete Unknown
items: A Complete Unknown review: This Bob Dylan biopic is one of the most convincing interpretations of a musician ever
items: A Complete Unknown review: One of the most convincing interpretations of a musician ever
items: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl review — A banquet of jokes with storytelling as audacious as ever
items: Speak No Evil review: No less stark, satirical or unsettling than the original
items: Despicable Me 4 review: Animated franchise shows little sign of running out of steam
items: Inside Out 2 review: No need for fear or anxiety, Pixar's sequel is a joy
items: Bad Boys: Ride or Die review – A white-knuckle, trope-heavy thrill ride
items: The Fall Guy review: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt share dazzling chemistry
items: Back to Black review: Biopic struggles to get under Amy Winehouse's skin
items: The First Omen review: Horror prequel does what it says on the tin
items: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review - Hugely entertaining adventure
items: Wonka review: A cosy chronicle of a young eccentric

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere review – is the Boss biopic worth a cinema trip?
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: This biopic works best when its sharper focus is on a troubled thirty-something burying himself in the creation of what would become one of his most celebrated records.
encoded: ★★★☆☆ Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is in cinemas on Friday 24 October. Add it to your watchlist Early on in Deliver Me From Nowhere, the man of the hour is shopping for a new set of wheels when the smooth-talking dealer tells him "I do know who you are". Bruce Springsteen, checking out the dashboard cassette player on a sporty little number, shrugs and says: “Well, that makes one of us." It’s an awkwardly glib exchange, unnecessarily reminding viewers they’re watching an account of a musician familiar to millions struggling with his own identity, and an example of the weak dialogue that occasionally threatens to derail an otherwise solid drama. We’ve been here before, and not that long ago; it’s less than a year since the release of A Complete Unknown and Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan navigating an equally soul-searching creative crossroads. As voices of their generations, Bob and Bruce are cut from not entirely dissimilar cloth, so it’s inevitable that fans of either or both will indulge in studious games of compare/contrast between the two offerings. One intriguing difference is that while the earlier film is inspired by events leading up to Dylan infamously "going electric," The Boss biopic largely concerns itself with Springsteen doing practically the opposite. We first see Jeremy Allen White’s Springsteen drenched in sweat during the closing number of the last show of a lengthy arena tour to promote his and the E Street Band’s 1980 album The River, Bruce’s first US chart-topper and the global breakthrough that would go on to sell seven million copies worldwide. View oEmbed on the source website All is not well, though, as rapidly escalating fame sits uncomfortably on his shoulders, further scratching an itch to dial down the bombast and get back to basics – it’s time to buy a primitive tape machine and retreat to a weather-beaten cottage in semi-rural New Jersey. That, in a nutshell, is the central theme of the source material, author Warren Zanes's acc…

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Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere review – is the biopic worth a cinema trip?
type: item
date: 2025-10-20T10:29:06.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: This biopic works best when its sharper focus is on a troubled thirty-something burying himself in the creation of what would become one of his most celebrated records.
encoded: Early on in Deliver Me From Nowhere, the man of the hour is shopping for a new set of wheels when the smooth-talking dealer tells him "I do know who you are". Bruce Springsteen, checking out the dashboard cassette player on a sporty little number, shrugs and says: “Well, that makes one of us." It’s an awkwardly glib exchange, unnecessarily reminding viewers they’re watching an account of a musician familiar to millions struggling with his own identity, and an example of the weak dialogue that occasionally threatens to derail an otherwise solid drama. We’ve been here before, and not that long ago; it’s less than a year since the release of A Complete Unknown and Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan navigating an equally soul-searching creative crossroads. As voices of their generations, Bob and Bruce are cut from not entirely dissimilar cloth, so it’s inevitable that fans of either or both will indulge in studious games of compare/contrast between the two offerings. One intriguing difference is that while the earlier film is inspired by events leading up to Dylan infamously "going electric," The Boss biopic largely concerns itself with Springsteen doing practically the opposite. We first see Jeremy Allen White’s Springsteen drenched in sweat during the closing number of the last show of a lengthy arena tour to promote his and the E Street Band’s 1980 album The River, Bruce’s first US chart-topper and the global breakthrough that would go on to sell seven million copies worldwide. All is not well, though, as rapidly escalating fame sits uncomfortably on his shoulders, further scratching an itch to dial down the bombast and get back to basics – it’s time to buy a primitive tape machine and retreat to a weather-beaten cottage in semi-rural New Jersey. That, in a nutshell, is the central theme of the source material, author Warren Zanes's acclaimed book of the same name about the making of Springsteen’s next LP, the low-key and decidedly lo-fi Nebraska. Consequently, the film s…

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The Woman in Cabin 10 review: Keira Knightley's whodunnit sinks without a trace
type: item
date: 2025-10-09T15:00:42.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: A look at the talented cast list for this stagnant murder mystery promises riches that never surface.
encoded: The ensemble crime mystery has been a fiction staple since long before Agatha Christie was bulk-buying typewriter ribbons, and is catnip for filmmakers. It enables them to fill the screen with an often starry cast of equally often exaggerated characters, teasing viewers as to which will ultimately be revealed as the culprit – but can there be culprits when there’s no evidence of a crime? Welcome aboard the “superyacht” Aurora Borealis, where investigative journalist Keira Knightley is the square peg in a round hole of mega-rich fellow guests; deep-pocketed donors awaiting an important announcement from their similarly philanthropic hosts Guy Pearce and his terminally ill wife. All’s as it should be for the first few hours of the voyage (although Knightley is slightly irked her ex-boyfriend photographer David Ajala is also a passenger), but when our intrepid reporter hears a scuffle in a neighbouring cabin, followed by the sound what she thinks is a woman being thrown overboard, cats are well and truly among pigeons. However, after raising the alarm so that the crew can carry out a spotlight search of the waters below, she’s informed a head-count shows that everyone is accounted for, and there’s no signs of anything remotely like foul play in the cabin – which nobody was berthing in anyway. The suggestion is floated (ha!) that she’s imagined the melee, especially after her erstwhile beau lets slip details of a trauma from an earlier newspaper assignment, but our Keira is determined to get to the bottom of the puzzle and figure out who knows more than they’re letting on. And who do we have? In addition to smoothie moneybags Pearce and his automaton-like staff, there’s his wife’s hangdog doctor Art Malik, boozy gallery owners David Morrissey and Hannah Waddingham, arrogant alpha male model Daniel Ings, flighty social media starlet Kaya Scodelario, wizened cartoon cut-out rock star Paul Kaye, and taciturn tech genius Christopher Rygh, a big noise in AI and facial-recogn…

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Steve review: Cillian Murphy is in awards-worthy form in this powerful drama
type: item
date: 2025-09-19T14:57:33.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The drama – adapted by writer Max Porter from his novella Shy – is stylish, responsible and intelligent.
encoded: ★★★★☆ Steve is in select cinemas from 19 September and on Netflix from Friday 3 October. Add it to your watchlist The age-old adage that you don’t have to be mad to work here but it helps was never truer than for Cillian Murphy's Steve, head teacher at a residential reform school for teenage boys with, to put it mildly, severe behavioural problems. Stanton Wood is a controversial establishment, a last-chance saloon for youngsters the rest of the world has given up on (“a waiting room for borstal,” suggests one minor character), apart from Murphy’s Steve and his plain-speaking deputy Tracey Ullman. View oEmbed on the source website The pupils’ struggles are mirrored by Steve’s own; a driven educator cum social worker, escalating alcohol and substance abuse enabling him to keep numerous plates spinning while all around him falls apart. Thus, the scene is set for a pivotal 24 hours during which the pressure-cooker environment is tested to its limits, in a powerful film where dark humour only partially masks a desperate state of affairs, distinguished by across-the-board memorable performances. It’s an especially frantic day at Stanton Wood, on which a camera crew filming a short piece for a regional TV news programme coincides with a visit from the area’s pompous, knighted MP (a requisitely stuffy Roger Allam). Most significantly, though, representatives of the trust that bankrolls the project arrive to inform Steve and his staff that the buildings have been sold and the school will close in six months. Director Tim Mielants drops that particular bombshell fairly early on, by which time he’s already skilfully established his characters, from the mayhem of Steve on what he calls “a roundabout of doom” and the equally well-meaning but more pragmatic Ullman, to the arguably unsung stars of the piece, the boys themselves. Prominent among the miscreants is the troubled but clearly bright Shy, a mannered, captivating turn by Jay Lycurgo (screenwriter Max Porter’s own source …

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Steve review: Cillian Murphy is in awards-worthy form in this powerful film
type: item
date: 2025-09-17T14:58:31.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: The drama – adapted by writer Max Porter from his novella Shy – is stylish, responsible and intelligent.
encoded: The age-old adage that you don’t have to be mad to work here but it helps was never truer than for Cillian Murphy's Steve, head teacher at a residential reform school for teenage boys with, to put it mildly, severe behavioural problems. Stanton Wood is a controversial establishment, a last-chance saloon for youngsters the rest of the world has given up on (“a waiting room for borstal,” suggests one minor character), apart from Murphy’s Steve and his plain-speaking deputy Tracey Ullman. The pupils’ struggles are mirrored by Steve’s own; a driven educator cum social worker, escalating alcohol and substance abuse enabling him to keep numerous plates spinning while all around him falls apart. Thus, the scene is set for a pivotal 24 hours during which the pressure-cooker environment is tested to its limits, in a powerful film where dark humour only partially masks a desperate state of affairs, distinguished by across-the-board memorable performances. It’s an especially frantic day at Stanton Wood, on which a camera crew filming a short piece for a regional TV news programme coincides with a visit from the area’s pompous, knighted MP (a requisitely stuffy Roger Allam). Most significantly, though, representatives of the trust that bankrolls the project arrive to inform Steve and his staff that the buildings have been sold and the school will close in six months. Director Tim Mielants drops that particular bombshell fairly early on, by which time he’s already skilfully established his characters, from the mayhem of Steve on what he calls “a roundabout of doom” and the equally well-meaning but more pragmatic Ullman, to the arguably unsung stars of the piece, the boys themselves. Prominent among the miscreants is the troubled but clearly bright Shy, a mannered, captivating turn by Jay Lycurgo (screenwriter Max Porter’s own source novel was called Shy), who we first meet in a happy-go-lucky mood until a phone call from his mother reveals she no longer wants anything to do with…

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Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review – An exercise in nostalgia
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Although still a good time, this sequel hardly enriches the Tap pantheon — and such beloved characters deserve a better film.
encoded: ★★★☆☆ Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is in cinemas from 12 September. Add it to your watchlist You can’t keep a good band down, nor can you ever really say goodbye to a less celebrated combo who built their shaky reputation on such hard rock anthems as Big Bottom, Sex Farm and, of course, Stonehenge. Box office returns upon its release in 1984 are best described as modest, but the stature of This Is Spinal Tap skyrocketed over time, and today it’s regularly placed high on charts of all-time greatest film comedies. View oEmbed on the source website Not bad for a micro-budget, liberally improvised mockumentary about a fictional English group (played by Americans) coming apart at the seams on a make-or-break US tour, a film that both lampooned the often already preposterous heavy metal community, and dished up a heartwarming bromance. Our heroes are Tapping into America again in an all-new yarn, although references to the first film are many (brief cameos by supporting characters, mentions of erstwhile deceased drummers) and only go a little way to compensate for the worrying dearth of fresh Grade-A gags. The “II” of the title is a little misleading, however, as although this is the band’s second big screen outing there has been plenty of other Tap activity in the 41 years since their cinema debut. In tandem with a reunion album called Break Like the Wind, the 1992 straight-to-video release The Return of Spinal Tap chronicled the group’s sold-out concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the songs interspersed with comic vignettes. They got together again in 2009 for a two-month US tour, followed by another London show and an appearance at that year’s Glastonbury Festival, and Harry Shearer’s laconic bassist Derek Smalls resurfaced in 2018 with a solo album, Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing). Ageing is key in the new film; if we take the timeline literally the musicians are now in their eighties (“when the candles cost more than the cake”), and are reconvening for…

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Spinal Tap II: The End Continues review – Such beloved characters deserve a better film
type: item
date: 2025-09-11T01:00:28.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Rather than enriching or adding to the Tap pantheon, the movie is best approached as an exercise in nostalgia.
encoded: You can’t keep a good band down, nor can you ever really say goodbye to a less celebrated combo who built their shaky reputation on such hard rock anthems as Big Bottom, Sex Farm and, of course, Stonehenge. Box office returns upon its release in 1984 are best described as modest, but the stature of This Is Spinal Tap skyrocketed over time, and today it’s regularly placed high on charts of all-time greatest film comedies. Not bad for a micro-budget, liberally improvised mockumentary about a fictional English group (played by Americans) coming apart at the seams on a make-or-break US tour, a film that both lampooned the often already preposterous heavy metal community, and dished up a heartwarming bromance. Our heroes are Tapping into America again in an all-new yarn, although references to the first film are many (brief cameos by supporting characters, mentions of erstwhile deceased drummers) and only go a little way to compensate for the worrying dearth of fresh Grade A gags. The “II” of the title is a little misleading, however, as although this is the band’s second big screen outing there has been plenty of other Tap activity in the 41 years since their cinema debut. In tandem with a reunion album called Break Like the Wind, the 1992 straight-to-video release The Return of Spinal Tap chronicled the group’s sold-out concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the songs interspersed with comic vignettes. View oEmbed on the source website They got together again in 2009 for a two-month US tour, followed by another London show and an appearance at that year’s Glastonbury Festival, and Harry Shearer’s laconic bassist Derek Smalls resurfaced in 2018 with a solo album, Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing). Ageing is key in the new film; if we take the timeline literally the musicians are now in their eighties (“when the candles cost more than the cake”), and are reconvening for a last hurrah, having not spoken to each other for 15 years. Badgering them into a one-off comeb…

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height: 1279

The Roses review: Colman and Cumberbatch are at war in a fun but frustratingly toothless ride
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch are arguably far too likeable to take viewers into a world where bitterness, recrimination and malice reign.
encoded: ★★★☆☆ The Roses is in cinemas now. Add it to your watchlist Can national treasures be nasty? Are beloved public figures capable of convincing us they’re cruel? The anatomy of a marriage disintegrating into a sea of vitriol and two-way psychological torture is undeniably grim subject matter, a highwire act for a filmmaker who, if the job’s done properly and honestly, leaves little room for the audience to root for either protagonist. And therein lies the flaw with The Roses; its leads are far too likeable in everyday life to take viewers into a world where bitterness, recrimination and malice reign. Both Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have entries on their CVs where a film role has required them to be unsavoury types, yet here director Jay Roach seems to begin the tale with a Year Zero premise of characters who are charming and quick-witted, a filmic reflection of the stars’ familiar personalities from chat shows and awards ceremonies. Perhaps the intention is to heighten the shock value when the lovebirds subsequently turn on each other, but the viciousness is diluted by polite slapstick and a few too many zappy one-liners. Theo and Ivy Rose are well-to-do Brits abroad, he a globally renowned architect, she a skilled chef with a radically creative streak; however, when a freak storm destroys one of the former’s buildings, leaving his reputation in tatters, the latter steps up to be the chief breadwinner. It’s a switch that necessitates changes to their respective parenting roles, although disputes over the raising of their children pale against other confrontations fuelled by power, fame, wealth and ego. A mutual decision to split up leads to the inevitable who-gets-what in the divorce settlement, centred largely on the luxury California cliffside house Theo designed and built but which Ivy paid for. Battle lines drawn, the remainder of the narrative is a mildly comic game of tit-for-tat that involves such artillery as a spouse trapped in a room while grindc…

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The Roses review: A fun but frustratingly toothless ride
type: item
date: 2025-08-25T17:00:58.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch are arguably far too likeable to take viewers into a world where bitterness, recrimination and malice reign.
encoded: Can national treasures be nasty? Are beloved public figures capable of convincing us they’re cruel? The anatomy of a marriage disintegrating into a sea of vitriol and two-way psychological torture is undeniably grim subject matter, a highwire act for a filmmaker who, if the job’s done properly and honestly, leaves little room for the audience to root for either protagonist. And therein lies the flaw with The Roses; its leads are far too likeable in everyday life to take viewers into a world where bitterness, recrimination and malice reign. Both Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have entries on their CVs where a film role has required them to be unsavoury types, yet here director Jay Roach seems to begin the tale with a Year Zero premise of characters who are charming and quick-witted, a filmic reflection of the stars’ familiar personalities from chat shows and awards ceremonies. Perhaps the intention is to heighten the shock value when the lovebirds subsequently turn on each other, but the viciousness is diluted by polite slapstick and a few too many zappy one-liners. Theo and Ivy Rose are well-to-do Brits abroad, he a globally renowned architect, she a skilled chef with a radically creative streak; however, when a freak storm destroys one of the former’s buildings, leaving his reputation in tatters, the latter steps up to be the chief breadwinner. It’s a switch that necessitates changes to their respective parenting roles, although disputes over the raising of their children pale against other confrontations fuelled by power, fame, wealth and ego. A mutual decision to split up leads to the inevitable who-gets-what in the divorce settlement, centred largely on the luxury California cliffside house Theo designed and built but which Ivy paid for. Battle lines drawn, the remainder of the narrative is a mildly comic game of tit-for-tat that involves such artillery as a spouse trapped in a room while grindcore band Napalm Death blasts out of the house’s in-built sou…

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The Naked Gun review: Liam Neeson's legacy sequel is a 90-minute hoot
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: The Irish actor and Pamela Anderson star in a reboot as perennially quotable as the beloved Leslie Nielsen spoof trilogy
encoded: ★★★★☆ The Naked Gun is in cinemas now. Add it to your watchlist. During the Leslie Nielsen years, there were essentially two Frank Drebins; the deadpan, stony-faced detective of the short-lived 1982 TV series Police Squad! giving way to a more expressive, slapstick-prone version deemed necessary for the feature-length rhythms of the first Naked Gun cinema trilogy (1988-94). The return of The Naked Gun in 2025 enables fans to discover which traits of the above have been inherited by Liam Neeson’s Frank Drebin Jr, as he takes on the mantle (ie, badge) of his father to fight crime with healthy lashings of comedy. In industry parlance, it’s a legacy sequel; a largely 21st century conceit in which a story’s premise is revived significantly further along the timeline and often built around descendants of the original characters. Consequently, references to what went before are par for the course, and in a franchise that was clearly fond of sight gags and one-line asides from the start it’s no surprise to find the reboot has a generous helping of nods to days of yore. Yet, while the film is an unashamedly affectionate celebration of the past, it has the clout and cavalcade of laughs to announce itself as its own beast. Things are shaky in the modern-day precinct, the more fiscally-minded higher-ups of the force threatening to shut it down due to the underwhelming number of crimes being solved. It falls to the younger Frank, therefore, to reverse the squad’s faltering fortunes by cracking a headline-grabbing murder, while also laying to rest some of the issues he had with his late father. As far as the plot goes, little more need be said here, as narrative threads aren’t especially important when director Akiva Schaffer and his co-screenwriters busy themselves front-loading the hilarity and giving the parody movie genre a much-needed shot in the arm. Those parodies are plentiful, although the film noir tropes upon which the elder Drebin’s world was built don’t get as much o…

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The Naked Gun review: As perennially quotable as its forebears
type: item
date: 2025-08-01T08:57:31.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Comment
subject: Review
description: Liam Neeson stars in this legacy sequel to the iconic Leslie Nielsen spoof trilogy – a 90-minute hoot that bodes well for more to come.
encoded: During the Leslie Nielsen years, there were essentially two Frank Drebins; the deadpan, stony-faced detective of the short-lived 1982 TV series Police Squad! giving way to a more expressive, slapstick-prone version deemed necessary for the feature-length rhythms of the first Naked Gun cinema trilogy (1988-94). The return of The Naked Gun in 2025 enables fans to discover which traits of the above have been inherited by Liam Neeson’s Frank Drebin Jr, as he takes on the mantle (ie, badge) of his father to fight crime with healthy lashings of comedy. In industry parlance, it’s a legacy sequel; a largely 21st century conceit in which a story’s premise is revived significantly further along the timeline and often built around descendants of the original characters. Consequently, references to what went before are par for the course, and in a franchise that was clearly fond of sight gags and one-line asides from the start it’s no surprise to find the reboot has a generous helping of nods to days of yore. Yet, while the film is an unashamedly affectionate celebration of the past, it has the clout and cavalcade of laughs to announce itself as its own beast. Things are shaky in the modern-day precinct, the more fiscally-minded higher-ups of the force threatening to shut it down due to the underwhelming number of crimes being solved. It falls to the younger Frank, therefore, to reverse the squad’s faltering fortunes by cracking a headline-grabbing murder, while also laying to rest some of the issues he had with his late father. As far as the plot goes, little more need be said here, as narrative threads aren’t especially important when director Akiva Schaffer and his co-screenwriters busy themselves front-loading the hilarity and giving the parody movie genre a much-needed shot in the arm. Those parodies are plentiful, although the film noir tropes upon which the elder Drebin’s world was built don’t get as much of a look-in as guffawing shout-outs to distinctly ‘80s police-rel…

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height: 1440

28 Years Later review: A more reflective, human story that puts the zombie franchise back on track
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return with a sequel to their 2002 effort which reinvented the zombie movie.
encoded: ★★★☆☆ 28 Years Later is in cinemas now. Add it to your watchlist In 2002, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland were hailed as near visionaries for all but reinventing the zombie movie. In stark contrast to the shuffling foes of yore, the undead of 28 Days Later could run like Olympic sprinters while leaving splashes of vomited blood in their wake. View oEmbed on the source website The momentum was lost by the time of 28 Weeks Later in 2007 (on which the pair were credited as executive producers), its comparatively lukewarm reception arguably a factor in why it’s taken so long for a third entry in the franchise to get off the ground. Now, having delegated the heavy lifting to others for the last film, Boyle and Garland are back in the drivers’ seats to impart deeper wisdom about the longer-term aftermath of a world gone to hell — their apocalypse nous, if you will. The passing of time, in narrative terms, is crucial, inviting viewers to flick forward several chapters to a mainland UK quarantined for close to three decades, its waters patrolled by foreign military to ensure the infected (and their subsequent progeny) stay put. Meanwhile, on Holy Island off the coast of Northumbria, a close-knit healthy community goes about the day-to-day rebuilding of a working society, including 30-something couple Jamie and Isla (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer) and their 12-year-old offspring Spike (relative newcomer Alfie Williams). Father takes son on an outlawed foraging trip to said mainland, where victims of the initial biological meltdown have mutated into a multi-tiered society of their own; slow-moving obese souls who largely crawl on their bellies feeding on worms, speedier folk hunting and eating herds of deer, and — most aggressively — "alphas" whose super-strength manifests itself in maniacally murderous behaviour. It’s Spike’s first expedition, a rite of passage celebrated upon his return in boozy pagan style by a wild party, the islanders singing along…

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28 Years Later review: A more reflective, human story that puts the franchise back on track
type: item
date: 2025-06-19T10:07:39.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return with a sequel to their 2002 effort which reinvented the zombie movie.
encoded: In 2002, director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland were hailed as near visionaries for all but reinventing the zombie movie. In stark contrast to the shuffling foes of yore, the undead of 28 Days Later could run like Olympic sprinters while leaving splashes of vomited blood in their wake. The momentum was lost by the time of 28 Weeks Later in 2007 (on which the pair were credited as executive producers), its comparatively lukewarm reception arguably a factor in why it’s taken so long for a third entry in the franchise to get off the ground. Now, having delegated the heavy lifting to others for the last film, Boyle and Garland are back in the drivers’ seats to impart deeper wisdom about the longer-term aftermath of a world gone to hell - their apocalypse nous, if you will. The passing of time, in narrative terms, is crucial, inviting viewers to flick forward several chapters to a mainland UK quarantined for close to three decades, its waters patrolled by foreign military to ensure the infected (and their subsequent progeny) stay put. Meanwhile, on Holy Island off the coast of Northumbria, a close-knit healthy community goes about the day-to-day rebuilding of a working society, including 30-something couple Jamie and Isla (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer) and their 12-year-old offspring Spike (relative newcomer Alfie Williams). Father takes son on an outlawed foraging trip to said mainland, where victims of the initial biological meltdown have mutated into a multi-tiered society of their own; slow-moving obese souls who largely crawl on their bellies feeding on worms, speedier folk hunting and eating herds of deer, and - most aggressively - "alphas" whose super-strength manifests itself in maniacally murderous behaviour. It’s Spike’s first expedition, a rite of passage celebrated upon his return in boozy pagan style by a wild party, the islanders singing along uproariously to 19th-century Geordie folk song The Blaydon Races and, for some unexplained reason,…

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Death of a Unicorn review: A comedy-horror that's stretched beyond its capabilities
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Paul Rudd, Richard E Grant and Jenna Ortega star in a quirky and cartoonish horror comedy
encoded: ★★★☆☆ Death of a Unicorn is in cinemas from Friday 4 April. Add it to your watchlist Traditionally, unicorns have cantered at the more comfy end of the popular culture spectrum, their typical domain the worlds of cuddly toys, colouring books and posters on little girls’ bedroom walls — a far cry from anything that might invoke terror. Placing them in a fright fest, albeit one played for laughs, is akin to a Jaws reboot with previously human-friendly dolphins as the ravenous menace, and Death of a Unicorn is not the first example of big-screen juxtaposition where hitherto beloved childhood creatures are the monstrous villains of the piece. The good news is that this is a better movie than either Five Nights at Freddy’s or the truly woeful Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (both 2023), but writer-director Alex Scharfman’s comedy-horror is still a concept stretched beyond its capabilities. Straitlaced single parent Paul Rudd and his infinitely cooler college-age daughter Jenna Ortega are driving to a weekend gathering at his moneybag employer’s country pile when their car collides with… well, you know. Understandably in shock, for more than one reason, Ortega touches the beast’s horn and experiences curious cosmic visions, seconds before panicky Dad springs into action to finish the wounded beast off with a tyre iron. View oEmbed on the source website With the carcass bundled away in their vehicle, they arrive at their destination - but wait! Other house guests discover the grisly cargo and realise it’s survived Rudd’s attempted mercy killing, so one them opts to get the job done with a gun. It gets sillier; a team of scientists also working for Rudd’s boss (Richard E Grant) grate the unicorn’s horn as a possible component of a cure for cancer - but it’s still not dead, and more unicorns (vengeful ones) rock up to give the hapless homo sapiens headaches. Of course, any film where the threat to life comes from the U word plainly isn’t taking itself too seriously, and des…

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Death of a Unicorn review: Jenna Ortega comedy-horror is stretched beyond its capabilities
type: item
date: 2025-04-02T10:06:32.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd star.
encoded: Traditionally, unicorns have cantered at the more comfy end of the popular culture spectrum, their typical domain the worlds of cuddly toys, colouring books and posters on little girls’ bedroom walls - a far cry from anything that might invoke terror. Placing them in a fright fest, albeit one played for laughs, is akin to a Jaws reboot with previously human-friendly dolphins as the ravenous menace, and Death of a Unicorn is not the first example of big-screen juxtaposition where hitherto beloved childhood creatures are the monstrous villains of the piece. The good news is that this is a better movie than either Five Nights at Freddy’s or the truly woeful Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (both 2023), but writer-director Alex Scharfman’s comedy-horror is still a concept stretched beyond its capabilities. Straitlaced single parent Paul Rudd and his infinitely cooler college-age daughter Jenna Ortega are driving to a weekend gathering at his moneybag employer’s country pile when their car collides with… well, you know. Understandably in shock, for more than one reason, Ortega touches the beast’s horn and experiences curious cosmic visions, seconds before panicky Dad springs into action to finish the wounded beast off with a tyre iron. View oEmbed on the source website With the carcass bundled away in their vehicle, they arrive at their destination - but wait! Other house guests discover the grisly cargo and realise it’s survived Rudd’s attempted mercy killing, so one them opts to get the job done with a gun. It gets sillier; a team of scientists also working for Rudd’s boss (Richard E Grant) grate the unicorn’s horn as a possible component of a cure for cancer - but it’s still not dead, and more unicorns (vengeful ones) rock up to give the hapless homo sapiens headaches. Of course, any film where the threat to life comes from the U word plainly isn’t taking itself too seriously, and despite muddled subtexts of ambition, greed and loyalty, Scharfman revels in the nonsens…

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Oscars 2025: The case for A Complete Unknown to win Best Picture
type: item
date: 2025-03-01T08:00:30.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Comment
subject: Oscars
description: James Mangold's Bob Dylan biopic should be propelled to Oscars glory thanks to a charismatic Timothée Chalamet.
encoded: A much-travelled route to Oscars glory is to play a well-known figure from the music world, the familiarity of the subject enabling audiences (and, more importantly, Academy voters) to get a handle on just how good a performance is. Since 2000, five lead acting awards have gone to portrayals of real-life musicians: Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles (in Ray), Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash (Walk The Line), Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf (La Vie en Rose), Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Rene Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy). View oEmbed on the source website However, none of the above films went the extra mile and took home the glittering prize of Best Picture; so, while Timothée Chalamet’s spellbinding turn as Bob Dylan has the requisite buzz of a winner, is history against A Complete Unknown itself going all the way? Its failure to snag any gongs from three nominations at the Golden Globes and six at the BAFTAs would suggest the film is an outsider, but the Oscars have an intermittent tendency to throw curveballs, and outside events may conspire to put it among the frontrunners. A release date of late December 2024 makes it the "newest" of the nominees and feasibly fresher in voters’ memories, while headline-grabbing news in early ‘25 could yet be a factor; Liberal Hollywood has its concerns about President Trump’s agenda for the next four years, and the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have hit the community hard. In times of trouble there is a temptation for audiences to seek out uplifting fare, so the feel-good elements of A Complete Unknown and its soundtrack of iconic songs certainly fit the bill. Director James Mangold’s decision to focus on a specific, relatively short period of time in the singer-songwriter’s career results in a more forensic canvas with greater attention to detail. The nomination for Best Costume Design is key, a vital component in the evocative recreation of an era viewers of a certain age still hold dear; in addit…

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The case for A Complete Unknown
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
subject: App Oscars 2025
description: James Mangold's Bob Dylan biopic should be propelled to Oscars glory thanks to a charismatic Timothée Chalamet
encoded: Add A Complete Unknown to your watchlist A much-travelled route to Oscars glory is to play a well-known figure from the music world, the familiarity of the subject enabling audiences (and, more importantly, Academy voters) to get a handle on just how good a performance is. Since 2000, five lead acting awards have gone to portrayals of real-life musicians; Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles (in Ray), Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash (Walk The Line), Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf (La Vie en Rose), Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Rene Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy). However, none of the above films went the extra mile and took home the glittering prize of Best Picture; so, while Timothée Chalamet’s spellbinding turn as Bob Dylan has the requisite buzz of a winner, is history against A Complete Unknown itself going all the way? View oEmbed on the source website Its failure to snag any gongs from three nominations at the Golden Globes and six at the BAFTAs would suggest the film is an outsider, but the Oscars have an intermittent tendency to throw curveballs, and outside events may conspire to put it among the front runners. A release date of late December 2024 makes it the “newest” of the nominees and feasibly fresher in voters’ memories, while headline-grabbing news in early ‘25 could yet be a factor; Liberal Hollywood has its concerns about President Trump’s agenda for the next four years, and the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have hit the community hard. In times of trouble there is a temptation for audiences to seek out uplifting fare, so the feel-good elements of A Complete Unknown and its soundtrack of iconic songs certainly fit the bill. Director James Mangold’s decision to focus on a specific, relatively short period of time in the singer-songwriter’s career results in a more forensic canvas with greater attention to detail. The nomination for Best Costume Design is key, a vital component in the evocative recreation of an era viewers …

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A Complete Unknown review: This Bob Dylan biopic is one of the most convincing interpretations of a musician ever
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Timothée Chalamet is perfect as Bob Dylan in this new biopic from director James Mangold.
encoded: ★★★★☆ A Complete Unknown is in UK cinemas from 17 January. Add it to your watchlist Timothée Chalamet is an actor who relishes a challenge, as evidenced by his stepping into the shoes of an enigmatic, instantly recognisable cultural icon, knowing his portrayal runs the risk of dividing – or even alienating – millions of lifelong fans. But that’s enough about Willy Wonka… Anyone taking on the movie mantle of Bob Dylan would be subject to near forensic scrutiny, and while Chalamet does so with confidence, skill and subtlety, there remains the possibility of his outstanding performance being overshadowed, in the eyes of some, by a screenplay where the truths they are a-changin’. The intense fervour of a certain stripe of Dylan devotee has made A Complete Unknown the most talked-about biopic in years, propelled by its makers’ delight in holding an unusually high number of sneak previews prior to the film’s official release in both America and the UK. View oEmbed on the source website Consequently, internet forums and message boards of a diehard Dylanologist bent (the "dork web", if you will) have been ablaze with debates over dramatic licence playing fast and loose with the facts. Hot topics include why Bob’s pre-fame girlfriend has undergone a change of name, the poking of holes in the framing of his often fragile relationship with fellow folkie Joan Baez, and bafflement over the infamous audience heckle of "Judas!" being shown as taking place in a different year and country. However, according to director James Mangold, the singer himself was complicit in some of the intermittent detours from historical accuracy, as he was for the more playful elements of Martin Scorsese’s semi-fictionalised 2019 documentary Rolling Thunder (did anyone really think Sharon Stone had an affair with Dylan in her teens?). Taking author Elijah Ward’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! as its spine, A Complete Unknown undoubtedly toys with the conventions of biopics, weaving more speculative th…

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A Complete Unknown review: One of the most convincing interpretations of a musician ever
type: item
date: 2025-01-13T15:43:38.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Timothée Chalamet is perfect as Bob Dylan in this new biopic from director James Mangold.
encoded: Timothée Chalamet is an actor who relishes a challenge, as evidenced by his stepping into the shoes of an enigmatic, instantly recognisable cultural icon, knowing his portrayal runs the risk of dividing - or even alienating - millions of lifelong fans. But that’s enough about Willy Wonka… Anyone taking on the movie mantle of Bob Dylan would be subject to near forensic scrutiny, and while Chalamet does so with confidence, skill and subtlety, there remains the possibility of his outstanding performance being overshadowed, in the eyes of some, by a screenplay where the truths they are a-changin’. The intense fervour of a certain stripe of Dylan devotee has made A Complete Unknown the most talked-about biopic in years, propelled by its makers’ delight in holding an unusually high number of sneak previews prior to the film’s official release in both America and the UK. Consequently, internet forums and message boards of a diehard Dylanologist bent (the "dork web", if you will) have been ablaze with debates over dramatic licence playing fast and loose with the facts. Hot topics include why Bob’s pre-fame girlfriend has undergone a change of name, the poking of holes in the framing of his often fragile relationship with fellow folkie Joan Baez, and bafflement over the infamous audience heckle of "Judas!" being shown as taking place in a different year and country. However, according to director James Mangold, the singer himself was complicit in some of the intermittent detours from historical accuracy, as he was for the more playful elements of Martin Scorsese’s semi-fictionalised 2019 documentary Rolling Thunder (did anyone really think Sharon Stone had an affair with Dylan in her teens?). Taking author Elijah Ward’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! as its spine, A Complete Unknown undoubtedly toys with the conventions of biopics, weaving more speculative thoughts into a timeline that begins with the singer arriving in New York in 1961 and ends with the controversy of him o…

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl review — A banquet of jokes with storytelling as audacious as ever
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Aardman's stop-motion duo are back and fighting a familiar foe in this Christmas special, which maintains all the charm and invention that made its characters so beloved.
encoded: ★★★★☆ Add Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl to your watchlist Reassuringly, not much has changed in the world of Wallace & Gromit since we watched them wrestling with A Matter Of Loaf And Death in 2008. They’re still living a life that revolves round the former’s “cracking” contraptions, and it will come as no surprise to viewers when, once again, the inventor’s handiwork lands our heroes in hot water. On that bedrock of familiarity and tradition, they embark on only their second feature-length adventure, filled to the brim with laughs, jeopardy, outrageously creative physical comedy, and supporting characters who provide much more than window dressing. Significantly, there’s the return of Feathers McGraw, the duo’s dastardly avian nemesis, incarceratred in a high-security zoo at the close of 1993’s The Wrong Trousers — an early scene here references jailbird Robert De Niro in Cape Fear, one of a slew of pop culture sight gags throughout (keep your eyes peeled for nods to Captain Nemo, The Flintstones, and local TV presenter “Anton Deck”). Wallace’s new moneyspinner is an automated garden gnome called Norbot, a relentlessly upbeat, workaholic little fellow (voiced by Reece Shearsmith) and the cornerstone of West Wallaby Street’s latest business, Gnome Improvements, capable of landscaping an entire back yard in a matter of minutes. View oEmbed on the source website Sensing an opportunity, Feathers concocts a fiendish plan from his cell by hacking into Wallace’s cumbersome basement computer system, and mass-replicating Norbot (switched to an altogether more evil setting) until he has a veritable army to do his villainous bidding. The endgame is to stage another heist to steal the Blue Diamond he nearly got away with when first battling man and dog, but not before masterminding a gnome-perpretrated crimewave which, inevitably, is blamed on Norbot’s creator. It’s an open-and-shut case in the eyes of Peter Kay’s Chief Inspector Mackintosh (a meteoric rise through the…

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Speak No Evil review: No less stark, satirical or unsettling than the original
type: item
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: App
subject: App features
description: James McAvoy is superb throughout this chilling remake.
encoded: ★★★★☆ Speak No Evil is in cinemas now. Add it to your watchlist. Alarm bells have a habit of sounding whenever Hollywood announces a hasty remake of a European cult favourite, amid fears idiosyncratic elements which made the original so appealing will be buffed and polished into something more cookie-cutter and mainstream-friendly. However, while British-born writer-director James Watkins’s take on the Danish psychological horror of the same name makes occasional concessions to what’s often (disparagingly) called the popcorn crowd, the "new" Speak No Evil is no less stark, satirical or unsettling as its source material. Released only two-and-a-half years earlier, the first version underperformed at the international box office, earning just $630,000 (a fraction of its $3 million budget), but its reputation continues to grow among film fans belatedly discovering it via streaming platforms, due in no small part to its audacious and shocking last act. Respectful of what’s gone before, Watkins admirably keeps his powder dry, never rushing the slow-burn atmosphere of a narrative that starts out resembling a standard middle-class comedy of manners before gradually morphing into something altogether more sinister. Strait-laced American couple Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) are on holiday with their young daughter when they meet a mirror-image English family of three, the clear alpha being the father, Paddy (James McAvoy). All is lovely and rich in Kodak moments, to the point where Ben happily accepts Paddy’s invitation to join him, his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and mute son for an extended stay at their West Country cottage. Once there, cracks begin to appear, seemingly innocuous at first (Ciara admonishing her guests’ daughter for chewing with her mouth open), but friction over social niceties proves to mask more trigger-happy personality flash-points in Paddy’s treatment of his own child. View oEmbed on the source website Ben’s default-setting aver…

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Speak No Evil review: No less stark, satirical or unsettling than the original
type: item
date: 2024-09-10T15:12:01.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: James McAvoy is superb throughout in this chilling remake.
encoded: Alarm bells have a habit of sounding whenever Hollywood announces a hasty remake of a European cult favourite, amid fears idiosyncratic elements which made the original so appealing will be buffed and polished into something more cookie-cutter and mainstream-friendly. However, while British-born writer-director James Watkins’s take on the Danish psychological horror of the same name makes occasional concessions to what’s often (disparagingly) called the popcorn crowd, the "new" Speak No Evil is no less stark, satirical or unsettling as its source material. Released only two-and-a-half years earlier, the first version underperformed at the international box office, earning just $630,000 (a fraction of its $3 million budget), but its reputation continues to grow among film fans belatedly discovering it via streaming platforms, due in no small part to its audacious and shocking last act. Respectful of what’s gone before, Watkins admirably keeps his powder dry, never rushing the slow-burn atmosphere of a narrative that starts out resembling a standard middle-class comedy of manners before gradually morphing into something altogether more sinister. Strait-laced American couple Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) are on holiday with their young daughter when they meet a mirror-image English family of three, the clear alpha being the father, Paddy (James McAvoy). All is lovely and rich in Kodak moments, to the point where Ben happily accepts Paddy’s invitation to join him, his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and mute son for an extended stay at their West Country cottage. Once there, cracks begin to appear, seemingly innocuous at first (Ciara admonishing her guests’ daughter for chewing with her mouth open), but friction over social niceties proves to mask more trigger-happy personality flash-points in Paddy’s treatment of his own child. Ben’s default-setting aversion to confrontation isn’t shared by his wife, who wants to pack up and leave, but although it bec…

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Despicable Me 4 review: Animated franchise shows little sign of running out of steam
type: item
date: 2024-07-10T10:05:31.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Gru and the Minions are back for another instalment in the hugely popular series.
encoded: It must irk Woody, Buzz and everyone at Pixar that a comparatively latecomer rival studio can lay claim to cinema’s most successful animated franchise - one with an increasingly misleading title, to boot. Illumination Pictures’ record-breaking boast for Despicable Me is based on box office returns for five previous outings (including two spin-offs with the scene-stealing Minions front and centre), and in truth, its lead character hasn’t been especially despicable since about midway through the first film. Having made his bow in 2010, Gru (voiced, as always, by Steve Carell) continues to turn his back on villainy and instead focuses on bringing down the bad guys, while settling deeper into domesticity with his three orphan stepdaughters and, latterly, a wife (Kristen Wiig’s Lucy) and baby son of his own. Happy home life takes on a twist in DM4, however, when his most recently vanquished foe, Maxime le Mal (Will Ferrell rocking an outrageous French accent), breaks out of prison and vows revenge not only on the man who put him there but his nearest and dearest too. For their own protection, Gru, his family and little yellow henchmen are given new identities and relocated to the sleepy suburban backwater of Mayflower (“a lovely, safe, boring town”) - and, to paraphrase a well-known song, who wants to be a Minion there? While not an entirely original comic conceit (think Steve Martin in My Blue Heaven, or Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher in a multi-episode plot of TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine), it’s a novel way for the directors to ward off fears the initial pitch may be beginning to stagnate. Plenty of fun is mined from Gru’s attempts to get pally with his new neighbour (Stephen Colbert’s aloof Perry), Lucy’s mishaps in her “cover” employment as a hairdresser, and their daughters’ struggles to fit in at school and during karate lessons. That alone might have been enough to keep things ticking along nicely for 94 minutes, but the makers boldly risk over-egging the pudding with…

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Inside Out 2 review: No need for fear or anxiety, Pixar's sequel is a joy
type: item
date: 2024-06-12T19:00:12.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Pixar
subject: Review
description: Riley may be changing but the studio's latest film remains an inventive and assured delight.
encoded: As we left 12-year-old Riley in the closing minutes of the first Inside Out, the colourful characters representing the emotions in her head took delivery of an upgraded console and were wondering what the shiny new button marked “puberty” meant. No surprises, then, where this next instalment leads us. After several captivating films portraying the dynamics of family, Pixar now set sail on the (for them) comparatively uncharted, choppy waters of teenage torment and peer pressure. It’s not a wholesale detour into the acid-tongued arena of, say, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls; there are elements of that, but the studio’s longstanding core values remain intact, the phrases “belief system” and “sense of self” cropping up early on to describe corners of Riley’s maturing, often conflicted noggin. The major changes are at the controls, where familiar faces from the original movie (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust) continue to potter along, shepherding their charge through life, until all hell breaks lose, practically overnight. Enter a new, more complex crew, comprising Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui, the latter first seen reclining on a chaise longue and barely looking up from her mobile phone. Their arrival coincides with a full-scale remodelling of the now teenage brain, heralded by the unforgiving swing of a construction wrecking ball (a nod, perhaps, to former sweet-natured child star turned edgy pop vixen Miley Cyrus), before Joy and company are banished to darker recesses. Meanwhile, Riley heads off to a residential ice hockey camp, and Joy (again, superbly voiced by Amy Poehler) is perturbed by her replacements’ plan for the girl to all but ghost her hitherto best friends and hang out with a cooler, slightly older clique. Consequently, she must find her way back to the console to redress the balance; an obstacle-strewn voyage to relocate Riley’s aforementioned sense of self, requiring the outcasts to befriend forgotten childhood memories, hitch a ride on a slice…

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Bad Boys: Ride or Die review – A white-knuckle, trope-heavy thrill ride
type: item
date: 2024-06-04T20:00:09.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: The comic interplay between Smith and Lawrence is as slick and savvy as ever, and fast-cut action sequences are superbly choreographed.
encoded: When the first Bad Boys movie hit cinemas in 1995, Will Smith was, in a parallel television universe, still the youthful Fresh Prince making mischief in Bel-Air. Now, almost 30 years later, might he and co-star Martin Lawrence, to quote the mantra of a lead character from another buddy cop franchise, be "too old for this s**t"? Signs of ageing are evident in the first half-hour of Ride or Die, when Lawrence’s character Marcus Burnett suffers a near-death coronary at partner Mike Lowrey’s wedding, and Mike himself has a panic attack during a shoot-out soon after. Yet, here they are for a fourth helping of bullets and banter, four years on from Bad Boys for Life, and familiarity with that last film is useful. Last time out, Miami detectives Mike and Marcus lost their beloved Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano), gunned down by Mike’s wayward drug-dealer son Armando (Jacob Scipio). They reappear here, the latter behind bars, and the former in both Marcus’s silly "go-back-it's-not-your-time" post-heart attack fever dream, and in a clandestine "if-you’re-watching-this-I’m-probably-dead" video alerting the bad boys to rum goings-on within the police department. Armando has information on the cartel pulling corrupt cop strings (and sullying the late captain’s name by making him the centre of wrongdoings), but when M&M are transporting him from prison to make a formal statement their helicopter is attacked, forcing the three of them to become fugitives - our heroes consequently also accused of being in on the illegal stuff. In a spin worthy of the most melodramatic soap opera, chief among the law folk chasing them is US marshal Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler in Netflix’s Better Call Saul), who just happens to be Captain Howard’s daughter. It’s a convenient though outlandish state of affairs, but seems par for the course in a screenplay that never met a crime flick trope it didn’t like. At one point, mayoral candidate (not to mention would-be contortionist) Ioan Gruffudd tells Burnett …

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The Fall Guy review: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt share dazzling chemistry
type: item
date: 2024-05-01T12:49:59.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: The new action comedy from David Leitch is a thrill-ride salute to cinema that wears its heart on its sleeve.
encoded: Hollywood likes to bite the hand that feeds, or at least give it the occasional light nibble. Film itself has proved to be fertile ground for filmmakers, to put the industry and the world that surrounds it under the microscope. It’s a rich vein of subject matter, from studies of the cynicism and ruthlessness of studio executives (Robert Altman’s The Player, 1992) to mocking the egos and pretentiousness of front-of-camera talent (Tropic Thunder, 2008). And there are elements of both of those examples caught in the wide net cast by The Fall Guy. Loosely inspired by the Lee Majors action-adventure TV series of the same name that ran for five years from 1981, Ryan Gosling stars as the suitably ruggedly-named Colt Seavers, a seasoned movie stuntman who left the business after one particularly elaborate set-piece went wrong. After 18 months of largely menial work (parking customers’ cars at a Mexican restaurant), Colt is persuaded to return to risking his life on screen when his camera operator ex-girlfriend Jody (Emily Blunt) lands her first directing job, a science fiction yarn called Metalstorm, filming in Australia. However, it isn’t until Colt arrives on set that he learns Jody was unaware of his hiring, and the friction that drove the couple apart in the first place soon raises its head again. Added to that particular awkwardness, Colt discovers that Metalstorm’s star, heartthrob Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), has gone missing, linked to a drugs scandal that threatens to derail the entire production, and a dead body has been found in the actor’s apartment. There’s a lot to unpack here, but be it the on-off romance of the leads and its nods to screwball comedy or the mystery plot’s more serious, murderous elements, director David Leitch and screenwriter Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) keep their plates spinning with confidence and style. Key to the film’s success is the dazzling chemistry between Gosling and Blunt, a collision of (on-the…

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Back to Black review: Biopic struggles to get under Amy Winehouse's skin
type: item
date: 2024-04-09T08:00:13.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Marisa Abela does an extraordinary job in the new film, but it fails to shine any substantial additional light on the late singer.
encoded: Just eight years elapsed between the release of Amy Winehouse’s first music and her death from alcohol poisoning in 2011, a timeline played out as much in the pages of the tabloid press as it was via critical and commercial acclaim for her talent. Consequently, the makers of Back to Black have a comparatively concise narrative to work with, the events of which will already be hugely familiar to its intended audience. The singer’s tenure in the spotlight was never short on drama, and without belittling the brilliance of her songs it’s by no means cynical to suggest Winehouse’s celebrity status skyrocketed at a faster pace due to headline-grabbing behaviour in her private life. To call Amy a troubled soul is no exaggeration, but Back to Black rarely offers more than snapshots of her malaise. Screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh is an old hand at brief-span biopics of music figures, having previously scripted films about pre-fame John Lennon (Nowhere Boy, also directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson) and Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis (Control). Both were insightful portraits of individuals destined to become icons; here, though, he struggles to get under Amy’s skin. It’s a pity, because Marisa Abela does an extraordinary job of inhabiting that skin, her portrayal of Amy at turns funny, headstrong, vulnerable and tragic. From the jazz-fan teenager singing Tony Bennett songs at family parties, to facing off against a music biz trying to mould her into a pure pop star ("I ain’t no f**king Spice Girl!"), to losing control as her love life implodes, the actress perfectly captures Winehouse’s charisma. Parallels can especially be drawn between Nowhere Boy and Black to Black, in that both are driven more by their subjects' personal relationships than music. The former centred on the elder women in Lennon’s teenage world (his mother Julia and aunt Mimi), and members of Winehouse’s immediate family are a constant presence here. Yet, while cab-driving dad Mitch (Eddie Marsan) and one-time jaz…

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The First Omen review: Horror prequel does what it says on the tin
type: item
date: 2024-04-04T16:00:58.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: The new film is a solidly crafted if frequently pedestrian story which is never short on atmosphere.
encoded: The makers of reboots, prequels and origin stories are all too aware they’re wielding a double-edged sword. On paper, there is a proven audience warmly receptive to the core aspects of what they’re doing, but it’s an audience that could just as easily turn on them. Although it’s been some time since 2006’s straight remake of 1976’s The Omen, the devilish franchise’s fans remain devout, and any new film that strays too far from the template is likely to send filmgoers’ heads spinning faster than the wheels on young Damien’s unruly tricycle. Wisely, The First Omen makes a point of providing a smattering of touchstones to that opening chapter (there’s lots of scaffolding on view), even down to film stock with a faint grain, in keeping with what was used back in the ‘70s. Director Arkasha Stevenson steers clear of 21st century gloss, to the point where the overall look of the movie borrows from the grimy bygone Euro horrors of, say, Dario Argento. The film certainly isn’t short on atmosphere, although the laconic pace of the narrative arguably belongs to another time as well. It demands patience of its viewers, but seeing as most will be aware of its place in the timeline and know what’s coming, it’s safe to assume they’re willing to take the ride. It’s the early ‘70s (a few years prior to events in the original film) and youth dissent is rife, revolution in the air. In the midst of this trouble and turmoil, the Catholicism of the Omen universe has largely split into two factions; one diligently following the teachings of Christ, while the other gets its kicks on Route 666. The latter’s game plan is to bring about the birth of the Antichrist, and create a global climate of fear that will send folk rushing back to the comforting bosom of the church. Consequently, a shady cabal has been tasked with finding a young mother to deliver the Satanic saviour. Our heroine is 21-year-old Margaret (Nell Tiger Free, familiar to Game Of Thrones watchers as Myrcella Baratheon), an Ame…

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review - Hugely entertaining adventure
type: item
date: 2024-03-20T13:00:04.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Review
description: The franchise hasn't lost its oomph.
encoded: The closing shot of 2021’s Oklahoma-set Ghostbusters: Afterlife is an aerial view of a Manhattan bridge, on which a familiar white vehicle is seen heading towards the bright lights of the big city. It’s a sneakily subtle pointer to the events of Frozen Empire, heralding the return of the jumpsuited spook-chasers to their, shall we say, spiritual home. New York itself played a starring role in the original 1980s brace of 'Busters flicks, and it’s a joy to have it looming large once again, as the new generation of feisty mum Carrie Coon (Egon Spengler’s daughter), her lovably nerdy beau Paul Rudd and teenage offspring Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) move in to a certain old fire station. Frozen Empire hits the ground running, our 21st-century heroes pursuing the paranormal, specifically a "sewer dragon", at high speed through the streets of the Big Apple in their beloved former ambulance Ecto-1 (the addition of Phoebe’s gunner seat, first revealed in Afterlife, threatens to become as iconic as anything from the first movies). It’s very much business as usual - or at least as it once was, which means old foes rear their heads again. William Atherton’s stuffy environmental inspector Walter Peck is back, now elevated to high political office and determined as ever to shut the Ghostbusters down, and there are other headaches closer to home. The otherworldly containment vault at headquarters is just about full, necessitating a move to alternative premises with a larger capacity. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/03/Ghostbusters-Frozen-Empire-Image-9-In-Cinemas-March-22-f22d2f3.jpg" width="2000" height="1333" alt="Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Podcast (Logan Kim), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt) in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire gathered together looking at a map" title="Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Podcast (Logan Kim), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt) in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire…

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Wonka review: A cosy chronicle of a young eccentric
type: item
date: 2023-12-05T16:54:25.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: The prequel is a magical thrill ride from start to finish – even if it lacks the bite of previous Roald Dahl adaptations.
encoded: Roald Dahl’s children’s stories are frequently sinister, and even cynical, as illustrated by the two earlier big-screen versions of his 1964 fantasy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both the 1971 adaptation (renamed to focus on Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka) and Tim Burton’s borderline fan-fiction-esque 2005 reboot arguably contain stronger elements of peril and jeopardy than are usual in most youngsters’ film fare. Wonka, however, an origin story co-written by director Paul King and comic actor Simon Farnaby, is a markedly sweeter affair; not quite the dark chocolate served to cinemagoers previously. It’s perhaps expected, given the pair’s warm-hearted work on 2014’s Paddington and its sequel (plus Farnaby’s writer/performer involvement in TV’s Horrible Histories and family-friendly sitcom Ghosts), and the softer approach has both strengths and weaknesses. Timothée Chalamet stars as the bright-eyed, brimming-with-positivity Willy, hoping to take the early 20th century confectionary industry by storm with the inventive, attention-grabbing recipes passed down to him my his mother (Sally Hawkins). There’s a touch of Dickensian hero about him, while his outlandish creations and kitchen contraptions also suggest a steampunk Heston Blumenthal. So far, so delicious, but the young pretender’s ambitions leave a nasty taste in the mouths of a consortium of more established chocolatiers (led by Paterson Joseph), who set out to thwart the Johnny-come-lately flavour of the month. Not that it’s a case of Wonka versus the rest of the world, as Willy finds sympathetic allies in the guise of crusty accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter) and put-upon orphan girl Noodle (Calah Lane). Mention must be made, of course, of Willy’s pal, who attracted a good deal of publicity in the months running up to the film’s release; camera trickery and a generous trowel of orange face paint transform Hugh Grant into a foot-high, wisecracking Oompa Loompa called Lofty. It’s a scene-stealing…

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height: 1080