Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2026-02-19T10:45:54.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die review: Clever, infectious and wildly original – AI be damned
items: Dracula review: Cynthia Erivo bites back at doubters but is let down by overproduction
items: Shadowlands review: Hugh Bonneville shimmers in tender exploration of love, faith and loss
items: The Moment review: A perfect way to finally bang a nail in the Brat coffin
items: Animol review: Adolescence star Ashley Walters makes an impressive, confident directorial debut
items: High on Life 2 review: Silly sci-fi sequel is perfect for Xbox Game Pass
items: What is the Mundo Pixar Experience? Our honest review of the immersive Pixar experience in Wembley
items: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry review: Gut-wrenchingly gorgeous
items: Reanimal review: A beautiful and twisted experience
items: Man and Boy review: Terence Rattigan's forgotten play is buoyed by a stellar cast
items: Crime 101 review: Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo reunite in thriller with echoes of crime classic Heat
items: Wuthering Heights review: This radical revamp from Emerald Fennell will almost certainly provoke pearl-clutching
items: Romeo Is a Dead Man review: Suda51 and co let their baffling brilliance shine
items: Wuthering Heights review: Emerald Fennell's radical revamp will almost certainly provoke pearl-clutching
items: Lord of the Flies review: Jack Thorne's BBC adaptation is a glorious reminder of the novel's power
items: Nioh 3 review: Sharper, shrewder, shinobi-er
items: Is This Thing On? review: Bradley Cooper turns John Bishop's life into sweet but indulgent comedy-drama
items: Under Salt Marsh review: Flood-stricken crime drama continues the rise of Welsh noir
items: The Wrecking Crew review: Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa's action comedy has mega body count but no real peril
items: Is This Thing On? review: Bradley Cooper turns John Bishop's life story into sweet but indulgent comedy-drama
items: No Other Choice review: Park Chan-wook's killer comedy is more than paper thin
items: The History of Sound review: Tender love story will deepen Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal's fanbases
items: The Oscars completely snubbed the year's most daring film – and it doesn't make sense
items: Saipan review: Éanna Hardwicke is utterly magnetic as Roy Keane in dramatisation of infamous feud
items: The Beauty review: Ryan Murphy's body horror thriller is stylish but surface-level
items: The Rip review: Damon and Affleck's latest cinematic reunion is less than the sum of its parts
items: Agatha Christie's Seven Dials review: Netflix adaptation is formula-busting – and that’s a problem
items: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review – A supremely satisfying horror thrill ride with unexpected depth
items: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 review: Game of Thrones spin-off is best visit to Westeros in nearly a decade
items: Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 review: Anime A-lister returns to cull the competition

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die review: Clever, infectious and wildly original – AI be damned
type: item
date: 2026-02-19T10:34:44.000Z
creator: Rosie Fletcher
subject: Movies
subject: Sci-fi
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Review
description: Despite some final act issues, the first film from Gore Verbinski in almost a decade is audacious, fresh and a massive amount of fun.
encoded: If you only watch one movie this year featuring a CGI centaur with a cat’s head, that sprays glittery confetti from its undercarriage, then make it this one. Gore Verbinski’s hog-wild time travel tale is audacious, fresh and a massive amount of fun, even though it falls over in a confusing final act. Sam Rockwell has a blast as the unnamed revolutionary from the future trying to save the world from a nine-year-old child who is destined to invent a God-like AI that hates humans. To do so he must recruit a team of random strangers who happen to be eating at Norm’s diner on a particular night – the time traveller has tried multiple combinations before only to be thwarted by some outrageous obstacle each time. Could this bunch be the right one? What’s certain is they won’t all make it to the end. Good Luck is at its strongest in its first two thirds, where vignettes showing the backstories of some of the diners are intercut with the overarching mission. These play like micro episodes of Black Mirror, mixing dark humour with tech-terror. View Green Video on the source website Zazie Beetz and Michael Peña are school teachers, menaced by teen zombies mobilised by their phones. The White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson is a professional princess for children’s birthday parties who is allergic to cell phones and wi-fi. And in the very best one, Juno Temple’s bereaved mother is given the chance to reunite with her son who has been killed in a school shooting, via a cloning programme. This segment is genuinely sad and very troubling in terms of what America looks like now but also laugh-out-loud funny as she is asked to choose her resurrected son’s traits via the film’s equivalent of an Apple Store. Temple carries this segment with absolute commitment – she feels like a real person dealing with real trauma amidst a Stepford Wives-esque nightmare of hollow-eyed parents, many of whom have resurrected their massacred children multiple times. And to reiterate: it’s genuinely funny.…

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Dracula review: Cynthia Erivo bites back at doubters but is let down by overproduction
type: item
date: 2026-02-18T06:00:12.000Z
creator: Olivia Garrett
subject: Going Out
subject: Reviews
subject: Tickets
subject: Review
description: Cynthia Erivo's one-woman show has landed at London's Noël Coward Theatre.
encoded: Now officially a legend of villainy, Cynthia Erivo proves her might and mettle in her one-woman production of Dracula, showing at London’s Noël Coward theatre from now until May. Bram Stoker's seminal gothic is brought to life in wicked – sometimes wonderful and sometimes woeful – fashion in this ultimately watchable but confused production. Made by the same creators as Sarah Snook's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Erivo plays all 23 characters in the show, including the infamous Count and the narrators best known by those of us who did A-Level English lit: Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray and John Seward. Focusing first on her performance, Erivo is five-star. Her ability to shift skins from Harker's clipped English lawyer, to the bright eyed Mina, to the doomed but delightful Lucy, was like watching the lead ballet dancer subtly change parts in Swan Lake. The first 20 minutes in particular, where Harker enters Castle Dracula, were an exemplar for how it should be done. Her seamless transitioning between tone, tenor and gender, was also beautifully aided by the costume department led by Claire Murphy and Rachel Morris. However I must now turn to production. From the outset, press releases have described this play as a piece of "cinetheatre", which I now see translates to a massive homogenous screen taking up half the stage the entire time. On this screen, several of Erivo's characters appear such as Van Helsing and Quincey Morris, delivering pre-recorded lines to each other, sometimes for minutes at a time. When this occurs, the on-stage actress suddenly shrinks to a supporting role and is diminished to the point I barely saw her moving about the stage. To complicate matters further, major moments such as the graveyard scene are hit by blaring music, split screens and choppy editing to the point it came across more as an emo music video à la Panic! At The Disco than a hefty Victorian text. Later on, this became even more pronounced as heavy synth pop and glittering set piec…

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Shadowlands review: Hugh Bonneville shimmers in tender exploration of love, faith and loss
type: item
date: 2026-02-16T13:17:15.000Z
creator: Michael Sidhu
subject: Going Out
subject: Reviews
subject: Tickets
subject: Review
description: Paddington star Hugh Bonneville is on stage from now until May.
encoded: Shadowlands at the Aldwych Theatre, written by William Nicholson and directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, tells the story of great English author CS Lewis and his relationship with American writer Joy Davidman. The story asks whether suffering is the price of love. Whether intellectual faith can survive lived grief. Largely, it succeeds in taking audiences on the emotional journey. Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Siff, unsurprisingly, deliver laudable performances, grounding the production in warmth and humour. Their connection feels sincere, and so the story’s message feels personal rather than an abstract concept. Where the relationship, and show at large, might have benefitted is from a sharper portrait of Lewis before Joy enters his life. A greater emphasis on his romantic isolation would have created a clearer contrast between the man who theorises about pain and the man who must endure it. As it stands, Lewis feels broadly consistent before and after meeting Joy, softening the emotional transformation he undergoes. For all its looming tragedy and theological debate though, Shadowlands is frequently and genuinely funny. The comedy never feels forced or tonally jarring; instead, it serves to deepen the emotional core of the play. The supporting cast, including Jeff Rawle, Timothy Watson and Tony Jayawardena, serve to orbit the central relationship. They often function as intellectual foils but do bring a texture to Lewis’s world outside of his relationship with Joy. Most frustrating is the handling of Joy’s son, whose storyline initially suggests a poignant thematic parallel; both to Lewis himself and to Digory in The Magician’s Nephew (the first of the Narnia books). Despite a confident presence from Ayrton English, the script doesn’t allow the character’s arc to fully develop. What begins with emotional promise ultimately feels underexplored and a potentially resonant thread is left flat. Shadowlands doesn’t shy away from grief, but neither does it wallow in it. Instead, …

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The Moment review: A perfect way to finally bang a nail in the Brat coffin
type: item
date: 2026-02-16T12:09:43.000Z
creator: James Mottram
subject: Movies
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Review
description: Charli xcx plays herself in this amusing-if-not-always-merciless mock-documentary.
encoded: "Are you doin' a Joaquin Phoenix-like thing?" With a handheld camera capturing her in uncomfortable close-up, it’s a question British dance-pop sensation Charli xcx is asked in The Moment, an amusing-if-not-always-merciless mock-documentary that never quite goes to the extremes of Phoenix's piss-taking 2010 film I’m Still Here, where he – fairly convincingly – fooled the world that he was having a meltdown. The Moment is all set around Brat, the album that sent Charli stratospheric, with its distinct slime-green branding and don’t-give-a-f**k attitude. "How do we keep this 'Brat' thing going?" asks Rosanna Arquette’s spiky record executive Tammy Pitman, surrounded by a phalanx of useless 'yes' men. It’s no doubt an echo of conversations Charli faced for real, as the corporate machine looked to squeeze every last bit of juice out of 2024’s 'Brat summer'. The answer to Pitman’s question is twofold. As Charli prepares for a huge O2 gig, she’s pushed into doing a concert film, directed by the slightly sketchy Johannes (Alexander Skarsgård), who immediately starts throwing "creative" ideas around – the worst of which sees Charli put inside a giant cigarette lighter on stage that shoots flames out of the top. At the same time, Charli’s endorsing a new green-coloured 'Brat' credit card aimed at the LGBTQ community. On Charli’s side, she has ineffectual manager Tim (Jamie Demetriou) and her stage designer Celeste (Hailey Benton Gates), but as the gig gets closer, tempers fray, egos swell and Charli's artistic juices run dry. "Everybody’s so desperate for me to be so f**king innovative," she cries. Maybe she should’ve paid more attention to the bird that is living in the rafters of the O2 and dropping excrement all over the floor – surly an omen if ever there was one. A particularly amusing segment sees her escape to a spa hotel, only to be left further frazzled after an encounter with Kylie Jenner, playing herself in a wince-inducing exchange of fake pleasantries. There are…

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Animol review: Adolescence star Ashley Walters makes an impressive, confident directorial debut
type: item
date: 2026-02-14T18:45:42.000Z
creator: James Mottram
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: This prison drama exploring the hardcore complexities that come with incarceration is led by brilliant young star Tut Nyuot.
encoded: It’s a good year for fans of the British prison drama. Hot on the heels of Wasteman – due out in UK cinemas this week – we have Animol. Receiving its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, in the Perspectives strand, this tense tale marks the feature directorial debut of Ashley Walters. The star of shows like Top Boy and, more recently, Adolescence and A Thousand Blows, of which he directed three episodes, Walters showcases some serious young talent here, notably Tut Nyuot, who previously featured in The Long Walk, and Netflix drama Steve, alongside Cillian Murphy. Here, he plays Troy, brought into a young offender institution on remand as he faces grave charges: conspiracy to commit murder. Arriving the same day as the Polish-born Krystian (Vladislav Baliuk), with whom he soon forms a tight bond, he also runs into the very dangerous Dion (Sekou Diaby). Either Troy smuggles in a phone or D – as he calls himself – is going to make life very difficult for him. Thankfully, Krystian causes a distraction to help Troy sneak the burner past the guards, but it won’t be the last time D calls upon him. Placed in a cell with the highly unstable Mason (Ryan Dean), Troy is soon told by D to cut his cellmate, using a homemade weapon, a razor blade implanted in a toothbrush head. “It’s either you or it's him,” he’s told. After confronting Mason in front of others, he can’t bring himself to deliver this most vicious of warning signs. He’s not a violent lad by nature; all he’s trying to do is survive any way he can, something the script shows very well, as it ticks off the days he’s inside. Scripted by Nick Love, with whom Walters collaborated on TV show Bulletproof, this feels like a million miles away from the excessive, boyish tone of Love’s own movies as a director (most recently, the Danny Dyer-starring Marching Powder). Of course, Animol comes nowhere near the brutal nature of Alan Clarke’s Scum – still the Daddy of all Brit prison flicks – but, like Wasteman, it shows a …

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High on Life 2 review: Silly sci-fi sequel is perfect for Xbox Game Pass
type: item
date: 2026-02-13T14:26:03.000Z
creator: Rob Leane
subject: Gaming
subject: Technology
subject: Review
description: Ready to go again?
encoded: Launching today, High on Life 2 might just be the perfect Xbox Game Pass game. Sure, it’s not the greatest game of all time, but it’s ideal if you’re already a member of the service and want to have some dumb fun over the Valentine’s Day weekend. If you played 2022’s High on Life, you'll know roughly what to expect - talking guns, linear missions, and the exact brand of silly humour that Rick and Morty fans revel in (although the sci-fi show's creator, Justin Roiland, is not involved in this one). The story picks up some time after the first game left off. The unseen, voiceless player character has become a legendary figure in the bounty hunting world after bringing down the G3 cartel, but a fun montage at the start of the game reveals that this life of super-stardom wasn’t exactly all it was cracked up to be. In classic video game sequel fashion, you’re stripped of a lot of your previous weapons at the start of this second adventure (the way they write Lezduit out of the main story is particularly funny). This is a little frustrating, but it does pave the way for some fun new guns to be added instead. Casting is one of the great strengths of this game, with Ralph Ineson delivering some note-perfect grumpiness as Sheath (basically a Halo battle rifle with shades of Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy) and Ken Marino bringing his downtrodden best to Travis (a divorcee that is introduced in such a funny way). Building on the strengths of the first game, these new guns combine with the returning old ones for some really fun combos and special effects, both in the battle scenarios and the puzzling segments (an underrated element of the franchise in this writer’s opinion). View Green Video on the source website Another fun new addition is the skateboarding. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one, as it adds a very flow-state vibe to the traversal and also plays into combat and those underrated puzzles to boot. The overarching story and the structure isn’t the greatest …

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What is the Mundo Pixar Experience? Our honest review of the immersive Pixar experience in Wembley
type: item
date: 2026-02-13T13:44:50.000Z
creator: Joanna Magill
subject: Going Out
subject: Reviews
subject: Tickets
subject: Review
description: The Mundo Pixar Experience allows you to step into the worlds of 11 of Pixar’s most popular films.
encoded: After enjoying highly successful stints in major cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona and Brussels, the Mundo Pixar Experience has finally landed in the UK capital. Located right by Wembley Stadium in a purpose-built venue, this is the world’s largest immersive Pixar exhibition, featuring 14 separate rooms dedicated to some of Pixar’s most beloved films and characters. With plenty of anticipation about the release of this immersive experience in the UK, we headed over to Wembley to check out what the Mundo Pixar Experience had to offer. From the cinematic universes explored to the cost of tickets, here’s everything you need to know about Mundo Pixar Experience. Buy Mundo Pixar Experience tickets For more of our thoughts, check out our Man and Boy review, as well as our Into the Woods review. Jump to: What is the Mundo Pixar Experience? What films are included in the Mundo Pixar Experience? What age is the Mundo Pixar Experience suitable for? How much is the Mundo Pixar Experience? Is the Mundo Pixar Experience worth it? How to get the Mundo Pixar Experience tickets What is the Mundo Pixar Experience? The Mundo Pixar Experience is the world’s largest immersive exhibition focused entirely on Pixar animations. The 14 rooms in the exhibition focus on popular Pixar films and contain life-size sculptures of characters including Carl from Up, Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc, and the emotions from Inside Out. You’ll also find plenty of fun props and recognisable elements from the films, including Boo’s door from Monster's Inc and cooking ingredients from Ratatouille. Each room is also full of special hidden details, so make sure you interact with the objects in the room to uncover some surprises – don’t forget to push buttons, try doorknobs and lift up some interesting looking objects. There’s also an additional challenge within the Mundo Pixar Experience, as guests are tasked with finding the hidden Pixar ball (the iconic yellow ball with the red star) in each room. …

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry review: Gut-wrenchingly gorgeous
type: item
date: 2026-02-12T10:11:43.000Z
creator: Perry O'Bree
subject: Going Out
subject: Reviews
subject: Review
description: A heart-shattering and hopeful journey of love, loss, and letting go, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry goes straight to the heart.
encoded: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is a gut-wrenchingly gorgeous story of guilt, grief and redemption. The story follows Harold who is leaving his wife, not out of malice, but because he’s drowning in guilt for not being able to save his son, and for the kindness he never repaid to Queenie Hennessy, who once took the blame for him at work. When he learns Queenie is dying in a hospice, Harold sets off on a walk across England not to save her, but to prove something to himself, to find peace, and to finally say thank you and goodbye. We learn that Harold and his wife Maureen’s son faced serious struggles after returning from university which included problems with drugs. Harold, in his fear and frustration, shamed his son instead of helping him. What came from love and desperation ended in a devastating fallout. Harold only wanted to push his son toward stability, a job, and routine, not watch him spiral, and this guilt drives every step of his journey. The show’s in-the-round staging feels intimate with atmospheric dreamcatchers hanging above the circular set, while projections transform the space into ever-changing skies and landscapes. Live instruments add warmth and immediacy, while the gentle folk-pop score ties everything together beautifully. Act One runs for around 1 hour 10 minutes, followed by a 20-minute interval, then a 1-hour second act approximately 2 hours 30 minutes in total. Overall, the show is paced beautifully, balancing humour and heartbreak throughout. The “On the Road” sequence captures the spirit of YOLO (“you only live once”) perfectly, and “Believe” is as uplifting as it sounds. A highlight is the hilariously honest “You’re F***ed,” performed as Harold battles blisters and bruises a much-needed moment of levity. The puppet dog companion is a lovely touch too. Jenna Russell is outstanding as Maureen Fry, especially in her heart-breaking performance of Tin of Soup for One. Mark Addy’s Harold is deeply vulnerable and full of quiet humanity — …

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Reanimal review: A beautiful and twisted experience
type: item
date: 2026-02-11T17:30:36.000Z
creator: Ben Rayner
subject: Gaming
subject: Technology
subject: Review
description: From Little Nightmares to Big Nightmares.
encoded: As I used my crowbar to bat away a faceless man from the side of a speeding ice cream van, which I had to quickly jump into after human skin suits had slithered with gusto towards me, I realised I still had no idea what was going on in Reanimal and how I actually quite like it this way. Horror as a genre in the gaming space has become a wide umbrella that delivers so many unique experiences and deeply unsettling stories to tell. Tarsier Studios' games one hundred per cent fall into this abstract sphere of horror. While yes, there’s a jump scare or two – what is horror without that in moderation? – what they do so well is play in the space of creeping discomfort, slow dread and quiet confusion. Moving away from the Little Nightmares series, Tarsier has come at this new concept with everything in its toolkit. The visuals are twisted and cold, almost like a Hieronymus Bosch painting crafted into a living diorama. The monsters appear like a distorted vision of the real world, as if AI had generated one of those images that look real on first blush, but on closer inspection, you can’t actually name a single item within its frame. (To be clear, Tarsier Studios hasn’t used AI in the making of Reanimal to the best of our knowledge – a fact we’re always happy to hear.) Whether you choose to play by yourself or experience Reanimal with a friend, you’ll go on a starkly weird adventure with Girl and Boy, in a bid to find and free their friends from the grip of monsters within the crumbling world around them. If you’ve played Little Nightmares before, you’ll get to grips with how Reanimal plays fairly quickly, as on the surface level, it shares so much of its DNA. Where Reanimal changes the formula somewhat is in how you interact with the world itself. Firstly, it has a somewhat open-world sandbox feel to it, with a large amount of the chapters allowing you to freely wander back and forth through the map; there’s even a boat you’ll use for a large chapter to explore. Masks can b…

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Man and Boy review: Terence Rattigan's forgotten play is buoyed by a stellar cast
type: item
date: 2026-02-11T17:18:36.000Z
creator: Joanna Magill
subject: Going Out
subject: Reviews
subject: Review
description: This is the first London revival of Man and Boy since 2005 and marks director Anthony Lau's debut at the National Theatre.
encoded: Although not overly well-received at the time, Terence Rattigan's Man and Boy is packed full of themes that eerily resonate today. The play follows the Antonescu family, a powerful and crooked financier father and his estranged son living in Greenwich Village in 1934. Gregor Antonescu reappears unexpectedly in his son Basil's life five years after their estrangement, with a "small" favour to ask. What Basil doesn't realise is that his father is planning to offer him up as a sexual reward as part of a crooked business deal. The play explores the power dynamics in the central father-son relationship, as well as pondering the larger concepts of conscience and morality. Perhaps even more relevant today is the theme of casual and brazen exploitation with no fear of consequences, making Man and Boy a timely choice for Indhu Rubasingham’s first piece of programming for the National Theatre. Rattigan is a master of subtext, which truly shines in this claustrophobic work. However, at times Man and Boy feels slightly laborious, due to intense sections poring over the intricacies of financial crimes and its slightly predictable and drawn-out ending. This production, however, manages to effectively gloss over these issues thanks to the sheer strength of the cast. Laurie Kynaston shines as the troubled and conflicted Basil, especially in moments of emotional breaking point which allow him to show his range. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/Ben-Daniels-Gregor-Antonescu-and-Malcolm-Sinclair-Mark-Herries-in-Man-and-Boy-at-the-National-Theatre-c-Manuel-Harlan-0142-3eb419b.jpg" width="7407" height="4938" alt="Ben Daniels (Gregor Antonescu) and Malcolm Sinclair (Mark Herries) in Man and Boy at the National Theatre drinking whiskey on stage" title="Ben Daniels (Gregor Antonescu) and Malcolm Sinclair (Mark Herries) in Man and Boy at the National Theatre (c) Manuel Harlan 0142" /> Excellent comic relief is provided by Nick Fletcher, Leo Wao and…

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Crime 101 review: Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo reunite in thriller with echoes of crime classic Heat
type: item
date: 2026-02-11T16:00:09.000Z
creator: Jeremy Aspinall
subject: Movies
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Review
description: Director Bart Layton delivers an impressive slow-burn that erupts with a nerve-jangling, edge-of-your-seat climax.
encoded: Criminal deception is a common denominator in English director Bart Layton’s only other feature films. Whether it’s a French conman pretending to be a missing American teenager in the excellent Bafta-nominated documentary The Imposter (2012), or students pulling off an audacious rare-book heist dressed as elderly businessmen in unbelievable-but-true 2018 docudrama American Animals, Layton is clearly interested in what it takes to become a criminal. For his third film, Layton takes on another heist story, only here it’s a fictional one based on a novella by private-investigator-turned-crime writer Don Winslow. Chris Hemsworth heads a quality cast as professional jewel thief Mike Davis, whose ability to carry out a series of robberies without using violence or leaving any DNA evidence or clues to his identity is foxing the Los Angeles police. However, dogged detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo, going for the crumpled Columbo look) sees a pattern: these meticulously executed heists all take place in the vicinity of California’s elongated 101 freeway. Not that his sceptical superiors or even his partner (Corey Hawkins) buy into this, with his team preferring him to simply "play the game" and close cases. Meanwhile, Davis wants out of crime after a previous robbery nearly cost him his life. Yet, he doesn't realising that his handler (the ever-gravelly Nick Nolte) has secretly enlisted young thug Orman (Barry Keoghan, star of American Animals) to take the spoils from his last job, worth a cool $11 million. The difference between the pair is immediately clear, with Orman being a dirt-bike-riding loose cannon in comparison to the calm, composure of Davis, a precise professional who drives only the sportiest of cars. No moment better illustrates this than Orman's shambolic attempt to rob a jewellery store, which nearly goes catastrophically wrong. And where does Halle Berry’s disillusioned 50-something insurance broker, Sharon Colvin, fit into this increasingly tangled web…

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Wuthering Heights review: This radical revamp from Emerald Fennell will almost certainly provoke pearl-clutching
type: item
creator: Emma Simmonds
subject: App
subject: App features
subject: Review
description: This is a sizzling, amusing and stormy new screen adaptation of Emily Brontë’s gothic romance – with an outrageous, often irresistible sense of fun.
encoded: ★★★★☆ Wuthering Heights is in cinemas from 13 February. Add it to your watchlist Emily Brontë’s gothic romance gets a radical revamp in this sizzling, amusing and stormy new screen adaptation from Saltburn’s Emerald Fennell, who bagged an Original Screenplay Oscar for her attention-grabbing 2020 debut Promising Young Woman. Casting Hollywood’s hottest properties, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, as her leads, writer/director Fennell presents us with a version that’s unapologetically her own vision, lopping off the second half of the story and sexing things up to the max. We see how the young Heathcliff and Cathy (Adolescence’s Owen Cooper and Charlotte Mellington) are thrown together when Heathcliff is taken in by Cathy’s father Mr Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), who saves him from being savaged in the street by a man who may or may not be Heathcliff’s own father. It’s not long before the drunken Earnshaw is treating the boy roughly, but Heathcliff and Cathy become thick as thieves, a bond which grows into something all-consumingly romantic as they age. This connection is severed, apparently for good, when the adult Cathy (now played by Robbie) opts to marry the Earnshaws' affluent new neighbour Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), to rescue the family from financial ruin. In response, a heartbroken, shaggy locked Heathcliff (Elordi) runs away. Cathy is bereft, but slowly finds happiness in her new situation as her adoring husband and his sweet but somewhat stalker-esque sister Isabella (Alison Oliver) shower her with gifts and affection. When Heathcliff returns five years later as a suave, absurdly sexy and mysteriously moneyed gentleman, sporting a haircut, earring and a tan, Cathy just can’t help herself. Housemaid Nelly is no longer the story’s narrator, as she is in the book, but remains its witness, with Heathcliff and Cathy’s relationship often judged through her eyes. A woman of colour here (played by the Oscar-nominated American actress Hong Chau) we are told she is the b…

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Romeo Is a Dead Man review: Suda51 and co let their baffling brilliance shine
type: item
date: 2026-02-10T14:00:15.000Z
creator: Alex Raisbeck
subject: Gaming
subject: Technology
subject: Review
description: A Grasshopper Manufacture game through and through.
encoded: The games of Suda51 and his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, are unlike any others. The auteur behind cult classics such as The Silver Case and Killer7 has never held back with his creative vision, flooding his games with anything and everything he can conjure from the corners of his imagination. Now, as Grasshopper prepares to ship its first ever self-published game, Suda has unleashed his staff with that same limitless freedom to do what they do best, resulting in a mishmash of game mechanics, art styles, narrative arcs and music that has no right to work together, but does so with aplomb. Romeo Is a Dead Man stars the titular Romeo Stargazer. Straddling the line between life and death as a 'Dead Man' after his mad scientist grandfather pulls him back from the brink, he is enlisted in the FBI Space-Time Police, sent off to slice up interdimensional criminals and find his missing girlfriend Juliet. It's a characteristically 'Suda' setup, and I promise it makes more sense when you're actually playing. The first hour or so of Romeo in which this premise is set up does feel clunky, but it the job, serving more as a vehicle to teach you the mechanics first and story second. Once you have a grasp on the concept – a tough ask in and of itself for any Suda51 title – things pick up and begin snaking out in typically fascinating directions. One moment you're fighting a time-travelling slave owner in an abandoned mall draped in 1980s Americana. A couple of hours later, you're crawling through an asylum, hunting a mad doctor who is rather heavily implied to be the Pied Piper of Hamlin in a section that genuinely rivals the some of the best horrors in the atmosphere it creates and the blood-curdling lore it peppers in. The beauty of Grasshopper's games is that they can be easily enjoyed on the surface as flashy, stylish, gruesome adventures, but for those who want to delve deeper, there are entire worlds of subtext to uncover. Romeo delves into themes of slavery, authoritarian…

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Wuthering Heights review: Emerald Fennell's radical revamp will almost certainly provoke pearl-clutching
type: item
date: 2026-02-10T11:51:33.000Z
creator: Emma Simmonds
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: This is a sizzling, amusing and stormy new screen adaptation of Emily Brontë’s gothic romance – with an outrageous, often irresistible sense of fun.
encoded: Emily Brontë’s gothic romance gets a radical revamp in this sizzling, amusing and stormy new screen adaptation from Saltburn’s Emerald Fennell, who bagged an Original Screenplay Oscar for her attention-grabbing 2020 debut Promising Young Woman. Casting Hollywood’s hottest properties, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, as her leads, writer/director Fennell presents us with a version that’s unapologetically her own vision, lopping off the second half of the story and sexing things up to the max. We see how the young Heathcliff and Cathy (Adolescence’s Owen Cooper and Charlotte Mellington) are thrown together when Heathcliff is taken in by Cathy’s father Mr Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), who saves him from being savaged in the street by a man who may or may not be Heathcliff’s own father. It’s not long before the drunken Earnshaw is treating the boy roughly, but Heathcliff and Cathy become thick as thieves, a bond which grows into something all-consumingly romantic as they age. This connection is severed, apparently for good, when the adult Cathy (now played by Robbie) opts to marry the Earnshaws' affluent new neighbour Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), to rescue the family from financial ruin. In response, a heartbroken, shaggy locked Heathcliff (Elordi) runs away. Cathy is bereft, but slowly finds happiness in her new situation as her adoring husband and his sweet but somewhat stalker-esque sister Isabella (Alison Oliver) shower her with gifts and affection. When Heathcliff returns five years later as a suave, absurdly sexy and mysteriously moneyed gentleman, sporting a haircut, earring and a tan, Cathy just can’t help herself. Housemaid Nelly is no longer the story’s narrator, as she is in the book, but remains its witness, with Heathcliff and Cathy’s relationship often judged through her eyes. A woman of colour here (played by the Oscar-nominated American actress Hong Chau) we are told she is the bastard child of a lord and she is initially installed as Cathy’s companion. Howev…

Lord of the Flies review: Jack Thorne's BBC adaptation is a glorious reminder of the novel's power
type: item
date: 2026-02-06T00:01:24.000Z
creator: James Hibbs
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: Thorne sticks closely to William Golding's text in this visually arresting four-parter.
encoded: If I say Lord of the Flies, most of you will think of school. I certainly do. The book is a staple on the English Literature GCSE syllabus, meaning many find their first experience of the story there. Personally, I was in a school production of it. I played one of the twins, Eric, despite not having a twin. I was told that I had a "generic face", meaning there would be plenty of other potential cast members who could be matched up with me. Putting that aside – given that it's probably something I should deal with in my own time – there's a reason why the story is so widely read and performed on stage in schools, but it also means that many may bristle at the idea of watching it on TV on a Sunday night. Dissecting every sentence of a book isn't always the best way to find enjoyment, even if it makes sense from an academic standpoint. My hope is that viewers will put any reticence they have towards approaching the story again to one side, and tune into this four-part drama – the first ever TV adaptation of William Golding's novel. If they do, they will not only find a compelling piece of television in its own right, but be reminded of why the novel is so iconic in the first place. For those who don't know the story, Lord of the Flies takes place in the 1950s, in the midst of a fictional war clearly inspired by the very real geopolitical tensions of the time, and the prevailing memory of the Second World War. A group of children of varying ages are on a plane, seemingly being evacuated from England, when it crashes on an unknown tropical island, leaving the pilot dead. Left alone, the children decide they need to appoint a leader. That ends up being Ralph, a generally well-intentioned, confident boy from a military background. He is guided by another boy, an intellectual who shares that he was previously bullied, and given the nickname Piggy. To his annoyance, the name catches on with this new group, too. While Ralph is full of good intentions, he faces repeated challe…

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Nioh 3 review: Sharper, shrewder, shinobi-er
type: item
date: 2026-02-04T14:00:32.000Z
creator: Alex Raisbeck
subject: Gaming
subject: Technology
subject: Review
description: Team Ninja lives up to its name in style.
encoded: As a series, Nioh has developed a rather passionate cult following who lavish the first two games with praise, especially when it comes to combat. And while I certainly enjoyed Nioh 1 and 2, I can't say that I ever felt that same reverence. It's fast, it's varied, and the dearth of mechanics, skills and more make its combat deeper than most Souls-like games. That is still true of Nioh 3, and while many longtime fans may feel that Team Ninja's many changes to the formula may dilute that, Nioh and I have finally begun to click. Nioh 3's story begins with Shōgun-to-be Tokugawa Takechiyo. When his jealous brother Tokugawa Kunimatsu leads an army of yōkai against Edo Castle, Takechiyo is whisked back in time by the guardian spirit Kusanagi, forced to battle his way across medieval Japanese history in a bid to save his present. Beyond the novelty of Nioh 1 effectively being a knock-off of James Clavell's Shōgun, I have never taken much interest in Nioh's stories, and while this is the one I enjoyed the most, it still never truly grabbed my attention. I imagine that will be the same for many, because the Nioh experience is not about the tales it tells, but about the myriad different ways you can find to eviscerate demons, and Nioh 3 has plenty of changes and additions to this series' combat. Perhaps the biggest tweak is the separation of samurai and ninja into two separate play styles. With a press of R2, you flip between the two, automatically swapping out your weapons and armour, the speed of which gives you a new dimension of combat to play with – it almost feels reminiscent of a mix-up in a fighting game. Players are more than welcome to go all in on either play style, and indeed, the further I progressed, the more I leaned towards my shinobi sensibilities. However, Nioh 3 has an ingenious mechanic that encourages regularly swapping between the two, and in a way that has real combat benefits. When faced with an unblockable attack, telegraphed by a crimson aura, pressin…

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Is This Thing On? review: Bradley Cooper turns John Bishop's life into sweet but indulgent comedy-drama
type: item
creator: James Mottram
subject: App
subject: App features
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Review
description: This is a good exercise for Cooper in creating something more low-key than his previous directorial efforts, even if it doesn’t quite come off.
encoded: ★★★☆☆ Is This Thing On? is in cinemas on Friday 30 January. Did you hear the one about the lonely husband who went into a bar? That’s the set up for Bradley Cooper’s third film as director, Is This Thing On?, a shaggy-dog movie that feels a world away from his musically-themed, Oscar-nominated earlier directorial efforts, the A Star Is Born remake and Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro. Those films played out on a grand scale – featuring concerts where the world was watching. Here, the feeling is more intimate. A man on stage, alone, with a mic, pouring his heart out. Scripted by Cooper, star Will Arnett and British writer Mark Chappell (who penned the delightful murder-mystery from 2022, See How They Run), the film comes loosely inspired by the life of comedian John Bishop. The Scouser stand-up, so the story goes, got into comedy after being at a low-ebb in his personal life. Cooper et al simply transpose this idea to New York. Father-of-two Alex (Arnett) has quietly separated from his wife Tess (Laura Dern), a former volleyball player who gave up her dreams to raise kids. The couple are still socialising with mutual friends, long-term husband and wife Christine (Andra Day) and Balls (Cooper), and gay newlyweds Stephen (Sean Hayes) and Geoffrey (Scott Icenogle). But they no longer live together, a fact that has spun Alex out. One night, unwilling to go home to his empty apartment, he walks into a bar in the West Village. Rather than pay for the $15 cover charge to get in, he signs up for an open mic stand-up night in the basement downstairs. At first, it’s excruciating as he stands there, like a rabbit in the headlights. But then he starts talking about his impending divorce, poignant material that gets unexpected laughs. It’s a brave and exposing act, one that offers him a much-needed catharsis, so it’s no surprise when he returns for another bash. Around him are experienced comics (played by real strand-ups, including Chloe Radcliffe), willing to offer him advice a…

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Under Salt Marsh review: Flood-stricken crime drama continues the rise of Welsh noir
type: item
date: 2026-01-30T07:00:17.000Z
creator: Jon O'Brien
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: NOW
subject: Review
subject: Sky Atlantic
description: A top-tier largely native cast, weather-beaten setting and sense of local community brings a Cymru sensibility to the murder mystery.
encoded: Following on from Mudtown, The One That Got Away and Keeping Faith, Under Salt Marsh is the latest Welsh crime drama to take its cues from the woolly jumpers and windswept landscapes of Scandi noir. And it might well be the most noirish of the lot. The original miniseries certainly isn’t the kind of escapist Harlan Coben-esque potboiler you watch to banish the winter blues, that’s for sure. From its 'every parents' worst nightmare' mystery to its flood-drenched, eternally grey aesthetics, this is a whodunit which revels in the bleak. Had its fictional town of Morfa Halen (the Welsh for ‘salt marsh’) been real, then its tourist board would undoubtedly have had cause for complaint. Having made her name with 2019’s Make Up, a blend of kitchen sink realism and psychological horror set entirely within an out-of-season Cornish caravan park, creator Claire Oakley is no stranger to such darkness. But here, she proves she can maintain a palpable sense of unease across six hour-long episodes of TV. Although very much a slow burner, Under Salt Marsh doesn’t waste any time establishing its ominous tone. In fact, distraught primary school teacher Jackie Ellis (Kelly Reilly with a steeliness similar to her display in Yellowstone) discovers the lifeless body of eight-year-old pupil Cefin (Jack Thomas-Humphreys) amid pitch-black marshlands in the opening shot. Is this simply a tragic accident? Or, as one would suspect, is there something more nefarious at play? And why, as revealed in a chilling flashback to earlier that same day, did the young victim continually dream of being chased into water and drowning? As a former detective, Jackie takes it upon herself to find the answers, immediately ingratiating herself further into the case by breaking the news to Cefin’s parents Shell (Kimberley Nixon) and Danny (Mark Stanley) before the police get the chance: it’s one of several harrowing scenes – see the family’s uncontrollable wails while visiting Cefin’s final resting place or Danny…

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The Wrecking Crew review: Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa's action comedy has mega body count but no real peril
type: item
date: 2026-01-26T15:21:27.000Z
creator: Rosie Fletcher
subject: Movies
subject: Amazon Prime Video
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: The Prime Video original is inspired by buddy movies like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hrs, but doesn’t have the thrills or charm of those classics.
encoded: It’s a bad week to be a faceless goon in this '80s-style action comedy with a mega body count but no real peril. Dave Baustisa and Jason Momoa star as estranged half-brothers James and Johnny reunited after the death of their father in an apparent hit and run. Bautista is a well-respected Navy Seal and family man living in Hawaii while Momoa is a disgraced cop and all-round wastrel living in Oklahoma, returning to Honolulu under duress. It’s not going to be an easy ride for the pair, who are being hunted by the Yakuza who are seeking a mysterious package, as well as Hawaiian gang the Syndicate, who have serious beef with Jonny and give him seven days to leave the island before they come for his head. Not that there’s much tension here – Bautista and Momoa are big lads (they look like “the Rock f***ed himself and gave birth to twins” according to one character) and in this they are virtually indestructible, swatting henchmen down like flies. Director Angel Manuel Soto, who made superhero movie Blue Beetle, understands the formula here but somehow misses the spirit of what made those ‘80s romps great, adopting a “more is better” mentality. More deaths, more punch ups, more car crashes, more bullets, more explosions and more baddies, doesn’t actually equal more fun, rather it equates to a bloated run time and action fatigue. At least it seems like the cast had fun. Bautista and Momoa have good chemistry and both get to do some outrageous scraps and stunts. The set pieces are certainly spectacular, including a bathroom brawl with Momoa vs the Yakuza and a corridor massacre which recalls a sequence from Oldboy and even finishes with Bautista staving someone’s head in with a hammer. Vehicular stunts are equally relentless – you wouldn’t want to be a random motorist in Hawaii either, with unseen casualties from exploding cars racking up the death toll. The comedy comes from fraternal banter (“You got old!” “You got fat!” etc), and some choice swearing from Jacob Batalon (b…

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Is This Thing On? review: Bradley Cooper turns John Bishop's life story into sweet but indulgent comedy-drama
type: item
date: 2026-01-26T15:06:26.000Z
creator: James Mottram
subject: Movies
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Review
description: This is a good exercise for Cooper in creating something more low-key than his previous directorial efforts, even if it doesn’t quite come off.
encoded: Did you hear the one about the lonely husband who went into a bar? That’s the set up for Bradley Cooper’s third film as director, Is This Thing On?, a shaggy-dog movie that feels a world away from his musically-themed, Oscar-nominated earlier directorial efforts, the A Star Is Born remake and Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro. Those films played out on a grand scale – featuring concerts where the world was watching. Here, the feeling is more intimate. A man on stage, alone, with a mic, pouring his heart out. Scripted by Cooper, star Will Arnett and British writer Mark Chappell (who penned the delightful murder-mystery from 2022, See How They Run), the film comes loosely inspired by the life of comedian John Bishop. The Scouser stand-up, so the story goes, got into comedy after being at a low-ebb in his personal life. Cooper et al simply transpose this idea to New York. Father-of-two Alex (Arnett) has quietly separated from his wife Tess (Laura Dern), a former volleyball player who gave up her dreams to raise kids. The couple are still socialising with mutual friends, long-term husband and wife Christine (Andra Day) and Balls (Cooper), and gay newlyweds Stephen (Sean Hayes) and Geoffrey (Scott Icenogle). But they no longer live together, a fact that has spun Alex out. One night, unwilling to go home to his empty apartment, he walks into a bar in the West Village. Rather than pay for the $15 cover charge to get in, he signs up for an open mic stand-up night in the basement downstairs. At first, it’s excruciating as he stands there, like a rabbit in the headlights. But then he starts talking about his impending divorce, poignant material that gets unexpected laughs. It’s a brave and exposing act, one that offers him a much-needed catharsis, so it’s no surprise when he returns for another bash. Around him are experienced comics (played by real strand-ups, including Chloe Radcliffe), willing to offer him advice and a bit of a roasting because, hey, that’s what they do. Vi…

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No Other Choice review: Park Chan-wook's killer comedy is more than paper thin
type: item
date: 2026-01-23T15:00:56.000Z
creator: James Mottram
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Director Park's latest is broader than many of his works, but still hugely inventive.
encoded: “Losing my job is not my choice.” It’s a phrase spoken more than once in Park Chan-wook’s latest film, No Other Choice, a black comedy set in the often dispiriting white-collar world of work. Premiering in competition at the Venice Film Festival, as anyone familiar with the South Korean Park’s ‘vengeance trilogy’, including the acclaimed Oldboy, will know, his movies are not for the feint-hearted. Even when they’re ostensibly comedies. In this case, there’s plenty of moments that’ll make you squirm, especially if you’re squeamish when it comes to oral hygiene. There’s even a very grim way of disposing a body, one that seemingly comes inspired by techniques for tying up plants in the garden. The ‘killer’ in question is Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), a father-of-two who has worked for Solar Paper as a speciality paper manager for the past quarter-century. “Paper has fed me for 25 years,” he says, sounding rather like The Office’s Michael Scott. When he gets let go, he’s left to find a new job in his middle years, with economic pressures meaning he might need to sell the family home. His wife (Son Ye-jin) is already trying to economise – no more Netflix, kids! – as all non-essentials are cut back on. Only their youngest daughter’s cello lessons will continue, as Man-su desperately keeps searching for a gig in this increasingly tough economy. But with paper his life (he was 2019’s ‘Pulp Man of the Year’, after all), all he wants to do is find work in the same industry. View oEmbed on the source website Adapted from Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax, Man-su takes a novel approach to finding work, and it doesn’t involve updating your LinkedIn profile. Rather than take his chances in an interview, he decides to kill off all those who might stand a chance. Of course, he’s no murderer; his hand shakes every time he picks up a gun, taken from the wall of his family home. His first target is Lee Sung-min’s engineer, a married man who has succumbed to drink while his actress wife tr…

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The History of Sound review: Tender love story will deepen Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal's fanbases
type: item
date: 2026-01-23T14:55:01.000Z
creator: James Mottram
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: This decade-spanning tale is exquisitely told by director Oliver Hermanus.
encoded: A tender, decade-spanning love story, exquisitely told by director Oliver Hermanus, The History of Sound is yet another wonderful showcase for the considerable talents of Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal. The British actor O’Connor, best known for his work as Prince Charles on The Crown, and the Irish-born Mescal, famed for Normal People and, more recently, Gladiator II, are already dizzyingly popular; this first collaboration is only likely to deepen their fanbases. Premiering in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, The History of Sound begins, briefly, in 1910, as Mescal’s Lionel narrates about his unique appreciation of music. “I thought everyone could see sound,” he intones. But it won’t be for another seven years that he meets a man who is similarly in tune with sound. In a bar one night, David (O’Connor) is playing a piano. They will soon become firm friends and more. David, we learn, grew up in Newport, then London, and comes from a wealthier background than Lionel, who was raised up on a poor farm in Kentucky (one he still is expected to help out on). His poor eyesight means that he avoided the draft, to fight in the trenches of the First World War. But David heads to what he wryly calls his “walking tour of Europe”, thankfully returning unscathed. Sponsored by Vue Save up to 30% on the latest releases at Vue in 2025 Are you a movie lover who always wants to be up to date with the latest releases? Then you're in luck, as RadioTimes.com readers can enjoy new films at Vue Cinemas for less. Customers will receive up to 30% off films with Vue Pass, as long as they have a RadioTimes.com account. It's a great time for new releases, with films such as Wicked, Nosferatu, The Brutalist and Moana 2 taking UK cinemas by storm. Head to your nearest Vue to catch these movies and more for up to 30% less if you're signed up as a RadioTimes.com member. Save up to 30% with Vue Pass When he does, these two young men reunite in Maine and decide to venture cross-country, recor…

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The Oscars completely snubbed the year's most daring film – and it doesn't make sense
type: item
date: 2026-01-22T17:02:55.000Z
creator: Chezelle Bingham
subject: Movies
subject: Comment
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Oscars
subject: Review
description: Oscar nominations are out – there's just one problem...
encoded: Every Oscars season, us film fans are met with the inevitable snubs: from films of certain genres not being considered serious enough, to quiet, brilliant performances being dropped in favour of louder ones that sit within the rigid framework of what the Academy considers 'worthy'. Of course, we’re also then often met by the rogue choices that leave everyone blinking in disbelief at their television screens. (I, for one, received a few surprised texts when one certain Best Picture nominee was read out this afternoon…). This year, however, one particular snub has stuck out like a sore thumb – Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee. And not only was Ann Lee snubbed – it was completely ignored from the nominations list, with its name not falling under a single category in this year’s slate. That’s right. Daniel Blumburg’s staggering, hypnotic score (which I actually have on in the background while writing this) was erased; Woman Clothed by the Sun, one of the most angelic original songs of the year (I challenge anyone to listen to it and try to tell me it’s inferior to any of the five nominees) was blanked, Fastvold’s writing and brilliant direction were both nowhere to be seen. Not even Best Actress, which once seemed the only category Ann Lee could get a look in, served plaudits. It is that latter snub for Best Actress that perhaps is the most shocking. Until about a month ago, Amanda Seyfried receiving an Oscar nomination for pouring her entire heart and soul into playing Mother Ann Lee felt almost inevitable. And yes, while the Best Actress category is undoubtedly stacked this year, Seyfried’s Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nominations had me convinced that her flawless performance as the founding leader of the Shaker movement would get at least a small nod. To be clear, The Testament of Ann Lee isn’t some kind of niche, underground film that only four of your biggest cinephile friends have seen (not that obscurity would have made its snub acceptable, but you g…

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Saipan review: Éanna Hardwicke is utterly magnetic as Roy Keane in dramatisation of infamous feud
type: item
date: 2026-01-21T16:48:53.000Z
creator: Jeremy Aspinall
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Thanks to fabulous performances and a witty, perceptive script that’s more concerned with the game of life than the game itself, this has something for everybody – football fan or not.
encoded: The best-known true-story feature films about “the beautiful game” have put the lives of iconic football managers like Brian Clough (The Damned United) or brilliant players such as George Best (Best) at the heart of the drama. A manager (Mick McCarthy) and a player (Roy Keane) are also at the centre of events in Saipan, however, it’s a notorious falling-out between the men in the lead-up to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea around which events unfold in this enthralling fictionalisation from husband-and-wife directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn (Ordinary Love, Good Vibrations). Sporting spats are ten-a-penny these days, going viral almost immediately. But when Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane walked out of his team’s training camp on the island of Saipan on the eve of departure for the tournament, it created huge press headlines, knocking the status of English talisman David Beckham’s broken foot off both the front and back pages of tabloids and broadsheets. Meanwhile, the fallout in Ireland was seismic and polarising, not least because Keane was a bone fide world-class footballer — honed into a muscular midfield general by both Clough and his Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson — who was going to lead the team to glory. We return to those heady days when the Irish team, minus a then-injured Keane, managed to qualify for only their third World Cup at the end of 2001. And yet, it’s quickly apparent there’s tension between a permanently bristling Keane (played with sustained intensity by Éanna Hardwicke) and a seemingly unflappable McCarthy (the ever-versatile Steve Coogan), as the countdown to the competition ticks away. Although niftily paced over 90 minutes, there’s a fabulous, slow-burning quality to proceedings as the affable, Barnsley-born McCarthy strives to mediate between his star player’s uncompromising professional approach to diet, drinking and training and the rest of the team behaving as though they are on a tourist jolly. But as the…

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The Beauty review: Ryan Murphy's body horror thriller is stylish but surface-level
type: item
date: 2026-01-21T16:00:30.000Z
creator: Molly Moss
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Disney Plus
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: A wild premise leads to some entertaining and preposterous moments in this body horror thriller from Ryan Murphy, but the series ultimately lacks depth and subtlety.
encoded: This review is based on the first two episodes of The Beauty. Following 2025’s All’s Fair, the critically-panned legal drama starring Kim Kardashian, Ryan Murphy is back with another surface-level critique of social issues in his new series The Beauty, which takes loose aim at society’s obsession with physical perfection and the lengths people will go to achieve it. The show, based on a 2015 comic book by Jeremy Haun and Jason A Hurley, is set in a dystopian world and follows FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall), who’ve been sent to Paris to investigate a series of puzzling deaths that are connected by two strands: all of them are newly signed models, and they’ve all died by a mysterious and bizarre process of overheating and exploding. What follows is a glossy, campy and satirical body horror thriller as their investigation soon leads them into the path of an organisation known as The Corporation, led by a tech billionaire (Ashton Kutcher), who has managed to engineer a beauty-enhancing drug. Its label guarantees “One shot makes you hot”, and while it does fulfil its promise, there are a couple of unpleasant side effects: a painful mutation into the new conventionally attractive body, and, yeah, inevitable death. Oh, and there’s another drawback: the injection has actually been engineered from an STD, which is also spreading among society. It’s a wild and ironic premise that looks at the horrors of our obsession with physical attractiveness – the more attractive you are, the more dangerous you are to others who desire you – while the injection element engages with current discussions around Ozempic. Murphy leans into the un-seriousness of it all, and there are plenty of delightfully preposterous and entertaining moments. Yet this approach also leaves the social commentary lacking depth and subtlety. Murphy’s sledgehammer approach is particularly evident in one clumsy discussion between Cooper and Jordan who are, funnily enough, s…

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The Rip review: Damon and Affleck's latest cinematic reunion is less than the sum of its parts
type: item
date: 2026-01-16T00:01:42.000Z
creator: Matt Glasby
subject: Movies
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: This Netflix crime thriller based on a true story is quite a ride – but the more things it tries to do, the less well it does them.
encoded: Collaborations between old pals Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are always worth watching, whether they result in classics like Good Will Hunting or could-have-beens like Air. Writer-director Joe Carnahan’s filmography has been similarly hit and miss, with bangers such as The Grey interspersed with clangers like The A-Team. So, a sense of cautious expectation greets this chewy cop thriller, which was “inspired by true events”, but feels very much like a product of the movies. Frankly, with a first act this exciting, who cares? When Miami cop Jackie Velez (Lina Esco) is gunned down in cold blood, it sends shockwaves through her unit, the TNT (Tactical Narcotics Team). New boss – and grieving father – Lieutenant Dane Dumars (Damon) wants the murder solved fast. His right-hand man, Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Affleck), was Velez’s lover, and keeps her gun as the ultimate tribute. The rest of the team – played by Steven Yeun (TV’s Beef), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Ballerina) – close ranks as the FBI (headed by Scott Adkins, as Byrne’s younger brother) starts its interrogations. This may sound like an almighty info dump, but it’s so well-written and performed it plays out like sweary, high-stakes drama. Following an anonymous tip-off, the team head to a drug cartel safe house, where they find a young woman, Desi (Sasha Calle), with $20 million stashed in the attic. The question the film pivots on is: what should they do next? The cartel is coming to kill everyone, they don’t trust their superiors with the cash and, as Dumars notes, “It would be so much easier if we stole this money.” For those unaware of Miami PD vernacular, “The Rip” is slang for when cops do exactly that. But with the stage all set for an exhilarating Assault on Precinct 13 update, Carnahan drops the ball. Just as the tension should be ramping up, it begins to dissipate, with characters wandering off alone, making stupid decisions, and concealing so many secrets i…

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Agatha Christie's Seven Dials review: Netflix adaptation is formula-busting – and that’s a problem
type: item
date: 2026-01-15T08:00:50.000Z
creator: James Hibbs
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: Netflix
subject: On demand
subject: Review
description: The three-part series adapts one of Christie's lesser-known titles.
encoded: On one level, Agatha Christie's staying power and the continuing cultural dominance of her works is remarkable. On another it really isn't. Christie is the best-selling fiction author of all time for a reason, the same reason her works are also so frequently adapted - her stories are just that good. Since 2020 alone, there have been six English-language on screen adaptations of her work - The Pale Horse, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, Murder is Easy and Towards Zero on TV, alongside Death on the Nile and A Haunting in Venice on the big screen. These adaptations have admittedly been of varying quality but its notable that, at least on the small screen, efforts are being made of late to take on some of Christie's lesser-known works, rather than returning again and again to the old favourites. There is certainly method behind this, but having now watched the latest addition to the on-screen Christie canon, Netflix's Seven Dials, one does start to wonder whether some of these stories are lesser-known for a reason. Agatha Christie's Seven Dials, which has been adapted by Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, stars Mia McKenna-Bruce as Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent, a young, rebellious socialite in 1920s England. As with many Christie novels, this one is all about death, suspicion and back-stabbing, with this one ticking into action the morning after a country house party where one of the guests is found to have died. A prank appears to have been played on the deceased, with seven alarm clocks being set to go off one after the other, but their death is deemed to be unsuspicious and unrelated to the crime, according to the majority of the guests, that is apart from Bundle. Looking to get justice, she springs into action, but uncovers a conspiracy far bigger than she could have imagined. As with so many Christie adaptations, this one features a stacked cast, including the likes of Martin Freeman, Helena Bonham Carter and Alex Macqueen in central roles. It's glossy and filled with s…

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review – A supremely satisfying horror thrill ride with unexpected depth
type: item
date: 2026-01-14T10:41:56.000Z
creator: Terry Staunton
subject: Movies
subject: Review
description: Ralph Fiennes and Jack O'Connell go head-to-head in Nia DaCosta's entry in the post-apocalyptic franchise.
encoded: The shift in tone in the final few minutes of 2025’s first film in the 28 Years Later trilogy wrong-footed viewers of Danny Boyle's return to celebrated horror franchise. As the sombre narrative of a young family’s struggles in a world long ravaged by apocalyptic disease came to a close, the director chose to bookend the tale with a blackly comic wave of terror propagated by a maniacal gang who bizarrely resembled something in-between the Teletubbies and a certain disgraced broadcaster. It was a compelling twist to the saga which begun back in 2002 with 28 Days Later, hinting that the fourth entry in the franchise would be a very different kettle of fish – not necessarily played for full-on laughs, but certainly less ponderous than the perpetually grim bulk of its predecessor. And so it proves, because this is the point where writer Alex Garland’s three-screenplay arc gains considerable momentum, courtesy of a deeper delve into its lead characters, a heightened sense of jeopardy and consequences, and inventively choreographed gore peppered with the some surprisingly decent gags. At its centre, The Bone Temple is a battle between good and evil, with Ralph Fiennes’ returning maverick medic Dr Ian Kelson seeking a cure to the virus that laid waste to the nation, and Jack O’Connell’s 'Sir' Jimmy Crystal peddling slaughter as the bedrock of his quasi-religious cult. Director Nia DaCosta, taking over from Danny Boyle, makes us wait for the battle proper, though, as the Fiennes and O’Connell characters don’t come face to face until past the halfway mark in proceedings, by which time the motivations of both have been firmly established. We open on Alfie Williams’ plucky but troubled pre-teen Spike from the previous chapter, now a reluctant member of the 'Jimmies'. Forced to earn his spurs in a fight-to-the-death initiation against another O’Connell acolyte, Spike likely regrets the direction his life has taken as he learns more about Jimmy Crystal’s belief system and his de…

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 review: Game of Thrones spin-off is best visit to Westeros in nearly a decade
type: item
date: 2026-01-13T22:00:28.000Z
creator: Lewis Knight
subject: Fantasy
subject: TV
subject: Comment
subject: HBO
subject: Review
subject: Sky Atlantic
description: It's time to return to Westeros for a rather different adventure.
encoded: Game of Thrones fans have long been used to mixed fortunes - even more so if you’re a book reader. Arguably the biggest show of the 21st century, Game of Thrones took the world by storm in 2011 with its adaptation of George R.R. Martin's game-changing fantasy book series. With dramatic backstabbing, bloody battles and political intrigue, it gripped pop-culture in its first six seasons, providing absolutely exhilarating television. Sadly, when the show truly ran out of source material to adapt, the writing quality took a nosedive. Indeed, the final two truncated seasons often worked with strange logic (don’t talk about the episode Beyond the Wall) and what resembled a rushed summary of events without proper build up to make the bolder plot swings work. Thankfully, fans were soon treated to a strong prequel series, House of the Dragon, which adapted Martin’s history book of the Targaryen Dynasty, Fire and Blood. A truly Shakespearean series with an excellent cast of characters and amazing dialogue, the first season was great television, and despite some inconsistent pacing, it gave a strong conclusion. However, the much-anticipated second season proved even stranger with sluggish pacing in its second half and something of a damp squib finale. There were also some questionable adaptational choices which neutered some of Martin’s most explosive work, including some which the author himself was unhappy with. So, anticipation has lessened somewhat for its return. So, it is in this context that HBO delivers A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s prequel novella series of the Tales of Dunk and Egg. Set 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, this lean six-episode season is based on the first novella, The Hedge Knight, and begins with the hulking squire "Dunk"(Peter Clauffey) mourning his late master Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). Dunk decides to honour his mentor by heading to compete for glory in a tourney, along the way acquiring a squire of his ow…

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Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 review: Anime A-lister returns to cull the competition
type: item
date: 2026-01-08T17:00:01.000Z
creator: David Opie
subject: Anime
subject: Fantasy
subject: TV
subject: Review
description: The first two episodes of season 3 amp up everything we love most about Jujutsu Kaisen.
encoded: This review is based on Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 episodes 1-2. Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 kicks off with an uncharacteristically quiet moment for the teen sorcerer at the heart of this show. Yuji Itadori is washing blood off his hands, but there's just too much of it. Red stains spiral into the sink, stubbornly refusing to come clean. Endless torrents of blood are par for the course in both the series and the Gege Akutami-penned manga this story is based on, but this isn't just the aftermath of any old battle. Season 2 ended with The Shibuya Incident, Jujutsu Kaisen's most devastating arc yet. Friends died at the hands of demons and countless more perished at the hands of Yuji himself once the power of Ryomen Sukuna took over. In the fallout from this, the blood on Yuji's hands carries something far heavier, and the overarching mood is thick with despair as well. Survivor's guilt coupled with guilt over the carnage he technically wreaked shapes everything here, visually warping Tokyo itself with a bleary pink sunrise stained like the blood on his hands. A giant, grotesque monster claws at Yuji all of a sudden, throwing us into battle, but you can feel that Yuji's heart isn't in it. Even at his most impressive, jumping and spinning and hurtling through the air mid-fight, Yuji's body language speaks to a broken man far removed from the protagonist we were first introduced to in season one. Dread infuses every frame, every lingering shot of an empty staircase or demolished building. It's eerie and atmospheric in ways that speak to the show's movie-level animation and how the team at MAPPA are capable of stunning beyond Jujutsu Kaisen's signature fights. These too are just as elaborate as ever, first when Yuji tears into Cronenbergian demons, and then when Yuta Okkotsu arrives to kill him on orders from the Jujutsu Council. We've only seen glimpses of Yuta in the main show before now, but here, the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is finally unleashed in full, pitting the fr…

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