Director: Chloé Zhao

Hamnet introduces us to the early lives of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley). They are drawn together immediately, and their marriage and the birth of their first child. There is love and happiness, twins follow. Agnes encourages Will to go to London to build his future. As his success grows, their lives are ripped apart by the tragic loss of their son. The impact is profound, and the film explores the loss’s effects on Agnes and William and how it leads to the creation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Hamnet is not really a film about the creation of Hamlet. It’s not really even a film about William and Agnes, it is a touching study about grief, its impact and how people process it very differently.

For the first 30 minutes or so, I wasn’t sure this was working for me. People looking into the distance, along with the language and tempo. But by the end, I was totally won over by this incredible film.

It is a stunning portrait of life, grief and raw emotion. From the thrill of a new relationship, the growth of a family and the desire to see those you love succeed. But over time, it becomes hard, separated by work and distance. And when the most horrific tragedy strikes, the contrast in how William and Agnes respond exacerbates the pain they both feel.

The final act is a flawless piece of cinema, as Agnes heads to The Globe to see her husbands tragedy, “Hamlet”. And there she sees it, her husband’s hurt and grief on show for all the world to see. All done without a word between the main characters, with only the dialogue from those on stage, it’s all said through the facial expressions and eyes of Buckley’s Agnes.

Hamnet is Buckley’s film. Mescal is a perfect foil as the thoughtful and seemingly distant Shakespeare and Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet, gives a powerful performance, especially as the film takes its darkest turn. But it is all about Jessie Buckley, every moment of love, sadness and grief writ large across her face. 

A stunning portrait of life, love, and grief.

Director: Craig Brewer

Based on the true story of Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman), a Milwaukee mechanic and recovering alcoholic whose true passion is performing. And Claire (Kate Hudson), a hairdresser, who shares the same love, performing as a Patsy Cline tribute act. When they meet, quickly they hit it off and when Claire encourages Mike to become a Neil Diamond interpreter, not impersonator, they create Lightning and Thunder: A Neil Diamond Experience. They quickly become a hit, drawing bigger crowds and turning their dreams to reality. But a devastating accident shatters everything they’ve built. With their future uncertain, Mike and Claire must find a way to rebuild their lives, rediscover their purpose, and whether their dream is strong enough to survive what life has thrown at them.

Song Sung Blue, is a charming warm hearted film. It’s about love, chasing a dream and doing the things you love with the people you love. It’s feel good and heart wrenching in equal measure, as you are swept along in the lives of its two main characters who you are desperate to see succeed.

The film is helped by excellent central performances from Jackman and Kate Hudson, both utterly believable and hugely engaging in their roles. They are also very well supported, especially from Ella Anderson and King Princess who play Claire and Mike’s daughters.

If there is a criticism, the film feels a little slow and cumbersome as it deals with the initial impact of a life changing event. But that is a minor gripe as it gets back on track as it moves into its final act.

The film is certainly at its best as it works its way through Neil Diamond classics, yes more than Sweet Caroline, but that’s mainly as Jackman and Hudson make such a compelling on screen act.

It’s a feel good story, full of charm, with fine performances and characters you are desperate to see succeed, even if it seems fate has other plans.

Director: Paul Feig

After the success of the “A Simple Favor” films, Paul Feig returns to the world of psychological thriller with, The Housemaid. Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is looking for a new chance and it comes when she gets the opportunity to become the live-in housemaid for Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) and her family, daughter CeCe (Indiana Elle) and her loving husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). What, at first, seems the perfect job, soon starts to unravel, as the perfect veneer is peeled away to reveal a dark underbelly, where peoples pasts collide to become present day threats.

I do enjoy a Paul Feig thriller, and The Housemaid is no exception. The film revisits much of what worked in Feig’s A Simple Favor films. Two women, a doting husband caught in the middle, an undercurrent of something very wrong and hidden pasts, that are anything but in the past. All delivering and entertaining and smart thriller.

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney are both in fine form. Seyfried, in particular, as she flicks effortlessly from perfect wife to the seemingly unhinged and dangerous. Both are well supported by Sklenar’s perfect husband and Elizabeth Perkins, who shows up with a brief cameo as Andrew’s dominating mother.

The plot suitably twists and turns and keeps you guessing as it peels back the layers to reveal the dark secrets underneath. All leading to a wild final act where the reality of everyone’s past collides to deliver a tense and satisfying finale and a clever ending that sets up a sequel if anyone wants it.

It’s not perfect and probably runs a little long, spending perhaps too much time re-telling some of the story through a new lens. But overall, it is a smart and enjoyable thriller.

The Housemaid, while not perfect, is a smart and enjoyable thriller. If you enjoyed Feig’s A Simple Favor, you’ll find plenty here to enjoy. Sydney Sweeney and Seyfried are in fine form, delivering compelling performances and the story twists, turns, keeping you guessing until it reaches its wild and satisfying climax.

Director: Josh Safdie

Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) is a talented New York based table tennis player, his dream, to head to Japan to play in the world championship. But to get there is going to mean finding funding, luckily, Marty is not only a great player, he’s a hustler, ambitious and driven by a singular goal, to which he is prepared to use anything and anyone to achieve it. Can he get to Japan and what damage will he do on the way?

Marty Supreme is a story about pursuing a dream and the price you have to pay to get there. But it turns this premise on its head by making Marty an unlikeable character. While his drive and determination are to be admired, his willingness to take risks with anyone around him regardless of the consequences makes him impossible to pull for.

This twist on the underdog tale, is where some may struggle with the film. Whether the film is about someone who learns what’s truly important, or about how unscrupulous and unpleasant people can achieve what they want, is left for you to decide.

That said, it is credit to the film that it still works. Much of this is on Chalamet who puts in a fantastic performance full of energy and charisma, that makes Marty, for all of his flaws, very watchable. Performances across the board are strong, Odessa A’zion as Marty’s friend Rachel and Gwyneth Paltrow, as a fading movie star, are foils for Marty, both used by and using him for their own ends.

The story is a wild ride, as much a heist film as underdog tale. And for a film not really about table tennis, it does deliver an incredibly tense final match!

Marty Supreme, takes the underdog story and turns it on its head with a protagonist that’s hard to cheer for and how you feel about that may determine how much you enjoy the film. But what you certainly get is a wild ride, more heist film than underdog tale, and lit up by Timothée Chalamet’s central performance, full of energy and charisma. But he is hard to like and that may leave some feeling cold. But it’s original, a little crazy, with strong performances. It’s full of ping and pong!

Director: Tom Gormican

When a jobbing actor, Griff (Paul Rudd) meets up with a group of old friends to celebrate Doug’s (Jack Black) birthday, they realise that their dreams of making it big in the movies are dying. Griff spends more time working part time jobs than acting, Doug is a frustrated director stuck making wedding videos, Kenny is unemployed (Steve Zahn) and Claire (Thandiwe Newton) abandoned acting to become a lawyer. But, when Griff announces he has the rights to remake 90’s classic Anaconda, the friends have an opportunity to fulfil their dreams. They head off to the Amazon, but they get more than they bargained for, when trying to remake Anaconda turns into a battle for survival as the Anaconda movie comes very much to life!

How much of a “classic” Anaconda is, is very much up for debate, but what this well intentioned, good hearted, comedy does is pack plenty of gags, fun and action into this 99 minute homage to Ice Cube, J-Lo and the rest!

It’s certainly not a classic and isn’t going to be troubling the comedy greats, but with a likeable cast, tight script and no attempt to take itself seriously, Anaconda provides an amusing holiday distraction, that plays well to a broad audience.

The main cast give you everything you’d expect, all doing their thing, a vehicle that fits all four of them well, particularly Black, who specialises in silly comedy with a sentimental core. There is also good support from Selton Mello’s snake handler and  Daniela Melchior’s, Ana.

The action is well paced, as is the script that delivers plenty of regular gags and a fine set piece involving Doug, a boar and a squirrel!

Anaconda is never going to be a classic, but it is an amusing holiday diversion. With a likeable cast, that is at home with what is being asked of them, a 99 minute run time, humourous script and entertaining action, it will appeal to a pretty broad audience. While it never rises above relatively amusing, sometimes that’s enough and it is here, delivering some Christmas cinema fun.

Director: David Michôd

Christy tells the story of Christy Salters, a woman who, while not creating female boxing, went a long way to having the sport been taken seriously. Played by Sydney Sweeney, it follows Christy’s discovery of the sport in 1989 to becoming a high paid star on the front cover of Sports Illustrated. But, it is not just her career that Salters had to fight. She has to hide her sexuality, and fight with an abusive relationship with Husband, James Martin (Ben Foster). A relationship that would almost cost her her life.

Christy has had mixed reviews, but it’s a film that worked well for me. 

It provides a good view of why she is important to her sport and the work she did to be taken seriously as an athlete.

But her story is more complex. Christy as a gay woman in the late 80’s, prejudice abounds, not only in the sport, but also in her private life, with a homophobic mother full of contempt for her daughter’s sexuality. But it is the abusive relationship with her husband James, where the film is at its darkest, building from subtle undertones, to a situation which almost costs her her life.

Sweeney puts in a strong performance, believable as both boxer and abused woman. She’s is well supported by Foster, Wever and Katy O’Brian.

If there is a criticism, it is the story that focuses more on its Rocky rise to the top than on the darkness of a relationship and its descent into violence. This is best summed up in a scene where Christy talks about the prolonged abusive relationship which jars when so late on it feels like it’s the first time hearing about it.

Christy, is a fascinating look at a woman who would define her sport. And while not perfect, it provides a compelling watch, led by Sydney Sweeney’s strong performance. It tells a Rocky-like story of a rise in a brutal sport, for a woman also fighting battles with her sexuality and an abusive relationship that almost costs her her life. And while it perhaps doesn’t get enough under the skin of that part of the story, it is still a compelling biopic of a strong woman, who deserves her story told.

Director: Jon M. Chu

In the second part of the screen adaptation of Wicked, we return to Oz. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is now the personification of evil, but all she wants is an Oz for everyone, and to reveal the Wizard as a fraud. Oz’s main weapon is Glinda (Ariana Grande) the definition of Good, there to give people hope and bring down the threat of the wicked witch. But when a new threat arrives in Oz, in the shape of a girl from Kansas and her dog, the threat to Elphaba grows, as does Glinda’s conflict between her role in Oz and the desire to protect her friend. Can they save Oz and each other?

The question for part two was could it live up to the wonderful first part. While it’s enjoyable it doesn’t come close, lacking much of the depth and weight the first.

Lots does work, nothing more than its two stars. In Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande which is crucial in this part of the story, which is very much about their relationship. Both continue to take us on their characters journeys as they deal with relationships, love and loss. They both remain hugely engaging, especially on screen together.

But, while the first film took time with some complex and dark topics delivering a film of depth, this feels much more flimsy. It occasionally delves more deeply, but never quite takes its time for stories to develop. Which also means many characters are sidelined here, we see very little of Jeff Goldblum’s, Wizard, Michelle Yeoh’s, Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey’s, Fiyero or Marissa Bode as Nessarose. 

The big musical numbers remain and the world of Oz looks great as we see its links to The Wizard of Oz. But it all lacks the magic of the first.

Wicked: For Good had a tough act to follow and doesn’t quite hit the mark. It has lots going for it especially in its two leads who continue to be hugely engaging. But It does lack the depth and a little of the magic of the first film. While it doesn’t live up to part one. It still has enough going for it to be an enjoyable way to finish off the Wicked tale.

Director: Edgar Wright

Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is out of work and blacklisted. With a sick daughter, and Richards wife(Emilia Jones) working long hours in a club, he’s also desperate. Opportunity is limited, but one out, is the endless stream of violent TV game shows. The most violent of these is The Running Man. A show where competitors must survive 30 days on the streets evading the shows viewers and being captured and killed by the show’s Hunters. But survival on means a life changing sum of money. So when Richards finds himself on the show, it not only starts a battle to survive and get back to his family, but gives him a chance to change the world.

I’ve not read the King story nor  remember the Schwarzenegger film, so I went into Edgar Wright’s adaptation with a clean slate. Which while enjoyable in parts, it wasn’t wholly successful.

What works? The action scenes are fast and thrilling, with plenty of nail biting moments. Wright’s famous needle drops are there for all to hear, with a great soundtrack.

Colman Domingo steals the show with his brash TV presenter. Josh Brolin brings plenty of bad guy as the Network President. There’s also a fun Micheal Cera cameo as part of a rebel network looking to help Richards survive.

But it doesn’t all work as well. The film’s premise is good and has things to say on poverty, media influence and how reality TV creates stars and victims in equal measure. But its main issue for me was it never really earns the investment it wants you to make in the story, best summed up in its final act.

But perhaps Powell is its biggest issue. He’s not terrible, But I struggled to believe him as a desperate man. He’s almost too clean and charming and never really carries the weight of the role.

The Running Man gets some things right. Great action, a fabulous soundtrack and some fun performances. But it is also flawed, especially in a story, that never really earns the investments it’s asking you to make, making it feel a little “so what” when asking its big questions. Fun enough, but could have delivered much more.

Director:Dan Trachtenberg

Dek(Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a young Predator desperate to be accepted into his clan. But Dek is a runt, not seen as worthy. To prove himself, he heads to the planet Genna, to kill the deadly Kalist and return with its head as his trophy. The Kalist is not the only threat to Dek on the planet, it seems every inch of it is deadly and wants to kill him. But he finds unlikely help in the shape of Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic, familiar with the planet, its risks and the home of the Kalist. Together they set off across the deadly planet to capture the Kalist. But Dek is not the only one wanting to capture it, leading to a deadly battle leaving the runt Predator fighting to survive.

Badlands takes the same approach as its successful predecessor, Prey, and is equally successful, delivering an entertaining and fun science fiction adventure.

As with Prey, Badlands plays a little younger than the original Predator films. But this isn’t to its detriment, as Badlands serves up a Predator coming of age film, about discovering who you are, the world around you, why friendship and family are important and how you can surpass the expectations of others, all told from the perspective of one of the universes great killing machines!

It’s full of action and its 107 minute running time zips along with a script that brings plenty of light moments.

Schuster-Koloamatangi brings lots of personality to the role of the Predator and Elle Fanning does a lot of heavy lifting, not only as the only character speaking a human language, she also plays more than one role. Together they are an enjoyable pairing.

Predator: Badlands follows on from the excellent Prey, with another original take on the Predator story. It is a fun, fast moving sci-fi adventure, full of entertaining action set pieces and a light script that keeps the story flying along. As with Prey, it plays younger than the original Predator’s, but in no way to its detriment. There’s plenty for sci-fi fans to enjoy.

Director:Nicholas Hytner

It’s 1916, the First World War is raging, but in the small town of Ramsden, there are other concerns. The local Choral society finds itself without a choirmaster, but luckily for them Dr. Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes), is close by. Guthrie is a leading conductor, but he has been working in Germany! But now back in England, the society invite him to come and help them put on their latest performance. Guthrie finds an eager society, who are light on numbers and in some cases talent, can he get them in shape against the clock and against a back drop of the concerns of war?

I found The Choral a strangely emotionally inert film. It’s not terrible and is a pleasant and inoffensive, but I found it really lacking in any kind of emotional depth or engagement. Which is a bit odd considering the setting and the opportunities that presents. Wives, mothers and girlfriends with men in their lives away at the front. Young men waiting to be called up and older men with links to the front, all with stories to explore.

The story possibilities is perhaps the problem because the story we get never delves into any of them and instead flips and flops between characters and moments, never really scratching the surface.

The cast is fine, alongside Fiennes, Roger Allam, Alun Armstrong and Mark Addy are dependable as ever. But it’s Amara Okereke and Emily Fairn as Salvation Army singer Mary and Bella, respectively, who steal the show and provide the film with the heart it has.

As a film made by the BBC, perhaps it would have been better served as a gentle Sunday evening 6-part drama where it could’ve explored its characters, because as a film it all felt a bit of a narrative mess and unengaging.

The Choral never quite grabs you. It may have been better served as a drama series where its story possibilities could be explored. But as a film it’s a bit of a mish mash that never really seems to get under the skin of any of its characters. While good hearted, lacks any kind of emotional core to latch on to. Inoffensive, but all a bit flat.