Available at the Cinema and on Amazon Prime Video.

Written and directed by David Lowery, is this telling of the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and his quest to face The Green Knight. Dev Patel is Gawain, the reckless and directionless nephew of the King (Sean Harris). It’s Christmas and Gawain finds himself sat by the Kings side at the court Christmas, he is asked to tell a story, so the King and his Queen (Kate Dickie) can know their nephew. Before he starts they are interrupted by The Green Knight, who makes an offer, should someone strike him they can take his axe and all that it brings for one year. Then they will meet again and however he has been struck, he will strike back in the same way. When Gawain over zealously strikes he gains the axe. But he spends the year, rather than making the most of what he has, wasting his opportunity, until it his time to set off and meet his fate.

There has been much critical acclaim for this film but for me it just didn’t work. I don’t mind something complex, abstract, even weird. I enjoy intelligent cinema, but sometimes a film tries too hard and can be too abstract for its own good and for me this falls into this category. Which is a pity as I wanted to enjoy it more and maybe if I was more familiar with the legend it would have worked better.

There are plusses, It is beautifully shot and Dev Patel is as brilliantly watchable as ever. But it’s hard work, I get the point, he needs to grow, he needs to earn his place in the Kings court. But that gets lost in symbolism and often feels distant and impenetrable. It does all this over 133 minutes often at a snails pace.

All of this is a pity as it’s clearly made by people who know how to put a film together. There is a fine and watchable cast and a lovely cinematic feel. I didn’t hate it, or even dislike it, but neither did I particularly enjoy it.

The Green Knight has received much critical acclaim, it looks great and Dev Patel is great to watch. But it just didn’t hit the mark for me, overly long, overly slow and overly complex. Trying too hard to show how smart it was. If you like your Arthurian legend, then this may well work for you, just not for me.

Available on Sky Cinema in the UK and on VOD.

Rare Beasts is Billie Pipers feature film writing and directorial debut. Piper is Mandy, a single mum, a career in TV production, a son, her own mother who lives with her and a fledgling relationship with Pete (Leo Bill). Mandy’s life is all lived on the edge, she’s angry and unsure. She has a son who has her on edge, with his own anger issues. Her relationship doesn’t help, Pete is equally unsure about what he wants and who he is, from a religious family, he can’t get a handle on Mandy and that adds to his unease. All of which leads to a manic existence as Mandy and Pete explore their lives and future.

To be clear this will not work for everyone. It is as manic and on edge as its characters and its impenetrable at times, feeling like a bit of experimental theatre and it certainly didn’t all work for me. But it does have a certain charm, humour and share of touching moments. All of which had enough to keep me intrigued and engaged.

On top of that is Pipers performance, she carries the film with an energy and chaos that she balances on the edge perfectly throughout, even if the film around her doesn’t always mange it. There are some good performances around her, Bill as Pete is unbalanced by Mandy and his own desires, David Thewlis and Kerry Fox as her parents. Special mention as well to Toby Woolf who plays her son delivering a performance in line with the chaos around him.

It’s far from perfect. It sometimes dissappears into its own “cleverness” and the time it spends on the edge will be tiring and tiresome to some. But for me there was enough that was interesting and Pipers performance compelling enough to keep me invested.

Rare Beasts will definitely not work for all, but if you want something that aims high and attempts something interesting, if not wholly successfully this is worth a look. And at 88 minutes long, if it doesn’t work, it’s not taken too much of your time.

Available to stream.

Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, filmed in just 20 days is the quirky, charming and thoughtful Pig. Nicholas Cage plays Rob, a truffle hunter, living in the woods in isolation. His appearance and is home is of someone who has stopped caring. But he does care for his pig, who helps him collect truffles. His customer is local restaurant supplier Amir (Alex Wolff), with whom he has a basic friendship. But Robs isolation is shattered when his pig is stolen. This drives him back to the city (Portland, Oregon) and the world of food, love and loss that he had long forgotten.

Firstly if you think this is going to be some John Wick revenge movie, go check out something else. Pig instead is beautiful and thoughtful study of loss and how failing to deal with it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

It has its quirky moments certainly, Amir’s menacing father (Adam Arkin) and a strange underground fight club for waiters particularly. But they are part of its charm in what is a patient, thoughtful, and heartfelt film.

Cage is wonderfully understated, quiet and gruff, but always with an undercurrent of something else, a deep buried pain. Wolff offers excellent support as the ambitious business man, a son desperate to impress his father while also hiding from his own heartache.

Beautifully shot, using an autumnal Oregon to great effect. Which adds to the thoughtful story telling. It is intriguing and surprising and never quite the film you think it’s going to be. With characters, as odd as they are at times, to care about.

It’s patient exploration of loss and the desire to find something and make sense of it all is touching. It is a great example of how a small budget doesn’t stop a committed cast and well written story from being a thing to enjoy and be emotionally engaging.

Pig is a warm and thoughtful film, built around a smart performance from Cage. It’s not thrills and spills, action and tension. It is about searching, for a pig, for answers, for ways of coming to terms with loss. And a lovely thing to spend time with.

Cary Joji Fukunaga is at the helm for Daniel Craig’s last outing as Bond. Bond has retired after putting an end to the threat of Blofeld and we find him enjoying life with Madeline (Lea Seydoux) in Italy where they are casting away their secrets before heading off into their future. But it’s not as easy for a double-0 to retire as he’d like and he soon finds himself in a battle to save the world from the perfect weapon which is in the hands of Rami Malek’s Safin.

We’ve waited a long time for No Time to Die and the question, of course, is it worth the wait? Well, it’s not perfect, over sentimental at times and suffers from over exposition, sometimes sounding like a computer game as the next mission level is explained, but that doesn’t matter.

It had two jobs, be a cinematic experience and give Daniel Craig the send off his predominantly excellent Bond deserves. And Fukunaga nails it, giving us a fantastic Bond movie.

The quibbles I mentioned are minor in what is an action packed, cinematic epic of a film. Does it do something new with the franchise? Not particularly, what it does is take all the Bond tropes, and his kitchen sink and puts it all on screen. Malik’s bad guy has been seen plenty of times before “another in a long list of angry little men”. The world domination plan is suitably over the top, the gadgets are plentiful and even the bad guy island lair makes an appearance. All those things make it feel a real celebration of Fleming’s super spy.

The action starts high paced and remains intense throughout. And amazingly for a film that is 163 minutes it never drags, you could even say it flys by

The supporting cast are very much supporting, Seydoux as Madeline is the most visible. Lashana Lynch, as Bond’s replacement has fun moments as does a brief Ana De Armis cameo. Malik does what he can with a fairly paper thin bad guy. But this is all about Craig and he makes the most of it, great set pieces, dry humour and most importantly, he’s allowed to explore some humanity in Bond, which does bring something new.

The pressure on No Time to Die is significant, but it delivers completely, giving a thoroughly enjoyable cinematic epic. It’s a fantastic Bond movie and a wonderful way for Craig to end his time as 007. I loved every single one of its 163 minutes and if you’re going to see it, see it on the big screen, it and you deserve it.

Showing on Amazon Prime Video.

Directed by Jonathan Butterell and based on his musical, is this “inspired by a true story” telling of the story of Jamie. Jamie (Max Harwood) is a 16 year old boy, growing up on a housing estate in Sheffield. Openly gay he decides, during his final school careers lesson, that he wants to be a drag queen. Supported, as always by his Mum (Sarah Lancashire) and sassy friend Ray (Shobna Gulati), he sets out to make it a reality. His starting point is a visit to Hugh Battersbys (Richard E. Grant) House of Loco, an Alladins’ cave for drag performers. Here Jamie discovers Hugh’s Loco Chanelle, his former drag queen self. Hugh and Jamie’s supportive best friend, Pritti (Lauren Patel) encourage him to pursue his dream and perform in a local show before attending his school prom in a dress.

This is a pretty nuts and bolts telling of the story. It checks all of the plot points you’d expect as it goes, dream, doubt, low points before the dream is put back on track.

But that doesn’t really matter, because this is a joyous film. It’s glitzy, fun and has some truly touching moments as we go through Jamie’s journey of self discovery. It touchingly covers finding acceptance of who you are, as well as how some won’t accept you regardless of how much you want them too. Throughout it avoids being overly sentimental and hits just the right notes of warmth and heartfelt.

The cast are pretty solid throughout and Harwood brilliantly carries this film, watchable and believable as Jamie. The cast around him are just as warm and enjoyable, Lancashire and Patel especially.

While Everybody’s talking about Jamie does indeed hit all the predicted notes in its story telling. It comes from the right place, full of heart, joy and warmth and tells an ultimately uplifting story and it would be silly not to find enjoyment in that.

Available on Sky in the UK, Netflix and the Cinema.

Navot Papushado’s writes and directs Gunpowder Milkshake. Karen Gillan is Sam, a “fixer” for The Firm, an underworld organisation operated by a board of powerful criminals. She was left in the care of The Firms head of HR, Nathan (Paul Giamatti), as a teenager by her mother Scarlet (Leena Headey). Her life is turned upside down by two incidents, firstly she kills the son of another powerful crime organisation. Then when retrieving The Firms money from an accountant who works on the “legal side” of the organisation, she accidently shoots him and learns that he has taken the money to save his kidnapped daughter, Emily (Chloe Coleman). Having injured him, Sam decides she’ll rescue her. When that goes wrong, she finds herself on her own, but with some help from her past, she heads out to do her own fixing.

That synopsis makes it sound like there’s a lot going on. However, the reality is there isn’t. What we have is a copy and paste from the John Wick storybook. Shadowy organisations, a network of assassin’s who operate in a parallel world, including “The library” where Sam heads for help and “the diner” a gun free safe haven. It has much of what makes John Wick work, a great look, from 50’s diner to 80’s neon. The comic book violence is suitably bloody and there’s plenty of original death’s and comedic gore to enjoy.

I’ll confess, that while this has had some mixed reviews and I get why, I rather enjoyed it.

The cast is solid, Gillan does her sullen anti-hero thing and the supporting characters are fun, especially the librarian’s Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino and Angela Bassett. Chloe Coleman provides a good foil as Sam’s conscience and driving force.

While I appreciate it won’t be for everyone, I enjoyed Gunpowder Milkshake. Yes it’s derivative and it’s all glossy surface, but it was a fun comic book, violent revenge, film. The cast are likeable and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. If you like a bit of John Wick, like me you’ll probably find stuff to enjoy here.

Directed by Leisl Tommy, Jennifer Hudson stars in this biopic of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. It charts her life from a child, singing at her fathers (Forest Whitaker) Church, through her early unsuccessful recording career to her timeless classic hits. We see her abusive relationships, involvement in the civil rights movement and addictive behaviour, before finding strength again in the church, leading to her 1972 recording of the gospel album Amazing Grace.

Aretha Franklin is a musical legend, with a fascinating life and incredible career and there lies the problem for Respect. There seems to be two approaches to a good biopic, pick a specific part of someones life and focus on that or go magical musical a-la Rocketman. Respect does neither instead it offers an unsatisfactory series of vignettes of her life, joined loosely together by moments of her music.

It’s at its best when Hudson (chosen by Franklin to portray her) is performing from Aretha’s back catalogue. Performances are solid enough, Hudsons talent shines as the lead, Marlon Wayans supports her well as abusive partner Ted White and Marc Maron steals plenty of scenes doing his best Maron as producer Jerry Wexler. They all do what they can with the flimsy script.

Franklin’s life is fascinating and full and her music timeless, but it feels Respect never quite knows what to do with it. There’s also a lack of context to where we are in her life or what is happening around her. At nearly 2 1/2 hours long it comes with some pacing problems and feels like it’s dragging on occasion.

That is a pity, because Aretha Franklin’s story does deserve a better telling. Maybe the most damming thing is in the closing credits there is a clip of Franklin playing for the Obama’s. All that made me think was about the magic of her performances and how it was missing from this.

Respect is watchable, mostly because it’s peppered with brilliant music and Hudson is good in the central role. But its narrative is muddled and pacing problematic. Franklin’s story deserved better.

Available on Netflix.

Written by Max Borenstein, directed by Sara Colangelo, Worth is based on the true story of the development of the 9/11 disaster fund setup to compensate the families of those who lost their lives in the terror attacks. Michael Keaton plays Ken Feinberg an attorney who is appointed by the US government to act as the funds Special Master. It is his role to define the process, rules and formula for awarding compensation to the victims families.

The story is a fascinating one as it asks Feinberg and his team to answer the philosophical question about what is a human life worth. The film doesn’t shy away from portaying the complexity of the challenge both the legal one and of course the human one.

It is the human challenge that has the film at its best, sharing some moving stories of a tragedy that still feels so recent. It is heart breaking to hear those stories dramatised as it is remembering the real events. Colangelo handles this with patience and care.

Keaton anchors the film well and is well supported by Amy Ryan as Camile Biros. But Stanley Tucci steals the show as he often does with his portrayal of Charles Wolf who setup the “fix the fund” campaign to challenge Feinburgs formula and approach. Tucci, as always, brings a gentle gravitas to the character.

All that said the problem with Worth is its formulaic story telling. Hard hearted lawyer, touched by the humanity of the case who finds redemption and adds heart to his process. All predictable and much of it dramatised for the film rather then a reflection of the reality. This also impacts the pacing which is a pity as it detracts from a powerful story.

Worth tells a traumatic story with thought and care, but its formulaic nature and often slow pace are a problem. It is worth a watch because of its subject matter, it’s just a pity it isn’t a better film.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton is this latest instalment in the “fourth phase” of Marvel films. Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, although we first meet him as Shaun, a parking valet alongside his long time friend Kate (Awkwafina). Both of them are smart but more interested in hiding from adulthood, partying and Karaoke than taking life seriously. This all changes when Shaun is attacked on a bus and we find out he’s not a mild mannered parking valet after all. Instead he’s the son of a shadowy underworld figure from whom he has hidden since he was 14. Shang-Chi and Kate head off to tackle the danger presented by his father leading them into a battle which encompasses mystical creatures, magic powers and family secrets.

This is the second standalone Marvel film of the year after Black Widow and one I enjoyed equally. As you can imagine it leans heavily on the martial arts genre, a bit like a Jackie Chan film with a $200m budget! But that is in no way a criticism, they use the balletic beauty, mysticism and magic often associated with far Eastern storytelling to great effect.

There are enjoyable performances throughout. The two leads have a great “buddy” chemistry, especially in the first couple of acts. They are well supported by Tony Chiu-Wei Leung, Meng’er Zhang and Michelle Yeoh particularly, while there is a couple of fun cameos from Benedict Wong and Ben Kingsley (with a nice Easter egg for Liverpool FC fans).

The film does suffer ultimately from the origins story effect, as the story has to manoeuvre itself into the bigger MCU plan and does lose some of martial arts and magical subtlety as it moves toward its inevitable CGI fest big battle ending.

But they are minor quibbles with, what is, a very entertaining piece of storytelling. At its best it is original with fantastically choreographed sequences and humorous dialogue. It’s well paced and never drags through its running time.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a refreshing, different, enjoyable and very welcome addition to the Marvel universe.

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones and adapted from Alan Warner’s novel is Our Ladies. Set in 1990’s Scotland we follow a Catholic girls school choir from Fort William as they head to Edinburgh for a competition final. Five of the girls however are less interested in the joy of singing and far more interested in the joys that a trip to the big city brings, the chance to drink, have sex and have fun and that they certainly do!

What an absolute unexpected gem of a film this is, it’s funny, dark, heart felt and joyous in equal measure. Its cine literate mixing of genre’s works seamlessly from American Pie to Trainspotting, romcoms to a credit scene nod to Joker it uses them all well.

The tone also moves beautifully between sexual farce to touching coming of age drama, through to playing with the idea of something potentially more sinister, before the girls smart characters take back control of the situation.

The casting is brilliant Eve Austin, Tallulah Grieve, Abigail Lawrie, Sally Measham, Rona Morison and Marli Siu are a wonderful ensemble, hugely watchable and thoroughly engaging.

The comedy is pin sharp, evoking a nostalgia for the seemingly innocent days of the mid 1990’s. All accompanied by an enjoyable soundtrack. Some of the comedy may feel less than “politically correct” but it knows that and revels in it.

I went into Our Ladies with little expectation, but it is a proper gem of a film. A nostalgic nod to a seemingly more innocent time, genuinely funny throughout, occasionally dark, always heartfelt and fabulously joyous, as much fun as I’ve had at the Cinema this year. Seek it out.