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Love certainly moves in mysterious ways in Four Letters Of Love, a handsome, heartfelt adaptation of Irish author Niall Williams’ bestselling novel.
Director Polly Steele’s film begins with Nicholas (Fionn O’Shea) reflecting back on how he found “the meaning of my life”. Flash-back to 1971, his staid civil servant father William (Pierce Brosnan), convinced by what he believes is a sign from God, becomes a painter. He abandons everything, including his then teenage son, and heads to the west coast of Ireland to pursue his new calling.
On an Irish island, Issy (Ann Skelly) is spending the “last day of her childhood” before sailing to a convent school on the mainland. Her mother Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter) and schoolmaster father Muirish (Gabriel Byrne) steel themselves for her sad departure. A tragic incident involving Issy’s brother Sean (Donal Finn) only adds to the foreboding.
Gorgeous, sun-dappled Irish locations provide the backdrop to a sweeping narrative propelled by destiny, cosmic intervention and the odd miracle. in which love conquers every obstacle placed in its path. Four Letters of Love is charming and delightful
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The feature directing debut from Rebecca Lenkiewicz, who has adapted Deborah Levy’s 2016 novel, Hot Milk, is full of lush, heady symbolism.
Sofia (Emma Mackey) is a twenty-something failed anthropology student, she’s been caring for her intermittently wheelchair-bound mother Rose (Fiona Shaw) for as long as she can remember. Rose, whose chronic pain migrates around her body as unpredictably as her mercurial moods, leans on her silent, stewing daughter as they embark on a last-ditch treatment attempt at a private clinic in Spain.
As Rose undergoes expensive treatments with the mysterious Dr Gomez (Vincent Perez), an alternative healer, Sofia escapes from their claustrophobic co-dependency by embarking on a passionate affair with the capricious and emotionally unavailable Ingrid (Vicky Krieps). But it soon becomes clear that Sofia’s apparently liberated new lover has her own troubling family history, and that perhaps Rose and Ingrid have more in common than it first appears.
The result is a complex soup of moods and ideas. Shaw’s fierce performance gives the film some shape and keeps it grounded. Mackey and Krieps, both formidable performers, give the film their presence and force.
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For centuries, people have called out to the universe looking for answers to the question, are we alone? In Pixar’s all-new animated feature, Elio, the universe calls back!
The studio’s latest, long-awaited project is a neon-drenched star-straddling adventure featuring an orphan, a talking tardigrade and a wannabe astronaut.
We’re introduced to Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab), a young space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession. So, when he’s beamed up to the ‘Communiverse’, an interplanetary organisation with representatives from galaxies far and wide, Elio’s all in for the epic undertaking. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions, and somehow discover who and where he is truly meant to be.
As with (almost) all of Pixar’s releases, Elio is an utter triumph of heart and soul; a stylish and beautifully written romp through the cosmos, with Pixar’s charm shining brightest in its characters and its ability to connect on a deep, thematic level that resonates with kids and adults alike. Don’t miss.
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s genre-defying zombie masterpiece makes its long awaited return in this beautifully haunting film.
28 years after the ‘Rage’ virus decimated the British Isles, which is now left under European military quarantine to fend for itself (how very topical), we open on a small community living on Holy Island, with its causeway keeping them safe from the mainland.
Spike (newcomer Alfie Williams) is a 12-year-old whose adored mum Isla (Jodie Comer) is unwell, confused and depressed. His dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes Spike on a sortie to the mainland, a rite of passage which brings him to manhood. But then Spike becomes obsessed with rumours of a “doctor” (Ralph Fiennes) still living in this danger zone. Spike disobeys all the island’s rules by taking his mum with him out into this forbidden area, on a desperate quest to find this doctor who can cure her.
Just like 28 Days back in 2002, Years is a thorny, challenging, unpredictable work; shot on the latest iPhone - so as to allow Boyle to navigate the deep Northumberland wilderness easily - it’s art-house filmmaking with a sizable budget.
The Jurassic franchise continues to evade extinction in this seventh installment, as we go back to the basics of dinos chasing hapless people around an exotic island.
Leading the pack is Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett, special-ops type with a speciality in procuring items of the dubiously legal variety. She’s been hired by pharmaceutical rep Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) to join palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis (the film’s standout, Jonathan Bailey) on an excursion to Suriname, and an old facility there that used to function as R&D for InGen, ie the people who made the OG Jurassic Park.
Their task is to collect a few samples of dino DNA that hold the key to curing coronary disease. Zora ropes in her old colleague Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), who has a boat. On the way, they receive a distress signal from a family seacraft.
But of course, it doesn’t take long before things go haywire and the larger carnivorous dinosaurs start eyeing up our characters for their next meal. Rebirth feels relaxed and sure-footed in its Spielberg pastiche, its big dino-jeopardy moments and its deployment of thrills and laughs.
Arguably the most recognisable super-hero of them all, Superman has had a bit of a bumpy ride since the 1978 classic; writer/director James Gunn is hoping to rectify that.
Superman (a perfectly cast David Corenswet) is known to this world, already comfortably saving lives and typing lines as journalist Clark Kent. He’s three months into a relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), who’s all clued up on the fact he’s actually an interstellar immigrant. His arch-nemesis, CEO Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), is already seething from the sidelines.
Superman is fresh from stopping a US-backed imperialist power, Boravia, from invading the neighbouring country of Jarhanpur. He did it without a single casualty. In his books, that’s a job well done. Only, he didn’t play by the rules of politics. The internet’s started to turn on him, with his status as an illegal alien weaponised as a source of fear and suspicion (very topical).
This new, energised Superman is a reminder that comic-book films can be bold, colourful, and most importantly, fun! Zipping along at a brisk two hours, it’s the kind of film that immediately transports you back to your childhood.
The beloved motorsport gets the Top Gun: Maverick treatment (even bringing over its director), in this exhilarating drama.
No other film has embedded itself into the sport quite like this one. Officially backed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (or FIA, it’s easier to pronounce), the film will, of-course, excite petrol heads, but there is a perfectly functioning underdog drama — a story about a determined, but washed out racer brought back into the fold years later as a co-driver to a younger, fresher face. Think Rocky on wheels.
Brad Pitt stars as said wash out, Sonny Hayes. In the 1990s, Hayes was Formula 1's most promising driver until an accident on the track nearly ended his career.
Thirty years later, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), the owner of a struggling team, convinces Sonny to return to racing and become the best in the world. Driving alongside the team's hotshot rookie, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), Sonny soon learns that the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.
Fixing all sorts of fancy cameras to the cars, this is as real, and thrilling as on-screen racing gets. Strap in.
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(Subtitled)
Wong Kar-wai’s romantic meditation of hidden yearning and unspoken connection remains an era-defining masterpiece.
Set in 1960s Hong Kong, it follows two neighbours who discover their spouses are having an affair. As they spend time together, they form a connection that hovers between friendship and love, holding back from acting upon their feelings.
The film, like so many of its director’s works, is visually stunning. Every frame feels meticulously composed, from narrow stairwells to rain-soaked streets lit by neon glow. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung deliver quiet, magnetic performances, capturing every unspoken thought and flicker of longing with subtle precision. Their chemistry is deeply felt, filled with tension and tenderness.
Drama unfolds in small moments rather than grand declarations; a shared meal, a gentle conversation, a brief touch. The recurring nostalgic music, especially Shigeru Umebayashi’s haunting theme, adds to its hypnotic sense of melancholy.
This is a film about restraint, missed chances, and the ache of unfulfilled love. Its atmosphere lingers long after it ends, a reminder of fleeting beauty and connections left unresolved. After 25 years, its delicate emotional power continues to resonate just as deeply.
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A generous blend of goofy charm and family values, this live-action adaptation channels the affectionate chaos of its animated predecessor with charming energy.
College-age Nani (Agudong) navigates the danger of losing guardianship over spirited little sister Lilo (Kealoha), just as mischievous alien Stitch crash-lands nearby, pursued by two hapless handlers (Galifianakis and Magnussen) who are trying to contain him. When Lilo discovers Stitch, they of course become inseparable. Bound together by their mischievous natures, they set about causing pandemonium everywhere they go, only adding to the trouble they're already in. And now CIA operative Cobra is snooping around as well.
It’s great fun. Agudong and Kealoha share genuine chemistry, anchoring the mayhem with tenderness and loyalty. They, plus Stitch, form the true beating heart of the film.
Disney’s live-action remakes continue to provoke mixed responses. The recent Snow White debacle fell flat for many, criticised for tone, CGI choices, and lack of cohesion. Yet when a remake honours its core through solid performances and heartfelt intent, it shines. This Lilo & Stitch doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but when it focuses on genuine family bonds, it earns its place among the better live-action adaptations
Johnny Depp marks his return to directing after nearly 30 years, presenting a framed, fictional account of 72 hours in the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani during wartime Paris.
Riccardo Scamarcio takes the lead role, embodying Modigliani’s restless, bohemian spirit as he fights for recognition amid poverty and illness. The story follows him through late-night bar outings, tense meetings with his art dealer (Stephen Graham), and clashes with critics and authorities. A notable turning point is his encounter with art collector Maurice Gangnat, played by Al Pacino in a brief but striking scene, that highlights the tension between creative freedom and commercial validation. Scenes with fellow artists Chaim Soutine and Maurice Utrillo offer glimpses into the camaraderie and chaos of the era.
Visually, the film leans on warm, painterly tones and smoky interiors, faithfully evoking early 20th-century Paris and Modigliani’s aesthetic. Depp’s direction is steady, giving Scamarcio room to explore the artist’s drive and vulnerability without overpowering the narrative.
Modi doesn’t blaze new trails in the biopic genre, and its tone remains measured throughout. But it succeeds in offering a thoughtful, visually polished snapshot of an artist who never saw his work’s worth in his own lifetime.
Everyone’s favourite felons return in this bigger, bolder sequel from DreamWorks Animation, packed with action, humour, and a fresh criminal twist.
The reformed Bad Guys – suave pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), grumpy safe cracker Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), master of disguise Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), fiery Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and expert hacker Ms. Tarantula aka Webs (Awkwafina) – are trying their best to stay on the right side of the law. But when a new team of slick criminals known as The Bad Girls hijacks their plans, they are pulled into a globe trotting heist with stakes higher than ever.
This time Wolf struggles with his new role as a “good guy,” questioning his place in a society that still sees him as a villain. If the first film was about redemption, this is about reinsertion, learning how to fit in after changing who you are.
New characters add fresh energy, including a dry sarcastic raven (Natasha Lyonne) and a wild boar with childish enthusiasm (Maria Bakalova). With thrilling action sequences, playful humour, and striking animation, this is a confident sequel that is bigger, better, and badder in all the right ways.
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Rob Reiner’s landmark mockumentary remains the gold standard of music comedy, as sharp and funny today as it was in 1984.
Presented as a rock documentary following Britain’s loudest band on a calamitous US tour, it captures the tragicomic egos, delusions, and sheer absurdity of life in music. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer are flawless as the clueless core trio, improvising their way through moments so perfectly pitched they blur the line between parody and reality. From a Stonehenge stage prop that arrives doll-sized to amplifiers that go up to eleven, every gag lands with deadpan brilliance, paired with a strangely affectionate view of its hopeless heroes.
What makes it endure is not just the endlessly quotable script or pitch-perfect songs but its deep understanding of the gap between rock-star fantasy and cringeworthy reality. The film does not simply mock the band; it reveals the fragile egos and desperation for relevance beneath the bravado.
Forty years on, this remains a hilarious, painful, and deeply human portrait of people forever chasing greatness and falling gloriously short
Infrequent strong language, moderate sex, drug misuse
This uplifting film about a couple who embark on a long coastal walk after becoming homeless, is a breath of fresh, sea air.
Based on the bestselling memoir of husband and wife, Raynor and Moth
Winn’s (Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson) 630-mile trek along the beautiful but rugged Cornish, Devon and Dorset Coastline. Once farmers, they lost their home and their livelihood after a bad investment by Moth. Rather than wallow in their misfortune, they both pack up what belongings they have, and hit the road to Land’s End, to simply walk the coastal path and make the trail their home.
If it couldn’t get any more heartbreaking, Raynor is diagnosed with a terminal neurodegenerative disease. They make the desperate decision to walk in the hope that, in nature, they will find solace. With depleted resources, only a tent and some essentials between them, every step along the path is a testament to their growing strength and determination.
The Salt Path is a journey that is challenging, and liberating in equal measure. A portrayal of home, how it can be lost and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.
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Rachel Tsangari’s visually immersive allegory of community, change, and paranoia offers a haunting, meditative experience.
Set against the sweeping pastoral landscapes of Scotland, the story follows Walter (Caleb Landry Jones), a restless villager whose daily life is upended after a barn fire leads to the scapegoating of three outsiders. Tensions rise further when Master Kent’s cousin arrives with plans to convert farmland into sheep pasture, sending the village into quiet turmoil and forcing Walter to confront hidden fears.
Jones brings a quietly intense presence to Walter, capturing a man navigating the fragile line between belonging and otherness, particularly through his tender yet uneasy bond with a curious map-maker. Over seven atmospheric days, the film weaves muddy, ritualistic imagery with moments of quiet intimacy and reflection.
Harvest excels through its sensual cinematography, capturing dirt under fingernails, golden fields, and dimly lit interiors with textured realism. Nicolas Becker’s haunting sound design further deepens its vivid sense of place, while Tsangari’s assured direction draws out a timeless, almost mythical quality.
More than a conventional drama, this is an evocative exploration of shifting traditions, silent tensions, and the human need for meaning.
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Moderate violence, injury detail, threat, language
As the title suggests, this is the last mission for Tom Cruise’s flagship series, and after three decades of thrilling high-wire acts, we’re closing out with some of the craziest stunt-work to date.
With his doughty team including Grace (Hayley Atwell), Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), Ethan Hunt (Cruise) must now confront the sinister AI brain named “the Entity”, the ultimate MacGuffin-slash-baddie which is undermining truth all over the world with lies and deep-fakes, setting nuclear power against nuclear power And to stop it, Ethan has to take the low-tech “cruciform key” he salvaged in the last film and apply it to the device which is on board a wrecked Russian submarine, somewhere on the seabed.
For all of Cruise-as-Hunt’s godlike powers, the actor is especially willing here to slip and slide around the place like he’s been touched by the grace of Buster Keaton. Whether it’s tumbling around in a sinking sub, or hanging off the wing of a bi-plane as it throttles through a canyon, he’s always willing to accept the greatest mission of all: to entertain.
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Marvel’s First Family arrives in a fresh and vibrant take that blends classic adventure with heartfelt intimacy.
Set on a 60s-inspired, retro-futuristic parallel Earth, the MCU’s latest chapter introduces Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to the franchise. When the cosmic force Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer, arrive to devour the planet, the team must balance their heroic responsibilities with the strength of their family bond.
Director Matt Shakman grounds things in warm, believable relationships. Pascal and Kirby feel natural together as a couple, while Quinn and Moss-Bachrach add plenty of humour and warmth, each bringing their own likeable energy to the team. With thrilling visuals and an Incredibles-like sense of family-centred adventure, it offers something fresh for Marvel fans at a time when the studio needs a hit. And after Captain America Brave New World disappointed and Thunderbolts earned praise but struggled at the box office, Marvel is counting on this to build momentum ahead of Avengers Doomsday next December.
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Now a restored print, Steven Spielberg's serial-killer masterpiece from 1975 was adapted from Peter Benchley's bestseller. A killer shark with the cunning of a U-boat commander is eating swimmers, and threatening to destroy the precarious prosperity of Amity beach over the 4th July weekend.
Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw are the three we know well, tracking down the shark and each with something to prove. Dreyfuss is oceanographer Hooper, who has to show he's man enough to take down the big fish. Scheider's police chief has to redeem himself after participating in that contemporary political phenomenon, a cover-up: To protect tourism he’s coerced to withhold information, resulting in a dead child, and Shaw's grizzled seadog Quint is haunted by a chilling wartime memory.
“Don't listen to the cynics who claim the shark looks plastic now. This is a suspense classic that leaves teeth-marks.” (Guardian)
“Steven Spielberg's 1975 box-office hit transposed Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy Of The People’ from 19th-century Norway to present day Long Island, turning the play into a group jeopardy thriller that launched Hollywood's new saturation distribution system and elevated Spielberg to the big time.” (Observer)
It became the film to create the term; ‘Blockbuster’ from its endless queues ‘around the block’.
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Hard-hitting but not without hope, this is David Attenborough’s most urgent and personal documentary in years, a breathtaking wake-up call that demands to be seen.
Leaving behind the BBC, Attenborough pulls no punches as he takes aim at the industrial fishing giants devastating marine ecosystems. With trademark clarity and compassion, he guides us through the wonders of the deep, from shimmering coral reefs to towering undersea mountain ranges, revealing a world of staggering beauty and biodiversity.
But this is also a departure. Gone are the gentle narratives of survival and family. Instead, awe-inspiring visuals are paired with with sharp, unflinching truths. When the camera shifts from thriving habitats to the mechanical devastation of trawlers, the contrast is gut-wrenching.
Attenborough avoids vague calls to recycle and instead squarely blames governments and corporations for ocean collapse. Yet, amid the anger, hope flickers. Marine life rebounds when given space. Real change is possible, he insists, and urgently needed.
Attenborough’s deep well of experience, emotional candour, and unmistakable voice make Ocean not just essential viewing, but a powerful, rallying cry. At 97, he is still showing us the world and, crucially, how to save it.