ALSO SHOWING
Glass Onion (12A) JJJJ
In this amped-up sequel to writer/ director Rian Johnson’s box-office conquering Knives Out, Daniel Craig returns as gentleman super-sleuth Benoit Blanc, his enjoyably outré Southern accent this time matched by a series of natty outfits that play into the “go big or go home” ethos of a film that not only makes titular reference to a Beatles song, but has the funds to feature it prominently on the soundtrack. Miles Bron (Edward Norton) is a tech billionaire who organises a murder mystery weekend for some old friends on his private Greek Island. It’s a party to which Blanc finds himself unwittingly invited, his presence inevitably proving fortuitous when the game turns deadly. But who’s going to die and who’s going to lie? Those aren’t details to be spoiled in a review, but Johnson’s fiendishly entertaining concoction rarely disappoints thanks to his dazzling dispersal of clues, red-herrings, narrative trickery, sly cameos and wry performances.
On selected release in cinemas and on Netflix from 23 December
She Said JJJJ
(15)
It’s been five years since New York Times reporters Jodie Cantor and Megan Twohey published their first story about the sexual predations of Harvey Weinstein, inspiring #Metoo and eventually leading to Weinstein’s incarceration.
Cantor and Twohey documented their own extensive efforts to break the story in the 2019 best-seller She Said and it’s this book that director Maria Shrader and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz draw on here, shaping the story about the story into a journalistic procedural in the mould of Spotlight and All the President’s Men. It makes for a mostly gripping account, even if it’s a little odd we rarely see them taking notes, or even pressing record on their phones. Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan star as Cantor and Twohey. General release
Bones and All (18) JJJ
Luca Guadanino returns to horror with Bones and All, a strange cannibalism-themed coming-of-age film starring Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell as young flesheating lovers on the run in Reagan’s America. Like a Terrence Malick film pitched at Twilight fans, it’s heavier on artfully expressed angst and forbidden romance than actual horror.
General release
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (PG)
JJ
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical brings the hit West End show to the big screen with its Tim Minchin songs and Emma Thompson, Andrea Riseborough and Stephen Graham on hand to chew scenery as the deliciously unpleasant adult antagonists of the story’s rebellious pint-sized heroine (Alisha Wear). Garish as opposed to colourful, the film’s precocious younger cast and uninspired staging will likely try the patience of Dahl fans not already in step with the musical.
General release
Strange World (U)
JJ
A convoluted, eco-themed sci-fi adventure, the new Disney animation Strange World plays like an unwieldy cross between Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Avatar. Jake Gyllenhaal leads the voice cast as Searcher, an inventor corralled into joining a subterranean mission. Sneaking on board is his openly gay son Ethan (Jaboukie Youngwhite), whose adventurous spirt reminds him of his own estranged father, a famous explorer (voiced by Dennis Quaid) missing in action after prioritising his own adventures over his family. Predictable family redemption theme established, the film’s busy yet flimsy plot does little to make it entertaining.
General release