Nope movie review: It’s a resounding yes for Jordan Peele’s spinning plates tale with a flying saucer

Nope (16, 130mins)

What to watch this week: Princess Diana and the media circus, a tribute to Bob Marley, and Manti Te’o’s compelling story

The Princess, Monday, Sky Showcase, 9pm

Premium

The celebrity power couples that set Hollywood alight

Not one to waste a lockdown, Ethan Hawke spent the dark days of 2020 assembling The Last Movie Stars, a remarkable documentary series on one of his heroes, Paul Newman. But not just Newman, because the great star of the 1950s and ’60s was part of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated and enduring couples.

Bullet Train movie review: Brad Pitt’s comedy action thriller loses momentum on the home stretch

(16, 126mins)

Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 review — Netflix series examines what led to chaos at festival and it’s a jaw-dropping watch

IN 2019, Netflix scored an unlikely hit with Fyre, an oddly gripping documentary about an ill-fated ‘luxury music festival’ in The Bahamas. And they may well have another winner on their hands with Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99. Released yesterday, the excellently made three-part documentary charts the chaos that ensued at a former air force base in upstate New York in July 1999, when an attempt to cash in on the legacy of the original Woodstock concert went spectacularly awry.

Premium

Unravelling the myth of Marilyn Monroe the martyr

Next Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death, but in some ways it’s as if she never went away. In May, a new documentary about her life and death was released which rehashed conspiracy theories that have inspired shelf-loads of books. In September, Netflix will release a biopic directed by Andrew Dominik.

Joyride movie review: Edgy chemistry between Olivia Colman and newcomer Charlie Reid keeps this road-trip drama on track

Joyride (12A, 94mins)

The Gray Man movie review: Avengers directors mix Bond and Bourne to hilarious effect in Netflix thriller

(15A, 129mins)

Premium

The 13 best films of 2022 so far

With lockdowns behind us (for the moment), and cinemas enjoying their first uninterrupted year’s business since 2019, there has been an encouraging rebound at the box office.

Where The Crawdads Sing movie review: Murder mystery hits bum notes with its icky romances and fluffy eco overtones

Where The Crawdads Sing 15A, 125mins

Premium

Power of Persuasion: the best Jane Austen adaptations on screen

When Jane Austen died in 1817, at the age of just 41, Napoleon was still alive, the United States was an upstart minor power and Britain was just entering its world-dominating golden age. Her books had achieved modest success but were not taken seriously as literature. As Austen had published them anonymously, she was virtually unknown outside a small social circle.

Premium

How do we assess a unique talent like Woody Allen?

Last week, Alec Baldwin conducted a live Instagram video with Woody Allen. It was a chummy tête-à-tête between the veteran writer/director and his frequent collaborator, and it steered clear of all controversy. Wisely so perhaps, considering Baldwin is under a cloud himself following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his western, Rust.

Thor: Love and Thunder review – An enjoyable sequel that hammers home the superhero’s funny side

Thor: Love and Thunder (12A, 119mins) ***

Premium

From Citizen Kane to Get Out – 10 films that get to the heart of America

Though cinema was not invented in the United States, it has come to be seen as the quintessential American art form. All the major tropes of commercial movie-making were developed in Hollywood, and ever since the early silent era the American republic has reflected its achievements and shortcomings on film.

Minions: The Rise Of Gru movie review – Everyone’s favourite little anarchists outstay their welcome in disappointing prequel

(G, 88mins)

Premium

Sherwood review: Gritty drama in the shadow of the miners’ strike

In the best police thrillers, the crime itself is incidental to the characters who respond to it. This is certainly true of Sherwood, a gritty and ambitious BBC drama which cloaks its procedural investigation in the dark legacy of the 1980s miners’ strike. Before killing its first victim, the show winningly introduces us to him: Gary (Alun Armstrong) is a jovial and outspoken grandfather who recalls with pride his striking past and has not forgiven his enemies.

Premium

Paul Whitington Opinion Loud and Clear review: The lonely passion of RTÉ legend, Charlie Bird

Straight to camera, eyes wide open, Charlie Bird speaks. “I remember the very moment when I felt there was something seriously wrong with me,” he says. “I felt all my arms twitching and shaking: at that stage, I had no definite diagnosis of motor neurone, and then four weeks later, bang, it came.”

Elvis movie review: Rambling tale of rock ’n’ roll star isn’t fit for a king

Elvis (12A, 160mins)

Premium

From Harry Styles to Sinatra: The pop stars who tried to make a name in the movies

Taylor Swift has hinted that she would like to act more, and perhaps even write and direct a feature, after making a short film for her song All Too Well. She has acted occasionally before, on TV shows, but now says she is “very curious” about movies, and would “love to” continue working in film.

Lightyear movie review: Space ranger’s origin tale is competent but forgettable

Lightyear (G, 105mins)

Premium

Elvis star Austin Butler on his feelings of imposter syndrome before playing the king of rock ‘n’ roll

About a quarter of an hour into Baz Luhrmann’s bright and brash biopic Elvis, unscrupulous promoter Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) is discussing the finer points of soft country with his leading musical acts when he hears a strange but compelling noise coming from a phonograph.

Premium

François Ozon on tackling a friend’s euthanasia dilemma in his new film Everything Went Fine

What would you do if your father asked you to help him die? This is the fraught ethical dilemma posed by Everything Went Fine, François Ozon’s witty and powerful drama based on a true story and novel by Emmanuèle Bernheim. Sophie Marceau is Manue, a Parisian writer whose contemplative existence is rudely interrupted when she finds out her father, André (André Dussollier) has had a stroke.

Jurassic World Dominion movie review: Lazy, witless rehash of the spine-tingling moments that once made this dinosaur franchise stumbles closer to extinction

Jurassic World Dominion (12A, 147mins)

Premium

‘Please God let me be an actor’ – Jeff Goldblum on the impact of Jurassic Park, fatherhood and studying flies

Film interviews these days tend to be corporate, sanitised, played out against movie poster backdrops, with marketing flunkies hovering in the wings to make sure you don’t stray ‘off topic’ — i.e. the product at hand.

Premium

Men movie review: Folk horror a repulsive, confusing and unpleasant watch

Men (16, 100mins)

Premium

Udo Kier: ‘Finally, after 50 years I become the leading man’

While you might not know Udo Kier’s name, you probably know his face. To describe him as a film industry legend doesn’t quite cut it. For more than 50 years, he’s been making unforgettable turns in everything from arthouse films to horror, a go-to performer for directors such as Dario Argento, Paul Morrissey, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders, Lars von Trier and Gus van Sant.

Premium

‘Playing The Sex Pistols felt like time travel’: meet the cast of Danny Boyle’s new Disney+ series Pistol

On June 7, 1977, as the great and good gathered on the Mall to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee, a small boat festooned in homemade banners hoved to under Westminster Bridge. Onboard, chaos reigned, as a band thrashed through a noisy song led by their singer, a short man with red spiked hair and wildly staring eyes. “God save the Queen,” he sang, “the fascist regime, they made you a moron, potential H-bomb.”

Premium

Why has Tom Cruise moved from serious actor to action man?

In 1990, when Tom Cruise was nominated for an Oscar for Born on the Fourth of July, he seemed on the verge of becoming a serious actor, perhaps one of the finest of his generation. Oliver Stone’s heavyweight drama was based on the true story of Ron Kovic, a US soldier and Vietnam veteran who becomes an anti-war activist after being confined to a wheelchair: apart from its physical challenges, the part required Cruise to convincingly portray the emotional journey from crew-cut patriot to hippie.

Top Gun: Maverick – Tom Cruise flies high in long-awaited sequel to breathtakingly stupid film

IT WAS, let us not forget, a breathtakingly stupid film. Flashy as a parlour poodle, mired in power pop, Tony Scott’s Top Gun was the highest-grossing movie of 1986, a year not known for its good taste or restraint.

Everything Everywhere All at Once review: ‘The Daniels’ teach Marvel a lesson in fantasy storytelling

Are you living your best possible life? In Everything Everywhere All At Once, Michelle Yeoh’s character Evelyn is reminded early and often that she is living her worst.