At The Movies

Dead of Winter sees Dame Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) shunning the English costume dramas for a gritty thriller set in the frozen North. Can she rescue a kidnapped teenager, with only her grit and determination? Directed by Brian Kirk (TV’s Day of the Jackal).

Jay Kelly is a made-to-measure comedy-drama for George Clooney, about a top star wondering what he sacrificed for his career. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach (Barbie), it features Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig, Isla Fisher, Jim Broadbent and many more.

After the Hunt has ended up on Prime Video, after a promising start at the Venice Film Festival. Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) plays a Yale professor caught in a MeToo situation, when her student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses her colleague and best friend (Andrew Garfield) of conduct unbecoming. But there are more secrets being hidden. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Challengers).

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the third in the series of tales of conjurors, robbing from the rich. This time the Four Horserman need help from three keen young magicians. Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Rosamund Pike.

The Running Man is set in a world of extreme poverty where the only way out is via high-paying reality TV shows. The most popular one is The Running Man where contestants are hunted down by the general public and killed. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) has to survive 30 days. Based on a Stephen King book, it’s directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead).

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is the long-awaited – 40 years in fact – sequel to the cult mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. Now everyone’s favourite fake metal band reforms for a final stadium concert. Starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, with guest stars Paul McCartney, Elton John and many more. This one goes up to eleven!

Happyend is a Japanese drama, set in the near future. Five high school rebels face the prospect of going their separate ways, while corrupt politics arrive at both the school and out in the wider world. To protest or not to protest? Written and directed by Neo Sora, son of the legendary actor and musician Ryûichi Sakamoto (Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence).

Predator: Badlands finds a young member of the Yautja (Predator) tribe hunting on the most dangerous planet in the Galaxy. His quest: to capture a beast that can’t be killed. Starring Elle Fanning as two robots, and Kiwi Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Red White and Brass) as the Predator.

A Little Something Extra is a hugely popular comedy from France. Two jewel robbers hide out from the cops among a party of holidaying people with disabilities. They find it harder than it looks to fit in. Starring, written and directed by Artus, it’s one of the highest-grossing movies ever at home.

Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone (in her fourth collaboration with director Jorgos Lanthimos) star in a black comedy about a desperate young man who kidnaps a wealthy pharmaceutical executive believing that she’s an alien sent to enslave the people of Planet Earth – reviewed by Dan Slevin.

Bugonia is a black comedy about an executive (Emma Stone) kidnapped after she’s mistaken for an alien . Aziz Ansari’s comedy Good Fortune stars Keanu Reeves as a fallen angel. Hedda is an adaptation of Ibsen’s classic play starring Tessa Thompson.

Dan Slevin reviews a comedy about a low-level angel (Keanu Reeves) who tries to save a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) in present day Los Angeles.