5 h. ago Return to Silent Hill review – video game horror series births another middling movie

Director Christopher Gans returns to the haunted town franchise but can’t seem to figure out what to do with itThere’s an admirable loyalty, maybe even poetry, in a film-maker returning to an unpromising, barely-there movie series 20 years after his first crack became a minor hit. The horror film Silent Hill, based on a video game of the same name, has garnered a cult following in the decades since its 2006 release, but it’s not exactly a genre classic nor beloved franchise, with a single little-seen 2012 sequel to its name – until now. Return to Silent Hill brings back the first film’s director Christopher Gans for a new story set in the same ash-strewn ghost town, this one based on the Silent Hill 2 video game. Characters in these movies tend to wander into a place that is obviously haunted or cursed, refusing to leave even after it becomes clear that they should, and only decide to escape after it’s too late. Maybe Gans can relate.Or maybe he’s the only man for the job because no...

Culture

34 h. ago Cosmic Princess Kaguya! review – trippy anime adapted from Japanese folk dives into virtual reality popworld

Emojis explode all over the screen in this hyperactive adaptation of a Japanese folk tale about a princess who has run away from the moonNever has a film been more deserving of an exclamation mark at the end of the title than this animation from Japan. Cosmic Princess Kaguya! is an adaptation of a Japanese folk tale, the story of a princess from the moon discovered inside a bamboo stalk in a poor rural village. A decade ago, Studio Ghibli adapted the tale into a gorgeously animated movie with a traditional, lovingly hand-painted feel. This film could not be more different, a trippy, high-energy, techno anime set in the near future, half of it in a virtual reality world – and TikTok-ifed with emojis and stickers exploding all over the screen.It begins when a 17-year-old high school student called Iroha finds a baby girl inside a glowing lamppost (rather than the bamboo stalk of the original). Iroha (voiced by Dawn M Bennett in the English dub) is a sensible kid, a talented musician a...

Politics

37 h. ago Epic war film called 'the most thoughtful movie ever made' on Film4 tonight

Oscar-winner is almost seven decades old, but fans have hailed its depiction of WWII navy warfare as 'an exemplary demonstration of military decorum'

Events

56 h. ago Matt Damon is right: phones + Netflix mean we are now in the pub bore age of cinema

The streaming giant has the data that proves we all just watch things with one hand gripping our phones, so need to have the plot explained to us over and over againMatt Damon has a new film out, a $100m cop thriller co-starring Ben Affleck called The Rip. It is currently the most watched film on Netflix, because it is a Netflix movie. So how is Damon choosing to promote his new Netflix movie? By kind of laying into Netflix.During an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, Damon went to great lengths to describe the differences between going to see a film theatrically and watching it on television. Explaining his experience of watching One Battle After Another in an Imax screening, Damon said: “I always say it’s more like going to church – you show up at an appointed time. It doesn’t wait for you.” Continue reading...

Technology

4 d. ago Love Island Belle's dad's highest rated film is 'best gangster movie ever made'

It's streaming now and fans say you won't regret watching it

Events

4 d. ago 'Masterpiece' gangster drama with 'perfect' acting now streaming

The contemporary crime film is a must-watch for those who love the genre.

Events

4 d. ago 'Magnificent' crime drama with 'perfect acting' hailed a must

This BAFTA-winning film has been hailed as a 'masterpiece' by viewers for its 'perfect' acting and 'clever' script

Events

6 d. ago 'Captivating' period drama adapted from novel is now streaming on Netflix

The Netflix period drama has been adapted from a novel and features a stellar ensemble cast that includes A-list British actors - and it's now available to watch on Netflix.

Events

6 d. ago 'Misunderstood masterpiece' fans compare to iconic Tarantino film is coming to Netflix

An underrated crime comedy film from 2024 fans have compared to Pulp Fiction is releasing on Netflix later this week

Politics

6 d. ago Netflix has just added your 'new favourite movie' with only 43% on Rotten Tomatoes

The beloved 1980s comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito is now streaming on Netflix, with fans calling it a film you can 'watch over and over'

Politics

6 d. ago ‘Masterwork’ 1980s film fans have watched ‘over and over’ is now on Netflix

One of the most iconic comedy movies from the 1980s has just been added to Netflix’s film catalogue

Politics

7 d. ago ‘A cowardly, deluded drunken waster’: readers on their favourite unlikable movie characters

After Guardian writers shared their choices, readers responded with picks from films including Withnail and I, Emily the Criminal and ChopperThe fact that he manages to save a kid’s life while remaining a sweary alcoholic without an ounce of dignity and self-respect is positively heartwarming. GusCairns Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Scott Adams, Dilbert creator and conservative commentator, dies aged 68

Cartoonist – who was dropped from US papers in 2023 after calling Black people a ‘hate group’ – had prostate cancer Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind the satirical comic strip Dilbert and conservative commentator, has died aged 68 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.On Tuesday, Adams’s ex-wife Shelly Miles revealed his death in a tearful livestream of his YouTube channel Real Coffee with Scott Adams. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Boy planning terrorist acts wanted ‘white supremacist utopia’, Leeds court told

Northumberland teenager, who denies terrorism charges, amassed weapons and researched local synagogues, alleges prosecutorA white teenage boy alleged to hate Jews and black people gathered weapons and researched local synagogues as he prepared to commit acts of terrorism, a jury has heard.The boy, now 16, from Northumberland, was proud of holding Nazi beliefs and became a member of a banned terror group which had the goal of creating a “white supremacist utopia”, prosecutors said. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago 'Unrecognisable' Harry Potter star's 'very, very hot' romance movie is available at home

A boundary-pushing romance movie with a Harry Potter star in a transformative role is available to watch at home this week

Politics

8 d. ago ‘We are living in an age of cruelty’: George Clooney rebukes Tarantino for insulting Paul Dano

The Jay Kelly star says he would be honoured to work with Dano, Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard after all three actors were criticised by the director George Clooney has said he would be “honoured” to work with three actors who were heavily criticised by Quentin Tarantino last month. Speaking at AARP’s Movies for Grownups awards on 10 January, Clooney said: “By the way, Paul Dano and Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard, I would be honoured to work with those actors. Honoured.”Clooney continued by describing his new film, Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, as a movie “made by people who love actors – that’s an important part. People I’ve known most of my life actually, most of them are actors. I have a great affinity [for them], and I don’t enjoy watching people be cruel.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Uncomfortably relatable’: writers on their favourite unlikeable movie characters

With debate still swirling over the unlikeable nature of Marty Supreme’s careless protagonist, Guardian writers have picked their all-time love-to-hate leadsSpoilers aheadI can remember seeing As Good As It Gets in theaters as a teenager and being pleasantly startled by the sight of Jack Nicholson’s Melvin Udall, romcom super grouch. Here’s a bestselling romance author who disdains love, an OCD sufferer who weaponizes his affliction, a New Yorker who hates crowds (who can’t relate?). In one scene, an adoring fan asks Melvin his secret to writing women. “I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability,” he says, an epic burn forever seared in my brain. Of course Melvin’s anti-charm offensive only goes so far in a James L Brooks project. Before long, the rudeness erodes as Melvin is forced on to a journey of self-discovery with the nextdoor neighbor he can’t abide (Greg Kinnear) and the diner waitress he can’t live without (Helen Hunt). Melvin comes out a changed man in th...

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Uncomfortably relatable’: writers on their favourite unlikable movie characters

With debate still swirling over the unlikable nature of Marty Supreme’s careless protagonist, Guardian writers have picked their all-time love-to-hate leadsSpoilers aheadI can remember seeing As Good As It Gets in theaters as a teenager and being pleasantly startled by the sight of Jack Nicholson’s Melvin Udall, romcom super grouch. Here’s a bestselling romance author who disdains love, an OCD sufferer who weaponizes his affliction, a New Yorker who hates crowds (who can’t relate?). In one scene, an adoring fan asks Melvin his secret to writing women. “I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability,” he says, an epic burn forever seared in my brain. Of course Melvin’s anti-charm offensive only goes so far in a James L Brooks project. Before long, the rudeness erodes as Melvin is forced on to a journey of self-discovery with the nextdoor neighbor he can’t abide (Greg Kinnear) and the diner waitress he can’t live without (Helen Hunt). Melvin comes out a changed man in the...

Politics

9 d. ago ‘A celebration of the carefree’: why Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers celebrating their favourite comfort watches is an ode to John Hughes’s 1980s classicIt’s hard to ignore a film’s message when the main character is addressing you directly down the barrel of the camera. Granted, the first time I watched the 1986 teen comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I was the impressionable age of 11 and “Look people in the eyes when they’re talking to you” was on constant rotation in my household. So my green eyes met Ferris’s brown ones and I took it all in.Centred around Matthew Broderick’s playful turn as Ferris Bueller, a high school senior faking illness to skip school, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is certainly a celebration of the carefree, though the story is by no means languid. Made frantic by doing the thing you’re not supposed to do with the aid of a red Ferrari, the day speeds by in comparison to the fictional days of other American teen films, such as American Graffiti and Dazed & Confused – which, to be fair, featur...

Culture

1 week ago 'Greatest war film of all time' inspired by heroic true story is free to watch

A Second World War film has been hailed by fans as the "best war movie ever made" is free to stream - and it's not Saving Private Ryan.

Events