13 h. ago Film reviews: Eleanor the Great | Silent Night, Deadly Night | Lurker | Preparation for the Next Life

Scarlett Johansson brings humour and heart to her directorial debut about an elderly woman lying about being a Holocaust survivor, writes Alistair Harkness

Events

17 h. ago Christmas, Again review – laidback tale of a forlorn Christmas tree seller has authentic charm

Charles Poekel’s directorial debut has taken a decade to reach the UK, but its indie take on seasonal cinema brings low-key warmthThis is a New York drama so laidback that it has taken a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. First released in the US in 2015, it’s an ultra-low-budget debut from first-time director Charles Poekel, set almost entirely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style is far too authentic-indie and unaffected to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he pitches his film just right for a little squeeze of festive warmth.Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (it took someone in the film to joke about his name before I twigged). Noel is back for his fifth year selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, standing outside in the freezing cold and sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan parked next to the trees. A few customers ask about the girl working with him last y...

Politics

19 h. ago Preparation for the Next Life review – deeply felt story of love among the marginalised in New York

Bing Liu’s film is an unflinching portrait of an undocumented Uyghur immigrant and a traumatised US veteran whose fragile connection is strained by their pastsChinese-American film-maker Bing Liu made an impression with the poignant documentary Minding the Gap about people from his home town in Illinois; now he pivots to features with this sad and sombre study of romance and life choices among those on the margins of US society, adapted from the prize-winning novel of the same name by Atticus Lish.The scene is the no-questions-asked world of New York’s Chinatown; newcomer Sebiye Behtiyar plays Aishe, a Chinese Uyghur Muslim undocumented immigrant. One day she catches the eye of Skinner, played by Fred Hechinger, a young military veteran who impulsively starts to talk to her. There is a spark between them and then something more. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago Baby review – an astute portrait of queer Brazilian hustlers lost in the system

Abandoned by his parents and fresh out of juvenile prison, the wide-eyed Wellington meets a charismatic hustler on the restless streets of São PauloChannelling the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others. On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a sensational...

Politics

45 h. ago The Tale of Silyan review – farmer adopts stork in delightfully cockle

This story set in North Macedonia stars non-professional actors and follows ageing farmers trying to survive in a cockle-warming family filmLike director Tamara Kotevska’s previous feature Honeyland (which she co-directed with Ljubomir Stefanov), this sly, delightful film is neither a pure documentary nor a work of fiction. Instead, working with non-professional actors and a story clearly premeditated enough to earn a credit for its authors (Kotevska and Suz Curtis), this blends folk tale, improvisation and mud-caked vérité to tell the story of a contemporary farming family, the Conevs, in economically depressed North Macedonia.Sixtysomething paterfamilias Nikola and his wife, Jana, have been growing watermelons, tomatoes and tobacco on the family land for years. However, the wholesale prices have recently dropped through the soil, prompting a mini riot by irate agricultural workers who take out their frustrations by destroying their own crops. Nikola and Jana’s daughter Ana decides...

Politics

3 d. ago Fire rips through nightclub in India killing at least 25 people including tourists

Police believe a gas cylinder exploded in the club's kitchen, causing a blaze to rip through the venue in Arpora in North Goa on Saturday night - so far at least 25 people have been confirmed dead

Events

3 d. ago Tinsel Town review: This cosy, classic Christmas film has just enough snark to stop it feeling sickly sweet, says SARAH OLIVER

Kiefer plays Bradley Mack, a washed-up Hollywood action hero furious to find himself starring in a British Christmas pantomime.

Politics

3 d. ago 'Masterpiece' Netflix film leaves fans emotionally 'wrecked' with heartbreaking ending

Netflix's latest original film starring George Clooney is being called a 'masterpiece' with an ending that is guaranteed to leave tears in your eyes

Politics

3 d. ago Netflix’s movie star ‘masterpiece’ leaves fans ‘reduced to tears’ hours after release

A new Netflix original film had only been available for a matter of hours before making emotional wrecks out of countless fans

Politics

4 d. ago Why is Timothée Chalamet suddenly everywhere? Seven things you need to know – from Oscars to puppies

The 29-year-old star is getting his best reviews ever for the upcoming film Marty Supreme – but he’s also making waves with his idiosyncratic approach to celebrity and maintaining his status as the internet’s boyfriendEverybody’s talking about Timothée! The gen-Z French-American heart-throb and original “internet boyfriend” is receiving the best reviews of his career for Josh Safdie’s frenetic ping-pong flick Marty Supreme, while also making waves for his idiosyncratic approach to celebrity in an age somewhat lacking in star power. He has even got Gwyneth Paltrow’s seal of approval. Here are seven reasons why “Chalamania” is back.1. He seems a cert for an Oscar Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Fackham Hall review – Downton Abbey spoof is fast, funny and throwaway

Period drama parody has some decent and often smart gags and benefits from a game cast including Damian Lewis and Thomasin McKenziePerhaps it’s the feeling of end times in the air: after years of inactivity, spoofs are making a comeback. This summer saw the resurgence of the lighthearted genre, which at its best sends up the pretensions of overly serious genre with a barrage of pitched cliches, sight gags and stupid-clever puns. The Naked Gun, starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson in a spoof of a buddy-cop spoof, opened to moderate box office success; the hapless rock band dialed it back up to 11 in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Reboots of the horror spoof gold-standard Scary Movie and the Mel Brooks Star Wars rip Spaceballs were greenlit, and there were rumors of a return for international man of mystery Austin Powers. Unserious times, it seems, beget appetite for knowingly unserious, joke-dense, refreshingly shallow fun.The latest of these goofy parodies, which premieres on...

Politics

4 d. ago Cop killer Dale Cregan moved to hospital in high security operation

The transfer happened in the dead of the night

Events

4 d. ago Cop killer Dale Cregan transferred to hospital in dead of night

He is serving life for four murders

Events

4 d. ago 'Key film everyone needs to see' with Hollywood legend on BBC tonight

Despite being almost six decades old, this film has won huge reviews as fans say it's 'masterfully edited' and 'aged well' with some iconic Hollywood stars in the cast

Culture

5 d. ago Eternity film review: This sweet and funny romcom is a wonderfully warm watch with delightful performances

ETERNITY (15) 114mins ★★★★☆ LOVE never dies, right? Well, it seems that is the case in this charming romcom about the afterlife. This is a story about the eternal love between Joan and Larry, a warm, bickering couple who have been married for 60 years. We first meet them at the end of their lives,...

Events

5 d. ago He tried a door in the dead of night. Now he's locked behind one

Jordan Evans burgled three bedrooms in a bedsit while the victims were out delivering food for Uber Eats

Events

6 d. ago 'Feel good' Christmas romcom that ‘channels Mrs Doubtfire’ now streaming

Netflix's latest Christmas offering is being compared to iconic nineties comedy Mrs Doubtfire

Events

6 d. ago Killer whales 'violently' attack yacht carrying terrified family in the middle of the night

Killer whales have struck yet again off the coast of Spain and Portugal, terrifying a Dutch family with a 'violent' attack in the dead of night

Events

6 d. ago BREAKING: Chloe Ferris, 24, died in nightclub toilet beside pal after 'lethal combination'

Chloe Ferris, 24, from Belfast, was found dead in a night club toilet after staff became concerned the door had not opened in half an hour

Events

6 d. ago Sunset Boulevard review – Hollywood never looked more glorious or more tragic

Gloria Swanson is extraordinary as faded film-star Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder’s cameo-packed self-referential masterpiece about tinseltown ghosts and delusionsBilly Wilder’s film starring Gloria Swanson as a reclusive former silent movie star, and William Holden as a young wannabe writer who becomes her kept man, more than ever looks not merely like tinseltown satire or LA noir, but a ghost story. It’s the ultimate film about how the screenwriter is always the loser and the chump. You can tell that Norma Desmond (Swanson) is washed up because she has actually written a screenplay – which is, however, more than Joe (Holden) ever achieves in the course of this film.Sunset Boulevard’s own script, co-written by Wilder with Charles Brackett and DM Marshman Jr, is of course superb. And after 75 years, we can appreciate the movie’s sober judgment about the dangers of cinephilia and Hollywood ancestor worship. The street name itself, with its dying fall, is an occult omen of the eerie an...

Events