17 h. ago 'Endlessly rewatchable' noughties drama hailed a 'cult classic' is streaming free

The film was released in 2000 and was a box office success.

Events

17 h. ago ‘Thrilling’ period film adaptation of classic hailed for originality

The film will be hitting screens next month

Politics

18 h. ago ‘Provocative’ period film adaptation of a ‘classic tale’ praised by critics

A new period drama adaptation has been hailed for its originality

Culture

6 d. ago Stoats partners with Universal Products & Experiences to launch new Wicked: For Good inspired snack bars, launching exclusively in Tesco

Edinburgh-based snack bar manufacturer, Stoats, is partnering with Universal Products & Experiences (UP&E) to launch brand new spellbinding snack bars, in celebration of the upcoming theatrical release of Universal Pictures’ Wicked: For Good - the epic conclusion to the Broadway film adaptation, which has captivated audiences around the globe, in cinemas from November 21.

Politics

7 d. ago Hamnet review – stately Shakespeare drama with emotionally overwhelming finale

Toronto film festival: Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are knockouts in Chloé Zhao’s poignant adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel with a stirring tearjerker endingMaggie O’Farrell’s lauded 2020 novel Hamnet is a dense and lyrical imagining of the lives of William Shakespeare’s family, full of interior thought and lush descriptions of the physical world. It would seem, upon reading, near impossible to adapt into a film. Or, at least, a film worthy of O’Farrell’s so finely woven sensory spell. Film-maker Chloé Zhao has attempted to do so anyway, and the result is a stately, occasionally lugubrious drama whose closing minutes are among the most poignant in recent memory.Zhao is a good fit for the material. She, too, is a close observer of nature and of the many aching, yearning people passing through it. But she has previously not made anything as traditionally tailored and refined as this. The humbler dimensions of her films The Rider and Nomadland are missed here; Hamnet too o...

Events

7 d. ago Hamnet review – Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal excel in stately Shakespeare drama with overwhelming finale

Toronto film festival: The two stars are knockouts in Chloé Zhao’s poignant adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel with a stirring tearjerker endingMaggie O’Farrell’s lauded 2020 novel Hamnet is a dense and lyrical imagining of the lives of William Shakespeare’s family, full of interior thought and lush descriptions of the physical world. It would seem, upon reading, near impossible to adapt into a film. Or, at least, a film worthy of O’Farrell’s so finely woven sensory spell. Film-maker Chloé Zhao has attempted to do so anyway, and the result is a stately, occasionally lugubrious drama whose closing minutes are among the most poignant in recent memory.Zhao is a good fit for the material. She, too, is a close observer of nature and of the many aching, yearning people passing through it. But she has previously not made anything as traditionally tailored and refined as this. The humbler dimensions of her films The Rider and Nomadland are missed here; Hamnet too often gives off th...

Events

7 d. ago Hedda review – Ibsen gets a Saltburn makeover in Amazon’s ill

Toronto film festival: Nia DaCosta ups the nastiness of Hedda Gabler in a stylish but over-egged adaptation with lead Tessa Thompson losing the film to a standout Nina HossHenrik Ibsen’s second-most famous play, Hedda Gabler, has been plenty messed around with in recent years. There was a much-derided stage production starring Mary-Louise Parker. There was Liz Meriwether’s sci-fi reimagining, Heddatron. And now there is Nia DaCosta’s film Hedda, a rejiggering of the narrative that places a premium on subterfuge and sexual intrigue. It sometimes lands its intended jolt, but too often mistakes arch style for profundity.That was also true of DaCosta’s Candyman sequel, an endlessly attractive film that was an otherwise confused update of the 1992 classic. Hedda fares better; it’s the work of a more assured and restrained writer-director, one who is willing to, on occasion, let visual flash take a backseat to more mechanical matters of storytelling. But there is nonetheless a recklessnes...

Events

7 d. ago ‘The energy is infectious’: why Bride and Prejudice is my feelgood movie

The latest in our series of writers highlighting their go-to comfort films is an ode to Gurinder Chadha’s 2004 spin on the Austen classicWe’ve never been short of Jane Austen film adaptations. In fact, it seems a new one arrives every decade – two were announced recently, including Netflix’s spin on Pride & Prejudice. Yet, one adaptation has been shamefully overlooked: Gurinder Chadha’s Bride & Prejudice.A cross-cultural, British-and-Bollywood-meets-Hollywood take on Austen’s most famous novel, the film is pure joy – a riot of original musical numbers, colourful costumes, chaos, culture clashes and, of course, romance. Continue reading...

Science

8 d. ago A bold, queer 'Hedda,' from Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson, debuts at TIFF

Coming on the heels of her Marvel Studios film “The Marvels,” DaCosta premiered her Ibsen adaptation “Hedda” at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday

Politics

8 d. ago California Schemin’ review – James McAvoy’s directorial debut is an unlikely rap tale

Toronto film festival: the actor makes for a hit-and-miss first time film-maker with the undeniably involving true story of Scottish rappers who pretended to be AmericanAt the start of the century, a struggling Scottish rap duo decided to overhaul their image in extreme fashion: they began posing as two Americans from California, and managed to secure themselves a record deal with a label in London. Eventually the hoax was revealed, and one of them released a memoir about the charade. That wild story has now been adapted into a film, California Schemin’, which marks the alternately confident and unsteady directorial debut of actor James McAvoy.McAvoy is a son of Scotland himself, and perhaps feels some kinship with rappers Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, who found the cultural tastemakers of the south to be indifferent or even hostile to Scottish artists. Though McAvoy has fared just fine as an actor, Bain and Boyd – who would come to be known as Silibil N’ Brains – had a much tougher go...

Politics

1 week ago Steve review – Cillian Murphy is outstanding in ferocious reform school drama

Toronto film festival: adapted by Max Porter from his novella Shy and co-starring Little Simz, Emily Watson and Tracey Ullman this brutal but ultimately hopeful story is fiercely affectingProducer-star Cillian Murphy and director Tim Mielants last collaborated on a superlative adaptation of Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, and their new project together could hardly be more different: a drama suffused with gonzo energy and the death-metal chaos of emotional pain, cut with slashes of bizarre black humour. Max Porter has adapted his own 2023 novella Shy for the screen and Murphy himself gives one of his most uninhibited and demonstrative performances.Murphy is Steve, a stressed, troubled but passionately committed headteacher with a secret alcohol and substance abuse problem, in charge of a residential reform school for delinquent teenage boys some time in the mid-90s. With his staff – deputy (Tracey Ullman), therapist-counsellor (Emily Watson) and a new teacher (Little Simz) ...

Events

1 week ago Steven Spielberg ‘turned down by Call of Duty film’ after demands

‘Jurassic Park’ director reportedly sought to adapt the hit video game franchise into a film

Politics

1 week ago ‘Faithful’ period adaptation of classic novel is unmissable ahead of ‘wild’ film version

The ITV period drama has been praised by audiences

Culture

1 week ago 'Greatest film adaptation' based on Stephen King's 'scariest' novel streaming free

It features an unforgettable scene and an Oscar winning performance

Culture

1 week ago Stephen King made one ‘brutal’ demand for violent new film adaptation

‘The Long Walk’ follows a group of teenagers forced to participate in a savage life or death contest

Politics

1 week ago Borderline review – Raymond Nicholson shines as a deranged fan in comedy thriller

It’s the 1990s and a famous pop star is taken hostage by a fan in Jimmy Warden’s stylish but confused film, loosely inspired by a real-life stalker case involving MadonnaPaul Duerson (Raymond Nicholson) has got it bad for world famous pop star and actor Sofia (Samara Weaving). It being the 1990s, he doesn’t have the option of simply being creepy on social media; instead, he takes her hostage and attempts to marry her, as you do, in a period-comedy-horror-thriller that is entertaining enough moment-to-moment, but doesn’t add up anything very substantial overall. Standing in the way of Paul’s deranged scheme is bodyguard Bell (a grounded and nicely judged performance by Eric Dane), and rounding out the men in Sofia’s life is her NBA player boyfriend Rhodes (Jimmie Fails).Screenwriter Jimmy Warden knows a grabby real-life premise when he sees one. In 1985, a bear ate a massive amount of cocaine and fatally overdosed, leading, in 2023, to the release of the Warden-scripted movie Cocaine...

Politics

2 w. ago Unassuming British city becomes backdrop for Netflix's exciting new Narnia film

The Magician's Nephew, from the Chronicles of Narnia, is being adapted into a Netflix film – and locals of a British city were shocked to find camera crew on their doorsteps

Politics

2 w. ago Harry Potter director rules out Cursed Child film with original cast for one reason

Harry Potter director Chris Columbus has revealed that a film adaptation of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will "never" happen - and he's blamed JK Rowling for it

Politics

2 w. ago Netflix's The Thursday Murder Club faces backlash as fans reel 'it's a mess'

The film adaptation of Richard Osman's beloved book, The Thursday Murder Club has finally landed on Netflix.

Events

2 w. ago All the hidden Easter eggs in Thursday Murder Club including a subtle reference to one of Helen Mirren's most famous roles and celebrity cameos

The film, an adaptation of the first book in a line of novels that have since become one of the most successful detective series of all time, was released in UK cinemas on 22 August.

Events