Soon to be seen as the father of Venus and Serena Williams in the Oscar-tipped King Richard, Smith has lent his everyman charm to comedies, sci-fi and even a buddy movie pairing a cop with an orcWill Smith has made many more than 20 films, but the econ…
Sweetheart review – good-natured caravan-park romance
Nell Barlow is the long-suffering gay teenager who falls for a lifeguard on holiday in Marley Morrison’s likably wistful debut The holiday romance coming-of-ager is the genre that’s given writer-director Marley Morrison her likable feature debut. And i…
James Bond was ‘basically’ a rapist in early films, says No Time to Die director
Cary Fukunaga cites scene from Thunderball that ‘wouldn’t fly today’ as new film aims to redress franchise’s gender politicsThe director of No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond film, has said that Sean Connery’s version of the character was “basically” …
On thin ice: how The Alpinist captured the terrifying climbs of Marc-André Leclerc
Climbing solo without ropes, the Canadian adventurer would scale stratospheric walls of ice that could crack and fall with one wrong move. We meet the makers of a gripping, heartbreaking new filmAn insect-like creature is climbing a wall. The wall is m…
Melvin Van Peebles, groundbreaking playwright and director, dies at age 89
The ‘godfather of modern Black cinema’ is best known for the film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song!Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking playwright, musician and movie director whose work ushered in the “Blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenc…
Cinema returns to Somalia with first public screening in 30 years
Built as a gift from Mao Zedong, the National Theatre in Mogadishu had been shuttered since civil war broke out in 1991Somalia has hosted its first movie screening in 30 years under heavy security as the conflict-ravaged country hopes for a cultural re…
First trailer lands for Netflix’s explosive Britney Spears documentary
Film, directed by Erin Lee Carr and due 28 September, will explore legal and ethical issues of singer’s conservatorshipThe first full trailer of Britney vs Spears, the Netflix documentary by Erin Lee Carr that will explore the legal battle over the pop…
Intrusion review – Netflix home invasion thriller passes muster
A vacant performance from Freida Pinto can’t quite sink a mostly enjoyable, if mostly familiar, domestic mysteryThere’s an adequately scattered trail of breadcrumbs running throughout the brisk Netflix thriller Intrusion that starts us off in one subge…
The Ballad of Billy McCrae review – erotic noir is on rocky ground
This Wales-set tale of sex and intrigue among quarry workers is strangely murky, although the scenery looks lovelyThis Wales-set thriller is called The Ballad of Billy McCrae for unaccountable reasons – it’s quite obvious throughout that the story isn’…
True Calling review – a government minister goes awol on long night of the soul
A politician’s long night of the soul becomes a confusing debate on the climate crisis in Erik Knudsen’s tiny-budget dramaThis tiny-budget British drama, written and directed by Erik Knudsen, begins intriguingly as the government’s energy minister goes…