Critical Week: It's a slam dunk

It's been a fairly busy week for screenings, with another eclectic bunch of movies to sift through. There is an unusually large number of films opening this weekend, including several animated movies to coincide with school holidays, date-night movies for Valentine's Day and some awards-season gems that are finally getting into cinemas. Most are well worth seeing. One of the bigger ones screened for us this week was the animated adventure Goat, a lively basketball-adjacent comedy about a goat who wants to be the greatest of all time. Painterly animation and sparky characters make it worth a look. And then there's Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennell's unsurprisingly lascivious adaptation of Wuthering Heights. I'm a fan of her deranged style of storytelling, and this movie is deliciously full-on.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Crime 101 • Wuthering Heights
Palestine 36 • Cold Storage
Goat • The President's Cake
Stitch Head • Little Amelie
My Father's Shadow
PERHAPS AVOID:
The Day the Earth Blew Up
ALL REVIEWS >

Other films screened this week include the nutty horror thriller Whistle, starring the gifted Daphne Keen. It's corny, but fun. Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough take a tearaway Anson Boon into their home in The Good Boy (retitled Heel in the US), an unnervingly dark British drama that raises some enjoyably provocative moral questions. Danny Dyer puts on a one-man show in One Last Deal as a London sports agent trying to save his career, or maybe his soul. It's rather thin, but riveting. And the Swedish-produced Egyptian drama Eagles of the Republic, starring the terrific Fares Fares, starts as a satire about politics and moviemaking before shifting into a tensely mind-spinning thriller. I also attended a live performance of Pina Bausch's Sweet Mambo at Sadler's Wells. And at a special awards-season brunch in honour of Sentimental Value, I enjoyed chatting with Oscar and Bafta nominated filmmakers Joaquim Trier and Eskil Vogt.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Sam Rockwell in Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die, coming-of-age drama DJ Ahmet, subterranean doc Underland, tour doc Palestine Comedy Club, plus attending the London premiere of Paradise season 2 and the programme launch event for the 40th BFI Flare.

Dance: Remember my name

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
Sweet Mambo
direction & choreography Pina Bausch
dancers Andrey Berezin, Naomi Brito, Nayoung Kim, Daphnis Kokkinos, Alexander López Guerra, Reginald Lefebvre, Nazareth Panadero, Helena Pikon, Julie Shanahan, Julie Anne Stanzak, Aida Vainieri
sets & video Peter Pabst
costumes Marion Cito
music Matthias Burkert, Andreas Eisenschneider
Sadler's Wells, London • 11-21.Feb.26 ★★★★

First staged in 2008, the legendary Pina Bausch's penultimate work is only now making its London premiere. It's a sprawling expressionistic exploration of human emotion that touches on everything from love and joy to isolation and fear over two hours. It's also an unusually intimate piece that allows nine dancers to express their personalities and interact with the audience. These six women and three men are a fascinating mix of nationalities and ages (seven were in the original 2008 cast), and each asks us to remember their name.

They all get to perform a range of solos and duets, with tonal shifts provided by an eclectic mix of musical genres and sound that often lifts the choreography but also sits cleverly at odds with it. All of this is assembled almost like a sketch show, with vignettes flowing into each other, echoing back and forth with running gags and repeated movement. Much of this is very funny, as scenes use both subtle wit, archly camp moments and some full-on nuttiness. As the primary comic in the piece, the delightful Nazareth Panadero adds Lynchian surrealism to her hilarious riffs.

By contrast, Julie Shanahan has the most emotional elements, especially in a stormy sequence in which she is held back again and again by men while she cries out, "Let me go!" She's also nearly run over by a table and drenched with buckets of water. Then at the very end she runs into the audience, where she grabbed me on press night begging for help because another dancer wouldn't leave her alone.

One of the key repeating images is of the three men, dressed in black, drawn to the women in their flowing colourful gowns, bothering them, pushing and pulling them (by skirts and hair), while the women both assert control and defiantly express their independence. Some scenes are sweetly romantic, others are downright harrowing. But the overall tone reflects the balance of life experiences. Highlights include young Alexander López Guerra's show-stopping twisty, groovy solo. And Naomi Brito gets a glorious spotlight turn inside a billowing curtain to Lisa Ekdahl's Cry Me a River.

Curtains feature dramatically on the bare stage, often fluttering in the breeze, occasionally with images from the 1938 German comedy The Blue Fox projected onto them. Props include pillows, masks and champagne glasses, as Julie Anne Stanzak amusingly coaxes us to whisper "brush" to look magnetic at parties. And to perform cartwheels everywhere we go. In other words, this wondrously offbeat show traverses a huge range of moods and attitudes, with choreography that is joyfully extended as well as sensually evocative, mischievous and tormented, loose, free and magical. It may feel somewhat random, but the visceral effect is powerfully celebratory.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Karl-Heinz Krauskopf, Oliver Look • 11.Feb.26

Screen: February TV Roundup

I haven't had quite as much time to watch television series over the past few months, largely because of all the movies I need to catch up with during awards season. But I've fit quite a few episodes in between films, a wide range of things that have mostly been a lot of fun. I've even been able to attend a few enjoyable TV premiere events (documented on Instagram). But on my flights over the holidays, I stuck to the classics, mainly watching episodes of the classic sitcom Cheers, which never gets old. I'm starting this roundup with new shows...

The Beauty
A bonkers premise makes this an instant guilty pleasure, as creator Ryan Murphy throws us into a grisly mystery in the world of fashion and cosmetics. Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall are terrific as conflicted FBI agents in Europe, trying to get to the bottom of a series of seriously nasty deaths that are linked some sort of miracle anti-ageing substance, while Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope lurk in the shadows. Starry guests gleefully pop up everywhere, most notably the fabulous Isabella Rossellini. And the story evolves to encompass elements of body horror, international intrigue and vampy nuttiness, all with an underlying point about the fear of ageing and the quest for physical perfection. And the cliffhanger ending only reminds us that we're completely hooked. (Disney)

Heated Rivalry
The first episode of this virally popular show leaps through time to trace the romance between two hockey stars, Canadian Shane (Hudson Williams) and Russian Ilya (Connor Storrie), who meet occasionally over several years. Then the plot settles into much more engaging groove. Episode 3 kicks everything up a gear, taking more time to breathe as it traces the complex romance between rival player Scott (Francois Arnaud) and nice guy art student Kip (Robbie GK). Their involving story adds layers to this knowing depiction of the closeted world of professional sportsmen. The point is simple but important. Then as both relationships develop and intersect, the show and the cast become flat-out irresistible. It's a rare thoroughly uplifting show that leaves us wanting more. (Crave)

Wonder Man

Lately, the best Marvel productions have been half-hour TV shows that allow filmmakers much more creativity than the oversized, overcrowded movies do. This one is thoroughly enjoyable, populated with sparky, messy characters who quickly get under the skin. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II brings his charisma to bear on the lead role as Simon, an aspiring actor who may be getting the chance of his life. And Ben Kingsley is having fun getting back into the skin of Trevor, the slippery actor who played the Mandarin in previous Marvel blockbusters. The show is a little gimmicky, over-pleased with its starry cameos and witty sideroads. But because it hones in on complex characters who are desperate to get their lives on track, the mix of comedy and drama is thoroughly involving. (Disney)

Agatha Christie's Seven Dials
Set out as a limited whodunit series with three tightly packed episodes, the key question was how they would adapt Christie's 1929 novel The Seven Dials Mystery into a series that can keep running. And they've done it very cleverly indeed, thanks to the ingenious casting of the wonderfully charismatic Mia McKenna-Bruce as a feisty young aristocrat in 1925 London who can't help but start investigating when her closest friends start dying one by one. Clues lead to a shadowy secret society, alondside complications involving her hermit-like mother (a terrific Helena Bonham Carter) and sparky competition with a police detective (Martin Freeman). The show's pacing is quick and twisty, and also great fun even with the rising body count. And the jolly old setting adds intriguing angles. (Netflix)

The War Between the Land and the Sea
I've never managed to get into Doctor Who, but I enjoyed the more grown-up spinoff Torchwood a decade ago, and this spin-off is also cleverly aimed at a more sophisticated viewership. It's the cautionary tale of the first encounter between humans and an aquatic species that has lived deep in Earth's oceans for millions of years. Advanced and self-sufficient, they have finally become fed up with us dumping so much rubbish into their home. Russell Tovey is terrific as the everyman hero, drafted in as ambassador to negotiate with Gugu Mbatha-Raw's hot water-realm emissary. Their romance is corny but sweet, and the show's slightly cheesy production values, toned-down themes and overly pointed tone are thoroughly watchable. (BBC)

I Love LA
Scrappy and very silly, this comedy features a group of frankly pathetic people who somehow manage to navigate life in Los Angeles, largely due to dumb luck. All of them are rather exasperating, in a cartoonish sort of way, but most also manage to remain somewhat endearing in the way they lean on each other. Toxic connections abound, chiefly between actor-creator Rachel Sennott's insufferable central character Maia and her almost as obnoxious best pal Tallulah (Odessa A'zion). The show's arc centres on how they work together to propel Tallulah's influencer brand. Thankfully, there are also terrific roles for Josh Hutcherson, True Whitaker and scene-stealing charmer Justin Firstman. They provide some badly needed positive energy. (Max)

O N E   L A S T   S H O T

Stranger Things: series 5
Leaning into the increasingly epic sensibility, these final eight episodes feel seriously momentous, and a couple of them have feature-length running times. This isn't the child-based 1970s-style adventure thriller of the early episodes; it's now full-on monster horror that comes complete with the now seemingly requisite blandly digital settings. Thankfully, the characters remain strong, with those kids now grown into plucky young adults determined to end the chaos that has engulfed their town for years. Aside from the monsters, Linda Hamilton is on hand as a vicious military villain. And each regular actor gets a full story arc, although the growing spectacle kind of overwhelms the more involving relationship dramas. Still, it's a must-see for the show's fans. (Netflix)

B A C K   F O R   M O R E

The Night Manager: series 2
A decade after the hit limited series, we catch up with sexy spy Tom Hiddleston for another edgy thriller. Although it's much more work and less play this time. The plot feels both dense and relentless, but that helps make it gripping as it snakes through six propulsive episodes to a cliffhanger ending. Hiddleston's agent Jonathan finds himself in the middle of a complex arms-trade conspiracy with stakes that grow bigger by the minute. Much of the original cast is back, including Olivia Colman, Hugh Laurie, Douglas Hodge and even Noah Jupe, plus excellent newcomers Diego Calva, Hayley Squires and Indira Varma. Annoyingly, the script fumbles several promising subplots, but it's still involving, and the show uses its Colombian settings beautifully. (BBC)

Industry: series 4
Set in London's financial world, this show gets both darker and soapier with each season. Oddly, these eight episodes feel like they are straining to push the boundaries when it comes to sex and drugs while instead timidly cutting away from anything properly provocative. That dense barrage of jingoistic dialog is just as impenetrable, and it doesn't matter at all. But shifting everything into a more American-style grim melodrama makes the characters less likeable then they were before, even with engaging actors like Kit Harington, Marisa Abela, Myha'la and superb new cast members like Max Minghella, Kiernan Shipka, Toheeb Jimoh and Charlie Heaton. That said, it's still compelling to watch, impossible to look away. (BBC)

Shrinking: series 3
This comedy continues to deepen the characters while leaning into the therapists-in-therapy premise. So each of the roles gets better with each season. Even though the show centres around Jason Segel's single dad, Harrison Ford takes centre stage here as Paul grapples with Parkinson's, retirement and his new marriage to Julie (Wendie Malick), with lovely ripples through the large ensemble. There's also more interesting stuff for Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller and Ted McGinley as the writers push everyone forward, whether they want to grow up or not. This is a rare show that features realistic changes in the lives of these people. And the way this season ends makes us wonder where it will go in the already promised fourth series. (Apple)

A Man on the Inside: series 2
While this new scenario isn't quite as resonant as the retirement home from the first season, Ted Danson is still having a lot of fun with this role as a retired professor who this time goes undercover at a university to solve a mystery. It's all very comfortable and homey, but there are sparky elements to each of the characters that keep the actors on their toes. New cast members include Mary Steenburgen and David Strathairn, plus more action for Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Stephanie Beatriz and Stephen McKinley Henderson. The twisty blackmail/conspiracy plot is extremely silly, but the characters (including a more terrific cameos) as so entertaining that it's very easy to binge the whole series in one sitting. And when it ends, we want more. Yes, series 3 is coming. (Netflix)

Loot: series 3
Even funnier than previous seasons, this show is developing in surprising ways that are both entertaining and provocative. Even its goofier excesses have more bite. Maya Rudolph is terrific as the oblivious billionaire Molly, who almost accidentally decides to use her money to make the world a better place. As her work partner, Michaela Jae Rodriguez gets even more complex storylines of her own this time around, as does Joel Kim Booster as her personal assistant. A stint on a not-so-deserted island is absurd but also hilarious. And the way the writers weave meaty themes into corny subplots is a stroke of genius. So as we laugh at the silliness, and especially at the ludicrous luxury of the obscenely wealthy, we barely realise that we're thinking too. (Apple)

Alpha Males:
series 4
This Spanish sitcom seems to get increasingly soapy and slapsticky with each season, poking fun at issues of masculinity as four best pals struggle with their roles as men, husbands and fathers. After being "deconstructed" in the first season, they are floundering. They're also so dopey that it's difficult to feel like there's any genuine insight. And the women are even worse, frankly. These episodes put each relationship under severe strain, with various antics and deception. There's also a nutty trip to a macho military retreat before everyone hits a breaking point on a madcap Caribbean holiday. So there is plenty of opportunity for overacting in both the wacky comedy and big melodrama. Still, it's nice that at least some big issues are being discussed. (Netflix)

GUILTY PLEASURES: The Traitors, Queer Eye 10, Drag Race 18.

NOW WATCHING: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Bridgerton 4, Fallout 2.

COMING SOON: The Muppet Show, Paradise 2, Scrubs, Young Sherlock, Vladimir, Jury Duty: Company Retreat, Bait.

Previous roundup: NOVEMBER 2025 > 

Critical Week: Break on through

Awards season continues apace, and I enjoyed being in the room with winners like Timothée Chalamet, Jessie Buckley and Paul Thomas Anderson on Sunday at the 46th Critics' Circle Film Awards on Sunday, attending as a voting member, rather than as chair, for the first time in 15 years (see below). As for watching movies, the comical thriller Cold Storage is a lot of fun, starring Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell as night watchmen who stumble into an alien fungal nightmare, with added Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
My Father's Shadow
Pillion • Twinless • Scarlet
ALL REVIEWS >

I also caught the staggeringly gorgeous Japanese anime thriller All You Need Is Kill, based on the same novel as Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow. The skilful animation and immersive story make it hugely entertaining. And then there was the K-pop concert film Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience, a great introduction to this band's impressive musicality. Although the 4DX screening was a bit exhausting for two and a half hours. I also watched three more documentaries: the Oscar/Bafta-nominated Mr Nobody Against Putin is wonderfully inspiring, powerfully moving and eye-opening; The Librarians is a blood-boiling tale of politically motivated censorship hiding behind religiosity and the important heroes who are fighting it; and Everybody to Kenmure Street covers a momentous 2021 Glasgow standoff in a way that's thrilling, emotive and timely.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, Daphne Keen in Whistle, the animated adventure Goat, Stephen Graham in The Good Boy, horror thriller Jimmy and Stiggs and Cairo-set action in Eagles of the Republic, plus catching up with more docs, including Apocalypse in the Tropics and The Alabama Solution, plus a live performance of Sweet Mambo at Sadler's Wells.

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Critical Week: Do a little dance

Awards season continues to crank up with this week's Bafta nominations, a pleasingly accessible set of nods that dares to break the usual mould. But of course the usuals are still in there. As for films I've watched, John Lithgow and Olivia Colman are father and daughter in Jimpa, a warm, mopey, but also astute exploration of family dynamics through the prism of sexuality and gender issues. Riz Ahmed is terrific in a bristling modern-day London adaptation of Hamlet, although the Shakespearean dialog sits at odds with the gritty realism. On the same day, I revisited one of my 2025 favourites, Hamnet. It's gorgeously assembled and powerfully performed, and great to watch it when I wasn't working. Yes, it was fun to see Hamlet and Hamnet so close together, especially with Joe Alwyn popping up in both.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Islands • Is This Thing On?
Nouvelle Vague • 7 Keys
The Love That Remains
PERHAPS AVOID:
Primate
ALL REVIEWS >

Other films were deliberately more entertaining, such as Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa playing brothers in Hawaii in The Wrecking Crew. A proper guilty pleasure, it's also a beefy, slick and very dumb action movie. Luke Evans and Milla Jovovich star in the post-apocalyptic thriller Worldbreaker, which maintains a nicely offbeat vibe that's also rather too low-key. More impressive was James McAvoy's directing debut California Schemin', the true story of two Scottish rappers engagingly played by Seamus McLean Ross and Samuel Bottomley. It's fun to watch them bamboozle the music industry. The Aussie family adventure Kangaroo is packed with adorable joeys (plus the likeable Ryan Corr), even if the true story has been warped into a structured screenplay. And George MacKay and Callum Turner are terrific in Mark Jenkin's Rose of Nevada,  a wonderfully grainy blur of time travel and haunted boat nuttiness set in Cornwall. I also caught up with the sequel Now You See Me, Now You Don't, which is just as entertaining, overcomplicated and implausible as the first two.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Joe Keery in Cold Storage, romantic thriller A Beautiful Breakup and a collection of docs: Oscar and Bafta nominated Mr Nobody Against Putin, fighting book bans in The Librarians and Glasgow protests in Everybody to Kenmure Street. And I'll attend the 46th Critics' Circle Film Awards on Sunday as a voting member, rather than as chair, for the first time in 15 years.

Critical Week: The look of love

It's been a busy week for me, catching up on some awards-season movie-watching. And the Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, with some nice surprises (Delroy Lindo, Kate Hudson) and surprising omissions (Paul Mescal, Wicked: For Good). As for the movies, I was looking forward to Francois Ozon's take on the Camus classic The Stranger, and the film certainly didn't disappoint. It's a luxuriantly gorgeous exploration of disaffection that feels eerily timely today. And Benjamin Voisin and Rebecca Marder (above) are superb. I also caught up with Cal McMau's impressive directing debut Wasteman, an intentive, involving and ultimately moving British prison movie starring the excellent David Jonsson and Tom Blyth.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The History of Sound
H Is for Hawk
No Other Choice • Heavyweight
ALL REVIEWS >

Further off the beaten path, the doc D Is for Distance is an artful cinematic essay by a filmmaking couple exploring their son's health issues with kaleidoscopic skill. It's also a bit indulgent. From Mexico, the observant and mesmerising Copper is an idiosyncratic drama about a man and a moral dilemma. From Germany, Phantoms of July is an enjoyably deadpan comedy that connects characters in unexpected ways. And I caught up with two more documentary contenders: Come See Me in the Good Light is the rightfully acclaimed (and now Oscar-nominated) depiction of a poet's strikingly straightforward approach to mortality, while Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story is pretty much what it says: a sparky, hugely entertaining look at the life of Liza Minnelli through her own eyes. 

Beyond movies, I attended the premiere of Ryan Murphy's new grisly, camp, compulsively watchable TV series The Beauty, and chatted with cast members Evan Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Rebeccal Hall, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope at the appropriately gorgeous afterparty (see below). And there was also a live performance of Gecko's wondrous The Wedding at Sadler's Wells East.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Jason Momoa in The Wrecking Crew, Olivia Colman in Jimpa, Riz Ahmed in Hamlet, Milla Jovovich in Worldbreaker, James McAvoy's directing debut California Schemin', the Aussie family adventure Kangaroo and Mark Jenkins' new film Rose of Nevada. And Bafta nominations are out next Tuesday.

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Stage: Married to the job

Gecko
The Wedding
created by Amit Lahavwith Mario Garcia Patrón Alvarez, Lucia Chocarro, Madeleine Fairminer, Vanessa Guevara Flores, Ryen Perkins-Gangnes, Saju Hari, Wai Shan Vivian Luk, Miguel Torres Umba, Dan Watson
music Dave Price • sets/costumes Rhys Jarman
lighting Joe Hornsby • sound Jon Everett
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 21-24.Jan.26 ★★★★

As part of MimeLondon, the international physical theatre company Gecko reimagines its acclaimed 2017 stage production exploring the contracts we enter into as members of society. This is a provocative piece, but it's also a lot of fun, bristling with wit as it playfully punctures imagery and ideas that we take for granted. Using marriage as a metaphor, the show is a work of art that doesn't need to be interpreted specifically. Instead, it's best to sit back and enjoy the astonishing skill in this eye-catching, emotionally resonant performance.

The setting is surreal, as new people are delivered onto the stage down a chute, put into a wedding dress and sent to work with a briefcase. Workers then spiral around, making phone calls and conducting business in squares of light on the stage, trying to fit in as they aspire for promotion. They speak to each other in a variety of languages that add to a richly dense music and soundscape, with thoughts and feelings revealed using both full physicality and the tiniest movements and pauses. The loose, kinetic choreography is a fascinating mix of personal and corporate expression.

Along the way a few characters emerge, including a married couple struggling with the demands of their life and a sparky family of immigrant buskers who live in a suitcase and try to integrate with society. Momentous events pepper this 75-minute show, including a few wildly energetic, ethnically charged weddings that create a striking sense of community. This adds a hopefulness to scenes that depict a life constrained by rules and expectations, including moments in which people are literally boxed in or thrown out.

Every element of this show is expertly assembled, including the timeless, shifting costumes and inventive sets and props that cleverly light up the cast members. Other lighting emerges from the wings, creating a luxuriantly inky blackness around the cast. The cumulative effect is dazzling, especially as the show continually offers honest commentary about how social structures can crush our humanity while also providing avenues for individual expectation. And it's in the paths to escape that the show finds a profound sense of joy.

For info, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Malachy Luckie • 21.Jan.26