Critical Week: Hang in there

I've taken it a bit easier this week, film-wise, only watching three movies. Charlize Theron faces off against a villainous Taron Egerton in Apex, a properly ripping guilty-pleasure wilderness survival thriller that Netflix really should have released in cinemas. And then there were two films starring Anne Hathaway: she reteams with Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci in the 20-years-later sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is entertaining even if it's let down by an inconsistent script. And she also stars alongside Michaela Coel in David Lowery's offbeat two-hander Mother Mary, which looks and sounds amazing but kind of loses us with an overly blurred narrative. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Last One for the Road
Departures • Wild Foxes
ALL REVIEWS >

I also ventured out of London for the first time this year, taking the train a few hours north to Stratford-upon-Avon for a live performance of Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the RSC's Swan Theatre, starring Mark Gatiss. Set in 1930s gangland Chicago, it's a shattering parody of Hitler's rise to power, staged and performed in a way that feels unusually engulfing (review coming soon).

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the animated adventure Swapped, Leo Woodall in Tuner, Karl Urban in the sequel Mortal Kombat II, the British drama Ish, the Billie Eilish concert doc Hit Me Hard and Soft and two live performances: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at Sadler's Wells and Bullyache's A Good Man is Hard to Find at Sadler's Wells East.

Critical Week: Follow that star

Even though this is a relatively quiet time in the cinematic calendar, with the odd blockbuster arriving in the run up to the Cannes Film Festival, I've had screenings every day and night this week. This has been a bit of a challenge with tube strikes in London, but I've found ways around them. The big movie this week was the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson, who gives a stunningly physical performance (Juliano Valdi also deserves praise as the young Michael). The film is very smooth around the edges, with only the great Colman Domingo allowed to inject some dark complexity into his role.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Rose of Nevada
I Swear • Cherri
ALL REVIEWS >

This week's crowd-pleaser was the festival favourite Power Ballad, a new music-infused comedy-drama from Irish filmmaker John Carney (Once, Sing Street). It stars Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, and has a lot to say about generational music industry issues. It's also packed with great music. John Magaro is excellent in Omaha, a rather downbeat drama about a man who takes his two kids on a grim road trip across the American West. It's beautifully played, and has a strong emotional kick. 

Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Mads Mikkelsen lead the Danish black comedy The Last Viking, as brothers who have repressed their past trauma in very different ways. It's another terrific reteaming with writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen. And Kazunari Ninomiya stars in the claustrophobic Japanese thriller Exit 8, as a man trying to get out of a maze-like metro station. It's utterly riveting and ripples with underlying ideas. I also caught two live dance performances: The Center Will Not Hold at Sadler's Wells and We Caliban at Sadler's Wells East.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching two films with Anne Hathaway: alongside Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada 2 and with Michaela Coel in Mother Mary. There's also The Last Spy,  a doc about 100-year-old CIA spymaster Peter Sichel. And I'll travel up to Stratford-upon-Avon for a live performance of Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the RSC's Swan Theatre.

Dance: Across the sea

We Caliban
concept, choreography & direction Shobana Jeyasingh
dancers Harry Ondrak-Wright, Holly Vallis, Raúl Reinoso Acanda, Oliver Mahar, George Gregory, Tanisha Addicott, Gabriel Ciulli, Tabitha O’Sullivan
text consultant Priyamvada Gopal • dramaturg Uzma Hameed
composer Thierry Pécou • sound Fred DeFaye
sets & costumes Mayou Trikerioti
lighting Floriaan Ganzevoort • projection William Duke
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 21-23.Apr.26 ★★★

There's a strikingly loose visual style to this fascinating take on Shakespeare's The Tempest, as dancers energetically dive into swirling choreography that's more expressive than precise. This helps to draw out personal insights in a story that plays with a central theme of colonialism, specifically the superiority one culture can feel toward another. The impressive staging includes dazzling lighting and projections. And even if it feels both on-the-nose and rather elusive, the show is thoroughly gripping.

It opens on Prospero (Harry Ondrak-Wright), his daughter Miranda (Holly Vallis), his brother Antonio (Oliver Mahar) and their learned community. In a power struggle, Prospero and Miranda are set adrift, washing ashore far from home. In this foreign land, they encounter Caliban (Raúl Reinoso Acanda) and his own learned community. But Prospero and Miranda insist on teaching them their civilised ways, even as Miranda falls for Caliban, which is something Prospero is definitely not happy about.

The stretchy, spinning choreography features astonishing shapes and powerful lifts, performed slowly for maximum impact. It's also intriguingly rough around the edges. Dancers sometimes link together, entangled in sexy formations. There's scrappy violence, and group sequences that are almost, but not quite, in unison. It's eye-catching and often thrilling to watch, especially as intense emotions churn between the characters. One provocative touch is to have the performers carrying books to symbolise culture. Of course Prospero believes his book is better than the Caliban books, while Miranda tames the "savage" Caliban using art, including ballroom dancing lessons. But then, he also teaches her lusty moves in a tender, exploratory sequence.

Cool lighting designs augment the movement, surrounding the dancers with spotlights that bounce off a string curtain to create shimmering textures. The soundscape features music by Thierry Pécou, voiceover readings and snippets of dialog that accompany the on-screen text and video. A big storm brings these elements together with a dazzling array of light, sound and wind. And all of this reverberates with condescending colonial attitudes towards "uncivilised heathens". Against this, the earthy, warm-hued costumes have a hint of sci-fi about them, as if this is taking place on a planet Captain Kirk is about to beam onto.

Playing out through seven distinct scenes, there are highlights peppered throughout the show, most notably two superbly expressive duets involving Reinoso Acanda alongside Vallis and then Tanisha Addicott. With echoing movements, these feature impressively controlled displays of strength and balance. Then in the end, the plot continues into a rather chilly final sequence in which Prospero asserts his control. And the way the Caliban community is left changed forever is haunting.

For information, SHOBANA JEYASINGH DANCE >

photos by Foteini Christofilopoulou • 21.Apr.26

Dance: Dancing in the streets

The Center Will Not Hold
A Dorrance Dance Production
created and directed by Ephrat Asherie, Michelle Dorrance
with John Angeles, Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Manon Bal, Tomoe “Beasty” Carr, Michelle Dorrance, Zakhele “Bboy Swazi” Grabowski, Fritzlyn Hector, Caleb Lawrence Jackson, Michael Manson Jr, Charles “Lil Buck” Riley, Matthew “Megawatt” West
music Donovan Dorrance • costumes Amy Page
lighting Kathy Kaufmann • sound Christopher Marc
Sadler's Wells, London • 17-18.Apr.26 ★★★★★

A continuous blast of rhythmic physicality, this astonishing one-hour UK premiere traces an expansive range of vernacular dance, everyday community-based movement that is rarely learned formally. It follows a through-line from tap to street, house, hip hop and other American styles of fancy footwork. And the company is an eclectic group of performers who use their own body types and personal skills to choreograph the show, with solos that are improvised on the spot. It's utterly mesmerising to watch, propulsive and thrilling but also playful and engaging on a variety of levels.

The performance styles merge into each other with the help of fiendishly inventive lighting that makes the dancers appear or disappear, often glowing in a dreamily as they float across the stage seemingly defying laws of time and space. And a repeating motif finds them either trapped or highlighted in spotlight squares and circles. Accompanying Donovan Dorrance's soulful music, talented percussionist John Angeles is on-stage throughout the piece. He adds his own muscular presence, creating rhythms with drums, cymbals, a table, the stage and his own body as he joins in the movement. 

Repeatedly at the centre are Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance, who appear in a central rectangle, bouncing both together and against each other. This show was born from their 2022 duet A Little Room, then expanded and reimagined around them. And each performer is allowed to steal the focus. Standouts include Tomoe Carr with her fierce intensity and Caleb Lawrence Jackson with his over-sized afro and lightning-fast feet. And then there are Matthew West, Charles Riley and Zakhele Grabowski, who reject gravity as they throw their feet to the sky, spinning on their heads and hands with extraordinary strength. 

Costumes have a deceptive simplicity: black suits and trainers or tap shoes. Combined with the plain stage, this allows us to see the performers' physical motion as they catch the light in intriguing ways, especially when primary colours are applied. This is an innovative, thumpingly involving show that continually surprises us with insight, such as the way it reveals the innate elegance in popping and breaking. And the camaraderie between the dancers comes through vividly. They're clearly having a great time, so of course we want to get on the stage with them.

For information, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Christopher Duggan • 17.Apr.26

Critical Week: When the wine runs out

It's been another busy week for screenings, and this year's festival season kicked up a gear with the announcement of the programme at next month's 79th Cannes Film Festival. Already everyone is trying to work out who will feature in next year's awards season. Three of the films I watched this week featured terrific offbeat performances: Charli XCX leads the cast of the improvised romantic comedy Erupcja, which is set in Warsaw. It's rather uneven, but strikingly well shot and performed. Jude Law and Paul Dano are excellent in The Wizard of the Kremlin, Olivier Assayas' expertly crafted fictionalised biopic about Vladimir Putin. And John Magaro shines as legendary pianist Keith Jarrett in Koln 75, based on the true story of an 18-year-old promoter (played by rising star Mala Emde) who organised a groundbreaking concert.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Diamanti • Wasteman • Departures
The Wizard of the Kremlin
Rebuilding • Miroirs No 3
Eagles of the Republic
PERHAPS AVOID: Balls Up
ALL REVIEWS >

More in the mainstream, Mark Wahlberg  and Paul Walter Hauser star in the chucklehead comedy Balls Up, which has a sharp script thanks to Deadpool writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. But it's resolutely unfunny. Set in Manchester, the British romcom Finding Emily stars Spike Fearn and Angourie Rice. It's charming and funny and very predictable. Bob Odenkirk is back in action in Normal, which also sticks very closely to the formula but engages us with its quirkiness. The entertaining romantic melodrama Almost Us is a bit awkward, but nicely uses its setting in Phoenix's Black queer community. And the French comedy-drama Colours of Time is an entertaining and astute look at how history echoes in everyday life today. 

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, Paul Rudd in Power Ballad, John Magaro in Omaha, Mads Mikkelsen in The Last Viking and three live performances: The Center Will Not Hold at Sadler's Wells, We Caliban at Sadler's Wells East and Misconduct & Ladykiller at White Bear (Tube strikes notwithstanding).

Screen: April TV Roundup

There's been a lot of new material on television and streaming lately, so I feel like I've only skimmed the surface. But I've made it through 16 series here. New shows and seasons seem to be released every day at the moment, and I need to keep up simply so I'm ready when voting deadlines hit for TV awards I vote in. I can't see everything, but I try to catch what looks intriguing and /or entertaining - something that can take my mind off the real world. In this roundup, I'm starting with returning shows...

Beef: series 2
This anthology show's new season has an excellent cast and a gripping narrative that builds to a frankly astonishing final episode. Expertly shot and edited, it stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny as two couples who get into a tangled mess connected to the exclusive golf club where they work and a new Korean owner (the great Youn Yuh-Jung) who's more than a little shady. The way the interpersonal relationships spiral and weave is breathtaking, with a continual stream of surprises, shifting loyalties and ratcheting tension. In the end, the show has profound things to say about love and loyalty, and also takes a startlingly astute swipe at where the world is right now. (Netflix)

Jury Duty Presents: 
Company Retreat
The astonishing improv comedy is back, this time set around a small family business' getaway at which everyone is an actor except one person who has no idea they're on a sitcom. Like the first season, this is hilariously outrageous television, expertly set up and assembled to hone in on how Anthony responds to the absurd things thrown at him, including several moral dilemmas. So it's funny but also very sharply pointed, commenting on the changing landscape for small companies while also offering provocative "what would you do?" scenarios. This one sometimes feels a bit sillier than the first courtroom series, but it is packed with terrific moments. And as before, the casting is genius. (Prime)

Bridgerton: series 4
Diving back into this colourful period fantasia is such a delight that we never want it to end. So of course Netflix divides the series into chapters to further torment us. Things are both spicy and comforting, as another Bridgerton sibling, wild child Benedict (Luke Thompson), is tamed by the feisty Sophie (Yerin Ha). Meanwhile, there are more antics for Nicola Coughlan's Penelope, Adjoa Andoh's Lady Danbury and Golda Rosheuvel's Queen Charlotte, plus a parallel romance for Lady Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and her swarthy Lord Marcus (Daniel Francis). There's never much doubt where these plot threads are headed, but this kind of frothy/steamy nonsense is simply delicious. (Netflix) 

Paradise: series 2
This season opens outside the city-in-a-bunker with a superb Graceland-set narrative featuring a new role for Shailene Woodley. Then Sterling K Brown arrives and we're off on a steely cross-country adventure. The show splinters in now-typical second-season style between a sometimes bewildering range of story threads in timelines that inside, outside and before the bunker. The writing feels a little heavy-handed, pushing apocalyptic themes while searching for signs of humanity. But the expanding cast is solid (including puppet-master Julianne Nicholson), and the plotlines are involving enough to keep us hooked. Where this season ends up is properly brain-bending, which bodes well for series 3. (Hulu) 

Fallout: series 2
Carrying on with its various narrative strands, which are even-more fragmented than before, this show is packed with fascinating scenes that seem to exist in isolation, even as some of the threads vaguely begin to merge. With all of this jumping around in both place and time, we are never quite sure which events are happening concurrently with others. But it doesn't really matter yet. This season is largely set around New Vegas, and the nutty mayhem offers particularly strong moments for Ella Purnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Aaron Moten, Moises Arias and of course Walton Goggins. With added Justin Theroux as a pre-apocalypse brainiac and Macauley Culkin as a cos-playing Roman general. (Prime)

Your Friends & Neighbors: series 2
Jon Hamm is back for some more somewhat far fetched criminality, as a wealthy investment manager who turns to robbing his neighbours to make ends meet. His character's relationship with his ex-wife (Amanda Peet) and ex-girlfriend (Olivia Munn) are far more complicated now, as are his friendships and work connections. As a billionaire who moves into the community, James Marsden stirs everything up exponentially, further straining the credibility. But it's entertaining to watch these obscenely privileged people get taken down a peg or two (or more), even if the splintered plot feels a bit deliberately structured simply to make space for another season. (Apple)

High Tides [Knokke Off]: series 1-3
From Belgium, this show wallows in compelling melodrama between wildly wealthy and working class families in a rural seaside town. The first season centred on the teens, then the wonderfully overwrought soap-style stories spread to the parents too. Most of the characters bullheadedly charge through each situation without listening to anyone else, with a storm of alcohol, sex, drugs and violence. Even the few likeable or sympathetic people continually do awful things to each other, mainly because of the barrage of trauma they are all carrying around. But even if it's all faintly ridiculous, it's impossible to look away, partly because the European cast goes for it in ways American actors would never dare. (Netflix) 

S O M E T H I N G   N E W

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
It's nice to see a Star Trek series that is actually trying something new that fits within its remit, even if some of these episodes reach perhaps a bit too far thematically, and the direction is sometimes shockingly inept. Set in the officer training school, the show features a collection of hot young cadets who improbably find themselves in a momentously urgent situation every single week. But because their teachers include Holly Hunter, Robert Picardo, Tig Notaro and Gina Yashere, plus Paul Giamatti as a recurring baddie, the show also has wonderfully offhanded gravitas. And students Sandro Rosta, Karim Diane, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins and Bella Shepard have star-making presence. (Paramount)

Bait
Riz Ahmed created and stars in this comedy about a British actor with Pakistani heritage who auditions to play James Bond, setting off a barrage of online hatred from all sides (is he too Asian or a sell-out?), and unfiltered excitement from his colourful friends and family. Ahmed is extraordinary in the meta-role, finding all kinds of layers as his character becomes increasingly unlikeable but somehow holds on to our sympathy. Sheeba Chadda is especially strong as his mother, and Guz Khan and Aasiya Shah add wonderful layers as his cousin and sister. There are also terrific guest roles for Himesh Patel, Nabhaan Rizwan, Rafe Spall and even a wonderfully absurd turn from Patrick Stewart. (Prime)

The Madison
A TV series about grief may seem like it'll be heavy-going, but writer Taylor Sheridan includes plenty of brittle humour and a riveting focal performance by Michelle Pfeiffer as a woman dealing with loss while trying to manage her messy adult daughters (Beau Garrett and Elle Chapman). The expansive Montana scenery is another key character here, and Sheridan weaves in several powerful narrative kicks over the course of six intensely emotive episodes. A side role for Rebecca Spence is complex and engaging. And there are meaty male characters too for Kurt Russell, Patrick J Adams, Ben Schnetzer, Kevin Zegers and Matthew Fox. It may get a bit mopey, but it's well worth a look. (Paramount)

Rooster
Steve Carell ably anchors this warm-hearted comedy in which he plays a blockbuster novelist (the title refers to his repeating lead character) who takes a job teaching at the university where his estranged daughter (Charly Clive) works. Their relationship is fun to watch, even if both of the characters are sometimes hard to like. They share rather complex broken-marriage issues (with Connie Britton and Phil Dunster as their respective exes), which add layers of connection to the spiralling silliness. And everything is grounded by the astute writing and earthy performances. Terrific support from Danielle Deadwyler and John C McGinley in roles that will benefit from more development in series 2. (HBO)

How to Get to Heaven From Belfast
From Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee comes another riotously astute Irish comedy, although this one is rather a lot darker, mixing the jagged humour with thriller elements as three old friends (Roisin Gallagher, Sinead Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne) reunite 20 years after a traumatic event to solve a mystery centred around their fourth classmate (Natasha O'Keeffe). Snappy dialog and hilarious characters keep us chuckling even as things get increasingly nasty. The plot veers in directions that are contrived, absurd and properly punchy. And there are terrific roles for Darragh Hand (as a dreamy garda), MobLand's Emmet J Scanlan and the always fantastic Bronagh Gallagher and Michelle Fairley. (Netflix)

Vladimir
Straining for that wry Fleabag-style to-camera vibe, this comedy-drama instead becomes rather arch as Rachel Weisz's English professor narrates her own fantastical crush on her new colleague Vladimir, played with offhanded dreaminess by Leo Woodall. Complications include her husband (John Slattery), their open marriage and accusations against him of sexual impropriety. And then there's Vladimir's wife (Jessica Henwick), who ends up in the thick of it as well. Where the story goes is foreshadowed right from the start, so it's not hugely surprising. But the show manages to drum up some terrific lustiness, highlighting female sexuality in an unusually complex way. (Netflix)

Crap Happens [Kacken an der Havel]
From Germany, this cartoonish comedy is relentlessly silly, with one of those plots in which everything continually goes wrong at the worst possible time. Amid the amusing stupidity, there are quite a few genuinely witty gags, plus some pointed satire about both German society and the global music industry, as the plot centres on loser Toni (Anton Schneider) dealing with both his big break to become a rap star and the discovery that he has a teen son (Sky Arndt). While the performances are deliberately way over the top, there are moments of real emotion that keep us watching. And one of the most enjoyably ridiculous touches is a running gag about the 1998 classic Armageddon. (Netflix)

J U S T   F O R   V A R I E T Y

The Muppet Show
With just one half-hour episode, this proves to be the show we need right now. Even 50 years later, the format feels fresh and engaging, with Kermit, Piggy and friends spiralling into their own delightful brand of chaos as they try to revive their theatre show. Guest star Sabrina Carpenter offers plenty of musical and comical fun, with added goofy cameos from Maya Rudolph and Seth Rogen as themselves. It's such an engaging mix of songs, sketches and generally silly mayhem that we can't help but fall in love with these characters all over again. And the all new cast of Muppet performers beautifully captures the souls of these iconic characters. Surely this proves that we need more of this. (Disney)

Saturday Night Live UK
While the original version is in the midst of its 51st season, a UK clone has taken to the airwaves slightly earlier on Saturday nights from London. The fresh cast of comics is very strong, diving headlong into the topical silliness, with the usual collection of sketches that are alternately inspired or oddly flat-footed. But the cheeky energy keeps things afloat. The most notable emerging star is Jack Shep, who has an innate gift for characterisations, from Princess Diana to the former Prince Andrew. The odd thing about the show is how it already feels like it's been around for too long. More variation from the US formula could help make this feel like something new. So let's hope it develops its own personality. (Sky)

GUILTY PLEASURES: The Traitors Ireland, Celebrity Race Across the World, Britain's Got Talent.

NOW WATCHING: Big Mistakes, The Testaments, Euphoria 3, Hacks 5, The Boys 5, Scrubs 8.

COMING SOON: Half Man, Margot's Got Money Problems, Man on Fire, The House of the Spirits, Alpha Males 4.

Previous roundup: FEBRUARY 2026 > 

Critical Week: So in love

It's been another busy week at the movies, as Cannes announced its programme of films, instantly launching next year's awards season with a bang. Almodovar! Refn! Pawlikowski! Farhadi! Zvyagintsev! Kore-eda! Sachs! Hamaguchi! Dhont! The Javis! Meanwhile, I bought a ticket to see Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in The Drama, because I wasn't invited to the one and only press screening. I really enjoyed it, an unhinged black comedy that pushes the audience to take a side.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Outcome • The Stranger
Father Mother Sister Brother
California Schemin'
ALL REVIEWS >

Otherwise, there was the family comedy whodunit The Sheep Detectives, an enjoyably silly Babe-style romp starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson, with the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston. Keanu Reeves leads Jonah Hill's quirk-filled Outcome, a smart comedy-drama about Hollywood packed with fantastic characters. The cast includes Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, Martin Scorsese and Susan Lucci. Gaten Matarazzo, Lulu Wilson and Sean Giambrone star in the riotous stoner comedy Pizza Movie, which is far smarter than it looks thanks to filmmakers Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney. The Japanese anime romcom ChaO looks like nothing you've ever seen, and tells an oddly engaging story about a man who marries a fish. And I also attended a special cast and crew screening of the pointed and involving short film Geronto, plus a live performance of Palatable Gay Robot at Udderbelly Boulevard.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the British romcom Finding Emily, Jude Law in The Wizard of the Kremlin, Charli XCX in Erupcja, Bob Odenkirk in Normal, John Magaro in Koln 75, the romantic comedy Almost Us and the French comedy-drama Colours of Time.