Critical Week: Grandma's got a gun!

Summertime always brings a slow-down in press screenings, which is a relief after the flurry of London film festivals in June. But there are some great movies out there, plus blockbusters that aren't always quite as great but are good fun to watch on a big screen that's been packed out with cynical critics and gung-ho influencers. The mix of groaning and cheering is a lot of fun. The best I saw this week was the action comedy Thelma, starring June Squibb as a sparky 93-year-old (take that, Joe Biden!) who takes matters in her own hands when she's scammed out of some cash. Fred Hechinger is terrific as her worried grandson. And then there's Twisters, the thinly written almost 30-years-later sequel that's tangentially connected to the rather forgettable 1996 hit. Glen Powell is even more magnetic than the impressive tornadoes, with solid sidekicks Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Crossing • Thelma
Scala!!! • Shayda
ALL REVIEWS >

More arthouse offerings included The Outrun, a kaleidoscopically immersive memoir about addiction starring the always excellent Saoirse Ronan and set in gorgeous Orkney Isles landscapes. Hayley Bennett stars as Widow Cliquot in a lavishly produced but rather stilted biopic about the early 19th century Champagne innovator. And Louise Brealey brings an engaging edge to the offbeat Welsh drama Chuck Chuck Baby, which is wonderfully infused with pop tunes. I also saw two shows live on-stage: National Youth Dance Company's Wall at Sadler's Wells and Jack Tucker's Comedy Standup Hour at Soho Theatre.

Things are still quieter than usual coming week, but I'll be watching Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine, Zachary Levi in Harold and the Purple Crayon, New Zealand drama Mysterious Ways, Swedish drama Paradise Is Burning, Mexican doc The Echo and Palestine doc No Other Land.