Three big sequels were screened this week for the press. The big one was the world premiere of
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, attended by most of the cast and crew. The film is a worthy farewell to this franchise, and there are no surprises. Which makes it even more cosy and comforting. A lot more fun was
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, continuing the hilarious mock-doc comedy antics of the world's favourite fake British heavy metal band. And then there were Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga back for one more time as the ghostbusting Warrens in
The Conjuring: Last Rites, which works best when it centres on the characters rather than the rather silly ghostly creep-out.
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We also had Benedict Cumberbatch in
The Thing With Feathers, an artful exploration of grief that really gets under the skin. Cooper Hoffman leads
The Long Walk, based on a Stephen King novel set in a 1970s American dystopia. It's very dark, but also compelling and thought-provoking. The horror thriller
Good Boy skilfully
unfolds through a dog's-eye-view, which makes it unusual enough to catch us off guard. And the British drama Brides addresses a very thorny issue with engaging characters and a sharp sense of youthful hope.
There are fewer screenings this coming week, largely due to the week-long Tube strikes, but among films I'll be watching are Emma Thompson in
Dead of Winter, Michael Chiklis in
The Senior, Adam Bessa in
Ghost Trail and Justin Kurzel's Warren Ellis doc
Ellis Park.
