PICK OF THE MONTH

Better Man (PG), Thu 26 Dec

A biopic all about Robbie Williams (yes please) only the role of Robbie is played by a CGI chimp (come again?). We kid you not! But, if you look past the ape of it all, Better Man is an absolute rip-roaring rollercoaster of a watch. Charting Robbie’s meteoric rise to fame and every up, down, high and low along the way. Perhaps it would be less shocking if we hadn’t gotten into bed with Robbie in his 2023 Netflix doc and recounted it all, but his life story and career is perfect big screen material. What’s more it features new music from the monkey man himself, wahoo!

Wicked (PG), out now

Musical theatre fans, Ariana Grande’s gang and lovers of Jonathan Bailey – we think that covers everyone – it’s finally time for the first instalment of Wicked. That’s right, the origin story we’ve been watching on stage for two decades has been given the Hollywood treatment and we’ll be defying gravity to see it come opening weekend. Cynthia Erivo is keeping #bratsummer alive as the green, misunderstood witch Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West), with Grande perfectly cast as Glinda the Good, this first film focuses on their emerging bond – before rivalry and a certain pair of red shoes gets in the way. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum also star in this magical, candy-coloured, musical marvel.

Gladiator II (15), out now

Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal go head to head in Ridley Scott’s second Gladiator movie, and believe us when we say women will be thinking about the Roman Empire just as much as men after watching this! Picking up 24 year’s after Russell Crowe triumphed at the Colosseum, and Lucius (Mescal) is gunning to avenge the death of his father, Commodus (originally played by Jaoquin Phoenix). Joseph Quinn and Denzel Washington are among the new cast joining OGs Connie Nielson and Derek Jacobi in this impressive epic. Prepare to be entertained!

BIRD (15), out now

Barry Keoghan as a working class bloke with his sights on big money playing out to a soundtrack of Murder on the Dancefloor? No, this is not another Saltburn, but Andrea Arnold’s latest, fantastical smash. Keoghan plays single dad, Bug, too busy playing Sophie Ellis-Bextor while distilling slime from a toad (we kid you not) to devote to his kids. This leaves his 12-year-old daughter, Bailey (played amazingly by up and comer Nykiya Adams) to strike up an unusual friendship with a mysterious older man, Bird (Franz Rogowski). A tender, striking and, in places, shocking coming-of-age story which is garnering some serious Oscar buzz.

Paddington in Peru (PG), out noe

Everyone’s favourite Londoner, Paddington Bear, returns to the big screen. This hug in a mug of a watch sees Paddington head back to his motherland, Peru, with the Brown family in tow for what will be a mile-a-minute adventure. Hugh Bonneville, Imelda Staunton, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Coleman and Antonio Banderas star with Ben Whishaw resuming voiceover duties of the marmalade sandwich-loving bear.

Anora (18), out now

Dubbed the Pretty Woman of the twenties, Sean Baker’s dark romantic comedy scooped the prestigious Palme d’Or award at this year’s Cannes and with good reason. Mikey Madison plays a blinder as stripper, Anora, who becomes entangled with Ivan (Mark Eidelstein), the son of a Russian oligarch. The pair elope, but when news of their hasty marriage reaches Russia, Ivan’s parents step in to try and force an annulment – you know typical in-law behaviour. A frenzied, impulsive, reckless, oh to be that young again, rush of a film.

Conclave (12A), out now

Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini star in this total potboiler of a watch. Set in the aftermath of the Pope’s death, Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) is tasked with helping select the successor. A confidential and agonising process, where he unwittingly uncovers a trail of deep dark secrets which threaten to upend the entire Roman Catholic Church. Gasp! A great cast and great premise – Conclave gets a thumbs up from us.

Rumours (15), Fri 6 Dec

Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Alicia Vikander, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Zlatko Burić make this bizzaro comedy come horror come satirical soap opera worth a watch. It follows the leaders of the world’s seven wealthiest democracies at the G7 summit, as they try to devise a statement amidst a global crisis. Throw in some weird, swampy bodies, an enormous brain and some institutional incompetence and you have yourselves a hoot. Awkwardly timely given the state of our world, Rumours really leans into the whole “if we don’t laugh, we’ll cry”, and we suggest you do too!

Nightbitch (15), Fri 6 Dec

Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel Nightbitch made everyone paws (sorry) for thought with its ruminations on the brutal realities of motherhood, and now icon Amy Adams will be bringing it to life on the big screen, in all it’s hairy, pooch-ified glory. For those not in the know, Nightbitch tells the story of a struggling first time mum who turns into a dog after dark (yep, you heard). Surreal, superb if a bit scary, and certainly relatable to any sleep-deprived mothers out there. Adams is, as usual, pitch perfect as the frazzled mum come mutt with the brilliant Can You Ever Forgive Me? director, Marielle Heller, at the helm.

Queer (12A), Fri 13 Dec

We are obsessed with Daniel Craig’s career flex from international man of mystery to Poirot-esque detective to dad dancing for Belvedere Vodka, and now, in Luca Guadagino’s take on William S. Burroughs steamy sun and sex soaked novella, Queer. Craig plays Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, on a drug-addled, self-destructive mission as he becomes infatuated with a younger man. Drew Starkey, Lesley Manville and Jason Schwartzman also star in this sizzling, heady odyssey with Craig putting on an utterly mesmerising performance.

Kraven the Hunter (15), Fri 13 Dec

From Nightbitches to Lion-men in Kraven the Hunter. Aaron Taylor-Johnson packs a serious punch in this origin story of how one of Spider-Man’s major villains came to be. Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbott and Fred Hechinger also star in this action-packed, mile-a-minute, comic book gorefest. All in, we’re watching for Taylor-Johnson’s six pack, swathed in a lion skin and we’re not ashamed to say it!

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (U), Wed 18 Dec

Is it even Christmas without a dose of Wallace and Gromit? We say pass the Wensleydale! Lancashire’s finest double act are back at it for the first time since (gulp) 2008 in another hilarious caper which sees the return of Feathers McGraw, the cunning penguin from The Wrong Trousers. In a bid to exact some Vengeance Most Fowl, McGraw tampers with Wallace’s latest invention, a “smart” gnome, cue calamities, mishaps and ultimately Gromit saving the day, again. Though the voice of Wallace might have changed (Ben Whitehead takes over from the late, great Peter Sallis), expect the same levels of clever humour in another heartwarming Nick Park classic.

Mufasa: The Lion King (U), Fri 20 Dec

Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, Donald Glover, Thandiwe Newton, Seth Rogen, Mads Mikkelsen and Tiffany Boone are just some of the stars attached to this Lion King prequel. Told through flashbacks, Rafiki recounts how Mufasa became king. From orphaned cub to protector of everything that the light touches, it’s a rags to riches tale on safari. Though the original Lion King movie is a certifiable classic and you’d be forgiven for thinking whether we need another, Mufasa features new music from Lin Manuel Miranda and some seriously cool cinematography (never mind the celeb roll call) so we’re here for it.

The Order (15), Fri 27 Dec

Fed up of festive schmaltz? This chilling thriller based on true events will have you hankering for the Hallmark movies in no time. Regardless, we’re watching for Jude Law. He plays a frazzled FBI agent hunting a violent, neo-Nazi militia intent on putting the white supremacist agenda into murderous action (yikes). Yep it’s dark and disturbing in places like you’d expect from a Justin Kurzel movie (he of Nitram and Snowtown fame) but this is balanced by the action and a particularly icy Nicholas Hoult who has well and truly shed his cherubic About A Boy past in this role as one of the rebels.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (U), Fri 27 Dec

Repping the kids this month, we have Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Our prickly, blue friend finds himself up against antihero Shadow the Hedgehog as the pair clash over saving the world. Zippy, funny in places and with quite the Hollywood cast – hello Idris Elba, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, James Marsden and Krysten Ritter – which makes this a bearable watch for parents and two hours worth of much-needed entertainment at this stage in the Christmas hols for the kids. Bliss.

We Live in Time (12A), Wed 1 Jan

Ditch the hangover and start 2025 balling like a baby courtesy of Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield and their new, heartbreaking, romantic drama. Almut (Pugh) and Tobias (Garfield) meet when Almut hits him with her car (talk about a meet cute!). From there We Live in Time follows their decade-spanning, unconventional love story, through sickness, health and everything in between as they learn to cherish every moment knowing tomorrow is never guaranteed. It’s giving One Day vibes which is only a bad thing if you aren’t packing enough tissues at the cinema!

Nosferatu (15), Wed 1 Jan

An impressive ensemble cast leads this haunting gothic horror which has already been lauded across the pond – Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Ineson, Lily Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård. Directed by horror maestro, Robert Eggers, Nosferatu is a Dracula-origin story inspired by the 1897 Bram Stoker novel. It sees Skarsgård play a hellish looking Count Orlok who becomes infatuated with a young woman played superbly by Depp. In a word, it’s chilling, but even if horrors aren’t your usual jam this is worth peeking out from behind your popcorn for if all the fuss about it is to be believed.