★★★★ - STUFF  - Finally, an animated animal adventure that’s fun for ALL the family -  After a few fallow years of disappointing anthropomorphic animal antics, finally we have a real inventive, entertaining crowd pleaser that’s fun for all the family. A terrific romp that I’d wager is best of its…

★★★★ - LONDON EVENING STANDARD - Rowling’s radical experiment is risky but rousing -  The Harry Potter writer seems like she’s out to reinvent Bob Fosse’s Cabaret in this third instalment, where Mads Mikkelsen steps into Johnny Depp’s previous role. He has a beard, but doesn’t need one. Iconic…

★★★★ - STUFF  - More than just feel-good froth, this is a comedic caper with heart -  Yes, as the trailers and promos more than suggest, this is the 2022 answer to The Lavender Hill Mob, Local Hero, The Full Monty, Billy Elliot or Kinky Boots. A British underdog story full of heart, humour and…

★★★★★ - THE GUARDIAN  - Art thief takes one for the common man -  Roger Michell’s warm take on the true story of how Kempton Bunton acquired the National Gallery’s new Goya features a glorious performance by Jim Broadbent. All rise for The Duke, a scrappy underdog yarn that makes a powerful case…

★★★★ - STUFF  - The Kiwi-backed, Children of Men-inspired Canuck dystopian drama -  Executive produced by Taika Waititi and New Zealand’s Miss Conception films and featuring 800 Words’ Kiwi actor Alex Tarrant amongst the main cast, it’s easy to see why Canadian film-maker Danis Goulet’s debut has…

★★★★★ - STUFF  - A warm, witty and achingly compassionate five-star drama -  Drive My Car is an adaptation of a 40-page short story from Haruki Murakami. Coming in at one-minute under three hours, you might wonder at just how much content and meaning writer and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi has…

★★★★½ - STUFF  - James Norton’s gentle drama will leave you in a puddle of tears -  If you’ve only ever associated James Norton with Grantchester or Happy Valley, then you’re going to be in for a shock. The 36-year-old London-born actor is a revelation here, delivering a performance of quiet…

★★★½ - STUFF  - A mischievous look at a true artist -  I had no idea that Helmut Newton began his career as a fashion photographer in Australia. And that was the first of a few surprises from this likeable, mischievous, often very funny and well-assembled 2020 documentary. Newton was born Helmut…

★★★★ - STUFF  - Timothy Spall shines in Lynchian Spanish-set drama -  Peter is a mid-level bank employee, living the definition of midlife bachelor’s existence within the greying tower blocks of present-day Manchester. In the late afternoon, Peter likes to take a photograph of the sky above his…

★★★★½ - STUFF  - A clever, funny, romantic and thought-provoking movie -  A few years back, at some film industry shindig, one of those abysmal little men who care more about films than they do about people – or about music for that matter – confronted me about my credentials as a “film critic”.…

★★★★ - FILM INTERNATIONAL  - For those of you who wondered if another reboot could find itself an audience after Christopher Nolan did such a fine job with his trilogy, please wonder no more…. -  Nietzsche would have a field-day analyzing the latest reimagining of DC Comics’ masked vigilante.…

★★★ - STUFF  - An admirable, vast story told on a tiny canvas -  In 1950s Switzerland, a young woman graduates from nursing school. Rather than accept the job offer closest to home – she literally eats the letter, lest her parents should see it – she takes up a position in Beirut, in the then…