Rocketry doesn’t open inside a science lab or an aerospace facility. It opens with a neat shot of Nambi Narayanan’s (Madhavan) home in Trivandrum, where everyone in the family is getting ready to attend a family wedding. It’s been ages since they went together for such a function, says Meena (Simran). Everyone is excited.
Things do not turn out as expected, as Nambi gets arrested. But why would the cops be after an ISRO scientist who has contributed much to the nation’s science and technology field?
Rocketry is the tale of Nambi Narayanan’s splendid career as a scientist in the ISRO and how he was subsequently treated when a false case of epsionage was foisted on him. Madhavan deserves praise for picking a subject that not many people might be aware of, and more importantly, not diluting it by adding ‘filmi’ elements
But honest intention alone does not make a great film. Biopics are relatively easier than fictional topics to crack, and it’s to Madhavan’s advantage — this is his directorial debut — that he has rich material in front of him. Choosing the main events in Nambi’s dramatic life was key, and Madhavan has picked the best. But translated into a film, it still feels like a missile gone astray.
The first half feels like an extended science class, with multiple jargons thrown in that not many people might relate to. In these portions, the film has very little flavour, and rather comes across as scenes documenting Nambi’s victories in the scientific world. There are umpteen scenes here that are the cinematic equivalent of saying ‘Nambi is a genius’ and nothing more. Adding to the woes is the fact that the subject needed many foreign actors (Nambi studied at Princeton), most of whom are rather weak in performance and dialogue delivery. The Tamil version of the film, in fact, had unintentionally funny dialogues that sorely stick out.
It is in the second half that Rocketry feels more like a film, like a missile suddenly galvanised into action. The dialogues get sharper. Making up for the average directorial skills of Madhavan is actor Madhavan, who springs to life in the portions capturing Nambi’s older days. The actor aces some of these sequences, especially the ones that follow his custodial torture. My favourite is a sequence of him being offered tea by an official… and this is after he has been traumatised for no fault of his. In this scene, Madhavan’s hands shiver, his fingers tremble, and his lips quiver. It perfectly encapsulates a battered man. Also delivering fine little performances are Karthik Kumar as a CBI official, Simran as Nambi’s wife who goes through a lot in this turbulent journey and Suriya in a cameo appearance as an interviewer.
The film is also about choices, and one really wishes that it explored that in more detail. There’s a supposedly poignant scene in which Nambi has to choose between a coveted, well-paying job abroad and an average-paying job in India. What could have ended up as a scene with heft gets dissolved in a joke that one of the characters harmlessly cracks. Similarly, Nambi has to make a choice in another situation concerning one of his key team members, but the events that follow do not carry the emotional weight it ought to. Sam CS’ music and Sirsha Ray’s cinematography keeps us invested during those times.
The story of Rocketry is, without doubt, something that audiences have to be told. But, behind that thought is a film that connects only in parts and is, at many times, awkward. In the film, a character remarks that scientists are strange people. Maybe Rocketry is that strange film that keeps sifting between fact and emotion, without making a distinguishable mark.
That’s a quote from Edith Head, one of the most influential fashion designers in cinema history. It’s easy to associate a character with the actor playing them, but countless tiny details about who a person is are communicated to us through what they wear. The costumer determines those details, but that doesn’t mean they have to reinvent the wheel every time. They can mix-and-match from the plethora of clothing that has come before them, and that’s exactly what happened with the outfits in these films.
Animators at a Vancouver studio helped bring Superman and his canine friend to life in a new animated film that has earned top spot at the box office.
DC League of Super-Pets, which opened in theatres on Friday, was produced by Animal Logic, an animation studio headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in Los Angeles and downtown Vancouver.
The movie, which features the voices of Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, and John Krasinski, centres on Krypto the Super-Dog developing his powers while working together with a group of rescue animals to help save Superman. The superhero spinoff earned $23 million US, according to studio estimates Sunday, enough to top the box office.
Dave Burgess, animation supervisor at Animal Logic’s Vancouver studio, said they worked hard to give the computer-generated animation the look and feel of a comic book.
Vancouver is becoming a hotspot for animators. This week’s “Hire Calling” series goes behind the scenes of a local animation studio to see what’s involved and how the industry is growing. Story producer Caroline Chan visits animation studio Animal Logic.
Burgess says being an animator is sometimes described as being an actor, but with a pencil or computer mouse.
“I think you have to understand performance,” he said. “You have to understand how to make an idea come across clearly and be able to show an expression that someone looking at it will understand the emotion of the character.”
Burgess said animators also have to think about how things move. Super-Pets features animals, including a dog, pig and squirrel, which all have different motion patterns.
Animators at a Vancouver studio helped bring to life the new movie DC League of Super-Pets, featuring the voices of Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson and Kevin Hart. CBC took a behind-the-scenes look into the animation studio.
“We know how those things move in the real world, so for the animator we have to take that information and we have to know it and be able to apply it to our character performance … If you make a mistake with a dog walking, in animation, I think an audience knows enough about dogs to go, ‘That looks funny. That doesn’t look like a dog.'”
More than 380 staff in Vancouver worked on the film. Animal Logic’s Vancouver team also worked on The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
Animation as a career path
Animal Logic was recently purchased by Netflix. Chief Operating Officer Sharon Taylor says it has plans to build a 110,000-square-foot facility in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood and create 300 new jobs.
Like so many other industries, finding workers can prove to be a challenge.
“I think our job ads will always be up for every single role because there’s always a need and we always want to be building out those teams,” Taylor said.
Burgess said aspiring animators have plenty of options for training, including art colleges, film schools, and schools specially for animation.
When he was young, he said, he never thought of animation as a career path.
“There’s no way that I could have told my parents I wanted to be an animator and they would have gone, ‘Gee, Dave, that’s great. What a great idea.’ Because it didn’t exist.”
Dave Burgess, animation supervisor at Animal Logic’s Vancouver studio, says aspiring animators have plenty of options for training: art colleges, film schools, and schools dedicated to animation. (CBC)
That, he says, is changing as animation has grown in popularity.
“People that grow up with animation, watching these films, they get inspired and they want to do that too,” he said. “And it seems like it’s not a closed door and people are aware of it. So I do know people that have told their parents they want to be animators and the parents said, ‘Oh, OK.'”
Co-created by Canadian artist Joe Shuster, the famed Man of Steel makes his first appearance in comic racks across the nation.
“There are nuns out there with more sexual experience than me…” Searchlight Pictures has unveiled their own official US trailer for Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, one of my faves from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. We already posted the UK trailer last month, and the US release is coming up this summer on Hulu. Emma Thompson stars as Nancy Stokes, a retired schoolteacher and widow, who is yearning for some adventure, some human connection, and some sex. Good sex. Stokes is now 55 and after spending so much time with her husband who was never any good at sex, she decides to make an appointment with a stunning sex worker named Leo Grande, played by Daryl McCormack. The entire film is the two of them conversing about any everything from sex to love to life and beyond. I was hoping my own quote about how “this little film is one huge step forward in sex positive cinema” might be in the trailer, but I’m happy to support this charming, sexy film about learning to love your body and enjoy the pleasures of sex. Have fun.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ poster) for Sophie Hyde’s Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, on YouTube:
You can rewatch the first UK trailer for Hyde’s Good Luck To You, Leo Grandehere for even more footage.
Whilst her husband Robert provided a home, a family, and something resembling a life, good sex was never on offer. But he’s gone now, and Nancy has a plan: she will find adventure with a sex worker named Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). In an anonymous hotel room Nancy greets Leo. He looks every bit as good as his picture, but what Nancy wasn’t expecting was conversation as well as fornication. Leo has a view on everything, and though he may not always tell the truth, Nancy finds she likes him. And he likes her. With growing sexual confidence, Nancy starts to relax. Over the course of three rendezvous, the power dynamics shift and their well-worn masks begin to slip.Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is directed by Australian producer / filmmaker Sophie Hyde, director of the indie films 52 Tuesdays and Animals previously. The screenplay is written by Katy Brand. This premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year (read our review). Lionsgate will open the film in UK cinemas on June 17th. Searchlight Pictures will debut Good Luck To You, Leo Grande streaming on Hulu also on June 17th, 2022. Who’s in?
“You have no idea what it means to guy a like me to take a dip in a private pool.” Lionsgate has unveiled an official trailer for a neo-noir thriller titled Private Property, which is a remake of a 1960 film of the same name. It’s opening in just a few weeks on VOD this month for anyone curious. Kathryn, a struggling actress and unfulfilled housewife, becomes involved with her new gardener, Ben. As he gives her the attention and sensitivity she craves, they start to fall for each other. But Ben is not what he seems. In turns out that Ben has been hiding secrets with her new neighbor, an eccentric millionaire who just moved in. Ashley Benson stars as Kathryn, along with Shiloh Fernandez, Logan Miller, Frank Whaley, and Jay Pharoah. This looks like your standard late-night TV movie schlock about some mysterious criminal men and a beautiful woman getting tangled up in something over her head. Doesn’t really look good, but that’s just my opinion.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Chadd Harbold’s Private Property, direct from YouTube:
This tense and gripping neo-noir thriller walks the fine line between reality and deception. Stuck in a marriage to a rich Hollywood producer (Jay Pharoah), struggling actress Kathryn (Ashley Benson) finds herself attracted to Ben, her new gardener. Then, she meets Ed, the eccentric millionaire who’s just moved in next door, and a BBQ turns into a drunken party. Kathryn awakens to discover that Ben and Ed have been hiding secrets, and that her home — and life — may now be in grave danger.Private Property is both written and directed by American producer / filmmaker Chadd Harbold, director of the films Revenge for Jolly!, How to Be a Man, and Long Nights Short Mornings previously. Based on the original 1960 film also titled Private Property. This originally premiered at the 2022 Fantaspoa Fantastic Film Festival in Brazil. Lionsgate releases Private Property in select US theaters + on VOD starting May 13th, 2022 this summer.
“Moments like these are few and far between – let’s enjoy it!” There’s movies for almost every other holiday, now we finally have an Easter movie! Universal has revealed the first official trailer for Easter Sunday, the new comedy starring stand up comic Jo Koy, directed by comedy mastermind Jay Chandrasekhar (of Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest, The Babymakers). Set around a family gathering to celebrate Easter Sunday, the comedy will be based on Jo Koy’s life experiences and stand-up comedy. It’s described as a love letter to his Filipino-American community. Easter Sunday features an all-star comedic cast with Jimmy O. Yang, Tia Carrere, Brandon Wardell, the Tony nominee Eva Noblezada, Lydia Gaston, Asif Ali, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Jay Chandrasekhar, Tiffany Haddish, and Lou Diamond Phillips. Looks like another Judd Apatow movie where a real comedian plays himself and deal with his crazy family.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Jay Chandrasekhar’s Easter Sunday, direct from YouTube:
Stand-up comedy sensation Jo Koy (known for his specials Jo Koy: In His Elements, Jo Koy: Comin’ in Hot) stars as a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family, in this love letter to his Filipino-American community.Easter Sunday is directed by American comedy filmmaker Jay Chandrasekhar (member of the the Broken Lizard troupe), director of the films Puddle Cruiser, Super Troopers, Club Dread, Dukes of Hazzard, Beerfest, The Babymakers, and Super Troopers 2 previously. The screenplay is written by Ken Cheng (series Wilfred, Betas). Produced by Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. Universal will release Jay Chandrasekhar’s Easter Sunday in theaters nationwide starting on August 5th, 2022 later this summer. First impression? Any funny or not?
Palakkad: In the RSS leader Sreenivasan murder case, police claimed that a big conspiracy was hatched in the district. The accused have prepared a list of their foes and killed Sreenivasan. According to police, such a conspiracy took place for the first time in Kerala. Police pointed out the matter in the application submitted before the court seeking the custody of the four who were held initially. The custody application says that Mohammed Bilal and Riyasudheen had involved in a conspiracy.
We can’t help falling in love withAustin Butler after seeing the first look of him as the king of rock and roll.
The 30-year-old actor gave a glimpse of his portrayal as Elvis Presley in the latest teaser for the film, which will come out on June 24, 2022. “Made a little something to let you good people know we are taking care of business,” wrote director Baz Luhrmann on Instagram on Monday, Nov. 15.
The filmmaker—who was also behind Leonardo DiCaprio‘s The Great Gatsby and Romeo + Juliet—revealed a clip of Butler dressed in two of Elvis’ classic looks: a black leather ensemble and a white suit. “TCB,” the clip teased, referring to Elvis’ motto, “Taking Care Of Business.”
The video, which was set to his song “Suspicious Minds,” didn’t reveal Austin’s face, but fans could clearly see from behind that he already has the singer’s signature swagger down to a science.
“He’s def got the walk down!” wrote one fan, while Lucy Hale chimed in, “Losing my mind.”
The House of Mouse entered the streaming space in 2019 and since then it hasn’t messed about. Disney+ is a major platform with over 100 million users and plenty for those subscribers to get their teeth into.
Despite being a TV-on-demand newbie compared to Netflix and Prime Video, Disney+ is stuffed with entertainment, from animated classics to Pixar, Star Wars and the MCU. And with new adult-focused (no, not THAT kind of adult, you filthy-minded dogs) hub Star having recently arrived, bringing with it a truckload of additional movies and series, there’s enough to keep you going for months. Here are some handpicked choices to start you off.
Additional words by Matt Tate
Obi-Wan Kenobi (S1)
Ewan McGregor is back in the brown bathrobe of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in this long-awaited Stars Wars series. In exile on the desert planet of Tatooine, grinding out a sad, lonely living and haunted by his failure to stop Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the Dark Side, Kenobi watches over Anakin’s young son Luke – from a distance.
His task takes on a new weight when a gang of Jedi-hunting inquisitors arrives on the planet, seeking any survivors of the Empire’s purge. And when Luke’s twin sister Leia, being raised in luxury by her adoptive parents on the planet Alderaan, is kidnapped by thugs, Kenobi is called upon to dig out (literally) his old lightsabre and rediscover the crusading Jedi Knight he once was.
Expectations may have been set low for this series centring on the continuing adventures of The Most Boring Avenger, but thanks to its Christmas cheer, a bright and breezy tone (that some of the more po-faced Marvel series would do well to emulate) and the comic chemistry between Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, it may actually be the best MCU TV series around. And that’s without even mentioning the superb cameo that will delight those familiar with small-screen Marvel shows of old.
The best horror sci-fi movie ever made (not to mention one of the best horror movies full stop) and one that spawned a sprawling franchise based around its iconic titular “xenomorph”, Alien is a masterpiece of tension and visuals.
When the crew of commercial deep space vessel the Nostromo (a fantastic cast of “normal”, highly relatable working joe characters rather than exaggerated, OTT personalities) detect a transmission from an unexplored moon, they land to investigate and discover a strange derelict craft full of large eggs. When one of these hatches, it sparks off a deadly sequence of events. It’s fantastic cat-and-mouse stuff, and – courtesy of director Ridley Scott’s mastery of lighting and the stellar production design, looks so, so good for a 40 year-old movie.
One of Marvel’s more complex and dare-we-say-it “grown-up” superheroes gets his TV debut, with Oscar Isaac playing each of the various personalities that inhabit the body of Moon Knight – including one that has him demonstrating a pretty competent “Lundun” accent. Ethan Hawke also stars in a series that seems to be giving the play-it-safe Marvel Cinematic Universe the boot up the creative backside it sorely needs.
There’s no room for Bond-style heroics, romance or outlandish gadgets in Tomas Alfredson’s understated spy drama. Based on the novel by John Le Carré, it populates the world of espionage with sad, shabby men who play Risk with other people’s lives. Gary Oldman’s George Smiley is one such figure, brought out of enforced retirement to root out a Soviet mole in the Circus, Le Carré’s fictionalised British intelligence service. Smiley’s an unobtrusive, unassuming building society manager type, but every so often he shows the merest glimpse of something – steel, intelligence, ruthlessness – that suggests that, yes, still waters really do run deep.
The 1970s setting exudes a melancholy air as characters trudge through nicotine-stained offices and rain-sodden London streets; there’s no shortage of beige in the film’s palette. Oldman gives a stellar performance opposite a Who’s Who of British thespians, including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Kathy Burke, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy.
Sebastian Stan and an unrecognisable Lily James play the titular newlyweds (that’s Motley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, for any Gen Z readers scratching their heads) in this enthralling tale of 1990s rock and roll excess, Hollywood hedonism and the purloined sex tape that shocked the world. When a disgruntled carpenter (Seth Rogen) stiffed by Lee vows to get his money back by fair means or foul, he decides to burgle the rocker’s L.A. mansion – and among the contents of a stolen safe he finds an innocuous-looking video tape. The rest, as they say, is history – and it’s recounted here in all its gory, glossy details.
Based on three novels from Patrick O’Brian’s beloved Aubrey-Maturin series, this rollicking Napoleonic Wars epic is probably one of the most historically accurate depictions of early 19th century naval life (and death) ever put on screen. You can practically smell the sea salt, boiled cabbage, unwashed bodies and gunpowder as the HMS Surprise’s crew, led by Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his faithful physician friend Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), pursue a French privateer across the South Atlantic and Pacific.
From tense evasive manoeuvres to ship’s dinners to battles filled with smoke, flame and splintered wood, this movie’s authenticity and attention to detail shines through – and almost all of it achieved without CGI chicanery, too. It’s a real pity no more Aubrey-Maturin movies followed – with 21 books in O’Brian’s series, there’d have been no shortage of source material.
Writer and director Martin McDonagh’s follow-up to In Bruges offers a similar mix of pathos, violence and pitch-black comedy, as Frances McDormand’s grieving mother challenges the cops of her small southern US town to step up and catch her daughter’s murderer.
Such direct action – she purchases space on the three advertising billboards to publicly shame the police – brings her into conflict with Woody Harrelson’s respected chief and his bigoted, immature and angry deputy Sam Rockwell, sparking off an unpredictable sequence of events and an unforgettable conclusion. We won’t spoil any of that, but suffice to say the Oscars won by McDormand and Rockwell for their roles were well-earned, and this movie will likely stay in your head for a long time after the credits roll.
Originally conceived as a feature-length movie, this intimate look at the recording sessions that resulted in Let It Be eventually spiralled into a three-part docu-series. Director Peter Jackson has been handed the keys to a vault of almost 60 hours of unseen footage (recorded over 21 days in 1969 for an abortive documentary) and over 150 hours of unheard audio that tracks the creative process that led to some of The Beatles’ most beloved songs – and reveals the bust-ups and banter of a band both under strain and in its prime.
Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez play neighbours brought together by a mutual obsession with true crime tales – only to find themselves in the middle of one when a shocking murder occurs in the exclusive New York apartment block they share. Even if this weren’t a well-written whodunnit series with plenty of laughs along the way, it’d be worth the price of admission simply to see those beloved old comedy warhorses Short and Martin sharing screen time again.
1980s nostalgia-fests in film and TV often neglect to mention one thing: the Cold War was still well underway and hundreds of millions all over the world felt like they were just minutes away from potential nuclear obliteration. It’s this climate of fear, mutual distrust and competing ideologies that The Americans recreates so well.
It follows the trials and tribulations of two Soviet sleeper agents, posing as a married couple, embedded deep in US suburbia. Their friends, their neighbours and even their own kids think they’re regular apple pie-chomping Yanks, but when duty calls they’re planting bugs, photographing secret documents and assassinating double agents for the Russkies.
Oh, and the marriage we mentioned? Just a professional union of convenience to aid their cover… or is it? The complex, strained and evolving relationship between the leads is one of the series’ most powerful aspects, making The Americans more than just a standard espionage drama.
It’s shocking that you have to go back all the way to 1986 to find a genuinely great Alien movie, but despite its advancing years James Cameron’s action-thriller take on the slimy, murderous xenomorphs still feels fresh, frightening and frenetic.
When Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley is picked up following the events of Alien, she finds out that she’s been in hypersleep for decades – during which time humans have begun colonising the planet where she discovered the creature that killed her crew. When contact with the colony is lost, she is sent in with a gung-ho military team to investigate, and discovers… well, that’d be spoiling things.
Netting 2021’s Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress Oscars, Nomadland is a quietly powerful drama about Frances McDormand’s Fern, a van-dwelling widow who roams the American West in the wake of 2008’s financial crisis.
Based on Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction book about her own life as a “houseless” wanderer, Chloe Zhao’s movie is far from the sort of hand-wringing poverty porn it could have become in less empathetic hands. Fern’s rootless lifestyle is never romanticised, but it’s clear she feels most at home on the road, warmed by the kindness of her fellow nomads and the simplicity of living off the grid. McDormand’s much-lauded performance (she says more with just her facial expressions here than most actors could in ten movies’ worth of dialogue) is worth the price of admission alone, but Nomadland will leave any viewer with much to think about.
It’s classic early-period Arnie in this delightfully OTT action thriller, which ticks off just about every 1980s Hollywood cliché as former special forces soldier John Matrix (the Governator himself) takes on a brutal Central American dictator’s army single-handed. Commando has it all: explosions, punch-ups, car chases, improper use of garden tools, a gaggle of scenery-chewing villains and lots and lots of bullets. Schwarzenegger proves himself a vital and arresting screen star in spite of his rather wooden acting (he’s much better in Predator, which followed soon after); his sheer physical presence is more than enough to carry this ludicrously entertaining romp home.
If a comedy drama about the struggles of an aspiring rap star and his manager sounds too similar to something awful like Entourage, don’t worry: Atlanta is a decidedly different and far more interesting kettle of fish.
Produced by and starring Donald Glover, it’s a disarming, slick, offbeat, observant and endlessly charming comedy series about, to paraphrase Glover, “what it’s like to be black in America”. Funny as Atlanta is, it shies away from very little in this quest for veracity. But it would be a crime if we revealed too much about this weird and wonderful show – better just to watch it and find out for yourself.
Yes, every episode of this iconic series about FBI agents investigating paranormal goings-on has been available on Amazon Prime Video for some time, but for those who don’t subscribe to the Jeff Bezos Space Rocket Fund, its arrival on Disney+’s Star channel is likely to be a source of great joy.
TV has come a long way since the 1990s, and the way Mulder and Scully’s supernatural cases and conspiracy tales are presented does feel quite antiquated when compared to more sophisticated modern drama series – but if you’re watching, you’re probably driven by nostalgia, and there’s some really good stuff in here once you give yourself over to its internal logic.
Note that while the 10th and 11th series are not available on Disney+ (you’ll still find them on Amazon Prime Video), the two feature-length spin-off movies are.
This sci-fi action romp pits young, photogenic human space soldiers against a swarming, insectoid alien menace, complete with gallons of CGI gore, huge explosions and valiant heroism.
Barely concealed underneath the Blockbuster bombast, however, there’s a satire on militarism, nationalism and endless war, with director Paul Verhoeven effectively turning the violence-obsessed Hollywood machine against itself. The fact that you can now watch this on a streaming service owned by the most gargantuan monolith in all of Tinseltown is an irony we’re sure Verhoeven would appreciate – but perhaps best part about Starship Troopers is that it’s as entertaining as it is clever.
The first Pixar feature film to debut on Disney+, Soul is a charming story about finding your place in the world. Jamie Foxx voices Joe Gardner, a New York band teacher who dreams of performing on stage as a jazz pianist. But instead he finds himself abruptly sucked into The Great Before – a place where new souls are given their personalities and passions before being sent to Earth. Sensing an opportunity for a second chance, Joe is tasked with convincing a wilful, wayward soul called 22 (Tiny Fey) that life is worth living – but little does he realise that he has plenty to learn about the subject, too. It’s beautifully animated, of course, but Soul is also funny and moving, and far more philosophical than your average animated movie.
The original (and probably second-best) Star Wars movie, A New Hope is now well over 40 years old. There are few signs of a mid-life crisis here: it still looks and sounds fantastic (partly due to director George Lucas’s inability to stop tinkering with it years after its release), but this trailblazing space opera adventure is beloved for more than just the spectacle of zero-g dog fights and light saber duels. Star Wars’ enduring characters and mythology are introduced and established in this movie, but it also serves as a fantastic self-contained adventure story about a simple farm boy who becomes the heroic figurehead of a revolution. It’s simple stuff at its core, but done so brilliantly that you can’t help but be sold.
At the time of writing, the Marvel Cinematic Universe contains no fewer than 23 movies. If you’re wondering where to start, why not watch from the beginning? Iron Man is the film that kicked off the MCU era, and it’s also one of the best films in the entire run. Yes, it has fantastic effects and action sequences, but its success is mostly due to star Robert Downey Jr, an actor whose on-screen personality seems to be tailor-made for playing billionaire inventor Tony Stark. Stark’s wayward playboy lifestyle finally finds direction when he creates an armoured combat suit, transforming himself into a superhero – and a future founding member of the Avengers.
The obvious one. The Mandalorian was Disney+’s flagship launch show, and if you’ve somehow managed to stay away from spoilers since our friends across the pond got hold of it, you’re in for a treat. Pitched as a space Western, the first live action series in the Star Wars franchise is set five years after Return of the Jedi and 25 years before the first film in the sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens.
It follows the adventures of a bounty hunter known as Mando (Pedro Pascal), who suddenly finds himself the guardian of a very important youngling. Two full seasons are currently available to stream, with a third on its way.
Do you really need anything more to go on than the title? The impeccably dressed actor and jazzman Jeff Goldblum is the inquisitive type, making him the perfect host for this show. Each of the episodes focuses on a popular topic – think trainers, ice cream and video games – as Goldblum goes deep on their origins, associated science and ideas. Think of it as Disney’s answer to Netflix’s Explained, plus Jeff Goldblum, and you’re on the right tracks.
If you like the MCU, it’s a case of take your pick with Disney+. Save the Spider-Man films, 2008’s very forgettable Hulk movie and a few others, you can watch the whole lot from day one. We keep going back to Thor: Ragnarok because not only is it a great superhero film, breathing some much-needed new life into the otherwise pretty missable Thor franchise, but it’s genuinely one of the best comedies of the last five years. Pairing a world-dominating media universe with the strange mind of Taika Waititi was a masterstroke from Marvel Studios, and with the follow-up due to land next year, now is the perfect time to remember why.
The best thing about the Star Wars prequels? The cartoon series that they spawned. The first five seasons of The Clone Wars ran on Cartoon Network, becoming one of the channel’s highest rated series ever. A sixth was aired on Netflix, and now Disney+ has them all, plus a brand new seventh and final season. Up until now, The Clone Wars has taken place between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, but the latter part of the seventh season runs concurrently with the final prequel, leading us to the infamous Siege of Mandalore. If you’ve already binged your way through The Mandalorian, get stuck into this lot next.
Captivating and terrifying in equal measure, this remarkable film documents the ever-so-slightly bonkers free solo climber Alex Honnold, whose lifelong dream is to scale the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any ropes or equipment. Those who aren’t keen on heights are advised to watch from behind the sofa, but for everyone else, the Oscar-winning Free Solo is a thrill ride that not even Star Wars and the MCU can compete with. But thanks to Disney’s ownership of National Geographic, Disney+ subscribers can have all three.
A long-awaited sequel to This Is Spinal Tap is on the way, according to Deadline. Rob Reiner will return to direct Spinal Tap II, which is tentatively slated for release on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Reiner will also reprise his role as the fictional in-film director Marty DiBergi. Also returning are core cast members Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest, portraying Spinal Tap’s David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls, and Nigel Tufnel, respectively.
Rob Reiner explained to Deadline:
I’m back playing Marty DiBergi. The band was upset with the first film. They thought I did a hatchet job and this is a chance to redeem myself. I am such a big fan and I felt bad they didn’t like what they saw in the first film. When I heard they might get back together, I was a visiting adjunct teacher’s helper at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts. I drop everything to document this final concert.
“Hopefully there will be some guest artists,” Reiner also told the publication. “The thing I’ve heard from so many bands and we’re talking about possibly doing a couple books, but one will be Tap Moments that real bands have had.”
Ric Parnell, who played Mick Shrimpton and Ric Shrimpton in This Is Spinal Tap, recently died at the age of 70. “No one ever rocked harder,” Harry Shearer wrote of his Spinal Tap bandmate.
