Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 42 minutes, Director – Andrew Stanton

As Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) grows up her toys have different views on how she should make friends compared to her new hypnotising tech device Lilypad (Greta Lee).

Toy Story saw the sudden arrival of a new favourite amongst the toys of Andy’s bedroom. Toy Story 2 saw multiple Buzz Lightyear’s experiencing the world of play whilst Jessie revisited her past with owner Emily. The trilogy closer looked at ideas of separation and moving on. Toy Story 5, following on from the solid, philosophical questions of what it means to be a toy that Toy Story 4 looked at in its sort-of-epilogue, appears to look back to this original trilogy for much of its events.

There’s not a sense of a victory lap but at times an accidental re-tread this around. As the franchise reaches 31-years-old tech has finally entered the world of play, and completely changed it. Now eight-years-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) is struggling to make friends as everyone around her is focusing on tablets rather than toys. As she tries to introduce other kids to Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Bullseye she’s almost laughed at, quickly giving them back to her dad in exchange for electronic Lilypad (Great Lee).

The toys have been the heart of each of these films, and their relationship with their owners. This time around Bonnie is the heart of the film, many of the best moments revolve around her as she faces an addicting, and sometimes harsh, online world. As her toys become ignored, with Jessie fearing a repeat of her first owner Emily, who we see flashbacks to with the still tear-jerking When She Loved Me returning in Randy Newman’s once more integral score, Bonnie’s personal journey creates the most emotional impact. Both in terms of the joy of play – this time around we don’t see the full-world environment of what’s in the child’s mind or the simple play but a different colour scheme and animation style for the unfolding fantasies; creating a handful of wholesome chuckles – and the emotional beats, although only a few specks of dust are present here rather than enough to require a vacuum.

Toy-wise, Jessie is the focus here. She’s become the sheriff of the toy gang and is determined to prove that toys can still make friends over the draw of tech. As a consequence of the events of the previous film Woody (Tom Hanks) has somewhat been reduced to the Buzz role of that instalment, called in to assist with the fight against Lilypad; while Buzz (Tim Allen) still feels like an idiot, a very different character to who he was in the first three films. To make up for this we find an army of hi-tech Buzz Lightyear’s exploring the world, trying to find Star Command, after washing up on an isolated beach. It becomes clearer and clearer as the busy narrative – jumping back-and-forth between characters and rescue efforts – unfolds that this strand feels put in place for the convenience of resolving all other matters. The more they come into the picture and we see them playing a role in the developments the more everything seems very convenient, even if there is one nice call-back involving them.

Toy Story has long been rather simple narratively, although layered as part of that. There’s not as much layering happening this time around, in fact at times it can feel a bit preachy, and while somewhat simple the construction of the plot makes it sometimes feel very busy. It wants to give each character their moment, while spending time with new ones; human, tech and toy.

Jessie brings in some emotional moments as she revisits her past, with Cusack still charging full-force with her performance while Hanks and Allen continue to have genuine soft spots for their characters, placed best when once again looking at the role of a toy and the time they have with a kid – à la the ending of Toy Story 3, with hints of her aforementioned flashback song in the second film. Yet, for a Toy Story film it’s the human we have the biggest bond with, and who most spurs much of the action. The joy of play, the pain of tech, and other people, and yet how both can work together. The chuckles and tears may not quite be as present here, but there’s a film that has its moments amongst a narrative that feels busy with construction based largely around the events of previous films.

While still holding some Toy Story spirit the emotion and laughs aren’t quite on the same level as this fifth instalment, getting the most impact from its human characters and their relationships with toys and tech, feels busy with multiple strands, some seemingly more for convenience, and familiarity with previous entries.

Release Date – 19^th June 2026, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 27 minutes, Directors – Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese

Princess Saira (Shabana Azeez) leaves her home planet and ventures across the gay-laxy to save her ex-girlfriend (Bernie Van Tiel) from the Straight White Maliens (Aunty Donna).

The Saturday morning cartoon is alive and well. As seen with last week’s Masters Of The Universe, and now Australian indie animation Lesbian Space Princess, those who grew up on them are now bringing them to the big screen. The difference being that Lesbian Space Princess is made for a purely adult audience.

Coated in vibrant, cotton-candy colours the humour and characters across the gay-laxy are just as bright and sparky as Princess Saira (Shabana Azeez) ventures away from her home planet to save her recently-dumped-by ex-girlfriend, Kiki (Bernie Van Tiel), from a trio of Straight White Maliens (sketch group Aunty Donna) intent on obtaining Saira’s labrys in order to activate their Swedish-made chick magnet.

Saira is full of worry and anxiety, her world practically ended when Kiki broke up with her after a brief relationship for being boring. Her outlook contrasts greatly with aspiring singer Willow’s (Gemma Chua-Tran) endless optimism, although both greatly irritate the space-travelling Problematic Ship (Richard Roxburgh – who reduced me to tears more than once).

The Ship’s quick quips and audible eye-rolls have a similar effect, though in much briefer time, to the seemingly improvised interactions between the Maliens who can draw out plenty of arguments, misunderstandings and attempts at rehearsing asking a girl out with incel-led views. Appearing as pale, rectangular blocks the animation of these characters, and some of their humour, strikes similarly to the South Park Canadians, with other jokes throughout having a South Park-esque feel. Aunty Donna feel as if they’ve been let loose with the film and them embracing each others anarchic style.

Much like the title character, Lesbian Space Princess is confident and unashamed about itself. A story about self-love that strides forward with glee. A celebration of personal identity is at the core of the film and its a pure joy to see. Punchy and occasionally raunchy there are plenty of giggles and laugh-out-loud moments from start to finish.

A fun, joyful and silly film that embraces the colour and chaos of a Saturday morning cartoons, complete with short bursts of song as the countdown to Kiki’s execution lowers. Writer-directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, alongside their voice cast and small team of animators (led by Hobbs, who also serves as production designer), make a full-throttle space adventure that’s playful, proud and aware of itself. Both in the anxieties of Saira and how she develops over 87-minutes which fly by. Filled with passion and love from every person involved in the production.

Creating a mass of laughs from start to finish, forming one of the funniest, most vibrant and entertaining films of the year. An explosion of colour and gay chaos, where every character is given plenty of funny lines in a film where almost every line feels like a standout. It all feels destined to become a cult classic.

A loud, proud and exuberant display of pride and self-love, Lesbian Space Princess is one of the funniest films of the year, bursting with colourful characters and animation. I loved every minute of it.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 25 minutes, Director – Steven Spielberg

A cybersecurity worker (Josh O’Connor) and weather presenter (Emily Blunt) find themselves being chased by a government-linked organisation trying to cover-up existence of extra-terrestrial encounters.

Spielberg knows how to make a film in traditionally-rooted modernity. Disclosure Day could well have been made in the same decade as Close Encounters, with one or two tweaks. The visuals and narrative elements feel as at home in the 70s as they do today, but at the same time the director, who also receives a story credit while collaborator David Koepp pens the screenplay, has kept up with modern filmmaking and played with what can be done with developments in his own style.

Disclosure Day is a fast-paced thriller as much as it is a sci-fi blockbuster. Paranoia, fear and suspense are rife throughout cybersecurity operative Daniel (Josh O’Connor) and weather presenter Margaret (Emily Blunt – giving a performance up there with her exceptional turn as Mary Poppins) are chased down by armed forces from government-linked agency Wardex, trying to stop them from revealing information about earthly encounters with extra-terrestrial life. Car chases and an especially thrilling train sequence hold as much suspense as threatening conversations on other side of a table centring around multiple forms of control – led by Colin Firth as the leader of Wardex.

Threads converge and separate with a natural flow and development, with Spielberg and editor Sarah Broshar tracking each character and situation with mystery and fascination. Keeping a consistent pace for almost two-and-a-half hours in the increasingly tense flights and confrontations which the narrative runs through. Yet, Spielberg continues to focus on the narrative and wind spectacle into it. Alongside Koepp’s screenplay the drama and conversation, especially in the opening stages where we’re thrown right in and trusted to understand and keep up with the intrigue and piece things together as the world is unveiled to us with natural detail as explanation for what we need.

The director’s interest in extra-terrestrial life and UFOs, alongside how they can be linked to humanity, is as clear here as it has been throughout much of his filmography. The final stages may be a bit disrupted by narration similar to how many saw the commentary in last year’s F1, but there’s still a solid effect in the pay-off from all the suspense in the near race-against-time build-up to unveil to the world the truth that’s been covered up for almost 80 years in the film. Secrets are key to the film and its narrative of understanding and kindness, the idea isn’t forced and is allowed to filter through in the dialogue and narrative details, exchanges led by Blunt’s Margaret as she finds herself able to speak and translate different languages and develops telepathic skills.

Striking and well-tracked, with a particular effect as John Williams’ restrained score takes centre-stage over the end credits, there’s spectacle in the film – a real sense of wonder comes when we finally see brief sight of alien ships making gliding movements in the sky – that comes through in both action and conversation. Many elements feel traditional, potentially a timeless sense from the film, yet have plenty of relevance to today both narratively and cinematically.

With plenty of suspense and mystery, there’s a consistent intrigue in the fast-paced action and conversation of Disclosure Day. Allowing details to be unveiled and developed naturally, it’s a thrilling sci-fi drama with plenty of narrative spectacle.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 36 minutes, Director – Michael Tiddes

Ghostface (Dave Sheridan) returns to attack Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), her friends, family and many horror movies along the way.

Horror films change quickly, as do the trends in them. A lot has changed and released since the last Scary Movie film in 2013, which itself didn’t really seem to tackle many horror film, or laughs, making for one of the worst films ever made.. However, with so much ripe for the picking, and the Wayans brothers returning to write, produce and star, this sixth instalment feels like it has no major interest in the horror films it’s trying to spoof.

Going from an opening featuring Teyana Taylor making references to last year’s One Battle After Another, and this year’s awards season, we then get extended scenes almost directly copying instead of parodying films that even The Simpsons have already spun on. The reboot-quel scene from 2022’s Scream is recreated seemingly with only the purpose of reaching the punchline ‘re-booty call’. Meanwhile a baffling joke about It Follows claims there’s no flashback or scene riffing on it because nobody saw it – the sequel is set to begin filming later this year.

Yet, as Ghostface (voiced by Dave Sheridan) returns to attack Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and her children, Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and legally-distinct Tuesday (Savannah Lee Nassif), there’s a sense that, like with some horror franchises, some things don’t change. Unfortunately, in the case of Scary Movie it’s still making running jokes about characters being gay and thinking they’re hiding it despite obvious actions and dialogue. A baffling scene about pronouns feels stale and increasingly confusing the longer it goes on as to what the actual joke is meant to be as a group of people stab someone who points out they go by they/them.

The result is a jumble of gags and references which never take off, and, again, feel far from interested in horror films, instead starting to guess and just hope for the best. Leaning back into gay or weed jokes, wrapping up with a rushed conclusion about its own meta state and the Wayans, Farris and Regina Hall’s relationships with the franchise. The later pair, amongst new and returning characters, and simply drawn out one-note sequences, feel like they get rather little screen-time, especially for the deal the film wants to make about them by the end.

The Scary Movie franchise certainly hasn’t been as bad as the new kind of spoof film that it ushered in with titles such as Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet The Spartans and The Starving Game following in its wake. It doesn’t entirely rely on making a reference to another film and hoping that’s enough, although that feeling does often crop up. There are other kinds of jokes, the problem is none of them gain a laugh. This latest instalment admittedly has two jokes, one a very quick mention for Tubi, that in a more amusing film could gain laughs, but the laboured surroundings stop them from working here. Seemingly being moved on from so quickly in order to cut to another overlong parody sequence encompassing roughly one joke.

If there was more attachment to what’s being parodied, and things seemed a bit more direct instead of thrown in by the team of five writers, then there may be more chance of laughs and overall entertainment. However, Scary Movie feels laboured and lazy in its often drawn-out, sometimes confusing attempts at gags. Its ‘nobody’s safe’ attitude feels forced, and regularly stuck in the 2000s, there’s little shock value to the same recycled gay joke or Ghostface getting high, again. The horror landscape has, as always, continued to change and develop. Scary Movie has not.

Despite the same recycled gay and weed jokes; jumbled one-note references to more recent horror films, with which the film has little interest in, Twitch and baffling pronoun gags remind that this is a 2026 Scary Movie, not one from the 2000s. Tackling elevated horror hasn’t risen the amount of laughs in this franchise.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 21 minutes, Director – Travis Knight

After 15 years, HR worker Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) returns to his home planet to find it nearly destroyed, the prince of Eternia must lead the fight against its scourge, Skeletor (Jared Leto).

Travis Knight is living out his childhood fantasies. With his live-action projects, outside of Laika, he’s made his action-figures and Saturday morning cartoons bigger and grander, while keeping the same imagination and spirit of adventure that was undoubtedly present when making up storylines as a kid. Masters Of The Universe feels like a feature length version of the sequences in Toy Story films where we see the fantasies in Andy or Bonnie’s mind before fading in to the child gleefully running around their bedroom.

There’s a self-awareness to this 2020s take on He-Man and co. Keeping some of the 80s style in tone, and score with Brian May helping Daniel Pemberton’s score, there’s a self-awareness to the film, acknowledging character names as the summaries of a ten-year-old trying to remember his homeland (aside from Skeletor). Names such as Ram Head and Fisto are heard with a raised eyebrow as Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) returns to his home planet of Eternia after 15 years on Earth, growing up and working in HR whilst trying to find the sword he lost on the way.

Perhaps the biggest sign of the film’s tone and style is in arch-nemesis Skeletor. Voiced by Jared Leto, sounding like Jemaine Clement, there’s a petulant attitude to the character who knows he’s the villain, knows he’s evil and enjoys being just that. Managing to feel like a threat while still effectively shaking his fist at the returned prince of Eternia and making frustrated exclamations. Just a few steps away from simply shouting “I’m going to get you He-Man!” this iteration of the character is pure 80s cartoon villain and he, and the film, are all the better for it.

While the fantasies on display could be trimmed closer to two-hours than two-and-a-half there’s still a solid entertainment factor to them. A consistent sense of family entertainment landing the right kind of PG-13/ 12 rating to prevent a dive into silliness or unfitting ultra-seriousness. Travis Knight is in touch with what this film should look and feel like, as are co-writers Chris Butler, Dave Callaham and Adam and Aaron Nee. The imagination on display in the bringing to life of Eternia and its medieval meets futuristic feel is treated with seriousness in order to capture that sense of fun.

There’s a sense that He-Man is very much a product of the 80s, it’s kept in the film yet the action and certain bits of self-awareness – 4 Non-Blonds get a more than welcome needle drop, one of many which bring a smile to the face – are present to help bring things to the modern day. It’s part of the overall enjoyment of the film and the fun there is to be had with it. When mixed with the action, with its own mixture that fits into the setting with both weapons and ships, a double-bladed ship is particularly cool; and suspenseful, there’s a good deal to like about this updated throwback that lives in the minds of those who at heart are still creating adventures with their cherished action figures.

A live-action action-figure adventure that’s self-aware but not silly, with enjoyable action and some good chuckles there’s consistent family entertainment within Masters Of The Universe which sees it through even a stretched run-time.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 38 minutes, Director – John Carney

After spending an evening jamming and sharing ideas with former boy band member Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), wedding singer Rick Power (Paul Rudd) discovers Danny has turned one of his songs into a hit, with no credit to him.

The marketing for Power Ballad has been significantly present yet consistently feels as if it’s being passed by. Perhaps hindered by the fact that it appears to be advertising a different film to the John Carney written and directed musical dramedy. As with Carney’s previous features, the heart is in the music; much of which, for the original songs, he has a hand in, and the relationships the characters have with it.

How To Write A Song (Without You) is a deeply personal song for wedding singer Rick Power (Paul Rudd), lead of the even-better-named The Bride And Groove. Since leaving a band and settling down in Ireland with his wife (Marcella Plunket) and teenage daughter (Beth Fallon) he’s continued writing music, but originals don’t go down well with wedding crowds who want the throwback rock hits – all of which are subject to some of the most egregious lip-syncing since The Greatest Showman. Yet, he’s never quite been able to finish How To Write A Song, until a jam session one night with former boy band member Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), attending a wedding Rick is playing at. The pair exchange ideas and spend time at the piano or on guitars and go their separate ways. Until Danny’s struggling solo career takes off and How To Write A Song skyrockets, without any credit to Rick.

After initial surprise and joy at the success of his song, without any credit Rick starts to become bitter and angry, slightly resenting the lack of success he’s had over the years. Yet, even here Carney manages to maintain a heart to the music, reminding us of where it initially started for Rick and what the song means for him compared to Danny – particularly shown in the performances of the closing stages. It might seem the film is uncertain as to where it’s going to end, or indeed how it wants to, although for me the very final scene just manages to save things with a neat enough wrap.

You can feel the warm hearts that Power Ballad was made with both in-front of and behind the camera. It helps to boost it during some of the slightly more saccharine moments or those that feel like they’re slightly drifting. The original songs have a likable nature, with the central track proving to be an earworm a good few days afterwards, and there’s a knowing nature to the snippets of rock classics which crop up, too. Rudd makes for, as you would expect, a likable lead and mixed with Carney makes for a film with enough likable energy and entertainment value to see things through and then some. Add in some welcome chuckles, particularly from Rick’s bandmate Sandy (co-writer Pete McDonald), and there’s an easily engaging, light and enjoyable ride, led by the music and leaning into that strength.

Successfully led by the music, Power Ballad is best when focusing on that and the relationships characters have with it. There’s a likable nature to the film and its performances, with a light heart throughout and a satisfying ending wrapping up right at the last moment.