Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 36 minutes, Directors – Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Waking up in the middle of space on a Hail Mary mission, science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) teams up with a rock-like alien (James Ortiz) to save both their worlds from star-eating cells.

It’s been 12 years since Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s last feature directorial credit (with TV work and what could have been their version of Solo in-between that, alongside writing and producing work, including on the Spider-Verse films). Their return to being behind the camera comes with plenty of visual style in front. Even a chamber of endless buttons and switches brings a sea of light and colour to wash over the concerned face of Ryan Gosling’s science-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace. Stranded in space, unsure of where he’s going, the ship he’s in shows the confining yet endless nature of space.

He’s on a mission to save Earth when it appears the sun is at threat of being eaten by a sea of star-eating cells which have been working through the galaxy. The effect could kill more than half the world’s population within 30 years, and Grace is the one sent to find a solution. However, waking up from his induced coma he floats through the ship having to piece together why he’s alone in space, until stumbling across a small, rock-like alien which he names Rocky (voiced and puppeteered by James Ortiz) who’s on a similar, isolated mission from his own world.

Gosling can balance existential fear and weighty responsibility (calling to his more dramatic works of years gone by) with the buddy comedy aspects with his character’s alien friend. It’s something that Lord and Miller themselves get a kick out of in Drew Goddard’s screenplay, adapting Martian author Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, leaning in to the humour when they get the opportunity whilst understanding the isolation of their central figure. Throughout we see flashbacks of him helping the Project Hail Mary team (led by Sandra Hüller’s Eva Stratt, riding both sides of dead-pan) prepare for launch, gradually getting closer to going on the mission himself.

Boardrooms and rooms on aircraft carriers contrast with the vastness of the galaxy, especially in scope and colour. Charles Wood and his production design team have gone all out and spent every penny of their budget effectively, pushed by the visual effects team and cinematographer Greig Fraser. The space sequences in particular are utterly immersive and made to be seen on the big screen, with Daniel Pemberton’s wonderful score tackling the wonder tinged with isolation. Instances of ships rotating, almost swirling, as they float in the sea of nothingness, or the rainbow of light cast by nearby planets – the third act is full of this, and tension – are spectacles of wonderment. Reminders of traditional sci-fi joy and immersion, mixed with the human story. As a technical piece there’s hope that this will be remembered come next year’s awards season.

As a whole piece there’s no denying the enthralling nature of Project Hail Mary. It captures a stronger emotional aspect, and better sense of isolation, than previous Weir adaptation The Martian (which had more viewpoint from Earth and the effort to ‘Bring him home’) while still bringing in an easy wit in naturally-placed gags and comments. An entertaining spectacle of uncertainty, isolation and companionship. There’s a warmth to Project Hail Mary which slips into many scenes, particularly those which see Grace and Rocky start to succeed in their attempt to save the stars. It adds to the drive of the mission, and the tension we eventually feel for it, and them. All in the traditional-feeling endless confinement of space.

A survival narrative of one man and humanity with isolation, companionship and an amusing rock alien. There’s a warmth to Project Hail Mary’s narrative and wonder to its spectacle. It’s an enthralling, traditional-inspired sci-fi joy.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 51 minutes, Director – Mamoru Hosoda

Danish princess Scarlet (Mana Ashida) is killed and finds herself in an afterlife known as the Otherworld. With a modern-day Japanese paramedic (Masaki Okada) she attempts to get her life back to get revenge for her death and her father’s (Masachika Ichimura).

Scarlet is a film that demands to be seen in the cinema. Both for its blend of 2D and 3D animation, which creates an interesting visual style – somewhat seen in director Mamoru Hosoda’s previous film, Belle – and the fact that if you’re in any way distracted you’ll have no clue what’s going on. If you’re watching at home and look at your phone for just 30 seconds the subject and landscape will very likely have dramatically changed.

Hosoda’s take on Hamlet sees the titular Scarlet (Mana Ashida) go from 16th century Danish princess to venturer of desert afterlife the Otherworld after she’s killed trying to get revenge for the murder of her father (Masachika Ichimura) by her Uncle, Claudius (Kôji Yakusho). With the help of modern day Japanese paramedic Hijiri (Masaki Okada) she travels through the Otherworld, facing assassins sent by Claudius and other faces in the Otherworld in the hope of returning to her life to finish getting revenge.

Yet, in trying to match the made-for-IMAX scale with the narrative there’s a very scattershot feeling to the events that unfold. There’s almost always something happening with a feeling that it’s meant to be grand in stakes and drama. The film wears a dramatic hard stare into the distance from start to finish, yet with how often things switch up, the intensity doesn’t get time to properly build or linger. There are flashbacks, shifts back to the world of the living, jumps to side characters and recurring figures throughout Scarlet and Hijiri and generally a lot going on. Even with some of the more consistent characters they’re appearances can still add to the chaotic feeling of the film’s structure.

There are solid visuals which bring an engaging look to the world and its fantastical elements, especially in the detail of the 2D elements and action-based confrontations. There’s something striking about these particularly in the third act and they help to move things along with an amusing style. As a whole the film sits in likable fashion, but feels like each brief scene is a new moment; a new idea, rather than something flowing from one to the next. Things can feel slightly jumpy, adding to the scattered feeling that dominates the narrative. It holds things back and stops Scarlet from being as enjoyable, and dramatically affecting, as it wants to be. A solid but shaky telling of Hamlet that’s feels pulled in multiple directions by its own imaginative interpretation.

Visually striking, particularly during action sequences, there’s a likeable nature to Scarlet which never quite soars due to a scattered scene-by-scene narrative structure.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 3 minutes, Director – Kei Ishikawa

When her journalist daughter (Camilla Aiko) asks about her life in Nagasaki, Etsuko (Yoh Yoshida) revisits the tragedies of her past (Suzu Hirose) and the life she tried to leave behind.

There’s not so much two different films playing out in this adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s debut novel, but more two different views of the world. They come from two distant ages and dealings with tragedy. 1980s England, Etsuko (Yoh Yoshida) is soon to move house and is getting some help from visiting daughter Niki (Camilla Aiko). Niki has dropped out of university, but is working as a journalist and begins to ask about her mother’s past in Nagasaki. It’s something Etsuko is reluctant to talk about, as much as her other daughter Keiko who we gather took her life years before – scenes showing even Nikki still dealing with this play out quietly as she herself seems to only reluctantly half-acknowledge this.

In flashback form, although making up most of the run-time, we see a young Etsuko (Suzu Hirose) in 1950s Nagasaki. A peaceful place populated by plenty of green scenery that’s veiling a community still recovering from atomic attack. Etsuko often finds herself looking out the window silently comparing her life, increasingly distant in her relationship with husband Jiro (Kôhei Matsushita) to that of those around her, particularly single-mum neighbour Sachiko (Fumi Nikaidô).

With the tragedies and lives that are being reflected on in both periods there’s a lightness to the overall impact of the film. It doesn’t quite feel to be as emotionally striking as it perhaps once to be, largely due to not entirely investigating the feelings of Etsuko. Things don’t feel as if they’re intentionally holding back, like the character who appears to have spent years living in the shadow of her past without actually mentioning anything about it in the hope that will help with moving away from it, but more that they never quite investigate the emotions at hand. There’s something of a surface feeling to the film as it moves from one moment to the next.

It all seems rather untroubling, and admittedly left me wanting something deeper. There’s a likable nature to the quiet moments, especially those dwelling on the characters restraining in emotion – Nikki standing in a dark corridor as an estate agent take pictures of Keiko’s room is a rare affecting moment from the film, and one of its best. However, sometimes quietness is exchanged for something sedate. Moving along easily and making for something lightly engaging, but not entirely affecting. Even as a film about holding on to emotion and the tragedies of the past.

While featuring some striking moments of silently withheld emotion, A Pale View Of Hills fails to properly get into the feelings of its characters beyond a lightly engaging surface.

Cert – Recommended age 14+, Run-time – 1 hour 34 minutes, Director – Andrew Stanton

Separated by thousands of years, the lives of a Neanderthal family, modern-day couple and future astronaut face love, struggle and interconnected events.

Andrew Stanton’s past sci-fi efforts, WALL-E for animation home Pixar and live-action debut John Carter, have been made to be seen on the big screen. Returning to live-action and the genre with In The Blink Of An Eye, written by Colby Day as opposed to Stanton with co-writers as has been the case with past ventures in the genre, this is a much more scaled down affair that seems to almost be made for streaming. It’s definitely been treated as such, being quietly dropped on Disney+ and Hulu with no real advertising, or mention on the front page.

Yet, while much quieter it continues to show the director’s love for the genre and the forms that it can take. Instead of a grand action spectacle In The Blink Of An Eye wants to get across the idea that, as Ferris Bueller would remind us, life moves pretty fast. Whether for a Neanderthal family, a modern-day couple (likably performed by Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs, even if they don’t quite get the space for us to fully admire their likability) and a future astronaut (Kate McKinnon in a welcome turn away from her often exaggerated comedic persona). Separated by thousands of years their stories intertwine as they explore love, hope, the future and the general nature of being human and living life.

2001 is a clear touchstone for Day and Stanton, and there appears to be a bit of Silent Running here, too. Smart sci-fi is what it appears things boil down to, although the film doesn’t quite reach the heart it wants in the relationships depicted. Particularly when following the prehistoric characters, communicating in their early-age grunts and babble, you can see what the film is going for but not quite feel it; especially in this strand which doesn’t have its full commitment and appears to be seen more as a ‘nice idea.’

Throughout the narrative stages take a familiar form of ‘life and love are nice, aren’t they?’ It’s present in each section, even if McKinnon gets a sort of survival element as her character tries to fulfil a mission to get humanity to its next stage which she sells in tune with the PG-13 mainstream lightness of things. Perhaps none more so than that of Jones and Diggs’ whistle-stop romance.

The three stories don’t quite grate with each other or clash, and generally play out well enough for just over 90-minutes, but while largely watchable there’s not exactly anything overly investing, especially with one stand being weaker than the other two which largely stand as fine enough. It all makes for something that’s likely to prove (if it hasn’t already) quickly forgettable. A shame for a film that wants to strike the emotional chord it does, but can’t even find itself becoming sappy in its depictions. A shame as Stanton so clearly loves sci-fi and what it can do, but has made a very upfront piece of streaming fluff.

Andrew Stanton clearly loves sci-fi, but can’t make In The Blink Of An Eye feel anything more than overtly mainstream streaming fluff. While watchable it’s never properly investing with a light and forgettable wander through its familiar ideas, not all of which have full commitment.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 31 minutes, Director – Adrian Choa

Louis Theroux meets and follows controversial online influencers behind the rise of toxic masculinity.

Louis Theroux wastes no time in jumping into the world of ‘the Manosphere’ – the labelled home for controversial ultra-masculine influencers, often pointed to as part of the rise of toxic masculinity, particularly in the young audience they reach, and bring in thousands, if not millions, of dollars from, through their online content. Yet, while he quickly tries to cut into what it is that these men see themselves, and the rest of the world as, through their twisted takes on ‘traditional values’ – although largely just for women, it seems – the ensuing 90-minutes doesn’t quite feel as if it deepens.

There are unsettling moments as Theroux views livestreams of the people he’s following, in one case 23-year-old fugitive Harrison Sullivan, username HSTikkyTokky, has a crony arrange to meet someone just so Sullivan and his group of followers can violently beat and attack them. Sullivan is one of the more threatening figures we see, and one we spend the most time with despite his increasing wariness of Theroux, and there’s a growing darkness to much of what he, and the people he inspires, says.

An echo chamber forms from these people trying to follow in both his footsteps and those of other participants in the documentary. A number of which you can feel growing wary of the documentarian as he asks more questions about their lifestyles, especially the women in them. Very few women appear in the film, even fewer who get time to speak to Theroux, perhaps because of the circumstances and control the men being interviewed exhibit over them. Podcaster Myron Gaines, also known as Amrou Fudl, quick to shout his points over everything else when the mics are on is just as quick to stop, in the rare event he isn’t present for, any conversations Louis tries to get with either his girlfriend, Angie; particularly about Gaines’ insistence of a one-sided monogamous relationship, or female staff.

Yet, the questions asked about this do occasionally strike as slightly similar, just a little later with a different influencer. I sat the more the film went on wanting Theroux to dig a little deeper, although it could have easily removed access to a number of these figures – as even just comments about him in stream chats seem to rub Sullivan up the wrong way.

Instead, hypocrisies are highlighted, and origins for some of these views and behaviours briefly looked into, but often it felt as if the film could be doing more to properly confront this world of toxic masculinity. Particularly in the early stages it slightly feels like something that, even if we haven’t heard of the figures (outside of Andrew Tate I hadn’t heard of any of the people mentioned in this film), is going over much of what we’re already aware of. While Theroux brings his usual style, with his now trademark pause and glance aside during interviews, and some expectedly amusing moments every now and then amongst the shock brought about by the attitudes of those he speaks to (and how matter-of-fact some of them are when not playing up to the camera and their online audience) I just wish he, and the film as a whole, went more in depth with his questions.

Into The Manosphere certainly isn’t all surface, it manages to get under the skin, of both subjects and audience in different ways, a couple of times, but at others it seems to want to observe the behaviour we know by a certain point exists without investigating further. Things are solidly watchable, and seem to be captured with the intent of this being a quick 90-minute look at the Manosphere, and for what there is to like there’s more to be successfully unsettled by. Just, sometimes on a slightly surface level that feels as if it more simply asks about rather than confronts the matter at hand.

Far from Theroux’s most in-depth work, Into The Manosphere feels almost wary of avoiding confrontation and therefore often feels, despite its unsettling subjects, rather surface level with the documentarian’s style helping things through.

Release Date – 20th March 2026, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 31 minutes, Director – Jeff Tseng

After losing himself in personal and financial struggles Mark Sowerby takes on the Oceans Seven challenge, swimming across seven open water channels, to find himself again.

Film can show off the scale of a mountain’s height easily enough, as seen in something like Free Solo. What it can perhaps struggle to do as well is show the vastness of a sea or ocean in terms of both length and depth. We can still see the physical toll that swimming across a channel for hours on end can take on someone as in trying to find themselves they seem to slightly lose themselves from exhaustion. In this case that someone is Mark Sowerby, a former investment firm owner who stepped down in order to spend more time with his family. After the company collapsed due to short-selling Sowerby put himself into his passion for swimming and eventually decided to take on the Oceans Seven challenge; swimming seven vastly different open water channels.

It’s something very few people (less than 40 at time of writing) people have accomplished, and there are plenty of dangers beyond exhaustion on the line. Yet, what drives Mark, and many others around the world, is both the challenge and achieving a goal, and often something more personal. There’s often the case with a film like this to feel repetitive, both in the swimming and the stories we hear. But, alongside the different obstacles to tackle (from freezing temperatures to jellyfish and cookiecutter sharks) we hear enough that’s different from each figure we see aside from Mark about why they’re taking on the challenge, and what it means to them, to see through the 90-minute run-time.

While Sowerby is the focus of the documentary, I would have personally liked to hear a little more from these other faces. There’s a good few minutes around halfway through where we hear a select number of stories about personal weights and negative memories that open water swimming helps these figures to put aside and deal with. They’re largely glimpses, but still bring more to the personal journeys that form around the challenge, including for Mark’s trainer Tim Denyer who also highlights some of the preparation that goes into each swim.

Yet, through these points there’s a successfully rooted story beyond just the base challenge, which still takes up much of the run-time while maintaining engagement. Mark and wife Heidi have a phrase which crops up a number of times towards the closing stages, ‘it only takes one day to change your life’. It’s something which the film lightly touches upon as its tries to summarise its closing points, but feels as if it could have been more prominent in the idea of finding yourself again amongst the mental and physical challenge of marathon swimming.

A drive for recovery is a shared theme amongst those who take on the challenge, and some of the most engaging points are those where this is talked about, including recovery from swims. Amongst the personal Don’t Be Prey manages to look into the technical aspects of the Oceans Seven challenge, with interviews with creator Steven Munatones, the time and prep that goes into it. There’s an intrigue in the physical nature of the challenge, just how much is gone through over multiple hours and the reminders of the danger at hand. Joined with the personal backings that manage to avoid repetition, there’s a solidly engaging documentary here.

While it could do with a bit more from others taking on the challenge, there’s an engaging nature to Sowerby’s physical and mental journey throughout Don’t Be Prey which largely avoids repetition as it continues to get across the different extremes of the challenge.

Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 29 minutes, Director – Brendan Muldowney

Football agent Jimmy Banks (Danny Dyer) is finalising a deal for if his one client (Elliott Rogers) is found not guilty in a rape trial, whilst trying to secure another star client (Chip). However, a blackmail plot could stop his return to the big time.

One Last Deal should feel simple. Narratively it is. Stylistically it is. It’s 90-minutes of Danny Dyer pacing around a slightly dated office shouting at people on the phone. Yet, somehow it manages to lead itself into a tangle where as it switches focus between the different conversations that Dyer’s football agent Jimmy Banks is having.

Throughout the film we see him switch between two different phones and half the contacts in his phone. For business calls he goes hands free with a Bluetooth headset, for anything personal he just walks around with (or more often away from) his phone and still shouts. Much of what we see revolves around him trying to get back into the big time. His sole client, Matt Gravish (Elliott Rogers) is waiting for the verdict on his rape trial whilst Jimmy tries to secure him a lucrative deal in the insistent case of not guilty. Meanwhile, he’s also talking to rising star Jerome Sweet (rapper Chip), with whom he has turbulent history, about signing up to a major international team if he allows the agent to represent him.

On top of this there are conversations with his estranged daughter, lawyers, managers, accountants and more. Each playing out separately before eventually untidily tangling into each other for an overly bulky, and drawn out, twist. All unfolding on the hottest day of the year, we’re told in the opening that it’s 40 degrees in London and then throughout by the fact that everything is shot with the house lights turned all the way up, unless the moment is serious then darkness (or rather evening) arrives. Aside from this there’s little mention or feeling of heat over the 90-minute run-time.

Dyer gives a solid performance as the only actor on-screen, aside from some brief TV footage of sports news presenters who seem to have been pulled in from off the street and put in-front of a teleprompter as action was called. At times, particularly during an elongated dance interlude, as Jimmy gets a kick out of his ego or giddiness takes over David Brent comes out more than the very sweary character (the film is rated 18 for “very strong language”, purely down to the amount of c-bombs Jimmy drops) that seems to be written specifically for Dyer.

As more comes to light about Jimmy the more unlikable of a character he seems, and no amount of attempts to redeem him can really escape that, especially when they can largely feel quite last minute. It’s what makes the third act, which showcases some of the stronger elements of the film, feels more of a struggle to properly engage with. There’s already been an engagement issue for a while before this due to the divided up stages of conversations, and to some extent the amount of pacing through the room, creating a bland set of events. It’s hard to make a film such as this exciting, no matter how much intrigue and tension the narrative seems to be solely designed to create, and One Last Deal falters in that regard.

90-minutes of Danny Dyer pacing around a room shouting at people on the phone proves to be as engaging as it sounds. While Dyer is good, his character feels increasingly unlikable as his various conversations tangle into an overly bulky ending.