Release Date – 26th December 2023, Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 4 minutes, Director – Hayao Miyazaki

After the passing of his mother, 12-year-old Mahito (Soma Santoki) is whisked to an unfamiliar new home, where a heron (Masaki Suda) takes him to a fantastical other world claiming that his mother is still alive.

In each of his films, no matter how many times he’s retired, there’s always been something deeply personal from Hayao Miyazaki poured into the inner-workings. His last-film-until-the-next The Boy And The Heron is no different. Amongst the unmistakably Ghibli-infused worlds, landscapes, creatures and food another part of his heart and soul is injected into a narrative of grief and legacy.

12-year-old Mahito (Soma Santoki) is whisked away by his father (Takuya Kimura) to an unfamiliar countryside location after his mother is killed in a bombing in Tokyo. The very formal child tries his best to keep himself to himself in the strange surroundings, no matter how much the various elderly women residing there try to talk to him. It could be so easy for Mahito to seem beyond his years, and in some regards he does, but Miyazaki does a good job of reminding us that he is still a child. During a key sequence, after having been annoyed by a heron at his window, he constructs his own bow and arrow. It’s a simple sequence capturing a youthful creativity and drive which reminds us, just before we dive into the adventure proper, that our protagonist is a child.

He fails in killing the heron, which it turns out not only has a big toothy grin but can also talk (an enjoyably irate and taunting voice from Masaki Suda). The creature tells the child that his mother is actually still alive, and in turn takes him to another world. The fantastical world which he is taken to sprawls with layers and details. Finely animated there’s plenty to like about the visual landscapes that are on display, and the figures that reside within them – including Ghibli’s answer to the Adipose Child. However, there are moment where it feels as if the plot is somewhat wandering.

As you can see the stages of the narrative the jumping between locations and characters begins to make the just over 2 hour run-time feel overlong. Things wind around without it always feeling as if the film knows where it’s going to lead to, largely led by Miyazaki’s personal influence and feelings, which still manage to be an engaging fore. As with his previous films such touches allow for a depth in the emotional elements of the piece, even if the surroundings feel somewhat drawn-out and winding. Yet, even during the longer moments – sometimes made to feel more so by occasionally gradual pacing – there’s still a good deal to be drawn in by visually, and a handful of times tonally.

Miyazaki’s latest personal animation is another visually detailed work from Ghibli which is led by engaging tones and ideas, but with an occasionally wandering and jumpy narrative feels slightly overlong.

Release Date – 8th December 2023, Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 38 minutes, Director – Sam Fell

When their daughter (Bella Ramsey) runs away to a haven for chickens Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) band together with other escapees from Tweedy’s Farm to break in before something more sinister is revealed.

Chicken Run’s concept is simple: The Great Escape with chickens. Throw in some very clever jokes and one of the greatest villains to grace the silver screen and you’ve got a mix for a rightfully high-regarded film. Aardman’s first feature show themselves as they meant to go on. Playfully tinkering with genre elements to get laughs through their distinct and loving stop-motion homages. They’d do similar with horror flicks (particularly Hammer horror titles) in Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit and sci-fi classics in the underrated gem A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.

It therefore comes as something of a surprise that with the simple idea of breaking in Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget feels somewhat generic for Aardman. Even the animation, albeit still impressive, doesn’t quite have the same effect. There are multiple shots in the original where so much is happening where you wonder ‘how did they manage to pull that off?’, here this response is limited to just once, perhaps twice.

Yet, as Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) attempt to break into what’s advertised as a chicken haven there are still some enjoyable Aardman-esque jokes and puns here and there – plus an excellent use of Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday. The best moments are those hidden in a scene – a newspaper headline declaring that “police suspect fowl play” – or, as mentioned, some masterclass-level puns and wordplay, including in visual gags. These are the moments that remind you that there is an Aardman film amongst the more familiar elements of the narrative.

As Ginger and Rocky’s daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey), having escaped at the start of the film in search for a more free life, alongside new friend Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies) discovers that the Barbieland for chickens they’re in may not be everything it’s been sold as there’s a recognisable set of heist film tropes playing out around the rest of the building. Rocky and rats Nick (Romesh Ranganathan) and Fetcher (Daniel Mays) crawl through air vents and get caught in machines, while the other familiar faces (and in this case voices) try to logically work their way around. We spend so much time jumping back and forth between them and the factory’s tech-whiz Dr Fry (Nick Mohammed – seemingly having a fun time being in an Aardman feature) that the once-terrifying Mrs Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) has little to actually do here.

When she is used it’s mostly in the third act, containing some of the best stuff of the film overall, and perhaps having the most feel like the original. It’s when Dawn Of The Nugget finally feels as if it properly finds its stride, and as if the elements have come together for it to finally do what it wants to do. A lot of the creativity and spark is held here, alongside a the strongest feeling of joy in what is being made, making for something more enjoyable in the grander moments of the 98 minute run-time. There’s a journey to go on before then, and thankfully one with a likable nature and enough silly, very British, puns and elements to keep things moving and the audience engaged.

While for much of the run-time Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget may feel rather safe by Aardman’s standards there are enough jokes and moments to remind you of just what makes the passionate British stop-motion masters so great.

Release Date – 17th November 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 57 minutes, Director – Todd Haynes

Actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) enters the life of out-of-the-limelight Gracie (Julianne Moore) and her younger husband Joe (Charles Melton) in order to research for a film about the controversy around their relationship 20 years before.

Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) insists that all she wants is for Gracie (Julianne Moore) to “feel seen and known”. The actress is visiting the small, coastal town Gracie and her young husband Joe (Charles Melton) live in in order to research for a film she’s been cast to play the former star in. She promises that “it’s a complex and human story” just as the complexities of the relationships, and indeed her investigation, come into play.

Gracie and Joe’s relationship is a controversial one, having made headlines 20 years before due to Gracie being married in her 30s while Joe had only just become a teenager. The scandal swept the country in headlines and while the couple have tried to put the past behind them Elizabeth’s presence brings up questions and hidden feelings. Especially as what’s research and what’s personal begins to conflict and combine.

The main ideas of the past between Gracie and Joe feel somewhat swept aside for much of the film. They’re brought up here and there, but don’t feel properly delved into until near the final stages. It leaves an uncertain air to certain proceedings and the focus nears being how in-depth Elizabeth wants to go for the role, how much she needs to know vs how much she wants to know. We see various scenes between her and Gracie showing their hesitant relationship, with one scene where the pair look into a bathroom mirror and apply make-up seemingly going for a faux sexual tension.

There are plenty of instances throughout May December which appear to be going for campy but simply end up as clunky. Most of the time this is down to individual lines of dialogue bringing you out of a scene like the sound of a dropped pan. When it comes to amusement the best the film can come up with is perhaps its most casual point which feels least like an attempt – as Joe lies on the sofa, drinking beer, eating crisps, watching a documentary about caulk. The more in your face moments are scene endings which feel like their aiming for some form of self-away parody.

As Elizabeth’s connection with the pair changes overtime things simply get more and more crossed over and not in the way the film perhaps intends. Things twist and turn with shifts in focus across various scenes. The overall effect is something rather clunky and eventually unengaging. There may be something somewhat interesting to start with, even if with a stop-start nature thanks to clunky lines of dialogue. However, as the past is truly dug up and other figures from Gracie and Joe’s past have their say as to what happened, and indeed Joe questions the real nature of his marriage and relationship, things go downhill. The film becomes messy and unengaging, and while it might have a level of self-awareness its watered down campiness never really has effect or does anything to lift it up.

Occasionally feeling like its aiming for self-aware parody May December seems to brush aside some of its key themes until too late, with its supposed campiness being overshadowed by its clunky dialogue and eventual overall nature.

Release Date – 17th November 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 7 minutes, Director – Emerald Fennell

Reluctant to return home, Oxford student Oliver (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into fellow student Felix’s (Jacob Elordi) wealthy family and estate, potentially staying beyond the summer.

Oliver stands out from the other students at Oxford. At least to the audience he does, to everyone else he’s a barely recognised background figure. The only other student he hangs around with is the equally unregarded Michael (Ewan Mitchell) – a figure who Oliver reluctantly asks sums to simply for the conversation. He spends the year wishing to be a part of the crowd circling the person who stands out to everyone, the intensely popular Felix (Jacob Elordi). After a chance encounter leads Oliver to lend Felix his bike one day the pair soon form of a bond as the summer approaches. With the “scholarship boy who buys his clothes from Oxfam” reluctant to return home to his seemingly distant and troubled family he finds himself invited to Felix’s estate for a few weeks.

Residing in the expansive Saltburn, and strictly adhering to the black-tie dress-code for dinner, is Felix’s high-class, wealthy family. Headed by Richard E. Grant as the eccentric father who throws a costume party just to gleefully wear his suit of armour, and Rosamund Pike as wife Elspeth, who will casually throw spite behind anyone’s back. None more so than ‘friend’ Pamela (Carey Mulligan). Each figure acts as a way for Emerald Fennell’s dialogue to further spark of the page in satirical fashion. While the surroundings may be darkly dramatic there’s an equally dark takedown of the rich running alongside them.

Whilst very different to her debut Promising Young Woman the writer-director still manages to create a sparkling screenplay with plenty to dig into, the writing is certainly the biggest push of the film. Bringing it to life is a set of great performances, understanding the comedy and dark tones, and managing to play pretty much everything straight with an occasional wry smile towards those being targeted.

Yet, little distracts from the lingering feel of Oliver making his way deeper and deeper into this world – the desires that he has to be a part of it, with his true turn arriving somewhat suddenly and feeling as if the film could somehow work as the origin story for Keoghan’s take on The Joker. His silent hopes and desires combatted by family friend Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) who consistently tells him he doesn’t belong here.

The class interactions between Oliver and the Catton family provide plenty of humour with their equal dramatic lift, and are the points which truly highlight the world and to an extent the course that the film takes. Things may feel somewhat stretched as the two hour mark nears and the twists and turns of the final stages become apparent but there’s still a good level of engagement as things come together – even if some of the stranger more ‘out there’ moments (you’ll know exactly when you see them) leave a slight question in the mind.

Such moments may cause disconnect from the film for some viewers, but if you’re able to get through them there’s an engaging drama at hand. One with both dark and comedic satire at play, helped by the performances which help to bring an occasional verbalised bite to Fennell’s excellent screenplay, without which the film may not have the same effect – both without its tonal shifts and with the chance that it might feel generic. Luckily, with the elements coming together in this particular telling Saltburn manages to move ahead and stick the landing rather well with its various elements and tones throughout.

It won’t be for everyone, but there’s no denying that Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn screenplay is sparkling with darkness and satire, coming through in the tones and performances of the final film. It might stretch itself a bit too much in some scenes and the run-time, but for the most part its an effective and engaging drama.

Release Date – 3rd November 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 53 minutes, Director – Christos Nikou

Anna (Jessie Buckley) gets a job at an institute which can test the love between a couple, however despite a 100% result with her partner (Jeremy Allen White) the more time she spends at the centre the more conflicted she is with the result.

If you could prove the love in your relationship would you? This is the question that Fingernails follows on from as central character Anna (Jessie Buckley) gets a job at an institute which sets out to test the love between a couple. Couples go through various tests and processes – maintaining eye contact underwater, singing karaoke in French and finding each other only by smell – before a fingernail is taken from each, put into a machine and the result comes through. Either 0%, 50% or 100%, only one is ideal. Anna received a 100% result when testing with her long-term partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) a number of years before, however the more time she spends at her new job the more conflicted she becomes with the result.

This is the modern world and yet much of the technology on display, particularly the futuristic testing machine, seem plucked from the 70s or 80s. There’s an interest in the design and slight sci-fi elements which make up the film, however these are minimal and alone can’t lift the film up. Instead, we travel along familiar lines as Anna sees a potential relationship with co-worker Amir (Riz Ahmed), going against her 100% result with Ryan. There might be some good gags here and there to help things along, but they don’t distract from a narrative that, despite the surroundings, feels stuck in convention.

Fingernails largely comes across as a film kept afloat by its surrounding elements. The always-reliable Buckley and Ahmed give, as expected, good performances, and there are, as mentioned, some very good jokes here and there – a highlight being couples having to sit through a Hugh Grant retrospective. However, little adds to the very base genre elements which have the potential to make for something more interesting and original. Instead, they simply act as a backing for convention. A narrative arc that we’ve seen done before, and better.

Add in the fact that the developments themselves are rather slow, with the film clocking in at almost two hours when it could be closer to 90 minutes or so. Director Christos Nikou’s screenplay, written with Sam Steiner and Stavros Raptis, goes back and forth on the psychological impacts the test has whether taken or not, however it skips between implications and focuses with little time to properly delve into certain aspects, with most helped by the central performances. It’s generally fine, but with the promise of interest and originality in place Fingernails is a familiar and therefore lacking piece of work with much of the lifting done by its non-narrative elements.

There’s potential for interest within Fingernails’ hints of sci-fi, however it falls into a conventional narrative with slow developments with the humour and performances being the core lift.

Release Date – 3rd November 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 31 minutes, Director – Molly Manning Walker

Sex, drink and partying are on the menu for three best friends (Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Enva Lewis) celebrating the end of school with a foreign holiday, however the shine is very quickly worn off for Tara.

There are multiple false senses of relief and security within writer-director Molly Manning Walker’s feature debut. Even the opening ten minutes provides something of a false sense of what’s to come as best friends Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Skye (Lara Peake) and Em (Enva Lewis) literally dive straight into their week long foreign holiday to celebrate the end of school and their exams being over (if the threat of retakes doesn’t rear its head). Sex, drink and partying are on the menu – there’s a prize for who can get laid the most in addition to being allowed the main room in the hotel.

Tara is intent on finally losing her virginity while away. Not letting the comments of a beer-chug race leader – “no boy’s ever going to be happy with you” – get her down, especially in the face of getting to know the group in the room next door. Badger (Shaun Thomas), Paddy (Samuel Bottomley) and Paige (Laura Ambler) may be a couple of years older, but as fellow British partiers they soon form something of a double-unit with the central trio. As they see more of each other tensions begin to rise, particularly for Tara in her relationship to the increasingly obnoxious Paddy, and the thought of potentially struggling with three loud, screaming characters for 90 minutes soon fades away.

An air of nervousness makes its way into the frame. McKenna-Bruce captures it wonderfully with an increasingly quiet performance with plenty of subtle effect in the way Tara seems uncertain of what to say or do in certain situations and in others purely rejecting advances. It’s a nervousness which perfectly allows for an instant shift into pure tension after a confirmation into the final stages of the film. Even more so after earlier on experiencing a blanket of genuine warmth and comfort amongst friendly strangers after a hesitant and concerning night at the clubs.

One way in which the tonal shifts are dealt with is by diminishing the laughs throughout. There may only be one or two here and there in a generally naturalistic style, but even by reeling these back Manning Walker is able to make her points with a good deal of potent drama. It all mixes into an excellently performed and handled final scene or two which round everything off to allow for the themes and drama to echo with you for some time afterwards.

One particular lingering shot of Tara in a taxi, the camera and fading music threatening to leave the moment there almost as if about to cut to credits at any frame, is time given for everything so far to sink in for the moment. Will there be resolution? Is there resolution? Can there be any? Like Tara, we’re faintly hoping yet doubtful. Where the film takes us provides something and it’s sure to linger and cause thought afterwards.

Excellently shifting from nervousness to tension How To Have Sex is led by a strong lead performance from Mia McKenna-Bruce whose increasing quietness conveys so many of Molly Manning Walker’s themes and subtle ideas throughout.

Release Date – 27th October 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 58 minutes, Director – David Fincher

In the wake of a job going wrong an assassin (Michael Fassbender) takes it upon himself to track down his employers and contacts linked to the job.

We’re not meant to connect with Michael Fassbender’s stoney-faced assassin. We’re not entirely meant to empathise with him – he tells us frequently “forbid empathy. Empathy is weakness. Weakness is vulnerability”. What we’re meant to feel is intrigue for him and his process. A process which is wildly thrown off when a job goes wrong. The opening 10 minutes of David Fincher’s latest, written by Andrew Kevin Walker, based on the French comic-book of the same name, are made up of a steadily-paced monologue from Fassbender, delving into his process and how drawn-out it can be. His process is precise, exact and “fully logistical”.

So, when it goes wrong we’re thrown into a world of chaos just as he is, waiting to see what he does in still seemingly thoroughly-thought-out fashion. The central character, simply named The Killer, knows who he needs to get to and is working out how to get there; with the narrative divided into distinct chapters there’s a clearly even more specific and focused nature to things. Everything in Fassbender’s line of work is intricately detailed, memorised and acted upon. Imagine a John Wick-esque thriller without as much highly-stylised action, and a good deal more coldness.

This is something different from Fincher with a familiar coldness. There’s a distance between Fassbender and the world around him, or at least his work. It makes it easier for him, but once things go wrong a personal nature drips into the frame. While still carrying out work there’s a watered down feeling of ‘just business’ present to his actions. His narration throughout is equally distant, often monotone and matter-of-fact. His guide to assassination and executing the kill acts as the guiding consistent throughout. Trying to maintain a feeling of order despite the events that he’s been plunged into. During a key escape sequence towards the start of the film the state of the scene matches his demeanour: calm and collected with the knowledge of chaos and panic. It’s an interesting mix which adds further interest and intrigue into the central figure and the way in which he executes his affairs.

This isn’t to say that there’s a lack of tension in the action sequences. In fact, the moments that appear most planned by the protagonist bring the most suspense when something threatens to disturb the flow – one gym sequence in particular increases the seat-gripping nature the longer it goes on. Some of the action contrasts with the opening stages, and indeed the overall How To Succeed In Murdering With Plenty Of Trying nature. They’re violent and messy; bodies, bullets and blood crash through walls with a fiery background occasionally poking its head through the frame of a broken door.

Such moments are contained within the control and order of the rest of the film, especially when backed by Fassbender’s monologue – it’s an otherwise somewhat quiet performance which manages to have plenty of effect thanks to the narration which compliments it. Much like the film as a whole, there’s plenty of intrigue within the distanced mixtures on display making for an interesting, entertaining thriller.

The Killer is a cold, intriguing thriller led by a strong performance from Michael Fassbender who perfectly captures the calm and collected exterior of a film with plenty of controlled chaos and tension throughout.