Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 6 minutes, Director – Sam Raimi

After encountering a young girl (Xochitl Gomez) who can travel across the multiverse, Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds himself travelling through various universes to stop the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) from destroying them.

If Spider-Man: No Way Home was the ignition for the latest set of expansions within the Marvel Cinematic Universe then there’s no denying that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is the explosion that will lead to the effect. As the title, and previous films, would suggest this sees Benedict Cumberbatch’s spellcasting hero travelling across the ranges of the multiverse as he attempts to protect the universe-jumping America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from capture. However, hunting her is the darkening force of the Scarlet Witch, AKA Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Her power travels across the various different universes – most of which are explored in a quick sequence, which does leave you wanting to spend more time in the more visually amusing concepts – and threatens to destroy them, with the chance of them beginning to somehow crash into each other.

While not the villainous leading figure of the piece, in the way that Thanos was in Avengers: Infinity War, Wanda certainly gets a fair deal of screen-time throughout this film. It likely comes as an effect of everything that has been built up to for her so far within the MCU, and in some ways this brings a slight level of confliction to the character. She’s being posed as the antagonistic figure of the piece, however with everything that has come beforehand in mind there are, of course, sympathetic leanings which occasionally conflict or get in the way with the moments that want to solely pose her as a villainous threat consumed by her own pain, and interactions with dark forces that have begun to consumer her. Such dark forces are played with throughout the film, particularly as an element for the base of the narrative, and certainly bring about a slight Sam Raimi style, as the director returns to that role on the big screen for the first time in nearly ten years.

Multiverse Of Madness comes with many of the distinct Raimi tropes, including an excellent Bruce Campbell cameo. It’s unmistakeably been directed by him. This helps lean into one or two of the more horror related elements as well. While not a horror film itself there are hints and tones of the genre dotted here and there throughout the film, particularly the more fluid second half, which act as a point of interest, even if you do wish they were more up front and slightly bolder. You can occasionally feel the Marvel reins being pulled in during such moments. Perhaps for now it’s the studio further experimenting with genres in their films, or what they can play with in the future when it comes to the plans set out for their next phases – Kevin Feige has said he’s planning the next ten years for the studio.

If this film is a launching pad of sorts, or as mentioned earlier the explosion to lead to the effect, then it certainly feels like it at times. Much of the first half of the film feels very expositional and as if it’s simply acting as build-up to more things to come outside of itself. When working with the various different characters and the locations they find themselves in – alongside Strange, Chavez and Wanda we also spend some time with girl-that-got-away Christine (Rachel McAdams, with a bit more to do this time around) and legendary Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) – there’s a lot of jumping back and forth, providing and eventually quite jumbled feel to things. It causes certain moments – including one particularly major sequence – to strike a wavering tone that feels almost uncertain of itself; is it supposed to be an intense piece of dramatic action or more along the lines of something in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad?

Yet, much of this appears to arrive as the multiverse is still being explored in the first half of the film. Once things calm down, somewhat, and begin to focus more on the core targets of the film, instead of expanding certain elements and planting seeds for future films, there’s more to enjoy within the better flow that picks up. There’s more enjoyment to be found within certain scenes as there’s less jumping between characters and locations, particularly in the same sequence when we’ve had some longer moments just before. Generally as the film progresses and begins to become more concerned with its narrative and directly progressing things it finds itself working to a much stronger degree to when it moves from place to place in quick succession. There may still be some flaws present, but for the most part there’s an enjoyable nature to the slight madness that the multiverse has to offer, particularly when it comes to the spell-based action that’s on display. Further helped by the directorial style of Sam Raimi, even if some of his and screenwriter Michael Waldron’s ideas do occasionally feel reined in. As the film travels along its various courses things come together and begin to flow with more ease. Keeping you in place and making for a better, less chaotic, time within the apparent multiverse of madness.

While it might occasionally feel conflicted and reined in, particularly in the jumpy first half, there’s still a fair deal to like and enjoy about Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Using the spells and magic effectively in action sequences there’s gradually a better flow, and therefore sense of engagement, to things.

Release Date – 13th May 2022, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 4 minutes, Director – Rosalind Ross

Boxer Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) turns his life to priesthood, after initially attending church in the hope of attracting the attention of prominent church figure Carmen (Teresa Ruiz).

When you think of a standard faith-based film you perhaps wouldn’t commonly think of putting Mark Wahlberg in the leading role, it also feels as if the original screenplay for Father Stu hadn’t overly thought of that either. As we follow Wahlberg playing real life pastor Stuart Long from his days a boxer through to finding faith the film weaves in and out of general faith-based feature conventions, mixed with the stylings of something made for Wahlberg to lead, although still not completely the kind of film you may commonly associate with him. When giving up on boxing, Stuart moves to California in the hope of getting into acting. However, when working at the meat counter in a supermarket his eye is caught by Carmen (Teresa Ruiz). On tracking her down to her church Stu takes it upon himself to put on the guise of loose faith to get closer to the devout figure he’s become attracted to, but gradually finds his own faith.

It takes a bit of time for this latter segment to happen, and as Stu and Carmen grow somewhat closer, although her somewhat reluctantly, the former’s actions begin to feel quite creepy and uncomfortable with just how far he goes to try and get a date with the unknown woman. Perhaps this isn’t helped by the fact that the character himself appears to change every couple of scenes to a slightly different personality style depending on what the focus of that particular moment is. As well as trying to get into this relationship and growing a connection with God he’s charting the course of a rough relationship with his cynical father (Mel Gibson) and the threat of a growing illness, which plays more of a part in the latter half of the piece.

Throughout much of this course the film appears uneven and unsure as to what it actually wants to be. At times the question comes to mind as to whether certain moments are meant to be funny, if the film is trying to be a comedy – if so, then it’s very rarely successful in raising chuckles. Yet, as it travels along its path and becomes more direct in its style and nature, focusing more on the drama and connection to religion within Stu’s life, things clear up somewhat. Yes, there may be elements of convention introduced, but the film becomes more watchable and slightly engaging for this. Feeling calmer and less imbalanced in both focus and style. It feels more alike to the kind of film we may have got if Wahlberg wasn’t in the lead – although it should be said that he gives a good performance in the central role – and the general tone was more along the lines of your standard faith-based film.

The overall piece does have a conflicting vein throughout it, particularly when it comes to what it wants to be and who the primary target market is. While this doesn’t completely disrupt the film it certainly causes a few stumbles every now and then, particularly in the crossing between the first and second half – when we begin to get certain shots which look like they could be part of a parody Christian music video, Wahlberg kissing rosary beads in thankfulness. There are undeniably some questionable moments within the tonal shifts and conflictions throughout the film as it tries to appeal to various different groups at once, and this occasionally causes the finished piece to feel uneven. However, as the second half arrives and the focus becomes more direct things even out and while more in the line of convention they feel more watchable due to being less busy in trying to appeal to a wide range of people, perhaps much like Stu himself inevitably becomes.

While conflicted as to its tone and style, trying to appeal to various different audiences, like the central character, Father Stu eventually calms down and finds a more direct path within the slightly faith-based leanings creating a more watchable piece of work.

Cert – PG, Run-time – 2 hours 5 minutes, Director – Simon Curtis

While Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and the staff oversee a film shoot at Downton Abbey many of the other faces and residents travel to the south of France, to a villa mysteriously left to Dowager Countess Violet (Maggie Smith).

With such an extensive range of characters, both within and out of the wealthy Grantham/ Crawley family, you would expect a film adaptation of Downton Abbey to have a lot to cover within various different strands. However, when the first feature adaptation of the hit television series was released in 2019 it turned out to tell the story of the house preparing for the king and queen to come and stay generally rather well. At least that’s what it was for those who have never seen the series before. For those who had there were a great many elements to dive into and keep track of continuing from the show. Legacies, hidden romances, a secret gay relationship, marriages, illnesses and so much more. Meanwhile, the sequel feels both much lighter and somehow busier. While many of the staff in this apparent new era – it’s noted by Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) that the house wants to “enter the 1930s with out heads held high” – are dealing with a film shoot occurring within Downton, many of the key faces and residents are sailing down to the sunny landscapes of the south of France, to a villa mysteriously bequeathed to Dowager Countess Violet (Maggie Smith – the straight and sarcastic humorous highlight of the film) from a gentleman she had a one week romance with in the 1860s.

Certainly the latter element is along the lines of the more general British small-to-big screen adaptation in sending the characters on holiday, it also has the bigger displays of wealth and stiff-upper-lip manners that you would expect from a period drama such as this. Yet, there’s a fair deal of build up to get to this point, and indeed the filming. With so many characters there’s plenty of jumping back and forth from scene to scene of brief conversations in grand halls and stairwells. It’s frustrating that you can almost see and hear the joins between each scene, the director shouting ‘action’ and ‘cut’ at the start and end of each take as you can pretty much see the start and end of each scene, with very little to bridge them together. It all revolves around potential build up to the core two strands of the film, both generally unrelated, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, yet provides little to hook you in due to the somewhat lacklustre construction.

However, as the cameras start rolling in the Abbey and film stars begin to show up – primarily Dominic West’s Guy Dexter and Laura Haddock’s Myrna Dalgleish – things begin to properly move along. The production of The Gambler is halted, however, when the true threat of the talkies on the silent film industry is revealed. The sweeping effect of sound in film, which causes great agitation to director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), is certainly dealt with with a fair deal of obviousness and heavy-handedness, but, as with before, once the apparent build-up of another idea is out the way and production shifts to involve sound there’s some interest and engaging enough moments created in the narrative to somewhat bring you in. Certainly nothing overly challenging is produced, as is likely expected from a product such as Downton where half the film involves a number of characters having gone on ‘holiday’ to investigate the matriarch’s “mysterious past”. The revelations and conversations are somewhat thin, but do just about enough to move things along.

Much of this comes before the second half where amongst the progressions of the two core strands more is introduced. More to do with hidden relationships and returning loves, quiet illnesses, etc. Most of this content appears to be for those who have followed the series, especially when it becomes dominant in the lengthy final half hour of the film, where it feels like things are constantly coming to a close before something else needs to be wrapped up. It’s likely that this moment will appeal and engage the original TV audience more, especially with the followed threads being more in their knowledge, perhaps. Whereas for those coming to this afresh, or even just based off of the first film, it may likely seem quite drawn out, although there are still some amusing and engaging moments throughout to keep interest held – and things don’t quite dive back into the stop-start nature of the opening stages.

The overall feel of this apparent new era of Downton Abbey is that while the opening and closing stages lead to the 2 hour plus run-time being felt – although the closing stages do have more to be amused by – the mid-section helps it along with enough content and lightness to carry things through. It might not be the tightest of films, but thanks to some of the chuckles along the way, and a handful of points of interest to keep you engaged once things properly kick off this half-return to Downton is serviceable viewing for those who have never seen an episode of the series, and for the fans a likely enjoyable (seeming) conclusion.

The start and end may be somewhat drawn out, the latter to wrap up loose ends and bring a likely enjoyable conclusion for fans, but within the two core strands of Downton Abbey: A New Era there’s enough to like and be amused by to lightly pass the time well enough before things begin to get slightly overstuffed.

Release Date – 29th April 2022, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 42 minutes, Director – Nabil Ayouch

Through the help of their teacher (Anas Basbousi), a group of teenagers at a cultural centre learn how to overcome the shackles of politics and tradition through the expression of hip-hop and rap.

Shortly after the idea enters the mind that Casablanca Beats has links to the likes of School Of Rock a poster for the film appears in the background, on the classroom wall. A wall filled with its fair share of colours, posters and graffiti – just some of the ways in which the teenage students are introduced to a safe space in which they can discuss and express themselves. It’s a box from the outside world where they learn about rap and hip-hop from their teacher Anas (Anas Basbousi) – perhaps a former rapper himself – using the music and lyrics which they create to express themselves and release their anger and stresses over the politics and traditions in their country through the attitude in their delivery.

While not quite a film that has the students standing on their desks reciting “O captain, my captain” the focus isn’t quite on the effects that Anas has, but more the effects that rap has, Anas acting as more of a catalyst and support. It comes across in the relatively plotless nature of the film, instead detailing the change and development experienced by the handful of teenagers in the class. The way in which they are impacted by the music and their lives change due to them trying to take more control and action – sometimes through the expression of rap itself, one key scene involves young teenager Nouhaila (Nouhaila Arif) pouring out her feelings through her rhymes to her controlling older brother. There’s a brief strand for each of the central figures, depicting their repressive home lives and what their own lyrics are fighting against. These don’t exactly create any form of narrative, although show an individual arc of sorts for each figure, and perhaps because of this there’s an occasionally disjointed nature to the piece with its scene-by-scene nature.

Yet, all comes together in full-class debates and conversations regarding politics and beliefs. Thoughts and opinions flying around the room in extended sequences. While some feel a bit lengthy, the film itself gets out just before it feels like it may go on for a bit too long, there’s still enough interest in what’s being discussed to keep you engaged in the moment. Perhaps the most interesting point is that such conversations are being held in what feels like a fairly family-friendly film (albeit one with a couple of f-bombs). The BBFC 12 rating is certainly justified, but there still feels like a relatively universal (maybe not quite for the younger kids, though) feel to director Nabil Ayouch’s film, and his screenplay co-written with Maryam Touzani, once again bringing about that School Of Rock connection. It helps to further bring to life what the students are facing, and to some extent Anas as he tries to fight against parents perceptions of what he is teaching – and at times the heads of the arts centre he is teaching at.

Things come together to create an interesting and engaging film that works because of the way it focus on the effect of rap on the students over anything else. Showing them opening up and beginning to attempt to take more control of their own lives amidst the restrictions of their families and country’s traditions. While the occasional glimpses into these separate family lives does create something of a slightly disjointed feel to the film there’s still plenty to like, and a slight connection formed with the figures on screen – even if not quite on an individual level. Things move along rather well and you’re generally well-engaged throughout with your interest in the development of the characters, shown in the conversations and debates which they engage in with increasing confidence – moving from the classroom to the streets to the potential of the stage. It works well in its vein, allowing the music and lyrics to speak for themselves and help move things along at the character’s pace, simply adding another layer to the nature of the development.

There’s an interesting nature to the School Of Rock-esque feel of Casablanca Beats, while allowing the rap to move and develop things within the scene-by-scene nature of the occasionally disjointed narrative. Holding your involvement and interest for the most part, particularly when it comes to the growth and change of the central class.

Release Date – 22nd April 2022, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 47 minutes, Director – Tom Gormican

Considering retiring from acting Nicolas Cage (Nicolas Cage) is offered a million dollars to attend a wealthy fan’s birthday party, however when Javi (Pedro Pascal) is revealed to be the head of a major cartel Cage is recruited by the CIA to help take him down.

Over the years, after having been made into so many memes, Nicolas Cage has perhaps warped in the eyes of some into a meme himself. It would be so easy for The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, where the actor plays himself, to be filled with references and jokes to his career, a self-aware film filled with memes, and yet it doesn’t. It almost feels as if the lead could be any actor playing themselves, or an actor playing a fictional actor. Yet, there’s something rather clever about the idea of Nick Cage playing Nick Cage, particularly within this film. Allowing for a celebration of both his career and him simply being him, while managing to provide a couple of gags along the way.

Here we find the fictional version of Cage considering retiring from acting, after a series of bad auditions and readings for parts. This all going against the wishes of a 90s version of himself, loud and highly energetic – donning a Wild At Heart t-shirt and a leather jacket – a figure which screams the famous appearance the actor made on Wogan where he backflipped in and kicked the air. He’s in serious debt to the hotel he’s been staying at and the thing that could make that all go away is the offer of one million dollars to attend the birthday party of a wealthy fan, Javi (Pedro Pascal – having a lot of fun playing a complete ‘silly character’). However, not long after arrival Cage discovers from CIA operatives Vivan (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz) that Javi is the head of a major cartel who have kidnapped the daughter of one of the candidates in the upcoming Catalonian presidential election in the hope of fixing it. Soon he’s recruited by the pair to both get answers and track down Maria (Katrin Vankova).

A series of good performances, particularly Cage who is great as the fictionalised version/s of himself, help to bring about much of the comedy throughout the piece. While slightly prodding at action film conventions there’s generally plenty straying away from such a nature which helps the overall piece along. Allowing it to not feel tired or reliant on both knowing Cage’s career (although also featuring enough for fans of the actor) or a completely self-aware nature. It’s certainly a respectful screenplay for the actor from co-writers Kevin Etten and Tom Gormican – the latter also taking on directing duties – where narrative is put as at much of a core focus as the lead star. While this narrative may feel somewhat crammed into the third act, due to the jokes and scenes of the budding friendship between Nick and Javi – which provides plenty of laughs and chuckles throughout as the core focus of many scenes – what comes before is undeniably entertaining and at least drops some build up to it instead of forcing everything all at once towards the end in the hope of forming some kind of last-minute arc.

Yet, what makes the film click is the way in which it looks at and discusses the central figure of Nicolas Cage. The career which he has had, and will have. He’s cleverly used and cast in the film, with a different actor this would be very different, this has, of course, been tailored to Cage but in such a specific way that still manages to avoid feeling cliché or obvious. It helps to bring you in to the various scenes and moments of this fictionalised version of him, trying to be better while coping with a career breakdown. There’s so much the screenplay could easily dive into and yet it manages to avoid it all by remaining direct with its narrative, the friendship at the centre of the piece, never overinflating Cage or his presence in the film – he is as much a player/ character in this film as everyone else – and making an entertaining piece of work with plenty of laughs throughout. And it works because it looks at Nicolas Cage instead of a potential comedic perception, making it all the better for having done that.

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent works because it avoids a self-aware feel. Leaning into Nicolas Cage the actor instead of the meme. Cage is great in the leading role with a supporting cast who help bring about many of the laughs. The third act may feel somewhat busy, but there’s still plenty to enjoy throughout, especially within the central friendship.