Paddington In Peru
Our favourite furry friend, voiced by Ben Whishaw, is back again with his supporting cast of national treasures including Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters. The third instalment adds Antonio Banderas to the mix, too. Plus, let’s face it, there are few things more festive these days than a new Paddington movie. The BBC says: ‘Everything you want is there.’
Small Things Like These
Cillian Murphy stars in this beautiful rendition of Claire Keegan’s perfectly formed novel of the same name. With a screenplay by Enda Walsh, Small Things Like These takes an elegant but heartrending look at the Magdalene Laundry scandal in Ireland in the 1980s. The Guardian says it ‘casts a powerful spell’.
Blitz
We are in London during the blitz of 1940 and a biracial boy called George escapes from the train carrying him and his fellow evacuees into the countryside. As he tries to find his way back home to his mother (Saoirse Ronan) in the East End, he encounters goodies and baddies and stressful obstacles along the way. The Guardian calls this Steve McQueen movie ‘a well-made and unashamedly old-fashioned wartime adventure’.
Gladiator II
Critics are abuzz with excitement about the combo of Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington in this spectacular, sweeping sequel. By all accounts they make a punchy pair. With its mega set pieces, filmed in Malta, Morocco and our very own South Downs, Forbes magazine says: ‘Gladiator II is a true epic and Ridley Scott’s best in years.’
We Live In Time
Most people would agree that only good things can come out of a romantic comedy that stars Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. In this movie, we follow their relationship over a ten-year period as they navigate illness, childbirth and much more. The stars’ on-screen chemistry is said to be electric. A sure mark of quality is that Benedict Cumberbatch is an executive producer. The Guardian calls We Live in Time: ‘a big, full-throated romantic drama that knows exactly how to make us swoon as well as make us sad.’
