Downton Abbey maker Carnival Films scraps dividend as earnings dip ahead of third film August 22, 2024 Earnings at the production company behind TV hits such as Downton Abbey dipped in 2023 after the income it generates from its back catalogue fell, it has been revealed. Carnival Films has reported a turnover of £43m for its latest financial year, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The figure comes after the business [...]
Sven film review: A graceful goodbye to the former England boss August 21, 2024 Amazon’s latest profile of a sporting hero should be a cause for nostalgia, coming 20 years after Sven-Göran Eriksson peak as England manager in Euro 2004. However, it’s tinged with sadness, as in January the Swedish football manager announced he has around a year to live having battled pancreatic cancer. This documentary, filmed both before [...]
Five stars: Kneecap film is among the best of the year August 21, 2024 Kneecap, the rap group that perform in the Irish language, tell their story in a riotous rise to fame comedy-drama. Liam Ó Hannaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin are listless members of ‘The Ceasefire Generation’ in West Belfast, living off dealing drugs and avoiding the police. One night, when Liam gets arrested, an Irish interpreter (JJ [...]
Zoe Kravitz unsettling Blink Twice is a chilling debut August 21, 2024 Zoe Kravitz, star of The Batman and Fantastic Beasts films, steps behind the camera for a startling debut that signals the beginning of a second stage in her career. Blink Twice stars Naomi Ackie as Frida, a cocktail waitress who by chance meets tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). The pair hit it off, with [...]
Marv Studios: Record year for Matthew Vaughn and Claudia Schiffer’s Kingsman maker August 21, 2024 Marv Studios, the production company founded by Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie, achieved the best year in its history as it surged back into the black. The firm, which is now owned by Vaughn and his wife Claudia Schiffer, has posted a pre-tax profit of £72.7m for the year to 30 June, 2023. The company [...]
Hollywoodgate: Documentary behind the scenes of Taliban rule August 14, 2024 A year in Kabul offers up some startling footage in this documentary that goes behind the scenes of Taliban rule. Director Ibrahim Nash’at spends twelve months documenting the transition from US occupation in Afghanistan to Taliban control, focusing on alleged American military base Hollywood Gate. Taliban Air Force Commander Mawlawi Mansour discovers over $7billion of [...]
Swan Song is an affectionate documentary on the world of ballet August 14, 2024 Produced by Scream star and former dancer Neve Campbell, this affectionate documentary delves into the demanding and pressured world of ballet. Cameras follow the lead up to The National Ballet’s 2022 production of Swan Lake, intended to be the final work of artistic director Karen Kain, a hallowed figure in the ballet world. Having been [...]
Borderlands film review: Starry cast can’t save video game flop August 14, 2024 Horror maestro Eli Roth (Hostel) delves into the world of video game adaptations in this big screen version of Borderlands, the first-person shooter that has spawned many sequels and imitators. With the success of Uncharted, Super Mario Bros, and Five Nights At Freddy’s, the stigma attached to movies based on games isn’t as prominent as [...]
London could be Europe’s Hollywood – but we need to act now August 11, 2024 A backward-looking mindset is stopping London's film industry from thriving, writes Trevor Morriss
Tuesday film review: Julia Louis-Dreyfuss puts you through the emotional wringer August 9, 2024 Tuesday film review: ★★★ Veep and Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfuss goes serious in this imaginative drama about the acceptance of grief. She plays Zora, a mother looking after her daughter Tuesday, played by Lola Pettigrew, who is in the latter stages of a terminal illness. Unable to face what’s coming, death literally confronts the pair [...]