LWLies Recommends

Review

The Colours Within review – hits with the power of a dodgeball

by Josh Slater-Williams

Animé director Naoko Yamada returns with a wonderful coming-of-ager set in a Catholic girls’ boarding school.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

Hard Truths review – incredible in small, measured strokes

by Mark Asch

Reuniting with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mike Leigh makes a welcome return to contemporary filmmaking with a searing portrait of a woman on the brink.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Review

Presence review – an enjoyably swift chiller

by Manuela Lazic

Steven Soderbergh plays with the cinematic form to craft a compelling story about family dynamics and grief.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

The Brutalist review – gorgeous, capital-C Cinema

by Hannah Strong

Adrien Brody is phenomenal in Brady Corbet’s sublime three-and-a-half hour drama, as a Jewish architect arrives in post-war America to a hostile new world.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Review

Babygirl review – intelligent, elegant adult filmmaking

by Hannah Strong

Halina Reijn’s psychodrama sees Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson go toe-to-toe as a CEO and an intern who become embroiled in a complex illicit affair.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and fur-trimmed coat, gazing pensively.
Review

Maria review – a tender eulogy for a remarkable talent

by Hannah Strong

Angelina Jolie has never been better as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, captured in the final week of her life by Pablo Larraín’s elegant biographical drama.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

The Girl With The Needle review – politically pertinent Gothic horror story

by David Jenkins

Magnus von Horn brings subtlety and empathy to the serial killer genre in this extraordinary true-life yarn.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

A Real Pain review – an amusing and compelling inquiry into human pain and suffering

by Katherine McLaughlin

Based on a trip he took to Poland with his own cousin, Jesse Eisenberg crafts a sensitive dramedy co-starring Kieran Culkin.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl review – an Aardman banger

by Hannah Strong

The eccentric inventor and his incredibly patient pooch return in a new adventure from Aardman Animation.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

Better Man review – chimply irresistible

by Hannah Strong

Ridiculously enjoyable Robbie Williams biopic with the bold gambit of having a CG-chimpanzee in the title role paying off handsomely.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect