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Wildwood

Wildwood

Director – Travis Knight – 2026 – US – Cert. 12a – 132m

*****

Portland, Oregon teenager Prue must rescue her little brother from Wildwood, a forest she’s forbidden to enter, following his abduction by a murder of crows – out in UK cinemas from Friday, October 23rd

Somewhere in a town within Wildwood, a teenage boy kills himself by throwing himself off the balcony of the family mansion immediately after revealing that his body, when he tears the flesh of his chest apart, is not flesh and blood but a mechanical construct of cog wheels and other metal parts.

His ‘mother’, the Dowager Governess Alexandra (voice: Carey Mulligan) built this robot boy as a substitute for her son, from whose tragic loss she has never recovered.

Outside Wildwood, in neighbouring Portland, Oregon, for years the parents of teenager Prue (voice: Peyton Elizabeth Lee) have regaled their daughter with stories about why she must never enter the Wildwood on the edge of Portland Oregon where the family live: father (voice: Jake Johnson), mother (voice: Maya Erskin), and her little toddler brother Mac (voice: Arthur Knight, the director’s son).

Rebellious as are all teenagers, on an afternoon where her parents are out and have left her babysitting Mac, on strict instructions that she not go out of the house with him, Prue bicycles out taking Mac with her in her trailer cart on a journey through Portland.… Read the rest

Categories
Movies Features Live Action Music

The Ballad
of Wallis Island

The Ballad of Wallis Island

Director – James Griffifths – 2025 – UK – Cert. 12a – 99m

***1/2

An emotionally clueless lottery winner living on a remote British island attempts to reunite his favourite singer / songwriting duo for a gig on his local beach – out in US cinemas on Wednesday, May 28th and UK cinemas on Friday, May 30th

When musician Herb McGuyer (Tom Basden) arrives by boat to play a gig on a remote island somewhere off the UK coast, he’s a little shocked when met by promoter Charles (Tim Key) that he’s required to wade through water on the beach – so shocked, in fact, that he drops his mobile phone in the water. There follows a lengthy walk up a steep track to the hotel where he’ll be staying – actually Charles’ house. Further surprises are in store. The intimate gig of less than a hundred turns out to be just Charles himself, a lottery winner who is a huge fan.

These days, Herb has a solo musical career, however Charles is particularly keen on Herb’s earlier work with McGuyer Mortimer in which he partnered with Nell Mortimer before that duo split and went their separate ways.… Read the rest

Categories
Movies Features Live Action

Promising
Young Woman

Director – Emerald Fennell – 2020 – US – Cert. US R – 113m

*****

A med school dropout seeks revenge on the students and others complicit in her best friend’s rape years before – on Sky Cinema and Now from Friday, April 16th

Cassie (Carey Mulligan) goes to bars, gets wasted and is picked up by men whose intentions are less than honourable. However, all is not what it seems – before you can shout spoiler alert (and we’re not going to because this is the start of the film, given away in the trailer and effectively part of the narrative set up) she’s not wasted at all, only pretending. Depending on exactly how dishonourable these men’s intentions are, she exacts her revenge accordingly.

These acts are premeditated in the sense that she goes out, entraps men and does what she does, but not in the sense that she knows any of the men beforehand. Indeed, they choose her, so you could argue their fate is self-inflicted. And were any of them to behave chivalrously – take her home, put her to bed, not try to take sexual advantage, perhaps phone the next day to check she was okay – she’d probably look favourably on them for doing the decent thing.… Read the rest