James Cameron-Wilson says that box office, despite a WoW drop of 17%, is still very healthy. #5 Eternity depicts an afterlife where souls must pick their preferred eternity. Although a comic parable where a woman must choose with which man to spend the afterlife, it fails to work on several levels. James, disappointed by the ending, was not moved. He found the Blu-Ray release of 1954's Apache, directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Lancaster to be a fascinating insight into attitudes of the time. Although at the forefront of those films more sympathetically depicting Native Americans, Lancaster is an unpleasant and hugely misogynistic character while the movie is highly patronising by current standards. James was much keener on Netflix's Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach's film of a film actor not hugely dissimilar to George Clooney, played by George Clooney, only more unpleasant and egotistical. It has many wonderful scenes, should resonate with many and James loved it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For this episode, James Cameron-Wilson is joined by Chad Kennerk, our occasional American correspondent, to discuss the news that Netflix has made an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Following the separation of Discovery Global for a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion (equity value $72 billion). James covers Disney’s 64th animated feature, 'Zootropolis 2', an entertaining sprint through a world of zoological delights. He raves about awards contender 'Christy', the extraordinary true story of a female boxer in 1990s’ America starring Sydney Sweeney. James was also pleased with the Disney+ release of 'Swiped', in which a tech entrepreneur played by Lily James has her idea for the dating app Tinder swiped. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson says #1 Wicked: For Good's £18.9m take has boosted box office 123% but at the expense of all other movies. However, James enjoyed it much more than the first half. It has gobsmacking costumes and sets, great songs and is surprisingly touching and funny. It is clearly set for Oscar attention. He thought Russell Crowe superb as the bombastic Gõring in #4 Nuremberg. With a great supporting cast, it is long but holds the attention throughout. And he admires Tom Hardy playing both Kray twins in the 10th anniversary 4K UHD release of the very violent Legend. It comes with lots of great extras. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson likes #1 Now You See Me: Now You Don't as much as the first in the trilogy. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are joined by younger actors as magicians mounting a heist. He particularly cares for the details and the allusions. #2 is Edgar Wright's take on The Running Man with Glen Powell. But despite the big budget, the main character is unsympathetic, the plot makes little sense and the product placement is appallingly blatant. As a fan of French horror, he likes #27 Alpha from Julia Ducournau. It deserves two viewings before the pieces will fall into place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson's dislike of the Predator franchise isn't changed by the 9th in the series #1 Predator: Badlands which, with no human characters, bored him. He loved #2 The Choral, another film from the Nicholas Hytner/Alan Bennett partnership. Set in World War 1, Roger Allam and Ralph Fiennes star in a tale of a local choral society short of men. It's full of compassion, drama and humour and is timeless and uplifting. #24 Anemone is a first-time film from Ronan Day-Lewis who gets his father to return to the screen as a remote-living hermit. Also starring Sean Bean, it's self-indulgent and leaves the audience too often in the dark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson laments that no film grossed more than £1m last weekend. He found #1 Bugonia, directed by The Favourite's Yorgos Lanthimos with Emma Stone to be beautiful cinema. The story, about conspiracy theorists convinced a CEO is an alien, is a tad pretentious but you have no idea where it's going. At #11 is Shelby Oaks, a low-budget horror film from film critic Chris Stuckmann. Sadly, this slim tale is full of the usual horror tropes: James couldn't remember when he'd last been so bored. No boredom in Netflix's A House of Dynamite, though. Kathryn Bigelow directs Idris Elba in a thriller about the US facing a defence emergency. If you're short of time, just watch the first 39 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson says that October could be the worst for cinema since the late 1990s, despite the high quality of many films. Docudrama #1 Springsteen:Deliver Me From Nowhere is enjoyable, if not emotionally engaging. #2 Regretting You is a mother and daughter drama with great acting but the annoying screenplay makes the characters' lives unnecessarily difficult. He laughed more than he should have done. He loved All Of You on Apple TV+, with Imogen Poots and Brett Goldstein friends in a near-future world. It's a lovely, dramatic, fresh and charming film. He also recommends seeking out the prescient S1m0ne from 23 years ago, with Al Pacino digitally creating an actress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson says he can't remember when there were so many good movies in the chart. At #6 is Channing Tatum in Roofman, a true tale of a polite crook who hides away in a toy store. Also starring Kirsten Dunst, it's a character study full of great performances. At #9 is After the Hunt with Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield in a superbly-made ideas movie with an exquisitely calibrated script. On Netflix, The Woman in Cabin 10 with Keira Knighley and Guy Pearce disappointed. It's an old-fashioned thriller set on a luxury cruise, which might be fine if you put your brain in neutral. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson loved #1 Tron: Ares, the 3rd in the series. It has amazing graphics, a great score and is often very funny. He was impressed with #3 I Swear, set in the Scottish Borders, about a lad with Tourette's. A true story boasting great real performances, it is funny and yet heartbreaking; James had to hold back tears many times. Despite the Oscar buzz he was disappointed with #5 The Smashing Machine. Yes, Dwayne Johnson can act and Emily Blunt is super but it's a dull story. James and Simon both recommend the 4K restoration of the massively influential 1981 French thriller Diva, with an embarrassment of extras. And James thinks Netflix's Steve, produced by and starring Cillian Murphy – about a head teacher of a reform college – may be a touch melodramatic at times but is one of Murphy's best performances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson raves about #1, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn. At times baffling, it's bravura film-making which you can't stop thinking about and which seems destined for Oscar glory. Not so #7 The Strangers: Chapter 2, a nonsensical horror sequel. More interesting is #25 Brides, a low budget production about two naive teenage girls who want to flee the UK. It's very realistic and you don't want to tear your eyes away. Disney+'s The Man In My Basement is a psychological thriller with Willem Dafoe. Scuppered by an unlikeable protagonist, it might have made a better play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson wished he liked #6, the fantasy A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey with Colin Farrell & Margot Robbie. It looks good but there's no chemistry, just whimsy. He does recommend #8, the thought-provoking NT Live production Inter Alia. He found Wrack & Ruin, a box set of post-war DEFA films on Blu-Ray aimed at de-Nazifying Germany, particularly Somewhere in Berlin, an eye-opening education and a must for film lovers. And out next week on Apple TV+ is The Lost Bus, a true story with Matthew McConaughey a bus driver trying to save schoolchildren from a wildfire. Deftly directed by Paul Greengrass it's a prime example of the new panic attack genre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With box office takings on the rise, James Cameron-Wilson celebrates the arrival of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, an exquisitely packaged producdtion with most of the regulars that rounds the trilogy off nicely. He finds #4 The Long Walk, based on a Stephen King novel about boys forced onto a deadly march, to be so compelling you didn't worry about its illogicalities. #7 Spinal Tap II: The End Continues plays on a nostalgic yearning. Often too silly, it still has a high chuckle quotient. James also pays tribute to Robert Redford. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson is mystified by the success of #1 The Conjuring: Last Rites, the 9th in the series. It's the biggest horror opening ever but it is dumb and clichéd and James spent most of its 135 minutes trying not to fall asleep. Ethan Coen's Honey Don't! is #10. Chris Evans & Margaret Qualley star in a good-looking but lightweight dark comedy with a surprising amount of sex, violence & bad language for a 15. He much preferred Apple TV's Highest 2 Lowest. Directed by Spike Lee, Denzel Washington stars as a music mogul in a gripping crime thriller which is also a moral fable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson loved the start of beautifully-written black comedy The Roses (another remake) at #1. But he liked the characters played by Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch so much that it became painful and hard to stomach as it turned darker. He preferred #6 Caught Stealing, a freewheeling caper set in 1998 with Austin Butler, directed by Darren Aronofsky. It's an inventive and often very funny surprise. He found #43, Slovenian Little Trouble Girls, an awakening drama set in a Catholic school, sensitive and a breath of fresh air. He had few good words to say about Netflix's The Thursday Murder Club with the likes of Helen Mirren, feeling it like a poor TV movie from another era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson says that the top five UK films have the lowest take since 2022. #6 The Life of Chuck with Chewitel Ejiofor and Tom Hiddleston is a challenging and original fantasy which is beguiling, terrifying and yet life-affirming. Highly recommended. #10 Eddington has Joaquin Phoenix in a satire of America as the pandemic hit. Although thought-provoking it meanders, isn't always credible and is far too long. James thoroughly enjoyed Netflix's Night Always Comes with Vanessa Kirby, a formulaic thriller but nonetheless a genuinely gripping one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron Wilson says the new #2 film Materialists with Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans is one of his favourites of the year. A fascinating insight into online dating, it's a classic romantic drama that looks sensational and boasts a great screenplay. He found #8 Together a barmy and nonsensical body horror with little to recommend it. And he thought #10 Nobody 2 with Bob Odenkirk not a patch on the first film, being a formulaic, predictable & witless John Wick knockoff. He loved Netflix's Shark Whisperer, an intriguing documentary which, unusually, puts both sides of the argument and is a visual treat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron-Wilson says that despite not being a sequel or remake, #1 Weapons took £2.8m. A disturbing mystery thriller which changes genre near the end, it's too long but is definitely an original. That's hardly true of #2 Freakier Friday, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan returning one generation older. If you can suspend disbelief, you might enjoy the mayhem. To his surprise, James thorougly enjoyed the Netflix romcom My Oxford Year with an American woman studying in England. It's formulaic but smarter than it looks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With ‘Fantastic Four’ still #1, the reboot of ‘The Naked Gun’ with Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson could only manage second place. Much as he enjoyed the original movies, James found the continual running gags in this version soon became tiresome while the film was so silly and surreal it undermined the comedy. He was more impressed with ‘The Legend of Ochi’ which only limped in at #18. With Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson, it's a visually spellbinding fable but, being both magical and barmy, it may struggle to find an audience, even if it eventually becomes a cult classic. Apple TV+ add to their many music documentaries with ‘Bono: Stories of Surrender’, in which the star tells stories of his life with a few songs. He's a charismatic storyteller with an unexpectedly poetic turn of phrase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
James Cameron Wilson says box office is up 17%, though most films have dropped as #1 The Fantastic Four: First Steps took in £8m. The plot may not be unduly original but there are lots of incidental pleasures, with a humorous script and a realistic family dynamic: Vanessa Kirby gives the film a human dimension as her character is expecting. #3 The Bad Guys II is an animated sequel in the mould of Ocean's Eleven but the dialogue is lazy and the film noisy and frenetic. However, James celebrates a glorious 4K restoration of 1952's High Noon, "the Western for those who don't like Westerns" starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. It looks wonderful and some of the extras are superb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With UK box office up slightly as schools break up, James Cameron-Wilson found #5, a new version, 28 years on, of I Know What You Did Last Summer wildly implausible, very silly and undermined by a limp script. He thought #15 Four Letters of Love beautifully made. Starring the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter and Gabriel Byrne, it's a love story with a touch of Mills & Boon and, although it will have its fans, it isn't always believable. He also revisited 2007's Superbad, rereleased at #28. A time capsule with the likes of Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and Emma Stone in her first film, it's somewhat misogynistic and would never be made nowadays. But there are great performances, much about it still feels fresh and funny and it was a template for much to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices