Hrkn to .. Share Radio's Film Review

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

James Cameron-Wilson is disappointed that UK box office is down 36% but delighted with new #1 Superman, starring David Corenswet. Written and directed by James Gunn, he found it a thrilling and funny ride which is also pertinent and reckons a stale genre has been saved from the brink. Simon Rose was less enthusiastic. #26 is Modi: Three Days on the Wings of Madness, directed by Johnny Depp. Concerning Modigliani and other dissolute, starving artists in 1916 Paris it's a visual feast but also a mixed bag. On Amazon Prime, Heads of State has Idris Elba and John Cena as UK & US Premiers battling terrorists in an odd couple thriller. It's improbable and clichéd but rattles along nicely with decent banter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a buoyant summer box office climbing another 42% with #1 Jurassic World: Rebirth. But despite a great cast including Scarlett Johansson and director Gareth Edwards, it is very formulaic and feels like a retread of past glories. Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey star in #11 Hot Milk but again, despite such fine actors, it is bafflingly abtruse and so little happens, you might as well see the excellent trailer which even includes the climactic scene. On Netflix, James was disappointed by The Old Guard 2. Much as he enjoyed the first spin on immortaility this one is overbudgeted, crammed full of exotic locations and leaden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week James Cameron-Wilson is joined by Chad Kennerk, our occasional American correspondent, to review the opening weekend performance of 'F1 The Movie', which at #1 is now Brad Pitt’s highest-grossing movie, beating the record set in 2013 by his zombie thriller 'World War Z'. Having waxed lyrical last week about Danny Boyle’s new film '28 Years Later', James returns to where the franchise left off in 2007, reviewing the title with fresh eyes. While on the subject of zombies, Chad and James share some of their favourite undead excursions. James was less thrilled with the film at #6, 'M3GAN 2.0', which continues the escapades of the titular killer robot doll as she goes good in order to face off with a deadlier foe. For his streaming title of the week, James reviews the sobering Netflix documentary 'Grenfell Uncovered'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cameron-Wilson waxes lyrical about #1 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle's first film in 6 years. It's 23 years since 28 Days Later and the zombie horror is as fresh as ever, with the likes of Ralph Fienes and Jodie Comer starring in the third in the series, which begins on Lindisfarne. The film has been doing incredibly well wherever it has opened. #3 Elio, however, has had the worst opening ever for Pixar. A children's sci-fi animated adventure, James found himself unmoved while the kids seeing it were far from being gripped. On Amazon Prime, his hopes for the supposedly funny film about improv actors involved in police stings, Deep Cover, were soon dashed, despite the presence of Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean. It simply isn't funny enough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cameron-Wilson finds the live-action remake of #1 How To Train Your Dragon a disappointment, lacking much of the original's charm. He points out that the perfectly woven farce The Wedding Banquet is still around, suggesting people catch it while they can. On Netflix, he watched Straw, a state-of-the-nation melodrama from the phenomenally successful Tyler Perry. But while it has some nice moments, it's formulaic and unrealistic. He much admires the beautiful restoration of Darling, 1965's satire of Britain in the swinging 60s. Starring Dirk Bogarde and Julie Christie as a self-obsessed model, it has sparkling dialogue and won Oscars for costumes, script and for Christie. The extras are great too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a thriving box office, well ahead of last year's take. #3 Ballerina has little to do with ballet, coming from the world of John Wick. It's stylish but is relentless, exhausing combat porn. Apple TV+ has Echo Valley with Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney. It's a thriller that gripped James throughout. Also on Apple is the documentary Deaf President Now! about a deaf university where the students felt they were second-class citizens. It too is recommended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cameron-Wilson is impressed that the box office has fallen only 20% with Lilo & Stitch and Mission Impossible #1 & #2. #3 is Karate Kid: Legends with Jackie Chan (the sixth in the series). It is formulaic but moves at a good clip. Independent film The Salt Path is #4, packing out screens where it is showing. It's an unbelieveable but true story with Jason Isaacs & Gillian Anderson and is worthy but lacking cinematic oomph. On Netflix James caught the Spanish crime drama A Widow's Game, which can be seen subtitled or dubbed. Sadly, it is all too obvious who the guilty party is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cameron-Wilson reports box office up 199%. #1 Lilo and Stitch, the latest manifestation in the massive franchise is, despite its popularity with young viewers, a cinematic abomination which James loathed every minute of. He'd been looking forward to #2 Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning, but James found the 8th MI outing lacks the laughter and romance of the first part two years ago. Full of exposition and almost three hours long, it's Mission Ridiculous. He found Apple TV's Fountain of Youth should satisfy its young adult audience but its playful screenplay goes completely off the rails at the end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices