Avsnitt
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James Cameron-Wilson says that UK box office is down for the fifth week in a row. #3 is Companion which James says is best enjoyed knowing little about it. It has laughs, thrills and plenty of surprises but is essentially a black comedy. Steven Soderbergh's horror Presence has slipped to #20 but James found it a one-trick pony with little flesh on its bones, short though it is. He suggests everyone avoids at all costs Amazon Prime's matrimonial romcom You're Cordially Invited. With Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, it is depressing, irritating and mean-spirited and beggars belief in its awfulness.
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James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is down 21%, although A Complete Unknown remains #1. The Mel Gibson thriller Flight Risk is #4 with Michelle Dockery and Mark Wahlberg excellent in a well-produced, tight piece of hokum which actually drew a round of applause in the cinema. On Netflix, James found Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger with Rory Kinnear, about the iniquity of payday lenders, superior to the first film. It's more believable and he was perfectly engaged. He also discusses the Oscar nominations, including the snubs, the disappointments and the surprises.
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James Cameron-Wilson reports on box office -13% but still up on 2024, with Wicked becoming last year's most successful film with £59.6m. The musical biopic of Bob Dylan, A Complete Unknown, with Timothy Chalomet and Edward Norton is the new #1. Despite great performances, with little narrative momentum, it might be mainly for fans. The tedious and unbelievable Wolf Man limps in at #7. James found Netflix's spy thriller Back in Action, the return from retirement of Cameron Diaz, all very silly and over the top, despite some good stunts. The Oscar nominations were coming out during recording so James gives his first thoughts on who's in and who's out.
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James Cameron-Wilson says that yet again 6 films took £1m at the box office, with Mufasa replacing Nosferatu as #1. Racy drama Babygirl is #5, with Nicole Kidman amazing as a businesswoman whose perfect life is threatened by an affair. James found it almost too much, so real and voyeuristic did it feel. Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain at #6 has him and Kieran Culkin mismatched cousins tracing their European heritage. It's original, deftly realised, witty and well acted. Although perhaps aimed at younger viewers, Amazon's White Bird has Helen Mirren explaining her experiences under the Nazis to her grandson. Made by the great Marc Forster, it is poignant and touching and had James on the edge of tears at times.
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James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a healthy box office, up 42% YoY. New #1 Nosferatu is Robert Eggers' take on the 1922 Murnau classic with Bill Skarsgard, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult. The design and photography is brilliant but the ripe dialogue caused giggles in the audience. At #3 is We Live In Time from the director of the brilliant Brooklyn. A non-linear telling of a relationship, James found it an amazing and rewarding emotional investment. On Netflix, he admired the Six Triple Eight, a surprisingly true WW2 tale of African American servicewomen in Europe. Although it's not subtle, it is very emotive and well-acted.
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James Cameron-Wilson celebrates box office soaring 113%, though he can't be dragged to #1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He finds the animation in the photo-realistic #2 Mufasa: The Lion King astonishing. A prequel and sequel modelled on Butch Cassidy it is wonderful, being both moving and very powerful. Better Man is a musical memoir of Robbie Williams with him narrating, though on screen he is represented as a chimpanzee. It's very original and inventive and is surprisingly engaging and moving. On Netflix James recommended Carry-On, a thriller with Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman which sucks you into the terrifying action.
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With box office takings down once more, James Cameron-Wilson says that #5 Kraven the Hunter is the worst ever Marvel opening. It's a mixed bag but is often entertainingly ludicrous with Russell Crowe having fun as a Russian villain. He found the anime Lords of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim often utterly baffling but it got better as it went on, even if he never wants to see anything Lords of the Ring-related ever again. On Netflix, however, he warmed to the animated That Christmas, co-written by Richard Curtis. It's a sweet and sentimental tale aimed at the whole family that does what it says on the tin.
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James Cameron-Wilson celebrates UK box office being up 38% YoY with 5 films taking £1m. With no new films to review, he turns to the 1954 Edward G. Robinson gangster film noir Black Tuesday. Banned in the UK for its violence, it has been restored on Blu-Ray. Packed with superb extras, it is a forgotten masterpiece. He found Beatles '64, a documentary about the Fab Four on Disney+, slick and engaging.
And Simon recommended a glorious garage in Derbyshire where they have restored a Compton cinema organ called Pipes in the Peaks, having attended four concerts there this year.
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James Cameron-Wilson reports that UK box office is up for an amazing 7th week in the row with Disney's Moana 2's £12m opening at #1 being four times that of the original. While the animation is sublime and the music great, it lacks a cohesive storyline. At #5 is Conclave with Ralph Fiennes excellent in a surprisingly thrilling and insightful adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel about the election of a new Pope. James was gripped throughout, finding it a cinematic masterpiece. Although Netflix's second screen version of The Piano Lesson, with Samuel L. Jackson, is a well-made and acted tale, it can't shake off its theatrical roots. He also revisited the John Grisham adaptation A Time To Kill online, finding it has well stood the test of time.
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James Cameron-Wilson says that not only has the box office climbed for the 6th time in a row, but that #1 Wicked has had the biggest opening of the year, £13.7m. Although just the first part of the adaptation of the stage musical, James found it hugely entertaining with great comedy timing. Although down to #16 in the charts, James is rooting for Steve McQueen's Blitz in awards season, which he found an engrossing and visually amazing movie. He could not recommend Netflix's Joy more, a true-life tale of the first test-tube baby with the likes of James Norton and Bill Nighy. It is pitch perfect, being beautifully English and understated.
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James Cameron-Wilson celebrates UK box office climbing for the 5th week running. #1 is Ridley Scott's Gladiator II which, if anything, is even better than the first film, with smart storytelling and visual spectacle to take the breath away. It is incredibly violent, though, despite its 15 certificate. On Netflix, James adored French-made, Mexico-set musical Emilia Pérez which, like Gladiator, has lots of Oscar buzz. Stylised but gritty and intelligent, it's unlike anything you'll have seen for ages. In a positive week, James also raved about the 50th anniversary Blu-Ray of the British disaster-era film Juggernaut. With Richard Harris leading a great cast directed by Richard Lester, it stands up incredibly well and is a masterclass in popular entertainment with amazing extras.
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James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office chart, with takings up 53% thanks to 2 films. #1 is Paddington in Peru but the third in the series suffers from inane dialogue, an obvious plot and little basis in reality. James was no more impressed by #2 Red One with Dwayne Johnson in a movie about Father Christmas being kidnapped. It's nonsensical, silly and cynical. Simon caught Steve McQueen's Blitz, an impressive recreation of life on the home front during nightly bombings, starring Saoirse Ronan, which he recommends. And James caught up with Demi Moore in The Substance, an astonishly original and very stylish horror film about an actress's attempt to stay young.
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James Cameron-Wilson says box office is up 12%, with Heretic at #3 a horror film starring Hugh Grant. While the first half is a blast in the vein of Sleuth, it then descends into full-out nasty horror. Although #6 Anora, starring Mike Madison, won the Palme D'Or, and has a great central performance, James was disappointed, perhaps because expectations were so high. He found #10 Clint Eastwood's 40th film as director, Juror #2, with Nicholas Hoult, totally gripping. It's a great story with multi-layered characters. James also celebrated a 75th anniversary restoration of The Third Man, one of the UK's greatest movies. The Blu-Ray and 4K disc of this riveting noir classic is also packed with great extras.
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James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is up a mere 3% with new #1 Venom: The Last Dance, the third in the franchise with Tom Hardy. Full of British actors, it is dark and violent. The antithesis is #2 The Wild Robot, a delightful animated feature about a robot learning from the animals on an uninhabited island. It's a genuine original and looks terrific. James was moved and entertained. On Sky/Netflix is Woman of the Hour, starring and directed by Anna Kendrick. Although based on a true story about a serial killer on a TV dating show, James found it only mildly diverting. He did recommend, though, that people search out the 2011 version of Jane Eyre online, starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska.
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James Cameron-Wilson reports that box office takings are up 23%. #1 is the animated The Wild Robot from the creator of How To Train Your Dragon. #3 is The Apprentice, about the property-developing years of Donald Trump. Despite two excellent central performances, it's a dreary and underwhelming affair, which isn't particularly entertaining. The Crime is Mine from the versatile and prolific film director François Ozon is a farcical trifle set in 1930s Paris which is sweet but no Muscatel. On Sky Cinema, The Radleys is a vampire drama set in Whitby with Kelly Macdonald and Damien Lewis. But with an uncertain tone and no link to real life, it most resembles an episode of Grange Hill.
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James Cameron-Wilson explains that box office is down 17%, with a big dropoff for the new Joker movie. He couldn't get excited by new #1 Transformers One. Being animated, it negates the wow factor and he was bored rigid. For the first time in his career, he thinks a film should not have gone on general release. #3 Terrifier 3 is a Christmas horror movie so strong some patrons have been made ill. James says it would have been banned in the 80s. Again he recommends people to catch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or The Outrun, both still in the charts. On AppleTV+ he enjoyed Wolfs with George Clooney and Brad Pitt playing well off each other as rival fixers, even if it does get increasingly silly.
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James Cameron-Wilson says the box office is up 44% thanks to #1 Joker: Folie à Deux, with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Essentially a jukebox musical contemplating the human condition, it sadly lacks a narrative drive and is often downright boring. At #10, A Different Man is an accomplished and original drama which is moving, challenging and entertaining. Never sure where it's going, it's remarkable and highly recommended. Out on excellently restored home discs is the 1954 JB Priestley An Inspector Calls with Alastair Sim, directed by future Bond director Guy Hamilton. Despite its age, it still casts quite a spell.
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James Cameron-Wilson reorts on box office down 9%, the third downturn in a row. He thought #3 The Outrun, a searing drama based on a memoir starring Saoirse Ronan, a terrific film. A work of arthouse cinema, it's a beautiful and emotional expedition with great acting. Francis Ford Coppola's long-cherished dream project Megalopolis reaches the screen at #7 but it is preposterous, self-indulgent and incomprehensible and had the audience leaving in droves. #10 Never Let Go with Halle Berre is a boring cabin-in-the-woods horror. But James was unexpectedly delighted by Ronan's first film from 2007, I Could Never Be Your Woman, which is available to view free online. He found Netflix's family drama His Three Daughters unduly theatrical and disappointing.
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Box office is down 27%, says James Cameron-Wilson with new entry The Substance, a feminist body horror starring Demi Moore, entering only at #3. Although #12, Jodie Comer's Prima Facie has now taken £7.6m, the highest ever for an event movie and it is still screening. James waxed lyrical about the extras-laden Blu-Ray Michael Powell: Early Works, giving umpteen insights into the development of one of the UK's greatest directors. He was also positive about Netflix's Rebel Ridge, a thriller about corruption and racism in America's South with Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson, even if the drama ebbs away when it begins to resemble First Blood.
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James Cameron-Wilson tells Simon Rose that box office is down 21%, with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice still #1. #2 is the James McAvoy thriller of manners Speak No Evil which James praised highly while advising cinemagoers to avoid the trailer. Kate Winslet stars in passion project Lee (#3) about WW2 photojournalist Lee Miller. While she is brilliant and the film looks amazing, the story is so slow paced and conventionally told James had trouble keeping his eyes open. And while he enjoyed Ian McKellen's performance in the 1930s-set The Critic (#7), he found it improbable, flat, leaden and lacking in humour as well, as too often these days, much too dark.
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