Movie of the Week

• The Conjuring: Last Rites

Cinemas

• Honey Don’t!
• On Swift Horses
• The Cut
• Row
• Christy
• Sanatorium
• The Courageous
• Signs of Life
• Paul & Paulette Take a Bath

Streaming/On-Demand

• Highest 2 Lowest
• The Occupant

Re-Releases

• Jumanji

CAST: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Steve Coulter, Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, John Brotherton, Shannon Kook

CREW: Michael Chaves (director), Ian Goldberg, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Richard Naing (writers), Peter Safran and James Wan (producers), Benjamin Wallfisch (composer), Eli Born (cinematographer), Elliot Greenberg and Gregory Plotkin (editors)

PLOT: In the 1980s, paranormal investigators Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga) take on one last terrifying case…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• It’s the end of the road for the Warrens as they take centre stage one final time in the ninth overall entry in the Conjuring Universe
• Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga make their bows as the Warrens, whose real-life investigations of seemingly paranormal events inspired the original James Wan-directed film in 2013
• Wan returns as a producer under director Michael Chaves, who previously directed The Nun II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in the franchise
• With this supposedly being the final time we’re seeing the Warrens, expect the supernatural elements to be scarier than ever before, possibly to fatal degrees
• Fans of the series will be both terrified and mournful during this farewell to a pair of wholesome horror heroes who are going out with a well-deserved bang

The Conjuring: Last Rites is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Chris Evans, Billy Eichner, Kristen Connolly, Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Jacnier, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Lena Hall, Lera Abova, Kale Browne, Alexander Carstoiu, Christian Antidormi, Kinna McInroe

CREW: Ethan Coen (director, writer, producer), Tricia Cooke (writer, producer, editor), Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Robert Graf (producers), Carter Burwell (composer), Ari Wegner (cinematographer), Emily Denker (editor)

PLOT: Honey O’Donahue (Qualley), a private investigator, dives into a series of murders connected to a religious cult led by the corrupt Reverend Drew Devlin (Evans)…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Ethan Coen continues his and co-writer Tricia Cooke’s unofficial “lesbian B-movie trilogy” – after Drive-Away Dolls – with a sparky detective comedy that’s filled with off-beat humour
• Margaret Qualley reunites with her Drive-Away Dolls filmmakers to play an all-new lead character who’s straight out of a classic film noir, but with plenty of fresh personality
• She’s joined by scene-stealing turns from the likes of Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, and Chris Evans who goes full scumbag as the sleazy preacher at the centre of the mystery
• Fans of the Coen brothers’ idiosyncratic style of humour will find plenty of that on a much wackier scale, almost as much as Drive-Away Dolls if not more so
• Whatever the third entry in this trilogy ends up being, so far it’s clear that Coen et al are just having fun with creating new heroes for this modern age

Honey Don’t! is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, Sasha Calle, Kat Cunning, Don Swayze

CREW: Daniel Minahan (director, producer), Bryce Kass (writer), Mollye Asher, Michael D’Alto, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page and Peter Spears (producers), Mark Orton (composer), Luc Montpellier (cinematographer), Robert Frazen, Joe Murphy and Kate Sanford (editors)

PLOT: In 1950s California, Muriel (Edgar-Jones) and her husband Lee (Poulter) attempt to start a new life together, until the arrival of Lee’s charismatic younger brother Julius (Elordi) triggers a chain of events that cause Muriel, and Lee, to discover love that neither thought was possible…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This intimate romantic drama, based on Shannon Pufahl’s novel of the same name, is bound to get you all hot and bothered
• It features a starry young cast including Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi and Will Poulter, who all find affection in the most unexpected of places
• Aspects of the marketing have come under fire for misrepresenting or dialling down the LGBTQ+ aspects of the story, which give it a fresh and intriguing angle than most other romance tales
• The stellar line-up of actors made the film a hot ticket at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it made its world premiere
• You’ll certainly feel something as you witness the surprising, and heavily romantic, turns that this movie eventually takes

On Swift Horses is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Orlando Bloom, Caitríona Balfe, John Turturro, Clare Dunne, Gary Beadle, Oliver Trevena, Ed Kear, Adonis Anthony, Mohammed Mansaray

CREW: Sean Ellis (director, cinematographer), Justin Bull (writer), Orlando Bloom, Leonora Darby, Thomas Fanning, James Harris, Adam Karasick, Mark Lane and Bret Saxon (producers), Lorne Balfe and Stuart Michael Thomas (composers), Mátyás Fekete (editor)

PLOT: A former boxer (Bloom) is persuaded to come out of retirement for a championship match in Las Vegas, but only if he can endure a gruelling training and weight loss regime under his demanding new coach Boz (Turturro)…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Get ready to rumble with a much more intense boxing drama than usual, one that almost makes the sport itself feel like a horror film
• Orlando Bloom puts in a truly transformative lead performance as an unnamed boxer who puts himself through all sorts of physical and psychological hell in order to get a shot at the big time
• The actor reportedly lost more than 30lbs for the role, and it shows as he commits harder than ever for a fierce turn that’s matched only by John Turturro’s borderline devilish coach
• Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sean Ellis leans hard into the gritty and unforgiving nature of the sport in ways that few other directors have covered it previously
• With its dedicated lead performance and grim imagery, this is a boxing movie that more than packs a punch

The Cut is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Bella Dayne, Sophie Skelton, Akshay Khanna, Joanna Roth, Mark Strepan, Tam Dean Burn, Jenny Quinn, Melody Grove, Nick Skaugen

CREW: Matthew Losasso (director, writer, editor), Nick Skaugen (writer, producer), Kyle Kirkpatrick (composer), Zoran Veljkovic (cinematographer)

PLOT: Megan (Dayne), a young rower, washes ashore in Scotland with severe memory loss after a failed attempt to cross the North Atlantic Ocean, but as she and local DCI MacKelly (Burn) attempt to piece together what happened on the fateful crossing, a disturbing truth emerges…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Worse things really do happen at sea in this tense psychological mystery thriller which gleefully plays with your expectations
• Debut feature filmmaker Matthew Losasso creates an eerie atmosphere everywhere he goes, from the North Atlantic waters to the foggy Scottish island of Hoy
• There are some truly unnerved performances from a cast that includes Outlander veteran Sophie Skelton and Akshay Khanna, previously seen in Polite Society and Red, White & Royal Blue
• It won the Best UK Feature prize at this year’s Raindance Film Festival, which celebrates the best in under-the-radar independent cinema
• Those with a fear of water will find themselves in a greater state of panic than with Jaws (which had its own theatrical re-release last week!)

Row is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Danny Power, Diarmuid Noyes, Emma Willis, Alison Oliver, Chris Walley, Helen Behan, Lewis Brophy

CREW: Brendan Canty (director), Alan O’Gorman (writer), Marina Brackenbury, Meredith Duff and Rory Gilmartin (producers), Daithi O’Dronai (composer), Colm Hogan (cinematographer), Allyn Quigley (editor)

PLOT: In Cork, Ireland, troubled teenager Christy (Power) is forced to move in with his estranged older brother Shane (Noyes) and his family after being kicked out of his foster home, but as he begins to bond with his extended family and the surrounding community, he and Shane are confronted with the ghosts of their shared past…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• There’s a tough and gritty coming-of-age story at the centre of this grounded Irish drama, one that also carries an enormous heart
• Danny Power delivers a phenomenal breakout performance as the titular teen who goes on a meaningful journey of self-discovery
• It’s also a profound feature debut by director Brendan Canty, who expands on the short film of the same name which also starred Power in the main role
• The film made its world premiere at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix award in the Generation 14plus selection
• Filled with warmth and compassion as well as plenty of griminess, this is a compelling movie that will movie you to bits

Christy is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Various

CREW: Gar O’Rourke (director), Samantha Corr, Andrew Freedman and Ken Wardrop (producers), Denys Melnyk (cinematographer), John Murphy (editor)

PLOT: In the city of Odesa in Southern Ukraine, a Soviet-era health facility continues to host numerous guests and provide rejuvenating treatments despite everything going on in the country…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This quirky documentary explores an unlikely feel-good story in a part of the world that is currently anything but feel-good
• Filmmaker Gar O’Rourke follows numerous guests and staff at the Kuyalnik Sanatorium in Odesa as they search for love, happiness and meaning
• The striking Soviet architecture creates memorable imagery that accompanies light-hearted scenes of strange mud baths and electro-therapy
• When the wider conflict inevitably comes into the picture, it is treated with resilience and moving respect, enough to support the Ukrainian people more than you probably already were
• In an era of uncertainty and brutality in the country, it’s nice to see a sweet-natured story of real people coming together to relax and enjoy themselves

Sanatorium is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Ophélia Kolb, Paul Besnier, Arthur Devaux, Jasmine Kalisz Saurer, Sabine Timoteo

CREW: Jasmin Gordon (director, writer), Julien Bouissoux (writer), Brigitte Hofer and Cornelia Seitler (producers), Mirjam Skal (composer), Andi Widmer (cinematographer), Jan Mühlethaler (editor)

PLOT: Julie (Kolb) is a single mother with a chequered past who, tired of playing by society’s rules, makes a daring personal decision for her and her children…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Swiss filmmaker Jasmin Gordon’s feature debut is a challenging watch that puts forward a mother willing to do anything to prove herself to her family, her contemporaries, and even herself
• Said mother is played by Ophélia Kolb, who delivers a performance that is truly and unapologetically eccentric while still bringing out her deep complexities
• You may disagree with a lot of this character’s actions throughout the film, including some very early on, but you’re still interested in learning more about what she is about to do next
• There is also a strong heart as Kolb shares solid chemistry with her younger co-stars, in scenes where Gordon brings out the luscious beauty of the Swiss wilderness
• It’s an unusual yet engaging movie that offers perhaps the most chaotic depiction of a family on your screens this year

The Courageous is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Sarah-Jane Potts, David Ganly, Simon Shorten, Sharon Duce, Oliver Jackson, Jessica Millson, Ben Redman, Helen Grady

CREW: Joseph Millson (director, writer, producer), Anne Dudley (producer, composer), Roger Dudley (producer), Peter James Millson (composer), Elliot Millson (cinematographer), Charles Lort-Phillips (editor)

PLOT: In an attempt to shift her outlook on life, Anne (Potts) embarks on a solo holiday to Lanzarote, only to find herself in danger until a chance encounter with a stranger named Bill (Ganly) offers a way out, which may change both of their lives…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This idiosyncratic comedy-drama explores an unlikely connection between two people who have nothing yet everything in common
• Actors Sarah-Jane Potts and David Ganly share surprisingly sweet chemistry as the film takes some unexpected turns, some of them fairly early on
• Joseph Millson, an actor known for roles in Casino Royale and as recently as The Amateur, makes his directorial debut from a script that he also wrote
• Some of the Lanzarote scenery is not only stunning but also adds to the sense of isolation and uncertainty within the main characters
• It’s an unusual but heartfelt film that shows how a spark can ignite in the least conventional of places and scenarios

Signs of Life is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Jérémie Galiana, Marie Benati, Fanny Cottençon, Gilles Graveleau, Laurence Vaissiere, Margot Joseph, James Gerard, Marc Tassell, Laura Bourdeau, Natasha Cashman, Isham Conrath, Ralf Legat

CREW: Jethro Massey (director, writer, producer), Marc Tassell (composer), Ole Marius Dahl and Isarr Eiriksson (cinematographers), Julien Chardon (editor)

PLOT: Paul (Galiana), an American photographer, and Paulette (Benati), a French woman with a taste for the macabre, have a chance encounter in Paris and embark on an unusual journey through the city together…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Imagine Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset if it was made by Wes Anderson, and you’ll have an idea of the oddball nature of this eccentric romantic-comedy
• Jérémie Galiana and Marie Benati, as Paul and Paulette respectively, share a weirdly endearing chemistry that powers filmmaker Jethro Massey’s feature debut
• The film’s offbeat and sometimes rather dark sense of humour won over audiences at last year’s Venice Film Festival, where it won a couple of prizes including the Critics’ Week Audience Award
• It’s filled with quirky and delightfully free-spirited energy that fans of European cinema will undoubtedly lap up
• And for those wondering: yes, the two title characters do indeed get in the tub together at one point in the movie!

Paul & Paulette Take a Bath is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, ASAP Rocky, Ice Spice, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, Aubrey Joseph, Michael Potts, Wendell Pierce, Frederick Weller, Elijah Wright, Princess Nokia, Jensen McRae, Aiyana-Lee, Andy McQueen, Nicholas Turturro, Eddie Palmieri, Anthony Ramos, Rosie Perez

CREW: Spike Lee (director), Alan Fox (writer), Jason Michael Berman and Todd Black (producers), Howard Drossin (composer), Matthew Libatique (cinematographer), Barry Alexander Brown and Allyson C. Johnson (editors)

PLOT: David King (Washington), a powerful New York music mogul, finds himself targeted by a ransom plot that forces him to examine his humanity…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Spike Lee’s first joint in five years sees the legendary auteur deliver a compelling update to a crime movie classic
• Lee and first-time writer Alan Fox take the basis of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, itself loosely based on the novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain, and give it a fresh and timely new coat of paint
• Significantly, it marks a reunion between the director and his Malcolm X and He Got Game lead actor Denzel Washington, almost twenty years after their last collaboration on Inside Man
• Following its anticipated debut at Cannes earlier this year, critical reception has been solid with some calling it a triumphant return for the filmmaker
• Unpredictable twists and heavy modern themes are everywhere in a film that has enough to please plenty of moviegoers

Highest 2 Lowest is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ from Friday 5 September 2025

CAST: Ella Balinska, Rob Delaney, Stuart Graham, Vanessa Ifediora, Armin Karima, George Lasha, Konstantine Roinishvili, Sheena Kelly

CREW: Hugo Keijzer (director, writer), Philip Michael Howe, Roelof Jan Minneboo and Xiao Tang (writers), Kwesi Dickson, Isabel Freer, Jay Taylor and Raymond van der Kaaij (producers), Renger Koning (composer), Robbie van Brussel (cinematographer), Brian Philip Davis (editor)

PLOT: Abby (Balinska), an engineering geologist, is returning home from an assignment in a uranium mine, but after her helicopter crashes in the remote mountains, she finds shelter with American pilot John (Delaney) – only to discover a shocking secret about him that forces her to make an even more shocking decision…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• There are some freaky goings-on in the middle of nowhere during this intense psychological thriller
• Ella Balinska, who previously impressed in Run Sweetheart Run and Charlie’s Angels, delivers her most layered and fiercest performance to date
• She’s matched by an extremely intimidating Rob Delaney, who dials up the creepiness as the cat to Balinska’s mouse
• It was among the first films to be shown at this year’s inaugural SXSW London, which also saw the debut of various other highly acclaimed independent films
• There are twists and turns that you really won’t see coming, some of which may cause you to question everything you thought you saw earlier on

The Occupant is available to rent/buy on digital platforms from Monday 1 September 2025

CAST: Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, David Alan Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Neuwirth, Malcolm Stewart, Annabel Kershaw, James Handy, Gillian Barber, Darryl Henriques, Robyn Driscoll, Peter James Bryant, Patricia Clarkson, Adam Hann-Byrd, Laura Bell Bundy

CREW: Joe Johnston (director), Jonathan Hensleigh, Jim Strain and Greg Taylor (writers), Scott Kroopf and William Teitler (producers), James Horner (composer), Thomas Ackerman (cinematographer), Robert Dalva (editor)

PLOT: In 1969, teenager Alan Parrish (Hann-Byrd) discovers a mysterious board game named Jumanji, which unexpectedly sucks him inside. Decades later, orphaned siblings Judy (Dunst) and Peter (Pierce) come across the game and unwittingly release a number of jungle-related chaos, as well as an adult Alan (Williams), into their world…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The beloved family classic, based on Chris Van Allsburg’s picture book of the same name, returns to cinemas for its 30th anniversary
• Robin Williams leads an equally lively cast that also includes David Alan Grier and a young Kirsten Dunst on a mystical fantasy adventure that makes the most of its creative premise
• Despite mixed reviews at the time, it became an enormous box office hit after making several times its $65 million budget
• Its success created a franchise that included an animated series, a standalone spin-off based on Van Allsburg’s sequel book Zathura, and two recent Dwayne Johnson-headlining updates
• While darker in tone compared to later entries, the original still has plenty of 90s charm that is elevated by an endlessly entertaining Robin Williams

Jumanji is showing in cinemas from Friday 5 September 2025