Movie of the Week

• Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

Cinemas

• Pinocchio Unstrung
• Animal Farm
• On the Sea
• Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog
• Brunello: The Gracious Visionary
• Ask E. Jean

Streaming/On-Demand

• 72 Hours
• The Dink

Re-Releases

• Nostalgia
• Chicken Run

CAST: Eric Nam, Dave Bautista, Jessica Matten, Román Zaragoza, Steven Yeun, Dionne Quan, Taika Waititi, Geraldine Vaswanathan, Ronny Chieng, Ken Jeong, Dee Bradley Baker, Freida Pinto, Ke Huy Quan, Peta Sergeant, Keone Young

CREW: Lauren Montgomery (director), Tim Hedrick and Christopher Yost (writers), Maryann Garger, Latifa Ouaou and Dagan Potter (producers), Jeremy Zuckerman (composer), Michelle Mendenhall (editor)

PLOT: Years after leading the battle to end the Hundred Year War between their elemental nations, Aang (Nam) – the “Avatar” who can control all four elements, and the last remaining Air Nomad – and his friends Katara (Matten), Sokka (Zaragoza), Toph (Quan) and Fire Lord Zuko (Yeun) discover another surviving Airbender named Tagah (Bautista), who may hold the key to restoring his culture…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Fans of the beloved Nickelodeon series will be in heaven as this feature-length adventure brings them back into the mystical and wondrous animated world of the Avatar Aang and his element-bending pals
• All your favourite characters are back – albeit with different, more race-appropriate voice actors this time round – for a brand-new journey filled with action, drama and philosophical musings
• The gorgeous 2D animation of the show has been enhanced with 3D animated environments that bring out the details within every corner of this parallel universe
• It’s gone through a hell of a rocky journey behind-the-scenes – from its original planned theatrical release being demoted to streaming instead, to the entire movie being leaked online – but none of that should stop hardcore fans from supporting it!
• At the end of the day, it’ll at least be nice to have a movie based on Avatar: The Last Airbender that isn’t utterly terrible (you know the one I’m talking about – we dare not mention its name…)!

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is streaming exclusively on Paramount+ from Saturday 25 July 2026

CAST: Jack Art Gray, Robert Englund, Richard Brake, Cameron Bell, Jessica Balmer, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney

CREW: Rhys Frake-Waterfield (director, writer, producer, editor), Scott Jeffrey (producer), Andrew Scott Bell (composer), Vince Knight (cinematographer), Dan Allen (editor)

PLOT: After experiencing a close tragedy, young orphan James (Bell) is introduced by his grandfather Geppetto (Brake) to a magical wooden doll named Pinocchio (Gray) that has magically come alive, but Pinocchio’s obsession with becoming a real boy just like James leads to a deadly crusade…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The latest chapter in the Twisted Childhood Universe – which began with the infamous Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey – gives a delightfully devilish new twist to another timeless classic
• Rhys Frake-Waterfield is back in the director’s chair for a gruesome horror that contains plenty of nasty violence and has fun with the most famous aspects of the original story
• This one features some more recognisable faces from the world of horror cinema, including Richard Brake as a new take on Pinocchio’s creator Geppetto, and Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund voicing a sinister version of the Cricket
• Pinocchio himself is an ambitious creation, for he is a fully practical animatronic that makes him feel more real than any amount of CGI could
• Expect characters from this film to pop up in later instalments, including the anticipated team-up movie said to feature dark versions of Pooh, Peter Pan and Bambi among others!

Pinocchio Unstrung is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Andy Serkis, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani

CREW: Andy Serkis (director, producer), Nicholas Stoller (writer), Jonathan Cavendish, Adam Nagle, Peter Nagle, Connie Nartonis Thompson and Dave Rosenbaum (producers), Heitor Pereira (composer), Kevin Pavlovic (editor)

PLOT: After their farm falls into financial despair at the hands of its human owner, the animals stage a rebellion and seize control of the farm, establishing a set of rules to ensure that they do not become like their human oppressors – only for a power-hungry pig named Napoleon (Rogen) to manipulate the rules to benefit his own ambitions…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• George Orwell’s classic novel is reimagined for an all-new generation by director and producer Andy Serkis
• Through his production company The Imaginarium, Serkis translates the original story into something that both children and hard-thinking adults can enjoy
• The voice cast is stacked with A-list talent like Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Laverne Cox, Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin, and Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo
• As for its infamous social commentary, not only is that intact but it also factors in some additional criticisms toward certain modern-day authoritarian figures
• Whether or not you’ve already heard of how infamous this adaptation is, you have to admit that curiosity is compelling you to check this out!

Animal Farm is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Barry Ward, Henry Lawfull, Lorne MacFadyen, Liz White, Celyn Jones, Danny Webb

CREW: Helen Walsh (director, writer), David A. Hughes and David Moores (producers), Felix Rösch (composer), Sam Goldie (cinematographer), Ricardo Saraiva (editor)

PLOT: In North Wales, Jack (Ward) is a mussel harvester living in a remote fishing community who expects his son Tom (Lawfull) to join the family business after he leaves education, but Tom’s resistance along with the arrival of new deckhand Daniel (MacFadyen) raises tensions within the family and their community…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Worse things happen at sea, and that’s often true in this grim and tragic drama where there are no easy answers to its central moral dilemmas
• Writer-director Helen Walsh loosely based the film on a real-life incident that happened to someone close to the filmmaker during their earlier years, so there is some uneasy truth behind it all
• There are some tender performances by leading actors Barry Ward, Henry Lawfull and Lorne MacFadyen, all of whom play characters wrestling with very different ideas of masculinity and identity
• It debuted at last year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it was in contention for the festival’s coveted Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence
• Audiences will feel deeply moved by the poignant human drama, as well as captivated by Walsh’s unique filmmaking style that brings out new layers to this kind of story

On the Sea is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Jordan Tartakow, Joe Ochman, Laila Berzins, Odessa Lurlean, Dino Andrade, Todd Haberkorn, Wally Wingert, Xanthe Huynh

CREW: Benjamin Mousquet (director), David Collard and Chris Grine (writers), Matthieu Gondinet and Matthieu Zeller (producers), Puggy (composer), TBA (editor)

PLOT: Chickenhare (Tartakow), an adventurous hero who’s a hybrid between a chicken and a hare, sets out to travel the world with his friends Abe the turtle (Ochman) and Meg the skunk (Berzins), but when Chickenhare’s long-lost sister Gina (Huynh) unexpectedly reappears to seek his help in saving their species from extinction, the group searches for a mythical Groundhog that is said to harbour incredible time-altering powers…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Kids and parents will have a new hero to root for with this bright and colourful animated adventure that the whole family can enjoy
• The French-Belgian production is a sequel to the 2022 film Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness, which itself was based on the graphic novel Chickenhare by Chris Grine (who’s credited as a screenwriter on this film)
• Explore every corner of a truly mystical animal-populated realm where there’s life bursting from each meticulously crafted computer pixel
• The plot may sound rather daft, but there’s also plenty of heart as these lovable characters experience some unlikely developments that will have audiences beaming
• With the summer holidays fast approaching, this is the perfect opportunity for kids to find a new and exciting cinematic journey to get lost within

Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Brunello Cucinelli

CREW: Giuseppe Tornatore (director, writer), Brunello Cucinelli and Massimiliano di Lodovico (producers), Nicola Piovani (composer), Fabio Zamarion (cinematographer), Pietro Foglietti and Massimo Quaglia (editors)

PLOT: The life and career of world-renowned Italian fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This illustrious hybrid of documentary and biographical filmmaking charts the extraordinary journey of a modern-day fashion pioneer
• Brunello Cucinelli himself welcomes the viewer into his intricate work practices, as well as some of his deeply personal memories of growing up on a countryside farm which are recreated using actors
• The masterful blend of fact and (semi)fiction comes from filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore, best known for the Oscar-winning cinephile classic Cinema Paradiso
• Some of Cucinelli’s most high-profile admirers, including Oprah Winfrey and Chinese actor Tao Liu, offer their own opinions of his work in a number of filmed interviews
• Fashionistas will find this a fascinating look at the iconic figure, while those with little fashion knowledge will be taken in by the transformative filmmaking

Brunello: The Gracious Visionary is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: E. Jean Carroll, Lisa Birnbach, Roberta Kaplan

CREW: Ivy Meeropol (director, writer, producer), Leah Goudsmit and Ferne Pearlstein (writers, editors), Laura Bickford and Annabelle Dunne (producers), Amelia Allen, Laura Karpman and Elena Pinderhughes (composers), Martina Radwan (cinematographer)

PLOT: The story of E. Jean Carroll, the famed American journalist and advice columnist who later became known for her successful sexual assault and defamation trials against Donald Trump…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• You’ve heard her name on the news, but now’s your chance to finally get to know the woman who beat the sitting US President at his own game
• Documentarian Ivy Meeropol dives deep into E. Jean Carroll’s fiercely private life that has only recently come to the surface via her legal battles
• Carroll gives a rare on-screen recollection of her life and career as a respected journalist and later advocate for women’s rights as well as general accountability
• Archive footage of Carroll’s courtroom battles show how much of a fight she put up, and how the eventual verdicts changed the game when it came to the legal vulnerability of the world’s most powerful people
• With the recent news that the Supreme Court has denied Trump’s appeal to overturn the verdicts, the timing couldn’t be better for audiences to meet the person who forever cemented his status as a sexual predator

Ask E. Jean is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Kevin Hart, Marcello Hernández, Mason Gooding, Kam Patterson, Ben Marshall, Zach Cherry, Michael Mando, Mike Epps, Teyana Taylor, Andy Garcia, Kevin Dunn

CREW: Tim Story (director, producer), Jon Hurtwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (writers, producers), Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider (writers), John Davis, Kevin Hart, Josh Heald, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Will Packer and Bryan Smiley (producers), Christopher Lennertz (composer), Larry Blanford (cinematographer), Ladd Erickson (editor)

PLOT: After accidentally being added to their group chat, 40-year-old executive Joe (Hart) joins a group of twentysomething men on a three-day bachelor party in the hopes of saving his stalled career, only to find himself caught up in the increasingly wild chaos that ensues…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Comedy icon Kevin Hart reteams with director Tim Story for a raucous comedy in the spirit of The Hangover and other classic screwball comedies
• Hart’s natural charisma and comedic timing perfectly compliments the anything-goes humour of a script credited to no fewer than four writers
• Joining the comedic actor on-screen are SNL breakouts Marcello Hernández and Ben Marshall, recent Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor, and screen legend Andy Garcia
• As our hard-partying gang take over the streets of Miami, a whole wave of unpredictable circumstances will have you belly-laughing pretty hard
• It’s got loads of summertime fun for every comedy fan to enjoy as the season reaches its peak (hopefully not the temperature, though!)

72 Hours is streaming exclusively on Netflix from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, Ben Stiller, Chloe Fineman, Patton Oswalt, Aaron Chen, Martin Kove, Chris Parnell, Christine Taylor, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Lynne Marie Stewart, Cayden Romero

CREW: Josh Greenbaum (director), Sean Clements (writer), Jake Johnson, John Lesher, Rob Paris, Ben Stiller and Mike Witherill (producers), Dara Taylor (composer), Carl Herse (cinematographer), Greg Hayden (editor)

PLOT: Dusty Boyd (Johnson), a washed-up tennis prodigy who has resorted to taking on a menial coaching job at a country club owned by his father Chuck (Harris), finds an unexpected outlet in the increasingly popular sport of pickleball, and when the future of the club is at stake, he and his new partner Candace (Steenburgen) must take on their competitors in a winner-takes-all pickleball tournament…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• First there was DodgeBall, then there was BASEketball, and now it’s time for pickleball to be the unusual game to have its moment in the spotlight thanks to this hilarious new sports comedy
• Speaking of DodgeBall, Ben Stiller not only takes a supporting role in director Josh Greenbaum’s film, but is also listed as a producer through his Red Hour production company
• New Girl star Jake Johnson (also listed as a producer here) headlines with screen legends Mary Steenburgen and Ed Harris, as well as various recognisable faces from the comedy and sports worlds
• The unorthodox rules of pickleball make for some unexpected moments of comedy as they collide with a touching story of facing up to one’s own legacy
• It’s got plenty of laughs and heart for audiences everywhere, and it might just even inspire a whole new flock of pickleball enthusiasts to take up the sport at the same time!

The Dink is streaming exclusively on Apple TV from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Oleg Jankovsky, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano, Delia Boccardo, Patrizia Terreno, Laura De Marchi

CREW: Andrei Tarkovsky (director, writer), Tonino Guerra (writer), Daniel Toscan du Plantier (producer), Giuseppe Lanci (cinematographer), Erminia Marani and Amedo Salfa (editors)

PLOT: In order to carry out research on an 18th-century composer for a new project, Russian writer Andrei Gorchakov (Jankovsky) travels to Italy with his interpreter Eugenia (Giordano), but feelings of homesickness as well as an unusual encounter with local madman Domenico (Josephson) throw his plans into doubt…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• One of the most underrated works by Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky is back on the big screen with an all-new 4K restoration
• It was Tarkovsky’s first film to be made outside the Soviet Union, with much of it being shot in various countryside locations throughout Tuscany
• The film is slightly semi-autobiographical in that Tarkovsky drew from his own experiences of visiting Italy, with actor Oleg Jankovsky (a last-minute replacement for actor Anatoly Solonitsyn, who died before filming began) proving a compelling on-screen avatar for the filmmaker
• It debuted at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival to strong acclaim, but while it won several prizes including Best Director, Soviet influence prevented from winning the Palme D’Or, which compelled Tarkovsky to never work in his home country again
• While it is regarded nowadays as one of Tarkovsky’s lesser-known works, it still deserves to be seen by not just fans of the auteur but also audiences who crave something genuinely artistic on their screens

Nostalgia is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026

CAST: Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Tony Haygarth, Benjamin Whitrow, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson

CREW: Peter Lord and Nick Park (directors, producers), Karey Kirkpatrick (writer), David Sproxton (producer), Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell (composers), Tristan Oliver and Frank Passingham (cinematographers), Robert Francis, Tamsin Parry and Mark Solomon (editors)

PLOT: On an egg farm in Yorkshire, a flock of imprisoned flightless chickens – led by the idealistic Ginger (Sawalha) – make numerous attempts to escape captivity, but their efforts prove futile until the arrival of American rooster Rocky (Gibson), who agrees to help them learn how to fly before their cruel owner Mrs. Tweedy (Richardson) puts into motion a dastardly new business venture…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• In honour of its 50th anniversary, British claymation giant Aardman is re-releasing some of its most accomplished work, starting with their truly timeless debut feature
• A spoof of The Great Escape with a feathered twist, the lengthy production consisted of 80 animators working painstakingly hard to create one minute of film per week – entirely by hand, no less!
• The voice cast features a mix of home-grown talent like Miranda Richardson and Imelda Staunton, and (then) Hollywood A-lister Mel Gibson as the lovable rogue rooster Rocky
• Upon release, it became a critical and commercial smash hit, with the film to this day retaining its title as the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time
• More than a quarter of a century later, it remains a family favourite thanks to its insatiable wit and surprisingly intense action – and, of course, that classic Aardman animation style

Chicken Run is showing in cinemas from Friday 24 July 2026