Film Friday

What’s the difference between Walt Disney and Bing Crosby? Bing sings and Walt ‘disney’. (Best said with a Scottish accent.) Not hilarious but never a bad thing to kick off … Read on →

When author Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a pig farmer in Guernsey it gives her an idea for a new book. He is a member of the Literary and … Read on →

When Donald Crowhurst hears of the Sunday Times challenge to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly he decides to take up the challenge, even though he has little experience of this kind … Read on →

When Carolina walks back into Jenny’s and Humpty’s lives there is trouble at t’mill. Or rather, at the fairground, at the carousel and the Wonder Wheel. Carolina had previously married … Read on →

When Jesus visits Magdala a young woman there, Mary, hears him teaching and is drawn to follow him. So she gets baptised and becomes one of his disciples. Jesus was … Read on →

When old Mr McGregor pops his clogs chasing Peter and his sisters (Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail), young Mr McGregor comes out from the city to take up residence. He’s not … Read on →

David Irving is a renowned historian and writer who denies the holocaust. He decides to sue author and historian Deborah Lipstadt for libel, for comments she has made about him … Read on →

Reynolds Woodcock is a brilliant dressmaker, and a deeply insecure man. He cannot work properly if anything disrupts his neatly ordered world, and his female friend, housemate and PA Cyril … Read on →

When Mae joins The Circle, a giant, global social media company, she is drawn into an experiment, where she will wear a camera all through the day and be totally … Read on →

When the police have still made no arrests, 7 months after her daughter is raped and murdered,  Mildred Hayes spots three old empty billboards near her house and decides to … Read on →

When snobby Sandra discovers that her husband is having an affair, she promptly moves out and goes to live with her down-to-earth sister, Bif. The life change is a bit … Read on →

When milkshake machine salesman Ray comes across a small take away called McDonalds in 1950s St Bernardino, he can’t believe how quick, efficient and tasty the burger meal is… Ray … Read on →

When a bunch of cavemen meet the forward-thinking chaps from the bronze age there’s a whole lot of shaking going on. It begins one strange day, when something unexpected comes … Read on →

When Daniel Ellsberg returns from reporting on the ground in the Vietnam War he is shocked and disillusioned. The truth is clearly out there and not being told. So he … Read on →

It is the early 1960s in Poland, and novice nun Anna is about to take her vows, but before she does so the Mother Superior tells her she must visit … Read on →

It is May 1940. As the fascists make their ruthless dash across mainland Europe Britain is in turmoil. Many of its leaders long for peace, the terrible memories of World … Read on →

The son of a local gangster and his mates break in to John Wick’s house, steal his car and kill his dog. So Mr John Wick is understandably rather displeased. … Read on →

Rey tracks down a reluctant Luke Skywalker, in his cliff side home. He is hiding out there having cut himself off from The Force. But Rey knows he is the … Read on →

When Otto and Anna’s only son is killed fighting in the German army Otto begins writing postcards against Hitler and leaving them in public places around Berlin. It is a … Read on →

If ever there was a film to demonstrate the power of a good story this is surely it. The tale of Charles Dickens attempting to write A Christmas Carol, in … Read on →

‘Everyone’s got an act.’ P.T. Barnum recruits so called ‘misfits and outcasts’ to create the first circus. He creates false personas and back stories for them to attract and hoodwink … Read on →

When Paddington goes looking for a present for his aunt Lucy’s birthday he comes across a pop book of London. He would dearly love his aunt in Peru to see … Read on →

When four very different teenagers end up in detention, removing staples from magazines, they quickly get distracted by an old computer game. Before they know it they have selected character … Read on →

Ben and Alex are a couple of strangers whose flights are cancelled due to an impending storm, so they join forces to hire a small aircraft to get home. However, … Read on →

There is an age-old saying – power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Well, if ever there was a film about absolute power and corruption, this is it. Comrade Stalin rules … Read on →

When the famous Hercules Poirot boards the famous Orient Express he has no idea what the future holds. He is intending to take a break from his sleuthing life, on … Read on →

When separated mum-of-two Alice hits her 40th birthday she decides to go out on the town to celebrate with her two friends. However she soon encounters a problem, in the … Read on →

In the days before James Bond this action-thrills-and-spills epic exploded off the screen like a punch to the solar-plexus. Scenes of Cary Grant fleeing a low-flying, crop-spraying plane and then … Read on →

Without doubt my favourite film of this year is the best-picture-Oscar-winner-for-two-minutes – La La Land, and I have spent many a conversation attempting to explain why. I’m very aware that … Read on →

Writer AA Milne returns from the first world war a shattered man, fearful of loud noises and the sudden shock of dazzling lights. So he decides to leave London with … Read on →

When a malfunction occurs, commercial pilot Whip Whittaker has to use every ounce of his strength and ingenuity to crash-land the plane. In doing so he saves all but six … Read on →

We go back to the future again and, once more, it looks just a tad on the bleak side – an epically dark and dysfunctional mixture of the shining and … Read on →

When the story begin Queen Victoria, Empress of India, is alive but not really living. She struggles out of bed, shuffles through her days, and shovels down her food. Then … Read on →

Elizabeth Cree is on trial, accused of poisoning her husband John, who is himself suspected of a series of savage, grisly murders in London’s Limehouse. The court finds her guilty … Read on →

Gifted getaway driver ‘Baby’ hears the world through a veil of pop music. He has tinnitus and so listens to music all day to drown out the background noise. Here … Read on →

When Philip’s cousin dies after marrying the beautiful and beguiling Rachel, Philip is convinced Rachel had something to do with it. However when he meets her he begins to fall … Read on →

When lonely and embittered control freak Harriet comes across an obituary of a colleague in a newspaper, she decides that she will make sure her own obituary presents her in … Read on →

George and Harold are two very good friends, who love playing jokes and have crafted a comic book featuring superhero Captain Underpants. When their school principal grows weary of their … Read on →

15 year old Peter Parker is not all he seems. He’s on a steep learning curve as he attempts to fulfil his destiny as Spiderman. After one attempt at a … Read on →

When a man attempts to sail single-handedly across the Indian Ocean disaster strikes, he awakes one morning to finds his boat has struck a large stray container, and is rapidly … Read on →

I found Dunkirk deeply moving from the start, with the young soldiers trudging up the street towards the beach, then fleeing for cover as an unseen enemy picks them off, … Read on →

When Katie moves from London to Newcastle she falls on hard times. Unable to get work or financial help from the authorities she first visits a food bank and then … Read on →

Diana grows up as princess of the Amazons, training alongside them, but although she has incredible fighting skills, what she is called to do is battle for peace. She may … Read on →

In 1942 seven Czechoslovakian soldiers are parachuted secretly back into their own country with the express purpose of assassinating Hitler’s third in command, Reinhard Heydrich, the cruel ‘Butcher of Prague’. … Read on →

When Winston Churchill hears of plans for the D Day landings in Normandy he fears the worst, his mind filled with the disaster he planned in World War One at … Read on →

Whilst taking some time out this week I watched Brooklyn on DVD, a story about Eilis, a young Irish woman who travels to America in search of a new life. … Read on →

When young Henry throws himself off a rowing boat with rocks tied to his ankles, this looks like the end. But it’s not. He has thrown himself into the deep … Read on →

When Emily Middleton’s boyfriend dumps her unexpectedly, her mother Linda discovers this on Facebook and invites her to come home for some TLC. (If nothing else this little clip is … Read on →

Seven year old Tim’s life is just dandy, he has adoring parents who give him 100% of their time, attention and love. Then one day a little brother arrives, and … Read on →