Claire and Gavia share their mixed feelings on Mother Mary, the stylish new psychological drama by David Lowery (The Green Knight). Exploring the tumultuous relationship between a Lady Gaga-esque pop star (Anne Hathaway) and her former costume designer (Michaela Coel), this genre-defying film incorporates elements of the supernatural into a story about creative collaboration and the destructive power of celebrity.
Read MoreAnne Hathaway and Meryl Streep return for this smash-hit sequel, pivoting to a surprisingly bleak story about the demise of journalism. Among other topics, our review covers: Emily Blunt’s hilarious performance, the film’s inability to engage with its darker themes, and its depiction of how the magazine industry has changed over the 20 years since the original Devil Wears Prada movie came out.
Read MoreThe latest Mummy movie is a gruesome horror story about demonic possession, marking a departure from the blockbuster style of recent Mummy franchise instalments. It's also a bit of a misfire, so we're using this opportunity to look back at the original 1932 Mummy film, its Ancient Egyptian background, and its overlap with other Pre-Code horror classics like Dracula and Frankenstein.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia look back at the influential Japanese survival thriller Battle Royale, a violent dystopian tale about a class of teenagers who are forced to fight to the death by their authoritarian government. Often compared to The Hunger Games, this film has a fascinating (and controversial) backstory, with director Kinji Fukasaku drawing inspiration from his own traumatic experiences as a teenager during World War II.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia discuss one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time: Ridley Scott's Alien. Spawning an iconic franchise and dozens of copycats, Alien is part monster movie, part dystopian thriller, starring Sigourney Weaver in her breakout role. Renowned for its genre-defining production design, this film established a "space trucker" aesthetic for its working-class spaceship setting - and introduced a uniquely grotesque antagonist in the form of H.R. Giger's xenomorph.
Read MoreAhead of the 2026 Oscars, Claire and Gavia review three Best Picture contenders featuring Oscar-nominated performances: 1950s sports drama Marty Supreme (starring Timothée Chalamet), Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent (starring Wagner Moura), and the dark comedy thriller Bugonia (Emma Stone's latest project with director Yorgos Lanthimos).
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia share their praise for The Bone Temple, Nia DaCosta's deceptively hilarious sequel to 28 Years Later. With Ralph Fiennes and Alfie Williams reprising their roles from the previous movie, Jack O'Connell joins the cast as the sadistic cult leader Jimmy Crystal, offering a new angle on the franchise's dystopian setting.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia reveal their respective top ten lists for the best new movies released in 2025, including some major Oscar nominees (Sinners; One Battle After Another), several cool indie releases (The Shrouds; On Becoming A Guinea Fowl), plenty of queer cinema... and a record number of unexpected wildcard choices.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia share their thoughts on the hottest show of the moment, breaking down Heated Rivalry's pitch-perfect romantic structure, its subtly insightful depiction of hockey culture, the sizzling chemistry between lead actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, and much more.
Steffan and Gavia share their enthusiastic review of the new Predator movie Predator: Badlands, a standalone adventure that casts a young Predator as the hero, teaming up with a perky android to explore an alien planet. Among other topics, this episode covers the film's excellent casting, skillful sci-fi effects, and genre-savvy approach to action.
Read MoreSticking closer to Mary Shelley's novel than most other adaptations, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is the culmination of a lifelong dream. His vision echoes the gothic maximalism of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, starring Jacob Elordi as a sympathetic interpretation of Frankenstein's Creature. But does this movie measure up to GDT's past hits? Steffan and Gavia have mixed feelings, delving into the film's characterization choices, production values, and relationship with the novel.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia review some highlights from the 2025 London Film Festival, ranging from big upcoming releases (the new Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man) to awards contenders (Chloé Zhao's Hamnet) and exciting indie titles like Kelly Reichardt's heist drama The Mastermind, and the queer BDSM romcom Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgard.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review One Battle After Another, widely hailed as the best film of 2025. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this comedic thriller displays startlingly bold politics for a Hollywood studio release, telling a gripping story about leftist revolutionaries, racism, and the senseless brutality of American border control. Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti star as the central father/daughter duo, opposite Sean Penn as the villain.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia review Spike Lee's new crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington as a music mogul who faces financial ruin after his son is kidnapped and held to ransom. Among other topics, this episode covers the film’s role as a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, its bewilderingly terrible orchestral score, and what we can glean about Lee’s directorial voice as he nears his seventies.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia delve into David Cronenberg's fascinating erotic thriller Crash, starring James Spader as a man who develops a fetish for car crashes. Divisive and controversial when it first came out in 1996, it's now regarded as one of Cronenberg's greatest films, celebrated for its peculiar characters and unique brand of sexuality.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review Netflix's animated smash-hit KPop Demon Hunters, a fantasy adventure about a demon-hunting KPop girlband. Praised for its brilliant original music and stylish animation, this movie offers a well-observed tribute to KPop and its fandom. But what does its supernatural allegory actually mean?
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review the first good Superman movie since the Christopher Reeve era, a charming action-comedy from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Leaning into zany comicbook antics, this reboot makes some vague attempts at political commentary - but it’s mostly about resetting Hollywood's vision of Superman as a lovable American icon.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia review Danny Boyle's thought-provoking sequel to the iconic post-apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later. Combining zombie thrills with folk horror themes and social commentary about British culture, the film is structured around a coming-of-age story about a boy named Spike, who grows up in a version of England overrun by zombies.
Read MoreClaire and Gavia dig into the chaotic production process and artistic accomplishments of Werner Herzog's acclaimed 1982 historical drama Fitzcarraldo, accompanied by its fascinating making-of documentary Burden of Dreams.
Read MoreSteffan and Gavia discuss Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme, a dark comedy starring Benicio del Toro as a corrupt businessman who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton). Among other topics, this episode covers Wes Anderson's trademark aesthetic, his relationship with absurdism, his casting choices, and this film's religious and historical themes.
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