Damon Smith

Review: Oscar nominee Michael Keaton reprises the title role of director Tim Burton’s visually arresting sequel to his 1988 comedy horror, which deservedly collected an Academy Award for best make up and hairstyling. A family tragedy woos Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) and rebellious teenage granddaughter Astrid (Jenny Ortega) back to the close-knit community of Winter River.

This week's Top 3 film releases, courtesy of LondonNet film critics. Discover the latest releases and the best films by film journalists and our 2 mil users

Review: Sir Ian McKellen makes merry as an embittered theatre reviewer, notorious for bile-slathered diatribes and occasionally cruel quips about an actor’s appearance, in director Anand Tucker’s efficient 1930s-set thriller. Adapted by Patrick Marber from Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel Curtain Call, The Critic delights in the devastation wrought by McKellen’s waspish wordsmith as he bulldozes through other people’s lives and shows a similar disregard for his personal safety as a gay man cruising for sex in parks when homosexuality was illegal.

Roz (voiced by Lupita N’yongo), and Brightbill (Kit Connor) in Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders. Copyright: DreamWorks Animation. All Rights Reserved.

Review: Shortly after headline-grabbing Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice premiered in May 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival, replete with a disclaimer that some events have been fictionalised for dramatic purposes, director Ali Abbasi received a cease-and-desist letter from former President’s legal team. Trump subsequently lambasted the film on social media as “a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job.” Some commentators on the other side of America’s political spectrum criticised the film for being too soft on the Republican nominee and pulling its bloody-knuckled punches.

This week's Top 3 film releases, courtesy of LondonNet film critics. Discover the latest releases and the best films by film journalists and our 2 mil users

This week's film reviews from LondonNet Film Critics. Read a full review of Emma (U) and Sonic the Hedgehog (PG), view trailers and a list of cinemas.

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, Toy Story 3 and The Bourne Ultimatum each concluded on a giddy high… until greed demanded the franchises overextend with disappointing additional instalments including a fifth hoorah for Woody and Buzz earmarked for summer 2026.

Despite a tumultuous few years, there’s a bright future ahead for the special administrative region of China with a British past, says Damon Smith.

Despite a tumultuous few years, there’s a bright future ahead, says Damon Smith