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Search: Starring Emma Thompson

  • An Education (2009)
    Review preview for An Education

    Although we are talking age old themes here – first love, dodgy geezers, questions of class – the material is spectacularly well handled.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    A 16-year-old - and her family - are swept off their feet by a debonair older man.
  • Brave (2012)
    Review preview for Brave

    While Brave may occasionally shy away from darker territory in order to retain its appeal for even the youngest of audiences, there are still plenty of 'big' ideas here for small minds to think about.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    A princess gets more than she bargains for when she asks for a spell.
  • Beauty And The Beast (2017)
    Review preview for Beauty And The Beast

    You see the money on the screen, which is good, but not the love

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
    Live action version of the Disney animated fairy tale in which a spoilt prince is turned into a beast and a pretty girl from the village proves that looks aren't everything
  • The Boat That Rocked (2009)
    Review preview for The Boat That Rocked

    Feeling like watered-down Curtis, the jokes frequently fall flat and you keep waiting for the big laughs that we know he can deliver.

    Stephen Carty · 2.5 out of 5
    The story of a boat-based pirate radio station which the government tries to ban.
  • Brideshead Revisited (2008)
    Review preview for Brideshead Revisited

    A jewel unpolished is still a jewel, and there are treasures here for those patient enough to seek them out.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A man reflects on his conflicting passions for a brother and sister whose lives were dominated by Catholic guilt.
  • Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)
    Review preview for Bridget Jones's Baby

    Zellweger has impeccable comedic timing and the many small and big risks she takes with Bridget pay off.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 3.5 out of 5
    Bridget Jones' life plan goes awry when she discovers she's pregnant - and not sure who the father is.
  • Burnt (2015)
    Review preview for Burnt

    The oddities don't add up to anything and the love story between Adam and Helene is as predictable as it is sad.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 2 out of 5
    A Michelin-starred chef who squandered his career tries to rebuild his life in and out of the kitchen.
  • The Children Act (2017)
    Review preview for The Children Act

    Intelligent, disciplined, elegant and closely guarded in matters of privacy

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
    A high court lady judge has an agonising decision to make when a teenage boy refuses a life saving transfusion while at home her marriage is freezing over
  • The Dead Of Winter (2025)
    Review preview for The Dead Of Winter

    A serviceable thriller with a good bit more soul than most.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A woman alone in the middle of a snowy wilderness discovers that a teenager has been kidnapped and that she may be the only person who can save her.
  • Dead Again (1991)
    Review preview for Dead Again

    Despite the obligatory happy ending, Dead Again is an enjoyable experience.

    Gabriella Trybalska · 3.5 out of 5
    A private detective uses hypnosis to try to discover the identity of an amnesiac.
  • Effie Gray (2014)
    Review preview for Effie Gray

    A beautifully rendered film with oodles of character.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A dramatisation of the marriage of John Ruskin and Euphemia Gray.
  • Extinction (2019)
    Review preview for Extinction

    It is funny, sharp, and like the best of the short film genre – all creds to director Jack Cooper Stimpson - pretty much every second works towards sketching a neat, clear picture of the issues with minimal lines.

    Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
    A political satire about climate change. Focused on the protest group Extinction Rebellion.
  • Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
    Review preview for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

    Inevitably, there is a slight air of the stage about this and an emotional gear change at the midway point doesn't quite feel fully earned but the actors so fully inhabit these roles that they carry you with them.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Nancy Stokes, a retired school teacher, is yearning for some adventure, and some sex. Good sex. And she has a plan: she hires a young sex worker named Leo Grande.
  • Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)
    Review preview for Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

    The Order Of The Phoenix is the best in the series.

    Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
    Harry Potter and friends find themselves in trouble as a mysterious stranger seizes power at Hogwarts.
  • Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
    Review preview for Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

    It's such a pleasure to see a real children's film by a real filmmaker.

    Scott Macdonald · 4.5 out of 5
    Harry returns to Hogwarts to find he is being pursued by the escaped murderer Sirius Black.
  • Imagining Argentina (2003)
    Review preview for Imagining Argentina

    Thompson exudes strength from start to finish.

    David Stanners · 3.5 out of 5
    A theatre director whose wife is kidnapped by the government, taps into psychic powers to try to find her.
  • Last Chance Harvey (2008)
    Review preview for Last Chance Harvey

    If you're looking for something to while away a weekday evening or waste a carefree afternoon, you're in for a treat.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    An awkward American visiting London for his daughter's wedding falls head over heels for a younger woman.
  • The Legend Of Barney Thomson (2015)
    Review preview for The Legend Of Barney Thomson

    Robert Carlyle's directorial debut adapts Douglas Lindsay's novel detailing the life and crimes of Barney Thomson with real panache and wit.

    Robert Munro · 4 out of 5
    A Glasgow barber accidentally turns killer.
  • Late Night (2019)
    Review preview for Late Night

    Memo to filmmakers: If you’re looking for a failsafe plan to make a delightful film, try showcasing the breadth of Emma Thompson’s talents.

    Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
    A late-night talk show host’s world is turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpectedly hilarious consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline.
  • Love Actually (2003)
    Review preview for Love Actually

    It feels middle-aged, lazy and reliant on stereotype.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
    Frightfully English ensemble rom-com about middle-class, emotionally dysfunctional Londoners.
  • Look Back In Anger (1989)
    Review preview for Look Back In Anger

    it's the dialogue that really takes centre stage and here this Look Back In Anger really shines.

    Keith Hennessey Brown · 3 out of 5
    TV version of Osborne's play about a working class man who takes out his frustrations on his upper middle-class wife.
  • The Love Punch (2013)
    Review preview for The Love Punch

    You ache for Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn to show them how this is done

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
    Heist comedy.
  • The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected) (2017)
    Review preview for The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)

    The balance of the super real with intricately timed artifice and how they collapse into each other is Baumbach's crown achievement.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
    Comedy drama about a family who gather in New York to celebrate the work of their dad.
  • Men In Black III (2012)
    Review preview for Men In Black III

    Whether the stars will align for the rejuvenated franchise is unclear, but for now there's a surprising amount of extraterrestrial fun to be had here.

    David Graham · 3 out of 5
    Time travelling shenanigans with our alien scum protectors
  • Merchant Ivory (2023)
    Review preview for Merchant Ivory

    Whether you’re a fan of the company’s work specifically or simply interested in the history of cinema, this portrait of its longest-lasting partnership will delight and entertain you.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    The story of cinema's longest lasting partnership.
  • Nanny McPhee (2005)
    Review preview for Nanny McPhee

    The movie becomes ridiculous.

    Stephanie Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
    A magic nanny sorts out the unruly children of an impoverished undertaker.
  • The Remains Of The Day (1993)
    Review preview for The Remains Of The Day

    The ideas are presented in a crisp, unfussy way by James Ivory. He’s working with an intelligent script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and two impeccable central performances by Hopkins and Thompson.

    James Benefield · 4.5 out of 5
    A butler realises late in life the folly of his devotion to the household he has served.
  • Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
    Review preview for Saving Mr. Banks

    The end result, though well-mounted and featuring knock-the-soot-out-of-your-chimney performances from Emma Thompson as Travers and Tom Hanks as the movie mogul, feels more like a Disney theme park version of events than the real story.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    The true story of Mary Poppins’ journey to the big screen.
  • Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
    Review preview for Stranger Than Fiction

    A superb testament to inventiveness.

    Chris · 4 out of 5
    A fictional character fights for his life in the real world.
  • Treasure Planet (2002)
    Review preview for Treasure Planet

    The sentimental stuff works for a change.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
    Robert Louis Stephenson's reimagined classic, in outer space?!
  • A Walk In The Woods (2015)
    Review preview for A Walk In The Woods

    One of the hardest things to find to recommend to people is a good mainstream film, not aimed at children, that involves no violence or untimely death - this is a charming example of that rare breed, may they never become extinct.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A travel writer and a friend he hasn't seen for years embark on the Appalachian Trail.
  • Wit (2001)
    Review preview for Wit

    Well made and with an incredibly powerful central performance.

    Keith Hennessey Brown · 4 out of 5
    University don fights cancer by treating it as she does the sonnets of John Donne.

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Festival coverage

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Cannes festival coverage, 2026

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