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Search: Starring Idris Elba

  • 28 Weeks Later (2007)
    Review preview for 28 Weeks Later

    28 Weeks Later... makes for scorching horror. Like the original, it offers a perfect blend of well-drawn characters, political allegory, grand guignol, flesh-crawling tension and very fast-moving zombies.

    Anton Bitel · 4.5 out of 5
    Six months after the events of 28 Days Later a US-led force begins a tentative attempt to repopulate Britain.
  • Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
    Review preview for Avengers: Age Of Ultron

    Save your grey matter for coordinating the movement of your hand to your mouth, or your jaw to the sticky cinema floor.

    Max Crawford · 3.5 out of 5
    Tony Stark and his team take on rogue AI Ultron.
  • Bastille Day (2016)
    Review preview for Bastille Day

    Almost every action movie nowadays borrows from every other action movie and this one happens to be done incredibly well.

    Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
    A CIA agent and a pickpocket attempt to uncover police corruption in Paris with the dubious help of an activist's ex girlfriend
  • Beast (2022)
    Review preview for Beast

    There's some fun to be had with the action sequences when the mayhem starts but there's quite a lot that is just plain silly.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    A man and his two daughters find themselves fighting for survival against a rogue lion.
  • The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse (2022)
    Review preview for The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse

    There is a whisper of the artwork of EH Shepard about the hand-drawn style that seems fitting given his tale shares similar philosophy, albeit more obviously spelled out.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A boy goes on an adventure with a cake-loving mole, a fox and a horse.
  • Beasts Of No Nation (2015)
    Review preview for Beasts Of No Nation

    The result is a gripping, disturbing experience, though one which risks numbing as much as it informs or shocks viewers.

    Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
    Based on the namesake novel by Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation tells the story of the young Agu, recruited as soldier to fight in a civil war in an African country.
  • Finding Dory (2016)
    Review preview for Finding Dory

    Balance is the thing and Stanton and MacLane know when to use a well-timed piece of slapstick or visual gag to cut through sentiment.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    The forgetful fish is back.
  • Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance In 3D (2011)
    Review preview for Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance In 3D

    Cage here continues the recent return to his legendary loony best.

    David Graham · 3 out of 5
    Johnny Blaze returns as the Ghost Rider, who must stop the devil taking human form on earth.
  • The Gunman (2015)
    Review preview for The Gunman

    The story lacks originality

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
    An international hitman uncovers corruption amongst Western mercenaries in Africa
  • The Harder They Fall (2021)
    Review preview for The Harder They Fall

    Everything is elevated to an almost cartoonish level, but the performances are big enough to carry it, with Elba maintaining a calm presence at the centre.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    When an outlaw discovers his enemy is being freed from jail he rounds up his gang to seek revenge.
  • Heads Of State (2025)
    Review preview for Heads Of State

    It’s ridiculous to have a Russian director who obviously has strong opinions about Russia and especially about the Russo-Ukrainian war make such a tone-deaf film about the Russian threat.

    Dimitrije Vojnov · 2 out of 5
    Two heads of state form an unlikely alliance to combat a global conspiracy.
  • A House Of Dynamite (2025)
    Review preview for A House Of Dynamite

    In A House Of Dynamite the uncertainties are propulsive, what we learn unsettling. Each tick of the clock reorients our understanding of the same events.

    Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
    When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.
  • The Jungle Book (2016)
    Review preview for The Jungle Book

    The film has adventure at its heart and excitement in its pocket.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
    Rudyard Kipling's classic children's book is given a post-Disney modern interpretation with a real boy and CGI animals that look more real than the breath they take away
  • Legacy: Black Ops (2010)
    Review preview for Legacy: Black Ops

    The real star here is creator Eromose.

    Paul Griffiths · 3.5 out of 5
    A former special agent holed up in a hotel room in the aftermath of a failed Eastern European mission grows suspicious of his brother's political success.
  • The Losers (2010)
    Review preview for The Losers

    Clichéd archetypes these characters might be, but the cast playing them are immensely likeable and, most importantly, funny.

    Owen Van Spall · 2.5 out of 5
    A special forces team are out for vengeance after being left for dead by their handler.
  • Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom (2013)
    Review preview for Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

    The film touches the corners of the envelope without revealing what is inside.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
    Biopic of political prisoner who went on to be the first democratically elected South African president
  • Molly's Game (2017)
    Review preview for Molly's Game

    The tension is too tight to touch

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
  • Pacific Rim (2013)
    Review preview for Pacific Rim

    The battle scenes are nothing short of astonishing.

    Max Crawford · 4 out of 5
    Men operating giant robot suits are the last line of defence against sea monsters from another dimension.
  • Prometheus (2012)
    Review preview for Prometheus

    This big-screen epic is immersive less for its binocular vistas than for their impossibly grand scale

    Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
    Exploration to the dark reaches of space, to discover the origins of mankind. It doesn't go well.
  • The Reaping (2007)
    Review preview for The Reaping

    Gives 300 a run for its money as one of the funniest films this year.

    Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
    Plagues, pestilence and another faithless person of the cloth.
  • RocknRolla (2008)
    Review preview for RocknRolla

    Entertaining and stylish.

    Val Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    More gangster goings on from Guy Ritchie, this time centring on a property scam and a missing painting.
  • Second Coming (2014)
    Review preview for Second Coming

    Nadine Marshall delivers a performance of quiet intensity.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A family is shaken by an unexplained pregnancy.
  • Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022)
    Review preview for Sonic The Hedgehog 2

    Mostly harmless.

    Andrew Robertson · 2.5 out of 5
    When the manic Dr Robotnik returns to Earth with a new ally, Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic and his new friend Tails are all that stands in their way.
  • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (2024)
    Review preview for Sonic The Hedgehog 3

    Unlike many adaptions it does want to have fun, worrying less about being pixel-perfect or po-faced than propulsive plotting.

    Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
    Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance.
  • The Suicide Squad (2021)
    Review preview for The Suicide Squad

    I didn't hate it, but if I wanted to watch more than two hours of the undeniably weird doing the inexplicable, The Sparks Brothers is also in cinemas.

    Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
    Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016)
    Review preview for Star Trek Beyond

    The film’s flaws come primarily in the weak villain and some irritating editing and plotting choices.

    Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
    The Enterprise encounters a new enemy.
  • Thor: The Dark World (2013)
    Review preview for Thor: The Dark World

    Thor: The Dark World is nimble of step in the comedy department but as heavy as a hammer to the chest when it comes to exposition.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
    Thor takes on the dark elves to save the life of his mortal love Jane.
  • Thor (2011)
    Review preview for Thor

    The ideas are so shamelessly out-there and imaginatively employed that it's hard not to get caught up in it all.

    David Graham · 3.5 out of 5
    An adaptation of the Marvel comic in which Thor is cast out of the realm of the gods and finds himself defending humans.
  • Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
    Review preview for Thor: Ragnarok

    This really is the funniest, campest mainstream superhero film I can remember since the Adam West incarnation of Batman.

    Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
    Imprisoned, Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally.
  • The Unborn (2009)
    Review preview for The Unborn

    The script is bland and unimaginative, giving the actors little room to give personality to their characters.

    Donald Munro · 1 out of 5
    A young woman is gradually possessed by a malignant spirit that has haunted her family since her grandmother was in a concentration camp.
  • The Wire: Season Two (2003)
    Review preview for The Wire: Season Two

    It might be a tough watch that'll put many off early doors, but this is still top-notch television.

    Stephen Carty · 3.5 out of 5
    The second season of the Baltimore drug-ring cops - and an all-new case.
  • Zootropolis (2016)
    Review preview for Zootropolis

    Although the narrative beats don’t sear with originality, it is clever and has enough nuance and ambiguity to keep folks guessing right up until the finale, with a cast of characters throughout that are a genuine treat.

    Luke Shaw · 4 out of 5
    A little rabbit works hard to prove she can be just as good a police officer as the bigger, fiercer animals on her team.
  • Zootopia 2 (2025)
    Review preview for Zootopia 2

    A serviceable family film.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    Rabbit and fox detectives are the first to identify something suspicious when a snake is blamed for a highly public crime.

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Festival coverage

Festivals
Cannes festival coverage, 2026

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the Cheltenham International Film Festival, the Leeds International Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights.



We're looking forward to the French Film Festival and DOC NYC.



We've recently brought you coverage of the Belfast Film Festival, Halloween Frightfest, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival, Newfest, the London Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and Grimmfest.



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