movies

THEATRE REVIEW: Affluenza starring Noah Schnapp at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Monday 28 September, opens 5 October and runs through 21 November 2026 RUNTIME: 135 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

The most interesting thing about the new play Schnapp from Netflix’s Stranger Things has chosen for his stage debut is the dramatic rug pull it executes at the beginning of its 2nd act transforming the audience’s perspective.

  • Read on for reasons including how Schnapp has the potential for a promising stage career ahead of him if he so chooses
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THEATRE REVIEW Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? starring Gillian Anderson @SohoPlace

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Saturday 26 September, opens 30 September and runs through 19 December 2026 RUNTIME: 210 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Gillian Anderson gave us the definitive Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Young Vic on a revolving stage a decade ago and here performs a similar trick as Martha.

  • Read on for reasons including how Anderson’s performance is 1 for the history books as she gives an unforgettable take on a classic role
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THEATRE REVIEW Golden Boy starring Josh O’Connor at Almeida Theatre

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN?: Saturday 19 September (matinee), runs through 31 October 2026 RUNTIME: 145 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Boxing or playing the violin?

  • Read on for reasons including how to see this on NT Live if not at the sold-out Almeida
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FILM OF THE MONTH: Pressure starring Andrew Scott & Brendan Fraser (September 2026)

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

Andrew Scott (All Of Us Strangers) plays meteorologist James Stagg appointed by Churchill to advise Fraser’s Eisenhower when best to launch the Normandy landings to ensure success during World War Two.

  • Read on for reasons including how Pressure is a crowdpleaser despite its controversy and Scott’s reputation as 1 of this country’s hottest young acting talents remains undimmed
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PREVIEW: 9 reasons why we can’t wait for October 2026 starring Keira Knightley & Luke Thompson

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  1. Keira Knightley in The Lives Of Others

Knightley performs in the West End for the 1st time since 2011 opposite Bridgerton‘s Luke Thompson (A Little Life, Harold Pinter Theatre) in this story of a writer and actor under surveillance in 1984 at the Adelphi Theatre. Written, adapted and directed by Robert Icke (Romeo and Juliet, Harold Pinter Theatre) Runs 14 October through 9 January 2027. Tickets

  • Read on for reasons including Kristin Scott Thomas, Tilda Swinton and Michelle Dockery in the new Ava Pickett
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FILM OF THE MONTH: The Odyssey starring Matt Damon (August 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Runtime: 173 minutes

By Neil Durham

2 years after Oppenheimer and Christopher Nolan’s follow-up is a spectacular rethinking of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem with its protagonist reflecting more than ever before on the worth of his heroism.

  • Read on for reasons including how this offers spectacular visuals of 1 of history’s most colourful tales and the possibility that even the most bombastic of warmongers can change
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FILM OF THE MONTH: Heartstopper Forever starring Kit Connor & Joe Locke (July 2026)

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *** RUNTIME: 114 minutes

‘Everyone says teenage relationships don’t last’ characters say to each other repeatedly in the apparent conclusion to this groundbreaking series seemingly foreshadowing its imminent Netflix demise.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is a rushed goodbye rather than the 1 such a groundbreaking piece of TV and film deserves
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FILM OF THE MONTH: The Devil Wears Prada 2 starring Meryl Streep (May 2026)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly is 1 of Meryl Streep’s most iconic characters and it should perhaps be no surprise that this sequel is proving even more popular than its original.

  • Read on for reasons including how the success of this sequel means this may not be the last we see of this saga
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Q&A/PREVIEW: Tip Toe starring Russell T Davies, Alan Cumming & David Morrissey at BFI Southbank

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN?: Monday 18 May 2026, show airs on Channel 4 from Sunday 31 May 2026

Writer Davies may be best known for Queer As Folk and It’s A Sin but his new Channel Four drama Tip Toe is his 1st thriller, with a political edge and opens with Cumming’s Leo apparently hanging by his neck in a noose from a lamp post on a Manchester street.

  • Read on for reasons including how Tip Toe promises to be a wild ride although we’ve no idea where it goes next
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