Film & Television John Maguire: Spielberg’s own coming-of-age story writ large on the big screenIntrospective semi-autobiography The Fabelmans takes the audience on an insightful but painful trip down the director’s memory lane
Film & Television John Maguire: Exhausting, over-the-top Hollywood blowout bedazzles and bores by turnsDamien Chazelle’s Babylon mash up follows imagined and real-life figures of the 1920s as they try to negotiate the film industry’s transition from silent films to sound
Film & Television John Maguire: Cate Blanchett elevates Tár in a blistering portrait of power and celebrityTodd Field’s captivating and complex thriller demands that the viewer pay close attention, but the reward is well worth the effort
Film & Television John Maguire: Occult Poe murder mystery loses heart and pace as the grim story unfoldsScott Cooper reimagines real-life historical figure Edgar Allan Poe as an unofficial recruit to help solve gruesome killings at a military academy in this Gothic detective thriller
Culture Succession, Oppenheimer, and Barbie: Looking forward to the cultural highlights of 2023The highlights of the year to come as chosen by writers Ben Haugh, John Walshe, Andrea Cleary, Tony Clayton-Lea, Sara Keating and Jordan Mooney
Film & Television Family favourites, entertainment galore and festive frightsThe season’s television schedule is jam-packed with classic films, Christmas specials and intriguing once-off programmes. Here are Ben Haugh’s picks of the best things to curl up to over the holidays
Film & Television Beautiful but bloated Avatar sequel drowning in empty mythologyIt’s been 13 years since Avatar broke box office records, and with cinema audiences down and Marvel movies dominating the landscape, director James Cameron has his work cut out if The Way of Water is to recoup its huge production budget
Film & Television John Maguire: A sinister ‘Mary Poppins’ comes visiting in disturbing folk horror taleA wealthy woman who seemingly has it all collapses with a mysterious illness in an intriguing, metaphoric story of the first world’s exploitation of developing nations
Film & Television John Maguire on film: Glass Onion is funnier but not as satifying to unpeel as the original whodunitBond star Daniel Craig is back as the 'world’s greatest detective’ in a follow-up to 2019’s surprise murder mystery hit, Knives Out
Interview ‘It’s almost like you’re hosting a dinner party, so that mix of guests is really important’Angela Scanlon on how she’s much happier with the current series of her Saturday night chat show, why she’s a nightmare to watch TV with and how when she had the biggest job of her career, she was miserable
Film & Television John Maguire on film: A lyrical, coming-of-age road movie with a macabre differenceThe latest film from Luca Guadagnino tells the disturbing story of a pair of ravenous addicts who need to eat human flesh in order to survive, but this is less a horror film than an outlaw romance
Film & Television John Maguire: One woman’s story brings home the grim realities of direct provisionFeature film and documentary maker Frank Berry presents a powerful first-person insight into humanity bowed by heartless bureaucracy
Interview ‘Seeing addiction and alcoholism through Shiv has been really eye-opening for me’ – Róisín GallagherBelfast actor Róisín Gallagher is due to hit Irish televisions screens in a break-out role as a recovering alcoholic in The Dry, a new comedy-drama that has already wowed audiences on BritBox for its honest portrayal of alcoholism
Film & Television John Maguire: Exceptional performances a wonder to behold in mystical period dramaDirector Sebastián Lelio’s adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s 2016 novel loses its way somewhat towards the end, but is nonetheless a gripping piece of storytelling
Film Reviews John Maguire: Nighy gives powerful performance in film about life and deathOliver Hermanus’s sublime remake of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s classic Ikiru is neither maudlin nor manipulative, despite the subject matter
Film Reviews John Maguire: Östlund’s latest a furious, fearless satire on the hypocrisies of the ultra-richTriangle of Sadness is Ruben Östlund’s second Cannes Palme d’Or winner in a row and is centred on a gilded group gathered on a $250m luxury yacht for a cruise
Appetite for Distraction What to watch this week: Dr Who still flying about with the Daleks through time and spaceNearly 60 years on from the doctor’s TV debut, Jodie Whittaker stars in a feature length episode in her last appearance in the role
The Profile Cleese’s war on woke: the Monty Python star becomes a new voice for GB NewsOne of the Monty Python iconoclasts whose film the Life of Brian caused apoplexy among conservative Christians, John Cleese has become outspoken on the negative aspects of cancel culture and censorship. He now has a platform on GB News
Film Reviews John Maguire: A sympathetic glimpse into the short and secretive life of Emily BrontëDirector Frances O’Connor blurs fact and fiction to dramatic effect in this modern and sensitively drawn take on the physical and mental health challenges faced by the Victorian writer
Film Reviews John Maguire: Pleasant period comedy is fizzy but predictableFilmed in Ireland, Mr Malcolm’s List has plenty of wit and verve despite its unexceptional plotting
