Cinema
The Fabelmans
A semi-biographical portrait of Steven Spielberg’s childhood years, The Fabelmans is a deeply personal account of how the director first fell in love with the cinema and offers a glimpse into his early family life, focusing on his relationship with his parents and how their love and devotion shaped the man and cinematic auteur that Spielberg would become. It's all very affecting and shimmers with the same kind of sentiment that made Kenneth Branagh's Belfast such a heartfelt joy to behold. The action follows young Sammy Fabelman, the bright and imaginative son of pianist Mitzi and computer engineer Burt, who change the course of their young son's life one day when they take him to see Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. Sammy is immediately inspired to make movies of his own using his father's fancy 8mm camera, casting family and friends in his ambitious productions. A must-see for film lovers young and old, The Fabelmans is Spielberg’s gently affecting love letter to the magic of cinema.
Netflix
You People
Starring Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy and Julia Dreyfus, and brought to the screen by Black-ish director Kenya Barris, You People has desires to be a satire on the complexity of modern relationships and how organised religion and cultural prejudices put unnecessary pressure on normal couples who just meet and fall in love. But there's no satirical bite here, it's a muddled romcom that fizzles instead of pops. Hill plays Ezra, a thirty-something singleton who meets the fiercely independent Amira after mistaking her for an Uber driver. After a frantic first meeting, the couple hit it off, but what they haven't reckoned with are the attitudes of their family members when they decide they're going to tie the knot. It's got comedy merits, and it's great to see Hill and Murphy share the screen, but this one could have and should have been a lot better.
Amazon Prime Video
Shotgun Wedding
What do you get when you cross a romantic wedding romcom with a kick-ass action flick? Shotgun Wedding, of course! Starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel, this is an incredibly silly and OTT flick that aims to bridge the divide between date night flicks and all-guns-blazing action movies. Lopez plays Darcy, a devoted bride-to-be hopelessly in love with Tom, the man of her dreams. But just as the couple are about to walk down the aisle, the ceremony is literally hijacked and their entire wedding party held hostage by gun-toting maniacs. It's completely brainless and barmy, but if you enjoy these types of forgettable forays into flatulent Hollywood fantasy, then be my guest.
Disney+
Extraordinary
Developed by the same team who brought us Killing Eve and starring our very own Máiréad Tyers and Derry Girls' Siobhán McSweeney, Extraordinary is set in a world where absolutely everyone develops superpowers when they turn 18. But aged 25 and with not a sniff of a super-ability in sight, Jen seems to be the only person in the world who remains 'normal' and, surrounded by family and friends with amazing gifts, she's coming to terms with being the most ordinary person on the planet. With an intriguing premise and a great cast, we're hoping this one lives up to its hype!
