James King's big 7: best films coming to cinema and streaming this week
Cinema or Netflix? Disney+ or Amazon? With so many ways to watch fabulous films, James King presents his brand new weekly movie recommendations covering all your favourite platforms. Enjoy the Big Seven!
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Where the Crawdads Sing (cinemas)
Category: Drama
Based on the huge-selling novel by Delia Owens, Crawdads tells the story of reclusive Kya, a young woman out in the swampy marshes of 1950s North Carolina who’s looked down on by the townsfolk. So much so that when Kya’s abusive ex-boyfriend is found dead at the bottom of a water tower, it’s immediately Kya who’s suspected of pushing him.
WATCH: Check out the Where the Crawdads Sing trailer
Mixing courtroom drama with the story of Kya’s lonely childhood, this doesn’t quite boast the elegantly slow storytelling of the book. Nevertheless, a deliciously enigmatic lead performance from Daisy Edgar-Jones and its powerful central theme of respecting yourself - whatever public opinion - still packs an powerful punch.
Anything’s Possible (Amazon Prime)
Category: Rom-Com
Directed by Billy Porter - Broadway legend and star of TV’s Pose - Anything’s Possible follows the love story of cisgender boy Khal and transgender girl Kelsa at a high-school in Pittsburgh, cleverly mixing social commentary with adolescent emotions along the way. And if you’re a fan of Pose’s sparkling outfits, Porter has hired the show’s costume designer Analucia McGorty to create some jaw-dropping creations for Kelsa too. A sweet teen romance.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (Sky Cinema)
Category: Family
Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, Michelle Yeoh and Samuel L Jackson provide the voices in this animated samurai comedy about a bumbling beagle and his cat sensei trying to save a small Japanese town from a warring dictator. Grown-up movie fans will relish some of the in-jokes but this is also fun, fast and colourful fare for all the under-10s on school holiday. Exclusive to Sky Cinema.
Nowhere Boy (Disney+)
Category: Biopic
John Lennon’s teenage years in 1950s Liverpool are memorably relived in this smart biopic, starring Aaron Johnson as the future musical legend. Lennon’s young life was certainly a unconventional one, abandoned by his mother (Anne Marie Duff) as a small boy and brought up by his aunt (Kristin Scott Thomas), but of course there’s also plenty about the creation of his first band, The Quarrymen - a group that would later evolve into The Beatles. And news just in: the creative team behind Nowhere Boy are now signed on to make Back to Black - a similar film about the late Amy Winehouse.
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Moana [Singalong Version] (Disney+)
Category: Family
Okay, you might have watched (or been forced to watch) Moana so many times by now that you don’t even need this karaoke version to help you out with the lyrics, but it’s still a nice idea from Disney+. In case you didn’t know, Moana (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) is the tough daughter of a Polynesian chief, chosen by the ocean to sail off in search of Maui (a brilliant Dwayne Johnson), the legendary demigod who can help Moana return an ancient relic to her homeland and, in doing so, save her village. Delightful.
The Tinder Swindler (Netflix)
Category: Documentary
Missed this jaw-dropping true story when it first appeared on Netflix earlier this year? Don’t make the same mistake again. A tale so outrageous you can’t believe it’s true (about a scammer who used the popular dating app to cheat women from across Europe), here’s a cautionary lesson about online relationships that’s bound to be remade into a mini-series some time soon. Essential viewing.
Clueless (Netflix)
Category: Teen
As its star Alicia Silverstone recently reminded us (via Instagram), it’s now 27 years since this groundbreaking teen movie was released. Switching the plot of Jane Austen’s Regency-era novel Emma to nineties Beverly Hills was a masterstroke, resulting in one of the wittiest high-school pics of all time. Alicia plays Cher, a spoilt-but-sweet rich kid who happily plays matchmaker to her friends, even though her own love life is patchy. The result is a total charmer. Plus, those outfits! Cher’s iconic yellow plaid threads were even recently rocked by Natalie Portman during her Thor: Love & Thunder promotional tour.
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