Hrkn to .. Share Radio's Film Review

The Business of Film: The Devil Wears Prada 2, Primavera, The Plastic Detox & Greenland 2: Migration

Thu, 07 May 2026 15:36:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 The Devil Wears Prada 2 has taken 85% of the first film's total in just 3 days. Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway have reunited, along with much of the behind-the-camera talent. It's a formulaic and superficial pleasure but has plenty of laughs. James thinks Primavera, about the composer Vivaldi, is one of the best films of the year: it is showing in select Picturehouse and Curzon hardtops. He feels everyone should watch Netflix's documentary The Plastic Detox, which he says has changed his life. It's full of good humour, despite its message about the toxic chemicals in plastics which alter our hormones. It's horrifying but educational and actually made a massive difference to six formerly childless couples who were the detox guinea pigs. He advises everybody to give a wide berth to the awful Greenland 2: Migration, an apocalyptic thriller with Gerard Butler.

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The Business of Film: Michael, Apex & Roommates

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:11:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that Michael's £11.5m opening was 68% of the weekend take. It's the biggest opening for a musical biopic but, under Antoine Fuqua's direction, it's a hagiography telling only half of the Michael Jackson story. With his nephew in the starring role and six producers having the surname Jackson, perhaps that's not surprising. Overly affectionate, it doesn't feel real but that won't deter his fans. On Netflix, the survival thriller Apex stars Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton. It gripped James from the off. The less you know about the plot, the better. It delivers in spades as a thriller but it does go to some very dark places. Watch it if you dare. As for Roommates, also on Netflix, this is a crude college comedy which is offensive mechanical dross. The longer it went on, the more depressed James became.

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The Business of Film: Lee Cronin's The Mummy, Kiss of Spider Woman & Thrash

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 17:07:00 -0000

Not a great week. James Cameron-Wilson found Lee Cronin’s 'The Mummy', #4, an OTT, grotesque blend of Egyptian frolics and Exorcist-like demonic possession, genuinely unpleasant. Not much better was the Kander & Ebb musical 'Kiss of the Spider Woman', #51, a downer set in a prison cell with Jennifer Lopez as the Spider Woman, at least in the fanciful dreams of Luis, an imprisoned homosexual in 1983 Argentina. On Netflix there wasn’t much relief, with 'Thrash', a disaster pic set during a category 5 hurricane which unleashes sharks into a small South Carolina community: implausible, very silly and unintentionally mirthful.

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The Business of Film: You, Me & Tuscany, California Schemin', Outcome & The President's Cake

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:37:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson found the romcom #7 You, Me & Tuscany implausible, clichéd and derivative dross. However, he adored #9 California Schemin', a true story directed by James McAvoy about a pair of Scottish wannabe rappers who pretend to be American to get noticed. Told with cinematic verve and with great performances, it's an extraordinary story which reminded him of Trainspotting. James found Keanu Reeves in Outcome, on Apple TV+, a story about a movie star worried about a bizarre video from his past, all rather too familiar and underwhelming. Directed and co-written by Jonah Hill, it's also terribly crude. He adored The President's Cake, an Iraqi film, again based on true events, made with non-actors. Heartbreaking and compelling, it's a small masterpiece, available on BFI Player and Amazon Prime.

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The Business of Film: The Drama, Two Women and Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:53:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says box office has jumped 113% with the release of Super Mario Galaxy Movie but he opted to go to #3 The Drama, with Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. It's a comedy of manners which is grown up, thought-provoking and enormously funny in a dark way, leading to an unusual post-movie discussion. James also caught #123 Two Women, a French-Canadian comedy of quiet suburban desperation. It's odd, amusing and unpredictable and will be appearing in various places over the coming months. He recommends steering clear of the Disney+ film online Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, with Vince Vaughn playing himself twice in a dire shambles of a movie.

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The Business of Film: The Magic Faraway Tree, They Will Kill You & Man on the Run

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:42:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson found #2, the Enid Blyton fantasy The Magic Faraway Tree, to be a charmless, farcical misfire. With Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield, it is full of shouty overacting, with music numbers crammed in and is a wasted opportunity. #7 They Will Kill You is a grotesque horror film about a New York highrise which is a temple to Satan. It's another with a surprising 15 certificate. Amazon documentary Man on the Run is about Paul McCartney, covering the breakup of The Beatles to the murder of John Lennon. On Amazon, it starts promisingly but, while there's plenty of home video, there's little that's new. After a dispiriting week, James watched the harrowing but brilliant The Killing Fields to cheer himself up. It's on C4 and Plex.

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The Business of Film: Project Hail Mary, Ready or Not 2 – Here I Come & Peaky Blinders – The Immortal Man

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:35:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports box office up 102% with #1 the Ryan Gosling sci-fi film Project Hail Mary. From the writers of The Martian, he plays a science teacher who wakes up from a coma in space. Like The Martian largely a one-person film, it is great fun early on but becomes self-indulgent, barmy and sentimental, with the trailer giving away a very late plot point. James was even less keen on the horror film Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. It is ludicrous drivel which is neither scary nor funny and is dreadfully edited. He was amazed at its 15 certificate. On Netflix is the feature film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man starring Cillian Murphy, as in the TV series. It's part ghost story, part war movie and part gangster epic. It looks terrific but it has too many flashbacks and set pieces and they can't disguise that there is very little story or narrative drive. James was actually glad when it ended.

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The Business of Film: Reminders of Him, How to Make a Killing & the Oscars

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:54:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments box office down 32%. #2 Reminders of Him, a Colleen Hoover adaptation, is complete trash and yet, predictable though it is, it has relatable characters and is hard to dislike. #3 How to Make a Killing is an adaptation of the famous Ealing comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets. Sadly, this lacks the wit or appeal of the original and is to be avoided at all cost. As ever, James was excited by the Oscars, with most of his predictions coming good. It was, he says, the most predictable ceremony for a long time. Although One Battle After Another won Best Picture, it was really the year of the horror film, which has perhaps become respectable again. One of the highlights was the great speech given by Jessie Buckley.

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The Business of Film: Hoppers, The Bride! and Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:04:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is delighted by #1 Hoppers from Pixar. A sci-fi film with a theme of connectivity to the natural world, it's vastly entertaining and imaginative, with plenty of comic business, even if it becomes a bit complicated at times. #4 is The Bride!, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. It's the nearest any Frankenstein adaptation has come to being a romcom. Starring Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley, who gives a no-holds-barred erotic turn, it's an homage to the movies which gets better and better as you think about it afterwards. Streaming on BBC iPlayer is another Oscar-nominated documentary, Mr. Nobody Against Putin. James found this story of a schoolteacher in the Urals objecting to the militarisation of schools after the invasion of Ukraine highly impressive.

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The Business of Film: Scream 7, The Testament of Ann Lee & Come See Me In The Good Light

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:34:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is not a fan of #1 Scream 7, despite the return of Neve Campbell. He didn't care for the characters, found the film nasty and thought it made no sense. He was more positive about The Testament of Ann Lee, with Amanda Seyfried giving a career-best performance as the founder of the Shaker movement with an excellent Mancunian accent. It's a bonkers film, being a musical biopic on an enormous visual canvas but it shows what cinema can do and is very memorable. Come See Me In The Good Light is an extraordinary documentary – nominated for an Oscar – about a poet with terminal cancer and how they deal with it. It is deeply moving but also full of joy and laughter. It is also one of the most intimate and personal films about a relationship.

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The Business of Film: Cold Storage; Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die; The Perfect Neighbor

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 10:54:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that box office is down 32%, though Wuthering Heights is still #1. #6 is the unnerving but funny horror Cold Storage. Witty, in the mould of Tremors, this gruesome tale of a deadly fungus has all the makings of a cult classic, managing the tricky balance between gross-out horror and laugh-out-loud comedy. At #10 is Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, a sci-fi twist on Groundhog Day with Sam Rockwell a traveller from the future trying to prevent the AI apocalypse. A satirical shaggy dog epic in the manner of Terry Gilliam, it is very funny and chilling at the same time. James admired the Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbour. Largely taken from police bodycam footage, it is about a neighbourhood tragedy in Florida. Although it is widely tipped for an Oscar, he is not sure of its merits as a watchable movie.

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The Business of Film: Wuthering Heights, Crime 101 & Jacob the Liar

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:49:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 Wuthering Heights, written and directed by Saltburn's Emerald Fennell, is not a close adaptation of the novel and has attracted criticism for casting Jacob Elordi alongside Margot Robbie. However, it is thoroughly entertaining, has a great score and production design and is also quite funny. He found it a cinematic delight and feels Fennell is a national treasure. #3 Crime 101 with Chris Hemsworth and a great cast is a rare LA movie actually filmed there. James enjoyed it. Not only is it a good crime thriller, but the characters are very human. On Blu-Ray for the first time is the Oscar-nominated 1974 East German film Jacob the Liar. A darkly comic movie set in a Jewish ghetto in 1944, it is in similar vein to the much later Life Is Beautiful. The disc comes with lots of great extras.

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The Business of Film: Send Help, 100 Nights of Hero & Anniversary

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:05:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 Sam Raimi's Send Help, with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, the tale of a work couple being stranded on a desert island, seems overfamiliar. Blending comedy and thrills, he enjoyed it in a schlocky way. #19 is 100 Nights of Hero, a bonkers movie based on a graphic novel with Richard E. Grant and Felicity Jones. Set in a parallel, colour-blind world it's about storytelling and the empowering of women. It does have a distinctive look but is all too flat and needs a stronger director and style. Far more impressive is Anniversary on Netflix. It stars Diane Lane as the matriarch of a close-knit family and is a state-of-the-nation epic with a frighteningly prescient script. There's so much going on, James had to watch it again. Very credible, often tense and with a strong cast, it's a really brilliant movie he discovered completely by accident.

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The Business of Film: Shelter, Is This Thing On & The Voice of Hind Rajab

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:21:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says the bump up of Hamnet to #1 in the charts shows the important of award nominations. The latest Jason Statham thriller, Shelter, is #3. He's a recluse living in a lighthouse whose past comes back to bite him when he rescues a girl from the sea. It's the same old, same old, but done slightly better than usual. #10 Is This Thing On, about a stand-up comic's marriage with Will Arnett and Laura Dern, is inspired by Liverpool comedian John Bishop. But Bradley Cooper's annoying directorial style obscures and confuses the story. James recommends #38, docu-drama The Voice of Hind Rajab, which is one of the most traumatising war films he has ever sat through. He also discusses the current awards season and the London Film Critics Circle awards last weekend.

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The Business of Film: Mercy, H is for Hawk & Left-Handed Girl

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:12:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson can't recall another week where the top six UK films are all holdovers, with The Housemaid returning to #1. #9 is the ironically-titled Mercy with Chris Pratt a man who has 90 minutes to convince an AI judge that he didn't kill his wife. Set in real time, it is mechanical but James was drawn in by its moral arguments. #13 is the adaptation of best-seller H is for Hawk with a brilliant Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson. It is a beautifully-crafted film but doesn't have a strong storyline or conflict. While not bored, James did get impatient at times. On Netflix is the Taiwanese-set Left-Handed Girl, written by Anora's Sean Baker. The tale of a mother and two daughters moving to Taipei is filmed entirely on an iphone. With great performances, this guerilla style of filmmaking gives it an immediacy and the movie is a real gem.

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The Business of Film: 28 Years Later – The Bone Temple, Rental Family & The Rip

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 15:12:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 28 Years Later – The Bone Temple deserves its 18 certificate as you will need a strong constitution. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, it’s hard to watch but is a gripping horror film with style, beauty and terrific dialogue. #7 Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser, is set in Japan and directed by the Japanese Hikari. It’s an odd but enthralling story with a light touch about an actor rented out as a family member. On Netflix, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck star in The Rip, a generic, often confusing but hard-hitting action thriller. It seems far-fetched but is based on a true story so outlandish, it had to be scaled back.

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The Business of Film: Hamnet, The Tank, Goodbye June, The Family Plan 2

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:03:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is impressed that The Housemaid has risen to the top spot. #2 is the quintessentially British movie Hamnet, despite Irish leads (Paul Mescal & Jessie Buckley) and Chinese writer-director Chloé Zhao. It's a slow burn but builds to a highly emotional climax. James loved it to within an inch of its brocade. On Amazon Prime, he was impressed by The Tank, a German film about a Tiger crew on a secret mission against the Russians after Stalingrad. It's tense and excellent until the final, infuriating twist. He is a fan of Kate Winslet's directorial debut, Goodbye June on Netflix. Written by her son Joe Anders, the cast includes Helen Mirren and Timothy Spall. It has great humanity, humour and wisdom, despite its sentimental ending. He watched The Family Plan 2 on Apple TV+ to see why Mark Wahlberg's online movies are so popular. It has some good action and one-liners but the plot is incredibly familiar.

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The Business of Film: The Housemaid, Marty Supreme, Anaconda & Song Sung Blue

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:05:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that 2025 was the best box office year for movies since the pandemic. With the new Avatar still #1, #2 is The Housemaid, a psychological thriller with Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried which is thoroughly entertaining, as long as you don't think too carefully about the plot. #3 is Marty Supreme, loosely based on a true story. Timothée Chalamet is a supremely-confident hustler turned table tennis player in a movie that, despite being two and a half hours long, flies by, helped by a great supporting cast of non-actors. Not so #6, Anaconda, in which Paul Rudd and Jack Black want to remake the forgettable 1997 monster movie of the same name. It's hard to combine comedy and horror successfully. This film fails. #7 is Song Sung Blue, based on a documentary, with Hugh Jackman as an unsympathetic Neil Diamond interpreter. In a film about second chances, Kate Hudson has never been better.

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The Business of Film: James Cameron-Wilson on 2025's winners and his favourites

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

After a quick rundown of what's leading the UK box office in the run-up to Christmas, James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the films that made the most at the country's cinemas in 2025. A Minecraft Movie topped the chart, followed by Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Wicked For Good, Lilo & Stitch and Jurassic World Rebirth. Very different was James's own top ten. 1: Ocean. 2: Flow. 3: Superman. 4: Christy. 5: Materialists. 6: I Swear. 7: Alpha. 8: The Ballad of Wallis Island. 9: Brides. 10: We Live in Time. James explains why you'd want to catch up with each every one of these.

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The Business of Film: Ella McCay, Train Dreams and Wake Up Dead Man

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:22:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is down 40% again, even though #1 Zootropolis 2 has become the biggest film of the year worldwide. #18 Ella McCay is from James L. Brooks, who brought us such movies as Broadcast News. It stars Emma Mackey as an aspiring politician, backed by a raft of great actors such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Albert Brooks. Full of terrific dialogue, it reminds James of the great screwball comedies of old. He loved every minute. He was also impressed by Netflix’s Train Dreams, with Joel Edgerton as a logger and railroad worker. This is film as art and does require a degree of patience. He was bewitched by a film which reminded him of Days of Heaven. Also on Netflix is the third Knives Out movie, Dead Man Wake Up. Despite a great cast supporting Daniel Craig, James thought the murder plot was forced and, while there were some great moments, he was ultimately disappointed.

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The Business of Film: Eternity, Apache & Jay Kelly

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 09:38:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that box office, despite a WoW drop of 17%, is still very healthy. #5 Eternity depicts an afterlife where souls must pick their preferred eternity. Although a comic parable where a woman must choose with which man to spend the afterlife, it fails to work on several levels. James, disappointed by the ending, was not moved. He found the Blu-Ray release of 1954's Apache, directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Lancaster to be a fascinating insight into attitudes of the time. Although at the forefront of those films more sympathetically depicting Native Americans, Lancaster is an unpleasant and hugely misogynistic character while the movie is highly patronising by current standards. James was much keener on Netflix's Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach's film of a film actor not hugely dissimilar to George Clooney, played by George Clooney, only more unpleasant and egotistical. It has many wonderful scenes, should resonate with many and James loved it.

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The Business of Film: Zootropolis 2, Christy & Swiped

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 11:55:00 -0000

For this episode, James Cameron-Wilson is joined by Chad Kennerk, our occasional American correspondent, to discuss the news that Netflix has made an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Following the separation of Discovery Global for a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion (equity value $72 billion). James covers Disney’s 64th animated feature, 'Zootropolis 2', an entertaining sprint through a world of zoological delights. He raves about awards contender 'Christy', the extraordinary true story of a female boxer in 1990s’ America starring Sydney Sweeney. James was also pleased with the Disney+ release of 'Swiped', in which a tech entrepreneur played by Lily James has her idea for the dating app Tinder swiped.

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The Business of Film: Wicked – For Good, Nuremberg & Legend

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 17:03:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says #1 Wicked: For Good's £18.9m take has boosted box office 123% but at the expense of all other movies. However, James enjoyed it much more than the first half. It has gobsmacking costumes and sets, great songs and is surprisingly touching and funny. It is clearly set for Oscar attention. He thought Russell Crowe superb as the bombastic Gõring in #4 Nuremberg. With a great supporting cast, it is long but holds the attention throughout. And he admires Tom Hardy playing both Kray twins in the 10th anniversary 4K UHD release of the very violent Legend. It comes with lots of great extras.

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The Business of Film: Now You See Me: Now You Don't, The Running Man & Alpha

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:50:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson likes #1 Now You See Me: Now You Don't as much as the first in the trilogy. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are joined by younger actors as magicians mounting a heist. He particularly cares for the details and the allusions. #2 is Edgar Wright's take on The Running Man with Glen Powell. But despite the big budget, the main character is unsympathetic, the plot makes little sense and the product placement is appallingly blatant. As a fan of French horror, he likes #27 Alpha from Julia Ducournau. It deserves two viewings before the pieces will fall into place.

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The Business of Film: Predator – Badlands, The Choral & Anemone

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 15:46:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson's dislike of the Predator franchise isn't changed by the 9th in the series #1 Predator: Badlands which, with no human characters, bored him. He loved #2 The Choral, another film from the Nicholas Hytner/Alan Bennett partnership. Set in World War 1, Roger Allam and Ralph Fiennes star in a tale of a local choral society short of men. It's full of compassion, drama and humour and is timeless and uplifting. #24 Anemone is a first-time film from Ronan Day-Lewis who gets his father to return to the screen as a remote-living hermit. Also starring Sean Bean, it's self-indulgent and leaves the audience too often in the dark.

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The Business of Film: Bugonia, Shelby Oaks & A House of Dynamite

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:13:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments that no film grossed more than £1m last weekend. He found #1 Bugonia, directed by The Favourite's Yorgos Lanthimos with Emma Stone to be beautiful cinema. The story, about conspiracy theorists convinced a CEO is an alien, is a tad pretentious but you have no idea where it's going. At #11 is Shelby Oaks, a low-budget horror film from film critic Chris Stuckmann. Sadly, this slim tale is full of the usual horror tropes: James couldn't remember when he'd last been so bored. No boredom in Netflix's A House of Dynamite, though. Kathryn Bigelow directs Idris Elba in a thriller about the US facing a defence emergency. If you're short of time, just watch the first 39 minutes.

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The Business of Film: Springsteen - Deliver Me From Nowhere, Regretting You, All of You & S1mOne

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:51:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that October could be the worst for cinema since the late 1990s, despite the high quality of many films. Docudrama #1 Springsteen:Deliver Me From Nowhere is enjoyable, if not emotionally engaging. #2 Regretting You is a mother and daughter drama with great acting but the annoying screenplay makes the characters' lives unnecessarily difficult. He laughed more than he should have done. He loved All Of You on Apple TV+, with Imogen Poots and Brett Goldstein friends in a near-future world. It's a lovely, dramatic, fresh and charming film. He also recommends seeking out the prescient S1m0ne from 23 years ago, with Al Pacino digitally creating an actress.

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The Business of Film: Roofman, After The Hunt & The Woman In Cabin 10

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 14:16:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says he can't remember when there were so many good movies in the chart. At #6 is Channing Tatum in Roofman, a true tale of a polite crook who hides away in a toy store. Also starring Kirsten Dunst, it's a character study full of great performances. At #9 is After the Hunt with Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield in a superbly-made ideas movie with an exquisitely calibrated script. On Netflix, The Woman in Cabin 10 with Keira Knighley and Guy Pearce disappointed. It's an old-fashioned thriller set on a luxury cruise, which might be fine if you put your brain in neutral.

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The Business of Film: Tron - Ares, I Swear, The Smashing Machine, Diva & Steve

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 15:14:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson loved #1 Tron: Ares, the 3rd in the series. It has amazing graphics, a great score and is often very funny. He was impressed with #3 I Swear, set in the Scottish Borders, about a lad with Tourette's. A true story boasting great real performances, it is funny and yet heartbreaking; James had to hold back tears many times. Despite the Oscar buzz he was disappointed with #5 The Smashing Machine. Yes, Dwayne Johnson can act and Emily Blunt is super but it's a dull story. James and Simon both recommend the 4K restoration of the massively influential 1981 French thriller Diva, with an embarrassment of extras. And James thinks Netflix's Steve, produced by and starring Cillian Murphy – about a head teacher of a reform college – may be a touch melodramatic at times but is one of Murphy's best performances.

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The Business of Film: One Battle After Another, The Strangers Chapter 2 & Brides

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 13:59:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson raves about #1, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn. At times baffling, it's bravura film-making which you can't stop thinking about and which seems destined for Oscar glory. Not so #7 The Strangers: Chapter 2, a nonsensical horror sequel. More interesting is #25 Brides, a low budget production about two naive teenage girls who want to flee the UK. It's very realistic and you don't want to tear your eyes away. Disney+'s The Man In My Basement is a psychological thriller with Willem Dafoe. Scuppered by an unlikeable protagonist, it might have made a better play.

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The Business of Film: A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey, DEFA box set & The Lost Bus

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 13:57:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson wished he liked #6, the fantasy A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey with Colin Farrell & Margot Robbie. It looks good but there's no chemistry, just whimsy. He does recommend #8, the thought-provoking NT Live production Inter Alia. He found Wrack & Ruin, a box set of post-war DEFA films on Blu-Ray aimed at de-Nazifying Germany, particularly Somewhere in Berlin, an eye-opening education and a must for film lovers. And out next week on Apple TV+ is The Lost Bus, a true story with Matthew McConaughey a bus driver trying to save schoolchildren from a wildfire. Deftly directed by Paul Greengrass it's a prime example of the new panic attack genre.

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The Business of Film: Downton Abbey – The Grand Finale, The Long Walk & Spinal Tap II

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 15:02:00 -0000

With box office takings on the rise, James Cameron-Wilson celebrates the arrival of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, an exquisitely packaged producdtion with most of the regulars that rounds the trilogy off nicely. He finds #4 The Long Walk, based on a Stephen King novel about boys forced onto a deadly march, to be so compelling you didn't worry about its illogicalities. #7 Spinal Tap II: The End Continues plays on a nostalgic yearning. Often too silly, it still has a high chuckle quotient. James also pays tribute to Robert Redford.

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The Business of Film: The Conjuring – Last Rites, Honey Don't! & Highest 2 Lowest

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:51:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is mystified by the success of #1 The Conjuring: Last Rites, the 9th in the series. It's the biggest horror opening ever but it is dumb and clichéd and James spent most of its 135 minutes trying not to fall asleep. Ethan Coen's Honey Don't! is #10. Chris Evans & Margaret Qualley star in a good-looking but lightweight dark comedy with a surprising amount of sex, violence & bad language for a 15. He much preferred Apple TV's Highest 2 Lowest. Directed by Spike Lee, Denzel Washington stars as a music mogul in a gripping crime thriller which is also a moral fable.

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The Business of Film: The Roses, Caught Stealing, Little Trouble Girls & The Thursday Murder Club

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 15:07:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson loved the start of beautifully-written black comedy The Roses (another remake) at #1. But he liked the characters played by Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch so much that it became painful and hard to stomach as it turned darker. He preferred #6 Caught Stealing, a freewheeling caper set in 1998 with Austin Butler, directed by Darren Aronofsky. It's an inventive and often very funny surprise. He found #43, Slovenian Little Trouble Girls, an awakening drama set in a Catholic school, sensitive and a breath of fresh air. He had few good words to say about Netflix's The Thursday Murder Club with the likes of Helen Mirren, feeling it like a poor TV movie from another era.

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The Business of Film: The Life of Chuck, Eddington. Night Always Comes

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 10:09:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that the top five UK films have the lowest take since 2022. #6 The Life of Chuck with Chewitel Ejiofor and Tom Hiddleston is a challenging and original fantasy which is beguiling, terrifying and yet life-affirming. Highly recommended. #10 Eddington has Joaquin Phoenix in a satire of America as the pandemic hit. Although thought-provoking it meanders, isn't always credible and is far too long. James thoroughly enjoyed Netflix's Night Always Comes with Vanessa Kirby, a formulaic thriller but nonetheless a genuinely gripping one.

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The Business of Film: Materialists, Together, Nobody 2 & Shark Whisperer

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 14:27:00 -0000

James Cameron Wilson says the new #2 film Materialists with Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans is one of his favourites of the year. A fascinating insight into online dating, it's a classic romantic drama that looks sensational and boasts a great screenplay. He found #8 Together a barmy and nonsensical body horror with little to recommend it. And he thought #10 Nobody 2 with Bob Odenkirk not a patch on the first film, being a formulaic, predictable & witless John Wick knockoff. He loved Netflix's Shark Whisperer, an intriguing documentary which, unusually, puts both sides of the argument and is a visual treat.

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The Business of Film: Weapons, Freakier Friday & My Oxford Year

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 13:47:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that despite not being a sequel or remake, #1 Weapons took £2.8m. A disturbing mystery thriller which changes genre near the end, it's too long but is definitely an original. That's hardly true of #2 Freakier Friday, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan returning one generation older. If you can suspend disbelief, you might enjoy the mayhem. To his surprise, James thorougly enjoyed the Netflix romcom My Oxford Year with an American woman studying in England. It's formulaic but smarter than it looks.

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The Business of Film: The Naked Gun, The Legend of Ochi & Bono: Stories of Surrender

Sat, 09 Aug 2025 17:11:00 -0000

With ‘Fantastic Four’ still #1, the reboot of ‘The Naked Gun’ with Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson could only manage second place. Much as he enjoyed the original movies, James found the continual running gags in this version soon became tiresome while the film was so silly and surreal it undermined the comedy. He was more impressed with ‘The Legend of Ochi’ which only limped in at #18. With Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson, it's a visually spellbinding fable but, being both magical and barmy, it may struggle to find an audience, even if it eventually becomes a cult classic. Apple TV+ add to their many music documentaries with ‘Bono: Stories of Surrender’, in which the star tells stories of his life with a few songs. He's a charismatic storyteller with an unexpectedly poetic turn of phrase.

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The Business of Film: The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Bad Guys II & High Noon

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:10:00 -0000

James Cameron Wilson says box office is up 17%, though most films have dropped as #1 The Fantastic Four: First Steps took in £8m. The plot may not be unduly original but there are lots of incidental pleasures, with a humorous script and a realistic family dynamic: Vanessa Kirby gives the film a human dimension as her character is expecting. #3 The Bad Guys II is an animated sequel in the mould of Ocean's Eleven but the dialogue is lazy and the film noisy and frenetic. However, James celebrates a glorious 4K restoration of 1952's High Noon, "the Western for those who don't like Westerns" starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. It looks wonderful and some of the extras are superb.

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The Business of Film: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Four Letters of Love & Superbad

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:28:00 -0000

With UK box office up slightly as schools break up, James Cameron-Wilson found #5, a new version, 28 years on, of I Know What You Did Last Summer wildly implausible, very silly and undermined by a limp script. He thought #15 Four Letters of Love beautifully made. Starring the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter and Gabriel Byrne, it's a love story with a touch of Mills & Boon and, although it will have its fans, it isn't always believable. He also revisited 2007's Superbad, rereleased at #28. A time capsule with the likes of Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and Emma Stone in her first film, it's somewhat misogynistic and would never be made nowadays. But there are great performances, much about it still feels fresh and funny and it was a template for much to come.

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The Business of Film: Superman, Modi: Three Days on the Wings of Madness & Heads of State

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:26:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is disappointed that UK box office is down 36% but delighted with new #1 Superman, starring David Corenswet. Written and directed by James Gunn, he found it a thrilling and funny ride which is also pertinent and reckons a stale genre has been saved from the brink. Simon Rose was less enthusiastic. #26 is Modi: Three Days on the Wings of Madness, directed by Johnny Depp. Concerning Modigliani and other dissolute, starving artists in 1916 Paris it's a visual feast but also a mixed bag. On Amazon Prime, Heads of State has Idris Elba and John Cena as UK & US Premiers battling terrorists in an odd couple thriller. It's improbable and clichéd but rattles along nicely with decent banter.

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The Business of Film: Jurassic World Rebirth, Hot Milk & The Old Guard 2

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:13:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a buoyant summer box office climbing another 42% with #1 Jurassic World: Rebirth. But despite a great cast including Scarlett Johansson and director Gareth Edwards, it is very formulaic and feels like a retread of past glories. Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey star in #11 Hot Milk but again, despite such fine actors, it is bafflingly abtruse and so little happens, you might as well see the excellent trailer which even includes the climactic scene. On Netflix, James was disappointed by The Old Guard 2. Much as he enjoyed the first spin on immortaility this one is overbudgeted, crammed full of exotic locations and leaden.

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The Business of Film: F1 The Movie, M3GAN 2.0, & Grenfell Uncovered

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 20:49:00 -0000

This week James Cameron-Wilson is joined by Chad Kennerk, our occasional American correspondent, to review the opening weekend performance of 'F1 The Movie', which at #1 is now Brad Pitt’s highest-grossing movie, beating the record set in 2013 by his zombie thriller 'World War Z'. Having waxed lyrical last week about Danny Boyle’s new film '28 Years Later', James returns to where the franchise left off in 2007, reviewing the title with fresh eyes. While on the subject of zombies, Chad and James share some of their favourite undead excursions. James was less thrilled with the film at #6, 'M3GAN 2.0', which continues the escapades of the titular killer robot doll as she goes good in order to face off with a deadlier foe. For his streaming title of the week, James reviews the sobering Netflix documentary 'Grenfell Uncovered'.

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The Business of Film: 28 Years Later, Elio & Deep Cover

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:15:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson waxes lyrical about #1 28 Years Later, Danny Boyle's first film in 6 years. It's 23 years since 28 Days Later and the zombie horror is as fresh as ever, with the likes of Ralph Fienes and Jodie Comer starring in the third in the series, which begins on Lindisfarne. The film has been doing incredibly well wherever it has opened. #3 Elio, however, has had the worst opening ever for Pixar. A children's sci-fi animated adventure, James found himself unmoved while the kids seeing it were far from being gripped. On Amazon Prime, his hopes for the supposedly funny film about improv actors involved in police stings, Deep Cover, were soon dashed, despite the presence of Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean. It simply isn't funny enough.

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The Business of Film: How To Train Your Dragon, Straw & Darling

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:30:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson finds the live-action remake of #1 How To Train Your Dragon a disappointment, lacking much of the original's charm. He points out that the perfectly woven farce The Wedding Banquet is still around, suggesting people catch it while they can. On Netflix, he watched Straw, a state-of-the-nation melodrama from the phenomenally successful Tyler Perry. But while it has some nice moments, it's formulaic and unrealistic. He much admires the beautiful restoration of Darling, 1965's satire of Britain in the swinging 60s. Starring Dirk Bogarde and Julie Christie as a self-obsessed model, it has sparkling dialogue and won Oscars for costumes, script and for Christie. The extras are great too.

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The Business of FIlm: Ballerina, Echo Valley & Deaf President Now!

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:01:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a thriving box office, well ahead of last year's take. #3 Ballerina has little to do with ballet, coming from the world of John Wick. It's stylish but is relentless, exhausing combat porn. Apple TV+ has Echo Valley with Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney. It's a thriller that gripped James throughout. Also on Apple is the documentary Deaf President Now! about a deaf university where the students felt they were second-class citizens. It too is recommended.

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The Business of Film: Karate Kid – Legends, The Salt Path & A Widow's Game

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 15:19:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is impressed that the box office has fallen only 20% with Lilo & Stitch and Mission Impossible #1 & #2. #3 is Karate Kid: Legends with Jackie Chan (the sixth in the series). It is formulaic but moves at a good clip. Independent film The Salt Path is #4, packing out screens where it is showing. It's an unbelieveable but true story with Jason Isaacs & Gillian Anderson and is worthy but lacking cinematic oomph. On Netflix James caught the Spanish crime drama A Widow's Game, which can be seen subtitled or dubbed. Sadly, it is all too obvious who the guilty party is.

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The Business of Film: Lilo and Stitch, Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning & Fountain of Youth

Thu, 29 May 2025 14:54:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports box office up 199%. #1 Lilo and Stitch, the latest manifestation in the massive franchise is, despite its popularity with young viewers, a cinematic abomination which James loathed every minute of. He'd been looking forward to #2 Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning, but James found the 8th MI outing lacks the laughter and romance of the first part two years ago. Full of exposition and almost three hours long, it's Mission Ridiculous. He found Apple TV's Fountain of Youth should satisfy its young adult audience but its playful screenplay goes completely off the rails at the end.

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The Business of Film: Final Destination - Blood Lines, Hurry Up Tomorrow & Nonnas

Thu, 22 May 2025 14:54:00 -0000

Box office rose 30% despite the good weather, says James Cameron-Wilson. He was surprisingly entertained by #1 Final Destination: Bloodlines, the latest instalment of the long-running series about the inventiveness of the Grim Reaper. Canadian singer Weeknd virtually plays himself in #5 Hurry Up Tomorrow, a self-indulgent vanity project. On Netflix, James found the apparently true-ish story Nonnas, about Vince Vaughn setting up a restaurant with Italian grandmothers as chefs, to be formulaic and implausible but a pleasant and undemanding quiet-night-in movie.

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The Business of Film: Ocean with David Attenborough, The Wedding Banquet & Assessment

Mon, 19 May 2025 07:10:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports box office down 50% because of the fine weather. But he delighted in #4 Ocean with David Attenborough in which the 99-year-old reports on mankind's final frontier. Demanding to be seen on the big screen, this amazing film is an existential experience which cannot be bettered. #14 The Wedding Banquet is an updated version of Ang Lee's movie and is an exquisite comedy drama which is very funny and real, with warm, eccentric characters. James also recommends Amazon Prime's Assessment, a psychological sci-fi thriller with Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander.

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The Business of Film: Thunderbolts*, Havoc & Another Simple Favour

Thu, 08 May 2025 14:01:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 Thunderbolts* is keeping the UK box office ticking over. A mildly entertaining Marvel movie starring Florence Pugh and David Harbour, it is very noisy and features dreadful badinage. He was hoping for more from Netflix's Havoc, the biggest feature film ever to be shot wholly in Wales. Starring Tom Hardy, nothing about this John Wick knock-off rings true and, with no character development, it feels endless. After enjoying A Simple Favour, he was disappointed by Another Simple Favour on Amazon Prime. With Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively again, it starts promisingly with some good one-liners but descends into unbelievable farce.

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The Business of Film: The Accountant 2, The Friend, Julie Keeps Quiet & G20

Thu, 01 May 2025 14:06:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson boosts #2 Sinners again but also enjoyed #4 The Accountant 2, again starring Ben Affleck 8 years on. With a plot like a chess game it is smart, entertaining and often very funny. #22 is The Friend with Naomi Watts & Bill Murray. A handsomely acted look at death, it feels like the adaptation it is and lacks drama. Much better is #28 Julie Keeps Quiet. This rivetting and topical Belgian film about a young tennis player in crisis has an electric central performance. James enjoyed Viola Davis as the US President in G20 on Amazon Prime. A topical thriller it is entertaining but silly, falling about halfway between Segal and Cruise.

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The Business of Film: Sinners, The Penguin Lessons, Warfare & Holland

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:54:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says UK box office is up 83% YoY. He recommends three films in the chart. Ryan Coogler's Sinners at #2 is an outstanding piece of filmmaking which defies caegorisation but brings to mind Tarantino. It's a powerful, sensual and immersive experience that stays with you. #3 The Penguin Lessons isn't the feelgood family film you might expect but a wise, charming and funny political thriller starring Steve Coogan set in 1970s Argentina. At #5 Alex Gardland's Warfare aims to be the most realistic war film ever and succeeds. It's a terrific film but harrowing. On Amazon Prime Holland, with Nicole Kidman, tries to be a comedic black thriller like Fargo but doesn't quite work.

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The Business of Film: The Amateur, Drop, Mr. Burton and Laurel & Hardy

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 14:58:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that box iffice is down 52% although A Minecraft Movie has powered ahead to a £31m take. #2 The Amateur has Rami Malek as a desk-bound CIA guy who wants to get trained up for revenge. But it's ludicrous and underlit and very disappointing. #6 the unheralded Drop is a thriller with Meghann Fahy on a date that goes badly wrong. Think of Speed in a restaurant. James was completely gripped by the ingenious plot. He also admires #16 Mr. Burton with Toby Jones the teacher who inspired Richard Burton to at. It's the sort of little film that Britain does so well and deserves an audience. Simon recommends the new Eureka double-disc silent Laurel & Hardy restoration.

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The Business of Film: A Minecraft Movie, Death of a Unicorn, Flow & The Electric State

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 18:58:00 -0000

This week James Cameron-Wilson is joined by Chad Kennerk, our occasional American correspondent fresh from his trip to CinemaCon in Vegas. James is thrilled to see that the UK box-office has leaped a phenomenal 168.7% from the previous weekend, thanks to the video game adaptation 'A Minecraft Movie' with Jason Momoa and Jack Black. At #4 is 'Death of a Unicorn', a farcical horror comic that is inept on almost every level, save for the presence of Jenna Ortega. However, at #7 is the Oscar-winning animated feature 'Flow', which James claims is the best film of the year so far, being an enthralling, mystical, frequently quite funny, wondrous, haunting and even a pulse-accelerating experience. He was less happy with 'The Electric State' on Netflix, a $320 retro-futuristic mess with Chris Pratt and Mollie Bobby Brown which he describes as being overblown, heavy-handed and visually cluttered.

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The Business of Film: A Working Man, Novocaine & The Substance

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 14:55:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that the box office is down 14%. #2 is A Working Man, a violent, noisy and hugely unrealistic shoot-em-up with Jason Statham scything through Russian baddies as he tries to rescue his boss's daughter. It's like a poor knockoff of Taken. James hugely recommended Novocaine at #5 with Jack Quaid a man incapable of feeling pain. Although occasionally violent there are a lot of laughs and some superb twists (and more plausible fights) in a beautifully-plotted film. He also recommends – for those with strong stomachs – the 5-time Oscar-nominated Demi Moore horror movie The Substance. It's now out on disc and is a must for horror fans.

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The Business of Film: Snow White, The Alto Knights, The Thinking Game & O'Dessa

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 15:55:00 -0000

With box office + 63%, James Cameron-Wilson says #1 Snow White is neither as bad nor good as some would have it. Rachel Zegler lights up the screen but the CGI dwarves make it feel like an animated remake. It's not a new classic. #7 The Alto Knights has Robert de Niro playing 2 rival gangsters at once, a truly bad idea. It's misjudged and incredibly boring. James recommends documentary A Thinking Game if you can find it. O'Dessa, on Disney+, is a dotty, cheap and nasty, post-apocalyptic rock opera, with Sadie Sink considerably better than the movie which is a real rag bag of influences.

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The Business of Film: Black Bag, Last Breath, A Touch of Love

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 11:25:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is down another 24% this week. Steven Soderbeg's spy thriller Black Bag is #3. With the likes of Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett it looks good but is dry, unbelieveable and contrived. He was far keener on #7 Last Breath, a true-life feature based on an earlier documentary about a deep sea rescue. Starring Woody Harrelson it feels totally authentic and is very tense but, if anything, rather too short. James recommends the restoration of 1969's A Touch of Love with Sandy Dennis and Ian McKeellan. It's a searing slice of social commentary which swept James away. A real time capsule, it was hugely influential on the NHS at the time.

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The Business of Film: Mickey 17, Marching Powder & Sing Sing

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 16:20:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 Mickey 17, from Parasite's Bong Joon Ho, is a sci-fi film about replicated human beings in the vein of Terry Gilliam which seems terribly familiar. He found the lead irritating and thought it entirely humourless. #3 Marching Powder proved to James's surprise that he IS shockable after all. Another Nick Love-Danny Dyer collaboration about a coke addict who loves violence, it's a state-of-the-nation black comedy which is massively politically incorrect and offensive. Yet there's no denying it's well made and often witty. On Amazon Prime Sing Sing, thrice-Oscar-nominated, is about the power of theatre to heal. It is funny and deeply moving and James recommends it highly.

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The Business of Film: The Last Showgirl, Elton John: Never Too Late & the Oscars round-up

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 11:47:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments box office falling 42%, saying it is unlikely to pick up until May when the new Mission Impossible film is released. #5 is The Last Showgirl in which Pamela Anderson plays an exotic dancer feeling her age after 30 years stripping in Las Vegas. Despite good performances from her and Jamie Lee-Curtis, James found the appalling camerwork made it hard to engage. He thought the Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late was eminently watchable but felt there were big gaps in the narrative. James finishes by rounding up this year's Oscars and highlighting where he thought the Academy voters got it wrong.

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The Business of Film: The Monkey, I Am Still Here, Douglas Sirk box set, My Fault: London & Oscar predictions

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:42:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says box office, though down 39%, is still up 78% year-on-year thanks to Bridget Jones. #4 is The Monkey, a spectacularly grisly horror film which, neither funny nor scary, is just depressing and illogical. I Am Still Here is #6, Walter Salles's much-garlanded docudrama about Brazil's dictatorship in the 1970s. James loved the Blu-Ray box set "Douglas Sirk 1934-5" with the director's three lost German films available for the first time. And James ends with his predictions for the forthcoming Oscars.

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The Business of Film: Bridget Jones – Mad About the Boy, Captain America – Brave New World & the BAFTAs

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:02:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a 162% box office jump with Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy the new #1. Its £12.3m take was the biggest ever for a romcom. James, although recognising he's not the target audience, was a little less enthusiastic, as was Simon Rose, though James found it the best of the four films. #2 is Captain America: Brave New World, the 35th Marvel film. A thriller that gets increasingly far-fetched, James enjoyed it to an extent. He loved watching the BAFTAs and discusses the ceremony and the results.

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The Business of Film: September 5, The Brutalist & The Gorge

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 14:58:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on box office +13%. Avoiding animated #1 Dog Man, he found #5, September 5, a true-life drama about TV's coverage of the Munich Olympics kidnapping of Israeli athletes totally engrossing, if uncomfortably timely. At #6 is The Brutalist. Despite admiring its many exceptional attributes, including the acting, he found the characters in this 215-minute labour of love tiring. He admired the film but has no wish to see it again. He enjoyed The Gorge on Apple TV+ which begins as a Tom Clancy thriller but ends up being more like a Richard Curtis movie. He found it barmy, surprising and ludicrous.

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The Business of Film: Companion, Presence & You're Cordially Invited

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 15:13:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that UK box office is down for the fifth week in a row. #3 is Companion which James says is best enjoyed knowing little about it. It has laughs, thrills and plenty of surprises but is essentially a black comedy. Steven Soderbergh's horror Presence has slipped to #20 but James found it a one-trick pony with little flesh on its bones, short though it is. He suggests everyone avoids at all costs Amazon Prime's matrimonial romcom You're Cordially Invited. With Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, it is depressing, irritating and mean-spirited and beggars belief in its awfulness.

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The Business of Film: Flight Risk, Bank of Dave 2 - The Loan Ranger & the Oscar nominations

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 16:03:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is down 21%, although A Complete Unknown remains #1. The Mel Gibson thriller Flight Risk is #4 with Michelle Dockery and Mark Wahlberg excellent in a well-produced, tight piece of hokum which actually drew a round of applause in the cinema. On Netflix, James found Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger with Rory Kinnear, about the iniquity of payday lenders, superior to the first film. It's more believable and he was perfectly engaged. He also discusses the Oscar nominations, including the snubs, the disappointments and the surprises.

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The Business of Film: A Complete Unknown, Wolf Man & Back in Action

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 11:37:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on box office -13% but still up on 2024, with Wicked becoming last year's most successful film with £59.6m. The musical biopic of Bob Dylan, A Complete Unknown, with Timothy Chalomet and Edward Norton is the new #1. Despite great performances, with little narrative momentum, it might be mainly for fans. The tedious and unbelievable Wolf Man limps in at #7. James found Netflix's spy thriller Back in Action, the return from retirement of Cameron Diaz, all very silly and over the top, despite some good stunts. The Oscar nominations were coming out during recording so James gives his first thoughts on who's in and who's out.

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The Business of Film: Babygirl, A Real Pain & White Bird

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 15:26:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that yet again 6 films took £1m at the box office, with Mufasa replacing Nosferatu as #1. Racy drama Babygirl is #5, with Nicole Kidman amazing as a businesswoman whose perfect life is threatened by an affair. James found it almost too much, so real and voyeuristic did it feel. Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain at #6 has him and Kieran Culkin mismatched cousins tracing their European heritage. It's original, deftly realised, witty and well acted. Although perhaps aimed at younger viewers, Amazon's White Bird has Helen Mirren explaining her experiences under the Nazis to her grandson. Made by the great Marc Forster, it is poignant and touching and had James on the edge of tears at times.

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The Business of Film: Nosferatu, We Live In Time, The Six Triple Eight

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 15:32:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a healthy box office, up 42% YoY. New #1 Nosferatu is Robert Eggers' take on the 1922 Murnau classic with Bill Skarsgard, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult. The design and photography is brilliant but the ripe dialogue caused giggles in the audience. At #3 is We Live In Time from the director of the brilliant Brooklyn. A non-linear telling of a relationship, James found it an amazing and rewarding emotional investment. On Netflix, he admired the Six Triple Eight, a surprisingly true WW2 tale of African American servicewomen in Europe. Although it's not subtle, it is very emotive and well-acted.

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The Business of Film: Mufasa: The Lion King, Better Man & Carry-On

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 16:57:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates box office soaring 113%, though he can't be dragged to #1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He finds the animation in the photo-realistic #2 Mufasa: The Lion King astonishing. A prequel and sequel modelled on Butch Cassidy it is wonderful, being both moving and very powerful. Better Man is a musical memoir of Robbie Williams with him narrating, though on screen he is represented as a chimpanzee. It's very original and inventive and is surprisingly engaging and moving. On Netflix James recommended Carry-On, a thriller with Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman which sucks you into the terrifying action.

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The Business of Fim: Kraven the Hunter, Lord of the Rings - The War of the Rohirrim & That Christmas

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 15:34:00 -0000

With box office takings down once more, James Cameron-Wilson says that #5 Kraven the Hunter is the worst ever Marvel opening. It's a mixed bag but is often entertainingly ludicrous with Russell Crowe having fun as a Russian villain. He found the anime Lords of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim often utterly baffling but it got better as it went on, even if he never wants to see anything Lords of the Ring-related ever again. On Netflix, however, he warmed to the animated That Christmas, co-written by Richard Curtis. It's a sweet and sentimental tale aimed at the whole family that does what it says on the tin.

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The Business of Film: Black Tuesday, Beatles '64 & Pipes in the Peaks - 12 Dec 24

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:08:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates UK box office being up 38% YoY with 5 films taking £1m. With no new films to review, he turns to the 1954 Edward G. Robinson gangster film noir Black Tuesday. Banned in the UK for its violence, it has been restored on Blu-Ray. Packed with superb extras, it is a forgotten masterpiece. He found Beatles '64, a documentary about the Fab Four on Disney+, slick and engaging.

And Simon recommended a glorious garage in Derbyshire where they have restored a Compton cinema organ called Pipes in the Peaks, having attended four concerts there this year.

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The Business of Film: Moana 2, Conclave, The Piano Lesson and A Time To Kill

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 10:47:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that UK box office is up for an amazing 7th week in the row with Disney's Moana 2's £12m opening at #1 being four times that of the original. While the animation is sublime and the music great, it lacks a cohesive storyline. At #5 is Conclave with Ralph Fiennes excellent in a surprisingly thrilling and insightful adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel about the election of a new Pope. James was gripped throughout, finding it a cinematic masterpiece. Although Netflix's second screen version of The Piano Lesson, with Samuel L. Jackson, is a well-made and acted tale, it can't shake off its theatrical roots. He also revisited the John Grisham adaptation A Time To Kill online, finding it has well stood the test of time.

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The Business of Film: Wicked, Blitz & Joy

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 15:36:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that not only has the box office climbed for the 6th time in a row, but that #1 Wicked has had the biggest opening of the year, £13.7m. Although just the first part of the adaptation of the stage musical, James found it hugely entertaining with great comedy timing. Although down to #16 in the charts, James is rooting for Steve McQueen's Blitz in awards season, which he found an engrossing and visually amazing movie. He could not recommend Netflix's Joy more, a true-life tale of the first test-tube baby with the likes of James Norton and Bill Nighy. It is pitch perfect, being beautifully English and understated.

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The Business of Film: Gladiator II, Emilia Pérez & Juggernaut

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 09:57:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates UK box office climbing for the 5th week running. #1 is Ridley Scott's Gladiator II which, if anything, is even better than the first film, with smart storytelling and visual spectacle to take the breath away. It is incredibly violent, though, despite its 15 certificate. On Netflix, James adored French-made, Mexico-set musical Emilia Pérez which, like Gladiator, has lots of Oscar buzz. Stylised but gritty and intelligent, it's unlike anything you'll have seen for ages. In a positive week, James also raved about the 50th anniversary Blu-Ray of the British disaster-era film Juggernaut. With Richard Harris leading a great cast directed by Richard Lester, it stands up incredibly well and is a masterclass in popular entertainment with amazing extras.

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The Business of Film: Paddington in Peru, Red One, Blitz & The Substance

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:28:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office chart, with takings up 53% thanks to 2 films. #1 is Paddington in Peru but the third in the series suffers from inane dialogue, an obvious plot and little basis in reality. James was no more impressed by #2 Red One with Dwayne Johnson in a movie about Father Christmas being kidnapped. It's nonsensical, silly and cynical. Simon caught Steve McQueen's Blitz, an impressive recreation of life on the home front during nightly bombings, starring Saoirse Ronan, which he recommends. And James caught up with Demi Moore in The Substance, an astonishly original and very stylish horror film about an actress's attempt to stay young.

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The Business of Film: Heretic, Anora, Juror #2 & The Third Man

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:49:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says box office is up 12%, with Heretic at #3 a horror film starring Hugh Grant. While the first half is a blast in the vein of Sleuth, it then descends into full-out nasty horror. Although #6 Anora, starring Mike Madison, won the Palme D'Or, and has a great central performance, James was disappointed, perhaps because expectations were so high. He found #10 Clint Eastwood's 40th film as director, Juror #2, with Nicholas Hoult, totally gripping. It's a great story with multi-layered characters. James also celebrated a 75th anniversary restoration of The Third Man, one of the UK's greatest movies. The Blu-Ray and 4K disc of this riveting noir classic is also packed with great extras.

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The Business of Film: Venom – The Last Dance, The Wild Robot, Woman of the Hour & Jane Eyre

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 15:33:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that box office is up a mere 3% with new #1 Venom: The Last Dance, the third in the franchise with Tom Hardy. Full of British actors, it is dark and violent. The antithesis is #2 The Wild Robot, a delightful animated feature about a robot learning from the animals on an uninhabited island. It's a genuine original and looks terrific. James was moved and entertained. On Sky/Netflix is Woman of the Hour, starring and directed by Anna Kendrick. Although based on a true story about a serial killer on a TV dating show, James found it only mildly diverting. He did recommend, though, that people search out the 2011 version of Jane Eyre online, starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska.

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The Business of Film: The Wild Robot, The Apprentice, The Crime is Mine & The Radleys

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:16:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that box office takings are up 23%. #1 is the animated The Wild Robot from the creator of How To Train Your Dragon. #3 is The Apprentice, about the property-developing years of Donald Trump. Despite two excellent central performances, it's a dreary and underwhelming affair, which isn't particularly entertaining. The Crime is Mine from the versatile and prolific film director François Ozon is a farcical trifle set in 1930s Paris which is sweet but no Muscatel. On Sky Cinema, The Radleys is a vampire drama set in Whitby with Kelly Macdonald and Damien Lewis. But with an uncertain tone and no link to real life, it most resembles an episode of Grange Hill.

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The Business of Film: Transformers One, Terrifier 3 & Wolfs

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:13:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson explains that box office is down 17%, with a big dropoff for the new Joker movie. He couldn't get excited by new #1 Transformers One. Being animated, it negates the wow factor and he was bored rigid. For the first time in his career, he thinks a film should not have gone on general release. #3 Terrifier 3 is a Christmas horror movie so strong some patrons have been made ill. James says it would have been banned in the 80s. Again he recommends people to catch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or The Outrun, both still in the charts. On AppleTV+ he enjoyed Wolfs with George Clooney and Brad Pitt playing well off each other as rival fixers, even if it does get increasingly silly.

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The Business of Film: Joker - Folie à Deux, A Different Man & An Inspector Calls

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:07:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says the box office is up 44% thanks to #1 Joker: Folie à Deux, with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Essentially a jukebox musical contemplating the human condition, it sadly lacks a narrative drive and is often downright boring. At #10, A Different Man is an accomplished and original drama which is moving, challenging and entertaining. Never sure where it's going, it's remarkable and highly recommended. Out on excellently restored home discs is the 1954 JB Priestley An Inspector Calls with Alastair Sim, directed by future Bond director Guy Hamilton. Despite its age, it still casts quite a spell.

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The Business of Film: The Outrun, Megalopolis, Never Let Go, I Could Never Be Your Woman, His Three Daughters

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 13:54:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reorts on box office down 9%, the third downturn in a row. He thought #3 The Outrun, a searing drama based on a memoir starring Saoirse Ronan, a terrific film. A work of arthouse cinema, it's a beautiful and emotional expedition with great acting. Francis Ford Coppola's long-cherished dream project Megalopolis reaches the screen at #7 but it is preposterous, self-indulgent and incomprehensible and had the audience leaving in droves. #10 Never Let Go with Halle Berre is a boring cabin-in-the-woods horror. But James was unexpectedly delighted by Ronan's first film from 2007, I Could Never Be Your Woman, which is available to view free online. He found Netflix's family drama His Three Daughters unduly theatrical and disappointing.

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The Business of Film: The Substance, Prima Facie, Michael Powell & Rebel Ridge

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:57:00 -0000

Box office is down 27%, says James Cameron-Wilson with new entry The Substance, a feminist body horror starring Demi Moore, entering only at #3. Although #12, Jodie Comer's Prima Facie has now taken £7.6m, the highest ever for an event movie and it is still screening. James waxed lyrical about the extras-laden Blu-Ray Michael Powell: Early Works, giving umpteen insights into the development of one of the UK's greatest directors. He was also positive about Netflix's Rebel Ridge, a thriller about corruption and racism in America's South with Aaron Pierre and Don Johnson, even if the drama ebbs away when it begins to resemble First Blood.

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The Business of Film: Speak No Evil, Lee & The Critic

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:41:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson tells Simon Rose that box office is down 21%, with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice still #1. #2 is the James McAvoy thriller of manners Speak No Evil which James praised highly while advising cinemagoers to avoid the trailer. Kate Winslet stars in passion project Lee (#3) about WW2 photojournalist Lee Miller. While she is brilliant and the film looks amazing, the story is so slow paced and conventionally told James had trouble keeping his eyes open. And while he enjoyed Ian McKellen's performance in the 1930s-set The Critic (#7), he found it improbable, flat, leaden and lacking in humour as well, as too often these days, much too dark.

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The Business of Film: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Firebrand & Robin & the Hoods

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:38:00 -0000

Box office is up 47%, says James Cameron-Wilson, helped by the 36-years-on Tim Burton sequel to Beetlejuice called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Still with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, James found it laugh-out-loud funny and wildly imaginative with amazing production design. At #10 is the oddly-titled Firebrand, the story of Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander) and Henry VIII (Jude Law), which is fascinating to history buffs, if a little uncinematic. However, Robin and the Hoods on Sky Movies, a children's fantasy, was, despite an enjoyable screenplay, embarrassingly bad.

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The Business of Film: AfrAId, The Deliverance & The Union

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 15:02:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments box office declining 30% despite National Cinema Day. The only new film is AI horror AfrAId at #10 with a family at the mercy of a digital assistant. Although slammed by critics, James found it nuanced and horrifically believable. He also watched faith-based horror The Deliverance on Netflix which features Glenn Close. Although not a great film, it still delivers a frightfest. James thinks that spy thriller The Union, also on Netflix and starring Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg, might be one of those films so bad that it's good. He found it absurdly diverting.

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The Business of Film: Kneecap, Blink Twice, The Crow, Widow Cliquot & Miller's Girl

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:36:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a bumper week of films, despite the box office take falling 17%. Kneecap, a mashup of A Hard Day's Night and Trainspotting is #5. Psychological thriller Blink Twice is #6. Written and directed by Zoe Kravitz and starring Channing Tatum, James felt that, though unsettling, he'd seen it all before. The supposed remake of The Crow at #8 was brilliantly made and disturbing but illogical. James both admired and hated it. Simon felt that Widow Cliquot at #24 was a wasted opportunity to explain the science behind champagne making. On Amazon Prime, James admired Miller's Girl, written & directed by Jade Halley Bartlett, a whipsmart movie about creative writing with wonderful dialogue.

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The Business of Film: Alien Romulus, Hollywoodgate and Laurel & Hardy – The Silent Years

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 15:55:00 -0000

With box office buoyant, James Cameron-Wilson was blown away by Alien:Romulus, the 9th in the series and the new #1. It feels fresh and smart, has a great retro look and, above all, is how horror films should work. He was glad to have caught #22 Hollywoodgate, a documentary made with the Taliban's cooperation after the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, leaving behind £7bn of military equipment. He found it eye-opening, fascinating and frightening. He (and Simon) were full of praise for the 2-disc set of Laurel & Hardy: The Silent Years. Beautifully restored, these comedies from 100 years ago and more are still fresh and funny and the superb extras only add to the enjoyment.

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The Business of Film: It Ends With Us, Trap and Borderlands

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 14:32:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is joined by guest interrogator Chad Kennerk to discuss the UK box-office, which has dipped 3% from the previous weekend. Sadly, he was not a fan of any of the three new releases in the marketplace: he found 'It Ends With Us' implausible and ridiculous, M. Night Shyamalan’s psycho-thriller 'Trap' contrived and inexplicable and the video game adaptation 'Borderlands' (with Cate Blanchett, of all people) derivative and chaotic.

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The Business of Film: Harold and the Purple Crayon, Thelma & The Instigators

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:19:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates box office up 82%, helped by Deadpool & Wolverine at #1 for a 2nd week. He enjoyed the sweet-natured, amusing family film Harold & The Purple Crayon at #5 which is full of joi de vivre, innocence and wonder. He also loves Thelma at #20. June Squibb's first starring role at the age of 94, it's an action thriller like you've never before which is also extemely funny. On Apple+ he mostly enjoyed The Instigators with Matt Damon reunited with director Doug Liman in an anti-heist movie.

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The Business of Film: Deadpool & Wolverine, No Trees in the Street & The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:24:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a healthy UK box office despite the hot weather. New #1 is Deadpool & Wolverine, the first Marvel film James has enjoyed in a long time. Its 15 certificate is well-deserved as it has lots of blood, beheadings and bad language and there's too much CGI combat but Ryan Reynolds' meta-banter is undeniably funny and the film is full of "Easter Eggs" for fans. The 1959 Sylvia Syms and Herbert Lom British drama No Trees in the Street is available on 4K restoration disc. Shot like an American film noir it's a poverty row drama which is a fascinating time capsule and makes you appreciate the conveniences and luxuries of modern life. Guy Ritchie's films keep going straight to streaming in the UK, including the supposedly true-life war film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It's very Guy Ritchie, bloody with lots of OTT violence but is nonetheless a guilty pleasure.

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The Business of Film: Twisters, Horizon – An American Saga, Chapter One & Sleeping Dogs

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 14:56:00 -0000

While box office is down 12%, James Cameron-Wilson is excited by Twisters, taking £3.1m at #2, thinking the disaster movie is ripe for revival. A standalone sequel, he found this big slice of popcorn escapism with Daisy Edgar-Jones intense and totally engrossing. He wished he'd been able to see Kevin Costner's gargantuan Western project Horizon: An American Saga Part One on the big screen but had to settle for its streaming appearance. Although flawed and sometimes hard to understand, he still found it brilliant and visually amazing. He wanted to like Russell Crowe as a detective with memory loss in Sleeping Dogs on Amazon Prime but, despite the presence of Karen Gillan, it's a B-movie which is formulaic and implausible.

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The Business of Film: Despicable Me 4, Longlegs, Fly Me To The Moon & Sleep

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:09:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson revels in UK box office up 64% thanks to the bad weather and a raft of new films. #1 is Despicable Me 4 which he likes no more than the other 5 in the franchise, finding a U certificate for such a violent film surprising. At #3 is horror film Longlegs from Oz Perkins (Anthony Perkins' son) with Nic Cage, which James found well made and unnerving. He was less charitable about supposedly trueish #4 Fly Me To The Moon with Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. Failing as both romcom and conspiracy thriller, it is flat and ludicrous. He was absorbed, if not scared, by the well-made and often amusing South Korean horror film Sleep about somnambulism, #17 in the chart.

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The Business of Film: A Quiet Place – Day One, Kinds of Kindness & Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 14:34:00 -0000

Cineworld plans to close 25% of its cinemas and James Cameron-Wilson says box office is down 26%, though Inside Out 2 is riding high with £40.1m, making it the biggest hit of 2024. Prequel A Quiet Place: Day One is #2 but, while accomplished and watchable, it doesn't have the coiled tension of the first two films. Despite loving films of Yorgos Lanthimos like The Favourite and Poor Things, James was not enamoued of Kinds of Kindness, an anthology movie with Emma Stone which is weird without being wonderful and a case of the emperor's new clothes, with no narrative cohesion. 40 years on, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, out on Netflix, creaks in all the wrong places with Eddie Murphy looking the same but with his manic energy diminished. So by the numbers, it's not worth your time.

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The Business of Film: The Bikeriders, Something in the Water & Fancy Dance

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:23:00 -0000

With the box office relatively robust, despite the warmer weather, James Cameron-Wilson saw Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy in #2 The Bikeriders, taking £1.1m. Despite its great look and some fine acting, he found it a poseurfest that doesn't knit together and lacks real characters. He was impressed by #10 Something in the Water. Although it only took £120,000, this terrific British-made Carribean-set survival thriller is head and shoulders above most genre films this year. Unusually for James, he was genuinely unnerved on many occasions. He was also impressed by Apple TV's Fancy Dance, an unblinking look at life on an American reservation with Lily Gladstone which is moving and touching and perhaps the most realistic film about contemporary Native Americans.

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The Business of Film: Inside Out 2, Hit Man & Bad Behaviour

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:22:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports UK box office up a remarkable 100%, thanks to the new #1 Inside Out 2, which took £11.3m. That's the biggest opening of the year and the 3rd biggest UK opening for an animated film. Pixar have done it again with an enjoyable adventure which is both exciting and funny. On Netflix, Glen Powell has a star-making turn in Richard Linklater's Hit Man, a romcom supposedly based on a true story. With a terrific script and great chemistry, it's an entertaining watch. And on Amazon Prime, Bad Behaviour sees Jane Campion's daughter Alice Englert do virtually everything in a bracingly original, disturbing, funny and touching drama.

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The Business of Film: Bad Boys - Ride or Die, The Watched, La Chimera & Perfect Days

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:48:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says the box office is only up 10% with new #1 Bad Boys: Ride or Die picking up almost £4m. James found this sequel, 29 years after the original, profane, violent, meaningless and formulaic. #6 The Watched is a cabin-in-the-woods horror written and directed by Ishana Shyamalan, daughter of M Night. But it turns out to be cliched, dreary and often nonsensical. Simon recommended Italian drama La Chimera starring Josh O'Connor and Isabella Rossellini about a group of tomb robbers. And for home viewing, James thought the Tokyo-set Oscar-nominated Wim Wenders film Perfect Days, about a man who cleans toilets, to be the director's best since Paris, Texas 40 years ago.

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The Business of Film: Sting, Atlas & Bonus Track

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:57:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that the charming IF has regained the #1 spot at the UK box office. He was less than impressed by #8 Sting, a horror film about a spider which is a dumb and ridiculous sub-Alien ripoff. Although it is familiar and feels like a video game jammed on fast forward, he found the Jennifer Lopez sci-fi romp Atlas on Netflix to be reasonable popcorn entertainment. He was even more impressed by Sky's Bonus Track about a teenager loner at school who suddenly finds direction in his life. It is funny, moving and sweet and feels as if the teens are real people.

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The Business of Film: Garfield, Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga, Love Lies Bleeding & A Small Back Room

Thu, 30 May 2024 14:35:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson cheers UK box office up 28%, thanks to the weather. But he regrets the agony of seeing #1 Garfield which is crass, loud & witless, celebrating violence and overeating. He found Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga better than Fury Road, having more dramatic bite and a welcome humanity although, given the near-torture porn content, he was surprised at the 15 certificate. Although it hasn't set the box office alight, he caught the versatile Kristen Stewart in Love Lies Bleeding, a funny, brutal and unexpected neo-noir which he thought really special. He waxed lyrical about Powell & Pressburger's 1949 WW2 film The Small Back Room, beautifully restored for home viewing. It's a claustrophobic, music-less, hard-boiled drama about a vanished world with a peerless cast and he rates it one of his favourite of the exalted Archers' films.

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The Business of Film: IF, The Strangers – Chapter One & Unfrosted

Thu, 23 May 2024 15:48:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson recommends IF, the new #1 in a UK box office +16% on the previous week. Starring Ryan Reynolds, this family film is sentimental but smart, is beautifully executed by some famous names behind the camera and is both touching and funny. James found the first part of a trilogy prequel, The Strangers: Part One, to be clichéd and far-fetched beyond belief and yet the camerawork of director Renny Harlin made him want to know what happens next. But he found Unfrosted on Netflix to be almost as awful as Garfield 2. A supposedly true story about Kellogg's invention of the pop tart, directed by Jerry Seinfeld, it has a witless script and is only minisculely redeemed by a lot of famous cameos.

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The Business of Film: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, In the Hands of Saints & Sinners, Prom Dates

Thu, 23 May 2024 14:24:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments the UK box office, down 32% because of the sunny weather. It meant Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes only took £3.8m. Despite his loneliness in the cinema, James found it a miraculous piece of cinematic magic; clever, multi-layered, exciting and often funny, with amazing production design. On Netflix, he was disappointed by In the Land of Saints & Sinners, a plodding thriller with Liam Neeson. And he found Disney Plus's Prom Dates to have a few amusing bits but to be far too crude and predictable.

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The Business of Film: The Fall Guy, Tarot & The Idea of You

Thu, 09 May 2024 15:35:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, up 27% on the week. New #1 is The Fall Guy about a stunt man. But James found Ryan Gosling smug and obtruse and Emily Blunt irritating in a noisy & cheesy film that, while possessing some impressive action scenes, makes little sense. At #6 is boring low-budget horror Tarot, which is one star all the way. James, however, did enjoy Amazon Prime's The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway romancing a much younger pop star. Often delightful and touching – in a rom com sort of way – James felt it was like a music version of Notting Hill.

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The Business of Film: Challengers, There's Still Tomorrow & 1927's The Cat And The Canary

Thu, 02 May 2024 15:42:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a becalmed box office. New #1 is the tennis drama Challengers with Zendaya. Although a tennis fan, James became irritated by the cinematic pyrotechnics which got in the way of the drama. He was amazed to see the period-set black and white Italian drama There's Still Tomorrow – Italy's top film last year – released in 142 cinemas. An homage to neo-realist post-war Italian cinema about the role of women in a patriarchical society, he considers it a modern masterpiece, hard-hitting but still with heart, humour and warmth. He also loves the beautifully restored home release of 1927's silent film The Cat And The Canary, the hugely-influential precursor of all dark house comedy thrillers, which is also packed with glorious extras.

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The Business of Film: Abigail, Sometimes I Think About Dying & The Lavender Hill Mob

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 12:47:00 -0000

With no big new releases, James Cameron-Wilson explains that the UK box office is down 36%, with Back to Black still #1. At #5 is horror film Abigail about a kidnapped ballerina. Extremely gory, it is also increasingly clichéd. James was impressed by Sometimes I Think About Dying at #19, a minimalist drama in which Daisy Ridley is a shy loner. Nuanced, it makes the audience work but is moving and sticks in the memory. Out for home viewing is 1951's A Lavender Hill Mob, with Alec Guinness a meek bank clerk with nefarious ambitions. The beautifully-restored disc is packed with fascinating extras. It is a must, says James.

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The Business of Film: Back to Black, Civil War & Scoop

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:38:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson welcomes a 7% kick in the box office. #1 is Sam Taylor-Johnson's Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black with Marisa Abela giving a stunning performance, celebrating her talent while not shying from depicting the reality of addiction. Although James rarely cries in movies, he was exceptionally moved by the film and loved it. He was also impressed by #2 Civil War, a dystopian USA-set thriller that is realistic and timely. An amazing and riveting film which is a great piece of cinema, he feels writer/director Alex Garland is one of our greatest filmmakers. On Netflix, he found Scoop, about Prince Andrew's ill-fated TV interview, to be a cross between The Crown and Spitting Image. He thought it engrossing but had trouble suspending disbelief.

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The Business of Film: Monkey Man, The First Omen & Road House

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:41:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a box office down 36%, with blockbusters maintaining the four top spots. Dev Patel's directorial debut Monkey Man comes in at #5, a violent film about a hustler with a score to settle. Although it has kinetic energy, it lacks humanity and is derivative and wearisome. Worse is The First Omen at #6. Incredibly similar to the plot of Immaculate, it's a horror film with no sense of credibility. James much preferred the Amazon Prime superior remake of Road House with Jake Gyllenhaal as a charming bouncer. Directed by Doug Liman, it's more complex and interesting than the original and, while violent, it also has a great deal of humour.

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The Business of Film: Kung Fu Panda 4, Godzilla x Kong – The New Empire, Mothers' Instinct & Shirley

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 14:58:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports box office up another 65% with Kung Fu Panda 4 #1 with over £5m. The animation is superb and the jokes were just good enough to keep James awake. #2 is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with £4.1m has amazing CGI and decent human performances from the likes of Rebecca Hall but James wasn't overimpressed with this, the 38th Godzilla film. He found #6 Mothers' Instinct with Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway to be a stylish 1960s thriller in the Patricia Highsmith mould, enjoying it so much he didn't want it to end. On Netflix, he found Shirley, with Regina King as Shirley Chisholm, fighting to become the first black woman in the US Congress a noble and nuanced history lesson, if not entirely compelling as a film.

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The Business of Film: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, Immaculate, The Lavender Hill Mob & One Life

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:22:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says that #1 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the sort of film that makes him sorry he became a film critic, being rushed, full of bloated CGI and an utter waste of time. He found horror film Immaculate at #3, set in an Italian convent, nasty and utterly formulaic. He and Simon celebrate the cinema re-release of Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob while James urges everybody to see Anthony Hopkins in the amazing true-life tale of Nicholas Winton and the Kindertransport, One Life, now out for home viewing.

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The Business of Film: Anatomy of a Fall, Damsel & Ricky Stanicky

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 15:19:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson analyses the latest box office chart, -28%, still dominated by Dune 2. With no new films to see, James turns to the home video release of the French drama Anatomy of a Fall. nominated for 5 Oscars and winning for its screenplay. It was more rewarding on a second viewing, being multi-layered, perceptive and peopled with three-dimensional characters. He feels that what he thought was a good film could be a great one. He was impressed, as before, by the 20-year-old Millie Bobby Brown who is the heroine of Netflix's dark fantasy Damsel, which he found intense and violent. He found Peter Farrelly's gross-out Amazon Prime comedy Ricky Stanicky, with Zac Efron, highly offensive and unfunny.

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The Business of Film: Imaginary, Spaceman & the Oscars

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 15:43:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on box office down 29% with Dune 2 now up to £19.3m at #1. At #5 is horror film Imaginary, which James found boring, bloated, clichéd and not particularly scary. He hoped for better from the philosophical sci-fi drama Spaceman on Netflix. However, despite Paul Dano and Carey Mulligan, it proved one of the weirdest films he had seen for a long time and suffered from the miscasting of Adam Sandler in the main role. He was far happier with the Oscars, which he felt were wonderfully hosted and both entertaining and compelling, even if he did – for once – get one of his main predictions wrong.

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The Business of Film: Dune 2, Mea Culpa, the SAG Awards & looking ahead to the Oscars

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:47:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson assesses Dune: Part Two at #1, which boosted the UK box office by taking £9.3m with almost £13,000 per screen. While critics love it and James was impressed by it visually, he found the film confusing and ponderous and admired it rather than enjoyed it. He looks ahead to the Oscars which, for the first time in 20 years, can be seen on terrestrial TV. He gives his predictions for the main prizes and discusses the recent star-studded luvviefest, the SAG Awards, watchable on Netflix.

He regrets watching Tyler Perry's film, Mea Culpa, on Netflix. A thriller about an artist accused of murdering his girlfriend, the ludicrous film is every bit as bad as the main character's art.

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The Business of Film: Wicked Little Letters, NT Live - Vanya & Paths of Glory

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:29:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK cinema scene, still dominated by Bob Marley: One Love at #1 with a total of £11.3m in 2 weeks. He was disappointed by Wicked Little Letters at #2. Set in a 20s village, it sees the like of Olivia Colman and Timothy Spall overacting and overswearing in a piece of annoying whimsy. At #6 is the NT Live production of Vanya, with Andrew Scott playing multiple characters. Without boning up beforehand, James found it somewhat baffling. He loved the beautifully-restored home video disc of Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war film Paths of Glory, starring Kirk Douglas. As powerful as ever, it comes with some fantastic bonus material.

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The Business of Film: Bob Marley One Love, Madame Web, Players & the BAFTAs

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:29:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates UK box office up 89% with Bob Marley: One Love #1 racking up £6.9m. But James was disappointed, finding the biopic a hagiography, a series of vignettes rather than a gripping story. He much preferred Madame Web at #3 with Dakota Johnson in a well-engineered and much more believable and human superhero story than we've been used to of late. Despite other critics, James couldn't recommend it more. Not so Players, an unoriginal romcom on Netflix about playing the field, which he found exasperating and populated with characters with unlimited money and time. He also mentions the BAFTAs praising host David Tennant.

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The Business of Film: The Iron Claw, Upgraded & How To Have Sex

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 16:47:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that 2023's box office was up 9% at £978m. This week, though, it's down 25% with no new big films. True-life wrestling pic The Iron Claw, with Zac Efron, made only £750,000 at #3 but nothing rings true and James found it dull. With no other new releases other than Peppa's Cinema Party, James turned to Amazon Prime for the romcom Upgraded which, while hardly a true original, he found smart, savvy and very funny. The dialogue zings and he was left with a stupid smile on his face. Not so with How To Have Sex, out for home viewing. This Cannes prizewinner about Brits holidaying in Crete was disturbing, sometimes shocking but authentic and skilfully directed. He was surprised, however, at the 15 certificate.

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The Business of Film: Migration, Argylle, The Zone of Interest & American Fiction

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 16:27:00 -0000

While UK box office rose 25%, James Cameron-Wilson found the animated Migration, #1, as processed as American cheese. #2 spy spoof Argylle from Matthew Vaughn he found over-familiar, over-long, unbelievable and lazy filmmaking. #5 is The Zone of Interest which, despite its 5 Oscar nominations, can be hard to see in cinemas. James, however, heartily recommends American Fiction at #10, also garnering 5 Oscar nominations, with Jeffrey Wright as a multi-faceted writer trying to break down stereotypes.

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The Business of Film: All Of Us Strangers, The Color Purple & Peeping Tom

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 10:52:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson says UK box office is down another 21%. While Mean Girls is #1 but fading, garlanded UK low-budget 4-hander All Of Us Strangers from Andrew Haigh is #2 with £1.1m. Andrew Scott is outstanding in a mesmerising, original film about a gay writer. He was less complimentary about the musical version of The Color Purple at #8, with the showstopping tunes at odds with the dark underlying material. Restored for home video, 1960's Peeping Tom, a voyeuristic film from Michael Powell about a killer, might have destroyed his reputation but, thanks to Martin Scorsese, it's now recognised as a misunderstood classic and quite playful and witty at times. The bonus material is terrific.

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The Business of Film: Mean Girls, Poor Things, The Holdovers, The Beekeeper, The Boys in the Boat & the Oscars

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 17:00:00 -0000

In a bumper box office week, James Cameron-Wilson finds the musical reboot of 2004's Mean Girls (#1), dull and lacking fizz, despite Tina Fey's script. Like Simon Rose, he adores Poor Things (#3) from The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos, with Emma Stone getting one of 11 Oscar nominations. It's odd, extraordinarily original and visually and aurally glorious. Simon praised The Holdovers, with Paul Giamatti one of 5 nominees, at #6 from Sideways director. #7 is so-bad-it's-good thriller The Beekeeper with Jason Statham, while George Clooney's The Boys In The Boat has sunk to #14. A true Depression-era sporting tale, Simon and James both loved it. James also gave a round-up of the Oscar nominations and who he expects to triumph on the night.

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The Business of Film: One Life, Priscilla & Good Grief

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 15:49:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson marvels that Wonka is still #1 after 5 weeks, with total of £53m at the UK box office. Anthony Hopkins stars in One Life, the true story of stockbroker Nicholas Winton's extraordinary wartime rescue of hundreds of Jewish children. James found it beautifully realised and hugely affecting. He was less impressed with Priscilla, about the spouse of Elvis Presley. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, which he found unimaginative. He admired the decor and scenery more than the plot in Netflix's drama about grief and friendship, Good Grief, written and directed by Dan Levy.

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The Business of Film: Ferrari, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Anyone But You, Next Goal Wins & Maestro

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 17:25:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson explains that UK box office is up 14% YoY. Wonka is still #1 with £45m total. Michael Mann's Ferrari is #2; though interesting, it is slow and not energising. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom #3 is exhausting, all CGI and endless violence. Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron is #4 while Anyone But You at #5 is an ludicrous and nonsensical romcom. Next Goal Wins about the infamous American Samoan football team is not a patch on the documentary on which it is based. However, Bradley Cooper's film about Leonard Bernstein, in which he also stars and which is now on Netflix, is beautiful and wonderful.

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The Business of Film: Review of 2023. What's biggest? What's best? And what might win awards?

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 13:00:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks back at the cinematic world in 2023, counting the top grossing films worldwide from 10 to 1, with Barbie coming out on top with $1.4 billion. He discusses the female directors of the year as well as the best female performances. And, with awards season almost upon us, he explains what he voted for in the London Film Critics Circle Awards and the films he thinks will be nominated, and possibly win, at the Oscars.

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The Business of Film: Godzilla Minus One, Rustin & Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:34:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on the UK box office. Takings have dropped 25% but Wonka still rules. Godzilla Minus One is #2, a rare foreign language subtitled movie to ride high in the charts, though taking only £817,000. James found it a decent monster movie but no more. On Netflix, he thought Rustin, the real story of the gay civil rights activist, interesting despite much overacting. He was delighted, however, by Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which he reckoned not just the best animated movie of the year but one of the best movies of 2023 full stop.

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The Business of Film: Wonka & Leave The World Behind

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:58:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates UK box office +43% WoW and +173% YoY. It's the prequel Wonka that's responsible which, while a little woke and lightening Roald Dahl's dark world, is nonetheless great fun, somewhat in the moud of Mary Poppins. While Timothy Chalamet doesn't have the requisite magic, Hugh Grant excels. The music (there should be more) and dialogue is delicious and the young audience when James saw it forgot all about toilet breaks. James also saw Leave The World Behind on Netflix. Starring Julia Roberts, against type, it's an often implausible, but hugely enjoyable, Hitchcockian thriller taking its audience on a roller-coaster ride with comic underpinning.

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The Business of FIlm: May December, She Came To Me & Past Lives

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 15:34:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the box office chart, with takings down 25% WoW but up 43% YoY. With nothing new in the chart, still led by Napoleon, he sought out Todd Haynes's Oscar contender May December, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. About celebrity, James was enthralled, without ever feeling it quite ignited. He was more enthusiastic about Rebecca Miller's She Came To Me on Sky Cinema. With Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei, it's about an opera composer with writer's block and is a refreshing, insightful and very funny farce. Best of all, though was Korean-American film Past Lives from Celine Song, about two childhood friends reconnecting after twenty years.

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The Business of Film: Napoleon, Wish & Nyad

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:32:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson assesses Ridley Scott's Napoleon, #1 with a take of £5.2m. Despite being 158m, he felt it cantered too rapidly through 32 years of Napoleon's life, as played by Joaquin Phoenix. However, the battle scenes are amazing, if gory, and he loved Martin Phipps's score. Shame about the longueurs. Disney's new U-certificate animation, Wish, is #3 with only £2.4m but such things are often slow starts and around for a long time.

James also discussed true story Nyad, on Netflix, about a retired 60-year-old marathon swimmer who undertakes a crazy challenge. Sadly, despite Annette Bening, he found it uninspiring and unbelievable while the script was more DIRE-log than dialogue.

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The Business of Film: Hunger Games 5, Saltburn, Skylight & The Killer

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 17:07:35 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson found Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes confusing and poorly made, though the new #1 helped box office rise 54% with a £5.4m take. Nor was he as enthusiastic as many critics about Saltburn, Emerald Fennell's darkly comic tale of aristocratic mayhem, though he did like Rosamund Pike's and Richard E Grant's performances, as well as the score. However, he loved the new NT Live screening of David Hare's play Skylight with Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, which he found insightful, funny and profound. On Netflix, he recommends David Fincher's procedural The Killer with Michael Fassbinder, which is beautifully filmed and very clever.

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The Business of Film: The Marvels, Anatomy of a Fall & Dream Scenario

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 15:59:40 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments another weak week at the UK box office where The Marvels took only £3.5m, the lowest per screen average of all 33 films in the Marvel universe. He found it a total mess with annoying tonal shifts and no emotional traction. He admired the filmmaking in Cannes' Palme D'Or winner Anatomy of a Fall, which took £413,000 at #5 but, while critics love it, he felt at over two and a half hours, it was overlong for what is a fairly ordinary court case drama. He was much more enthusiastic about Dream Scenario in which Nicolas Cage is a dull man who suddenly starts cropping up in other people's dreams. It is a witty, darkly comic fantasy that is Cage's best film in some 20 years.

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The Business of Film: Fingernails, Quiz Lady & Pandora's Box

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:18:40 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments a box office down 44% with no new films other than high school sex comedy Bottoms. He was unimpressed by Apple TV's Fingernails with Jesse Buckley, a sci-fi romance he found weird without being funny or moving. He was, however, a fan of Disney+'s Quiz Lady, an enjoyable farce with Awkwafina, Sandra Oh & Will Ferrell which he thought great fun. He was most taken, however, by the beautifully-restored release of the 1929 Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks. This masterpiece of German expressionist cinema is held by many to be one of the most influential films ever made. Despite its age, James found it very modern in outlook, with some wonderful extras on the disc.

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The Business of Film: Five Nights at Freddy's, Cat Person & Pain Hustlers

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 16:21:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments a limp box office dominated by video game spinoff Five Nights at Freddy's which took a robust £5.3m. James found it ridiculous and repetitive. He still recommends the Scorsese (#3) and The Creator (#9). On in relatively few cinemas, he's glad he sought out Cat Person, which took just £79,000. A drama about the horrors of dating, he found it funny and intentionally excruciating. He also admires Pain Hustlers on Netflix with Emily Blunt. Although not a true story as such, it is about Big Pharma hoodwinking the public and is highly entertaining.

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The Business of Film: Trolls Band Together, Killers of the Flower Moon & Barbie

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 16:04:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest UK box office chart, with takings down 9%. Trolls Band Together, the third in the series, is the new #1 with a take of £3m. Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon took £2.5m at #2. Majestic, brutal and based on a true story, James found Robert de Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio's acting overshadowed by Lily Gladstone, who is favourite to pick up the Best Actress Oscar. Impressive though the film is he thought it too long at three and a half hours. Watching Barbie again now it's out on DVD/BluRay, James was equally impressed and found many things to enjoy he had missed the first time. He also tells how it is getting around Russia's Hollywood movie ban.

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The Business of Film: Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, The Miracle Club, Blackberry & Fair Play

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:34:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reviews the latest UK box office where the Taylor Swift concert film, The Eras Tour, sweeps everything before it with a massive £5.7m take, making it the highest-ever event release in the UK, just on its first weekend. James was disappointed by The Miracle Club (#9) despite Laura Linney and Maggie Smith. Simon Rose caught up with Blackberry, finding it one of the best business movies he's seen. On Netflix, James was full of praise for hedge-fund-set Fair Play, an intense and emotional drama, with Phoebe Dynevor a talent on the rise.

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The Business of Fim: The Exorcist Believer, The Creator, The Great Escaper, The Old Oak & 20 Days in Mariupol

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 16:04:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the box office chart, led by The Exorcist: Believer which, despite the presence of Ellen Burstyn, James found boring, underlit & clichéd. He thought Gareth Edwards' sci-fi epic The Creator at #2 visually powerful and his best film to date. While Saw 10 (#3) was ingenious, James found it horribly sadistic and gave him a sleepless night, something a film rarely does. He thought The Great Escaper (#4) with Michael Caine & Glenda Jackson a padded anecdote rather than a film. Ken Loach's The Old Oak (#8) was marred by a contrived ending. Way down at #31, though, he found the documentary 20 Days In Mariupol about the invasion of Ukraine needed a strong stomach but was an amazing record of life in a war zone.

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The Business of Film: Expendables 4, Dumb Money & Flora and Son

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:28:59 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments the current state of the UK box office, down 20% WOW & 35% YOY. He hates Expendables 4, limping in at #2 wth a mere £760,000. Paul Dano stars in Dumb Money, #5, about the Gamestop story. However, James found it utterly baffling and felt he'd already seen the film after watching the trailer. He was, however, very impressed by Flora & Son on Apple TV, an Irish film from the director of Once, Begin Again and Sing Street, about the transformative power of music.

He ends with a tribute to the late Sir Michael Gambon.

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A Haunting in Venice, The Equalizer 3, The Sound of Freedom & El Conde

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 15:03:55 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest box office chart where Agatha Christie adaptation A Haunting in Venice is #1. However, James found it dreary, dragging the Whodunnit back to the Middle Ages. He much preferred The Equalizer 3 at #3 with Denzel Washington; although violent it's a thriller with character and atmosphere. He found The Sound of Freedom, about modern-day child slavery, well-made but an essential watch for the subject matter, which has obsessed him since, as has the fact that the film was blocked for five years. He found El Conde on Netflix, imagining General Pinochet as an aged vampire, a jaw-dropping curiosity.

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The Business of Theatre: Macbeth with David Ricardo Pearce and Geoff Lumb

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 15:01:00 -0000

Everybody knows that the name of the Scottish Play must not be pronounced in the theatre, but do you know the origin of this superstition? Geoff Lumb reveals it in this episode of Share Drama, first broadcast on 9th April 2015, together with Amelia's thoughts on the matter.

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The Business of Film: Theater Camp, The Dive & Andrzej Zulawski

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 15:22:09 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson continues to marvel at Barbie, #1 for 6 weeks with a total of £90m, making it the 7th highest grossing UK film. Oppenheimer is steady at #2 with £54m. Theater Camp, a mockumentary, limped in at #15. James found it unrealistic and less funny than it thinks it is, but with great child performances. Underwater thriller The Dive was #20 but, though diverting, pales beside others in that genre. James was more impressed with Eureka's Masters of Cinema box set of Andrzej Zulawski, including The Third Part of the Night, Devil, On The Silver Globe and a documentary. Cineastes should love it.

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The Business of Film: Blue Beetle, Strays & The Three Ages

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 15:11:37 -0000

The UK box office is still dominated by Oppenheimer and Barbie, now the UK's 8th most successful film, beating Titanic, says James Cameron-Wilson. DC Comics' Blue Beetle, with a Latino superhero, enters at #3 but is depressingly unoriginal and unengaging. At #5 is Strays, a comedy with foul-talking dogs. Without a whiff of wit, James can't believe it got a 15 certificate. He's more interested in Eureka's restoration 100 years on of Buster Keaton's first feature, Three Ages, which is essentially a series of inventive skits. Fascinating rather than funny, the disc is full of great extras.

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The Business of Film: Gran Turismo, Haunted Mansion & Heart of Stone

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:54:22 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on a UK box office still boosted by Barbie & Oppenheimer at #1 & #2, the former now the 11th most successful film here ever with £78.2m. True(ish) story Gran Turismo, partly based on a computer game, enters at #4. Directed by Neill Blomkamp, James found it hugely entertaining escapism with great race sequences. Disney's reboot of Haunted Mansion, the second based on its theme park ride, he found one of the worst films of the year. On Netflix, however, he found Tom Harper's Heart of Stone an implausible but enjoyable thriller.

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The Business of Film: Meg 2 - The Trench & Paris Memories

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 13:49:47 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson marvels at the UK box office, down a mere 10% on the week but up 165% YOY. Barbie has passed the $1bn mark, the first time for a woman director and it and Oppenheimer are still #1 & #2. In at #3 is monster movie Meg 2: The Trench with Jason Statham, bizarrely directed by highly-regarded Ben Wheatley. James found it so silly, it almost became a farce. He did, however, adore French film Paris Memories, on at selected cinemas. A psychologically complex look at the aftermath of a terrorist attack, he found it one of the most human films he's ever seen.

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The Business of Film: Talk To Me & The Beanie Bubble

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 15:35:19 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the revitalised UK box office which, although down 25% WOW, is still up 137% on this time last year. Barbie, still #1, has taken £48m after just 10 days and is already the 3rd highest grossing film of the year. Oppenheimer remains #2 with a £27.7m total. In at #5 is Australian horror Talk To Me, which James thought a real original. Despite being a hardened fan of the genre, he thought it deeply unnerving. He also enjoyed The Beanie Bubble, the story of Beanie Babies, which is streaming on Apple TV+.

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The Business of Film: Barbie & Oppenheimer

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:49:31 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports on an extraordinary week for the UK box office, up 92% WOW and 190% YOY. Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, enters at #1 with an impressive £18.5m weekend take. James found it original, smart, funny, timely and moving, considering it "a cinematic miracle". Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer was #2 with £10.9m. With an all-star cast led by Cillian Murphy, he found it timely and relevant and full of extraordinary moments, let down by an unwieldy final hour (of three). Perhaps not surprisingly, no other big movies are due to open against these two behemoths next week.

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The Business of Film: Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Name Me Lawand & Run Rabbit Run

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:11:03 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson eulogises Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, which has not only sent the UK box office up 58% WOW (and 80% YOY), but has single-handedly rescued the reputation of the blockbuster. Exciting, funny and with excellent acting throughout, the #1 film is the highlight of a dreadful summer and an action movie even those who usually spurn them might enjoy. Not so the documentary Name Me Lawand at #35, which James felt was poorly made. He was no more enthusiastic about horror thriller Run Rabbit Run on Netflix.

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The Business of Film: Elemental, Insidious: The Red Door & Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken - 13 Jul 23

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:41:17 -0000

With Empire in administration, closing half their cinemas, James Cameron-Wilson finds it hard to be positive. Pixar's Elemental at #1 is a forced morality tale while Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is creaky and overlong. Insidious: The Red Door at #5 is merely blah while Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken at #8 is devoid of wit or flair. James is only enthusiastic about The Flash at #10.

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The Business of Theatre: A Midsummer Night's Dream with Saskia Portway

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 15:34:00 -0000

David Ricardo Pearce talks to the actor Saskia Portway about touring the world with a theatre show, the years she spent at Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol, working with Nick Hyntner at the National Theatre and the hard economic realities of Shakespeare's best loved comedy.

originally recorded on 20 November 2014 - but note that A Midsummer Night's Dream is currently on stage at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London

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The Business of Film: No Hard Feelings, Asteroid City & Extraction II

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 14:43:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson comments on the dire state of the UK box office, where Cineworld is filing for administration. With Spider-Man returning to #1, the implausible and predictable No Hard Feelings, with Jennifer Lawrence, enters at #3. Wes Anderson's Asteroid City is #4. Despite liking some of his films and despite a stellar cast, James found this too deliberately quirky and self-indulgent. He was much keener on thriller Extraction II with Chris Hemsworth on Netflix. While lacking in originality, he found the action sequences genuinely thrilling, with one being among the best he's ever seen.

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The Business of Film: The Flash, Greatest Days, Fleabag & Inland

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:27:26 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose though the latest box office figures, hit by the hot weather. The new #1 is The Flash with Ezra Miller, which James enjoyed enormously. Take That jukebox musical Greatest Days with Aisling Bea is #6 while the NTLive one-day presentation of Pheobe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag was #11. James found it tragic, unpredictable & very funny and it will be on again. Indy first film Inland was #30 but, despite Mark Rylance, it left James cold.

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The Business of Film: Transformers – Rise of the Beasts, War Pony, Flamin' Hot & RIP Glenda Jackson

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:14:58 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, down 35%, thanks to the hot weather. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is #2 but the 7th in the series didn't impress James, apart from its intriguing 1990s locations. He was more taken by War Pony, a cinema verité look at growing up as Native Americans though it concentrated more on atmosphere than story. On Disney+, Eva Longoria directed the true story of the creation of the Cheetos snack. A little man made good tale, he found it cheesy and clichéd.

And James also pays tribute to the actress, and former MP, Glenda Jackson.

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The Business of Film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Boogeyman & Guy Ritchie's The Covenant

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 14:49:37 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office figures, up 68%, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse taking a whopping £9.1m over its opening weekend. Despite the success of this, the longest animated movie ever, James hated it, praying for it to end within 10 minutes of its 140 minute running time. At #5 is The boogeyman, a clichéd and unscary haunted house horror. To his surprise James found Guy Ritchie's The Covenant on Amazon Prime, a character-driven two-handed war movie, impressive and moving.

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The Business of Film: The Little Mermaid, Hypnotic & Full Time

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 14:04:22 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson discusses the state of the UK box office where the live-action version of The Little Mermaid is in pole position. With some of the CGI making it feel animated, James thought it a mixed bag. He was no more impressed with the Ben Affleck thriller Hypnotic at #5, which he found silly and unworthwhile. He was, though, keen on the French drama Full Time, with Laure Calamy as a harrassed mother coping with a transport strike, which only made #13 in the chart.

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The Business of Film: Fast X, Are you there, God? It's Margaret and Close

Thu, 25 May 2023 14:45:38 -0000

An ebullulient James Cameron-Wilson guides Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, welcoming FastX, the 10th in the franchise, to the #1 spot. He found it has plenty of laughs, shocks, surprises & thrills, though its opening of £5.9m is well down on previous iterations. He also recommends Are You There, God? It's Margaret, which opened at #4. Based on the Judy Plume novel, he thought it a touching and charming gem. His DVD of the month is the Belgian Oscar-nominated drama Close, which won last year's Grand Prix at Cannes. James thought it one of the most remarkable films he has seen for some time.

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The Business of Film: Book Club 2, Brainwashed – Sex, Camera, Power & The Mother

Thu, 18 May 2023 14:57:21 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest box office charts, with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 still ruling the roost, though down 56%. Book Club 2: The Next Chapter is #4 with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. James found it awful and surprisingy smutty, treating the elderly as alcoholic bubblebrains. He found Brainwashed: Sex - Camera - Power fascinating, being a persuasive documentary about how cinema technique has disempowered and objectified women. He found action thriller The Mother, with Jennifer Lopez, utterly implausible and pointless.

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The Business of Film: Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Rodeo & Lunana – A Yak in the Classroom

Thu, 11 May 2023 15:00:42 -0000

With UK box office up 80%, James Cameron-Wilson waxes lyrical about Guardians of the Galaxy 3 which he found great fun throughout and impressively inventive. He also recommended two films using non-professional actors. Rodeo (#32) is an impressive insight into the lives of dirt bikers, almost their version of Fast & Furious and is on Curzon screens and at home. Oscar-nominated Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is an utterly absorbing Bhutanese film about a teacher sent to a remote community. James also discusses a 2016 Italian film which has already been remade 20 times, with the French version, Nothing to Hide, on Netflix.

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The Business of Film: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Ghosted, Peter Pan & Wendy

Thu, 04 May 2023 14:08:18 -0000

With box office down another 12% and Super Mario Bros. still #1, James Cameron-Wilson gives thanks for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at #3. Adapted by the author, it stars Jim Broadbent as a man who goes to post a letter – and keeps walking, and James found it deeply moving. On Apple+ he watched Chris Evans in action thriller Ghosted, which he found disappointingly overfamiliar. But worse still, on Disney+, was Peter Pan & Wendy, a live-action remake of the original cartoon, which he found wrong in almost every regard. Simon Rose found the French version of The Three Musketeers – D'Artagnan a perfectly enjoyable version of the much-filmed story.

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The Business of Film: Evil Dead Rise, Missing & Operation Fortune - Ruse de Guerre

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:08:27 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office numbers, down 25% week on week. Super Mario Bros still dominates with Evil Dead Rises (5th in the series) debuting at #2. James found it stupidly predictable and cliched. He was much more impressed by Missing at #6. Another slim-budgeted screenlife movie, he found it gripping and emotionally involving, as well as being an amazing education as to what's possible online. He found Amazon Prime's action thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, directed by Guy Ritchie and with Jason Statham overfamiliar, although he admits that it does look very good. Lastly, he paid his tribute to Harry Belafonte.

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The Business of Film: Renfield & Tetris

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 15:20:01 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson points out that while weekly box office is down 41%, it's still much healthier than this time last year. Super Mario Bros is still #1 with the highest new film being Renfield at #5. Another Dracula adaptation with Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult, James found it a ridiculous mess, "more ham than Hammer" and one of the bloodiest films he had ever seen, despite its 15 certificate. He much preferred Tetris, the story of the computer game. Streaming on Apple+ and starring Taron Egerton, he found it utterly absorbing.

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The Business of Film: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Air & Boston Strangler

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 14:42:27 -0000

The UK box office shot up by 130%, says James Cameron-Wilson, thanks to the record-breaking opening worldwide of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Frenetic and aimed at the Tik Tok generation, James was alarmed at the violence and brutality. He found Ben Affleck's Air, with Matt Damon, about Nike and Michael Jordan to be entertaining but unengaging. And although Boston Strangler, on Disney+ with Keira Knightley, was a treat for the eye, again he was not engaged enough to care. He was encouraged, though, by good corporate news from Everyman Cinemas.

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The Business of Film: Dungeons & Dragons, The Wife And Her Househusband & EO

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 14:42:46 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson tells Simon Rose how surprised he was by Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (the 29th Hasbro movie spinoff), finding it very funny and bursting with imagination. Still recommending Allelujah he also liked gritty drama The Wife And Her Househusband (a very limited release) and YouTube short film Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times. His home video release of the month is the surreal Oscar-nominated EO, which looks at our world through the eyes of a donkey.

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The Business of Film: John Wick Chapter 4, 80 for Brady & A Good Person

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:48:06 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, which has picked up thanks to the arrival of John Wick: Chapter Four at #1. Almost 3 hours long, James though it assassin porn, repetitive and exhausting. He found 80 for Brady (#8) a major embarrassment for Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno & Sally Field. He adored Zach Braff's A Good Person with Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman but it only debuted at #18. Fans of Life of Brian should note a re-release on April 7.

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The Business of Film: Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Allelujah, Rye Lane & Other People's Children

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 16:35:24 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the box office charts, dismissing new #1 Shazam! Fury of the Gods as lacking suspense or laughs. However, he waxed lyrical about the Alan Bennett adaptation Allelujah at #4 ("the feel-sad movie of the year"), with Judi Dench & Derek Jacobi in a story about old age and the NHS. He was even more taken with love story Rye Lane at #7 which he found funny & exhilarating, a debut which excited him in the way Trainspotting had. In few cinemas but on Apple+ is French drama Other People's Children, which James adored, thinking it moving and involving.

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The Business of Film: Scream VI, 65 & The Oscars

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:54:31 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson discusses the UK box office numbers with Simon Rose, with total take down 5% despite two big new films. Scream VI takes the #1 slot but James found it boring, unpleasant and full of unbelievable characters. Sci-fi thriller 65, starring Adam Driver, slips in at #3 ("irritating and dull"). James made a plea for discerning cinemagoers to go to charming romcom What's Love Got To Do With It (#7) while they still have the chance.

He rounds up the podcast with a discussion of the Oscars, both the results and the ceremony itself.

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The Business of Film: Creed III, Somebody I Used To Know & We Have A Ghost

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 16:10:11 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest UK box office numbers, up 22%, largely thanks to the arrival at #1 of Creed III. Taking £5m at the weekend and starring and directed by Michael B Jordan, James found it a polished, well-directed, crowd-pleasing movie. On Amazon Prime, he found Somebody I Used To Know, starring Alison Brie and written by her and her directing husband Dave Franco, watchable but undermined by an abrupt tonal switch from comedy to heavier drama. Netflix's comedy horror We Have A Ghost he found too ambitious for its own good and most definitely over-long.

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The Business of Film: Cocaine Bear, What's Love Got To Do With It, Broker & Sharper

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 15:54:14 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box offie, down 40% on the week. With Ant-Man 3 still #1, the much-anticipated Cocaine Bear enters at #3. Stomach-churningly violent and unsubtle, James's verdict is, "Great trailer, shame about the movie". Romcom What's Love Got To Do With It, written by Jemima Khan and starring Lily James and Shazad Latif, is #4 and James and Simon both recommend it. It's romantic, funny and even educational. South Korean Broker is #8. On Apple TV is Sharper, with Julianne Moore in a con artist film that is entertaining but also too clever for its own good.

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The Business of Film: Ant-Man 3: Quantumania, Women Talking & Nostalgia

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:18:36 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson marvels at a box office take up by 71%, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania taking £8.8m over the weekend. Sarah Polley's double-Oscar-nominated Women Talking, with a stellar cast, only debuted at #8, although James was utterly transported, saying, "It's not often I forget that I'm in a cinema". He also reviews Italian film Nostalgia, at #29 which disappointed him, finding it atmospheric but hokey and predictable.

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The Business of Film: Magic Mike's Last Dance, Shotgun Wedding & The Sea Beast

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:50:46 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the latest box office (-24%) and the movies worth seeing (and worth avoiding). At #2 is Magic Mike's Last Dance, the 3rd in the series, with Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek, which James enjoyed. He was less enamoured of the Jennifer Lopez film Shotgun Wedding, now on Amazon Prime. It is, he said, a comic thriller with no laughs and few thrills. However, he adored the Oscar-nominated animated film The Sea Beast which is now on Netflix and recommends it strongly.

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The Business of Film: Puss In Boots - The Last Wish, Knock At The Cabin & The Whale

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 16:07:56 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the UK box office numbers, up 14% on the previous week. #1 is Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the belated sequel pushing Avatar 2 into second place. James found it migraine-inducing. M Night Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin is #3 but James found it mad and daft in equal measure. However, he thought Darren Aronofsky's The Whale at #5 one of the best films of the last 12 months. Starring Brendan Fraser, it's a claustrophobic tale of an immensely large teacher approaching the end of his life and has received many nominations.

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The Business of Film: Pathaan, Plane, The Fabelmans & The Wandering Earth 2

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:16:40 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office, up 18% week-on-week. With Avatar 2 still #1, Hindi film Pathaan is #2 while #3 is Gerard Butler thriller Plane, which James found gripping and great fun. Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans is #4, which James thought playful and funny, with a dark undertone. Chinese film The Wandering Earth 2 makes #9 while James also enjoyed Netflix's Bank of Dave about Dave Fishwick taking on the banking establishment, despite it being cliche-ridden.

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The Business of Film: M3GAN, Babylon, A Man Called Otto, Empire of Light & Tár

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 17:02:54 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson canters through a b.o. down 33%. #2 is comic thriller M3GAN about a robotic doll which James thought funny and thought-provoking. Babylon, fun but way too long is doing poorly at #3 while Empire of Light, with Sam Mendes directing his own script is #7, depsite Olivia Coleman, Colin Firth and Toby Jones. James loved it, being in seventh heaven, as he was with Tár at #8 with Cate Blanchett playing a leading conductor. James found it mind-blowingly eloquent and that it made him "proud to be human".

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The Business of Film: The Top Ten — The Musical (REPLAY)

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 16:19:00 -0000

In a replay from November 2019, Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to discuss some of the most influential musicals of all time. They explore the recent return to popularity of the “musical movie”, and whether some stage musicals adapted to film have ended up becoming lost in translation.

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The Business of Film: A Man Called Otto, Till, Raymond & Ray

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 17:36:21 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest box office figures, down 21% on last week. A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks enters at #4 with £1.1m; James found himself captivated by the film. The true-life lynching drama Till is at #6. While the story needs telling, James did find it somewhat overlong. Streaming on Apple TV+ is Raymond & Ray with Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke playing estranged brothers. He found the dialogue fake and the movie too full of eccentrics.

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The Business of Film: I Wanna Dance With Somebody & The Glass Onion

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 16:04:18 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson revels in a box office up 185% after a Christmas lull with Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody #2. Although conventional, James loved it for the music and performances from Stanley Tucci and newcomer Naomi Ackie. Netflix never release box office figures but James finally got to see Glass Onion, which has now moved online, finding it preposterous but enormous fun, even if it goes off the rails towards the end.

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The Business of Film: A look back at the cinematic year of 2022

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 14:21:41 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks back at the cinematic year, taking us through the top 10 films at the UK box office of 2022, with Top Gun Maverick ending up the biggest grosser with £83m. But a very different list is James's own list of his 10 favourite films, with the Netflix remake of All Quiet on the Western Front his personal #1. With Avatar 2 just out, he recaps on the most expensive movies of all time, with Way of Water only making it to #4.

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The Business of Film: Avatar – The Way of Water, Lady Chatterley's Lover & Emancipation

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 16:10:52 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson gives his last box office round-up of 2022 where Avatar: The Way of Water is steamrollering everything before it with an £11.2m first weekend take. Although it looks amazing, James says it's violent, disappointingly one-dimensional and he couldn't wait for its three-hour-plus running time to end. On Netflix, there's a new Lady Chatterley's Lover with The Crown's Emma Corrin but James couldn't suspend his disbelief. On Apple+ is Will Smith's hope for redemption, the slave drama Emancipation from Antoine Fuqua. Trying too hard to be a masterpiece, James was occasionally reminded of Rambo!

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The Business of Film: The Silent Twins, Emily & The Swimmers

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 15:45:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments a 4th week of plunging box office, despite several old Christmas favourites reappearing. He recommends the true story of The Silent Twins (#23), finding it audacious, original and beautifully simple. Another pick is the DVD release of the exquisitely-made Emily with Emma Mackey about Emily Bronte, which he found intellectually daring and moving. And he also is keen on Netflix's The Swimmers, a true story about Syrian sisters, Olympic hopefuls, who refused to be deterred by the civil war.

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The Business of Film: Violent Night & The Cat and the Canary

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 15:22:44 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson analyses the UK box office, down another 33%, with Matilda the Musical still #1. Seasonal horror film Violent Night enters at #3 which "puts the X into Xmas". To his surprise, James found it outrageously funny but also touching. He also praises the Blu-Ray restoration of the 1939 horror comedy The Cat and the Canary, starring Bob Hope, a view with which Simon concurs.

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The Business of Film: Matilda the Musical, Strange World & She Said

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 15:52:20 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson casts his eye over a lacklustre box office, despite 5 new films in the top 10 places. At #1 is Matilda the Musical, which James thought might be the worst musical he's ever seen, unsubtle, unengaging and with no sense of reality. He was unimpressed with Disney animation Strange World at #3. But he was full of praise for She Said (#4), about sexual harassment in Hollywood, starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan.

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The Business of Film: The Menu, Confess Fletch & The Wonder

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 15:58:00 -0000

With box office off 37% and Wakanda Forever still at #1, James Cameron-Wilson strongly recommends black satire The Menu with Ralph Fiennes at #2. Confess, Fletch, a spoof detective movie with Jon Hamm only made #16. However, James does also recommend psychological thriller The Wonder, directed by Sebastián Lelio, which vanished quickly from cinemas but is now on Netflix. Starring Florence Pugh, James found it a moving work of art.

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The Business of Film: Black Panther 2 – Wakanda Forever, Enola Holmes 2 & Spirited

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:40:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office where a 119% jump is entirely down to the release of Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever with Letitia Wright in the lead. Despite good performances, he found it OTT and overlong. Other films suffered heavily from its amazing £12.4m weekend take. On Netflix, James enjoyed the rollicking yarn that is Enola Holmes 2 with Millie Bobby Brown. He found Christmas Carol knockoff Spirited, with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds (both paid $20m), squirm-inducing, mawkish and crude.

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The Business of Film: Living, All Quiet On The Western Front & Causeway

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 15:37:19 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments a box office falling another 34% (ahead of next week's Wakanda Forever). The Banshees of Inisherin is strong at #3 with over £6m while Living, with Bill Nighy, enters at #4. James (and Simon) adore the film and hope Nighy will finally get the Oscar recognition that has eluded him. On Netflix, James thinks the German remake of All Quiet On The Western Front is a masterpiece while he finds Causeway, on Apple+, full of wonderful performances, including that of Jennifer Lawrence.

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The Business of Film: Barbarian, Bros, Hilma & The Good Nurse

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 14:52:00 -0000

Despite the box office declining another 14%, James Cameron-Wilson finds several films worthwhile. At #8 is enjoyable & unpredictable horror Barbarian. Bros, a studio LGBT romcom at #11 has been a financial bomb but James found it witty & compassionate. Hilma, the tale of abstract artist Hilma af Klint is, he thinks, Lasse Hallström's best film and one to seek out. He also admires the intelligent psychological drama The Good Nurse on Netflix with Eddie Redmayne & Jessica Chastain.

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The Business of FIlm: Black Adam, The Banshees of Inisherin & Triangle of Sadness

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 14:42:23 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at a UK box office that still appears in less than robust health, despite the arrival at #1 of Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson. This DC comic spin-off, however, James found plodding and lacking in humour. He was more enthusiastic about #2, Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin, reuniting Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson from McDonagh's earlier film In Bruges. With Emily and The Last King dropping out of the top ten, James advises people to look out for Swedish Palme D'Or winner Triangle of Sadness.

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The Business of Film: Emily, Flux Gourmet & Anais In Love

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:25:57 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments a continuing weak UK box office. He welcomes a potential star in Emma Mackey from Sex Education in the film Emily (as in Bronte) but it only made #10 in the chart. He found Flux Gourmet from Peter Strickland engaging but baffling but that film barely troubled the scorers at #91 in the chart. James was happier watching Anais in Love starring Anais Demoustier on DVD, though he found the film all over the place. He hopes that Dwayne Johnson's new film can provide more cheer next week.

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The Business of Film: The Woman King, Amsterdam, The Lost King & champagne with Angela Lansbury

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:43:30 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes us through the film in a box office chart down 18% on the week. The Woman King with Viola Davis, a true story of an African tribe of female warriors is #2 but james found it an unreal potboiler. David O. Russell's Amsterdam with an amazing cast including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and Robert de Niro is #5 but James thought it an incoherent mish-mash. However, he did enjoy a true story behind the discovery of Richard III's body, The Lost King, with Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan at #7.

He also told Simon Rose how he was once invited to drink champagne with the late Angela Lansbury.

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The Business of Film: Smile, Blonde & the top 10 horror films of all time

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 14:32:26 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reviews horror film Smile at #1 in the UK box office chart, which he found overlong, clichéd and boring, despite a strong central role. He applauded Prima Facie which has now taken over £5m, the first event movie to do so. Despite its long length, he found Blonde, telling a fictionalised life of Marilyn Monroe, to be remarkabe, with Spanish-speaking actress Ana de Armas perhaps the best female performance of the year.

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The Business of Film: Ticket to Paradise, Don't Worry Darling & Avatar

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 15:02:47 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a box office take which has more than doubled with the Julia Roberts, George Clooney comedy Ticket to Paradise at #1. Sadly, James found it charmless and excruciating. At #2 is Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling with Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, which James found intriguing but ultimately a cop-out. He was more enthusiastic about the rerelease of Avatar which he thought better and more topical than he remembered. He also tells Simon Rose about the top 10 foreign language releases in the UK.

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The Business of Film: Both Sides of the Blade, Identification of a Woman & I Came By

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 13:15:06 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments a further decline in the UK box office, off another 31%. See How They Run is still #1 with Bowie doc Moonage Daydream at #10. The worthwhile but uncomfortable drama Both Sides of the Blade with Juliette Binoche only managed #48. Cleaned up for a Blu-Ray release is Antonioni's 1982 provocative arthouse film Identification of a Woman. James was pleasantly surprised by I Came By, an unsettling dystopian view of Britain today with George Mackay and Hugh Bonneville, which is on Netflix.

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The Business of Film: See How They Run, Jaws, 3000 Years of Longing & Prima Facie

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:29:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that cinema box office in the UK is currently grim, down 16% on last year at this time. New #1, comedy whodunnit See How They Run, just managed to take over £1m. James found it a hoot. A re-release of Jaws from 1975 was #3 while 3000 Years of Longing with Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba only managed #18, though James wasn't enthusiastic. At #22 is Jodie Comer in Prima Facie, now the highest-grossing event cinema release ever. At #23 was the unengaging The Forgiven with Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain.

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The Business of Film: Beast, The Invitation & Memory

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 14:27:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office where no film took over a million for the first time since December 2020. Top of the charts is André Rieu's latest concert with rogue lion thriller Beast, starring Idris Elba, only taking £600,000 at #2. Dreadful horror film The Invitation limped in at #12. On Amazon Prime, James looked at Memory, a poor thriller starring Liam Neeson, directed by the once-great Martin Campbell.

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The Business of Film: Fisherman's Friends 2, The Saphead & Official Competition

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 15:12:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes us through the UK box office chart, still led by Nope. Fisherman's Friends: One And All, James found a frequently funny and superior sequel but it only managed #6 with £660,000. For his Blu-Ray of the week he chose the 1920 silent The Saphead, a romantic tragedy with Buster Keaton's first feature appearance and a host of wonderful extras. On in cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema, James loved the thought-provoking, film-related comedy Official Competition with Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas.

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The Business of Film: Nope, Man Without A Star & Prey

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 14:38:11 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reflects on the UK box office down for the 3rd week with a loss of 26%. Jordan Peele's "deliciously strange" Nope, starring Daniel Kaluuya, is at #1 with a take of £1.9m. James's DVD of the week is the Blu-Ray release of King Vidor's 1955 Western Man Without A Star, starring Kirk Douglas. And on Disney+ he found Prey a feminist action thriller which, although better than the rest of the franchise, ultimately just becomes another Predator film.

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The Business Of Film: Bullet Train, Luck & 13 Lives

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 15:18:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office chart, with takings down 20% week-on-week. At #1 is tongue-in-cheek thriller Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt, but it only took £2.9m in an extended weekend. With no other new films, James turned to streaming services. On Apple+ is Skydance Animation's Luck, with the voices of Simon Pegg and others. At times delightful, it ends up being a mixed bag, says James. He was more positive about Amazon Prime's 13 Lives in which director Ron Howard tells the true story of the cave rescue of a group of Thai schoolboys. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell are among the cast.

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The Business of Film: DC League of Superpets, Rogue Agent & Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 13:26:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson gives Simon Rose the lowdown on the latest UK box office, wilting 8% in the heat but already ahead of 2021's total take. With the widest release ever for an animated feature, DC League of Superpets takes £2.6m in the #1 spot. James found it consistently funny for young and old alike. He thought Netflix's true-life spy tale Rogue Agent with Gemma Arterton and James Norton gripping but was less impressed with Amazon Prime's true story Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher.

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The Business of Film: Where The Crawdads Sing, Drive My Car & The Gray Man

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 11:13:36 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson tells Simon Rose of a bump in the box office as the weather cools. Minions is the new #1 with Where The Crawdads Sing arriving at #3, taking £1.3m. Based on the best-selling novel, James found it beautiful but ultimately rather disappointing. At #6 is the one NT Live showing of Jodie Comer in her one-woman play Prima Facie. James's DVD of the month is the Japanese award-winner Drive My Car, which he found a mesmerising and genuine original unlike anything else. Not so Netflix's action thrller The Gray Man with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, which he found OTT and wildly improbable.

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The Business of Film: The Railway Children Return, The Good Boss & Persuasion

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 14:41:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, wilting 52% in the heat. The Railway Children Return only managed #6 with £365,000 but James found the moving story overcame an unduly modern presentation. At #16 is Spanish Goya award triumph The Good Boss with Xavier Bardem in arthouse cinemas and on Curzon Home Video. On Netflix, Persuasion is a funny and moving modern take on Austen.

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The Business of Film: Thor – Love and Thunder & Donbass

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 14:26:03 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, resilient in the better weather but only because of the arrival of Thor: Love and Thunder, taking £12.3m in the #1 spot. James found it the most expensive romcom of all time (costing $250m), often pantomimic and, in the end, atrocious. His faith in cinema was restored by catching up with the 2018 chilling black comedy Donbass from Ukraine, which is even more fascinating given the current conflict. It's available to buy and rent online.

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The Business of Film: Minions – The Rise of Gru, The Man From Toronto & Blasted

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 14:29:18 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, where Minions: The Rise of Gru enters at #1. Disliking it intensely and querying the BBFC's "U" certificate, he calls it "cultural rat poison". With Elvis, Top Gun and Jurassic World holding well, James turned to Netflix for filmic enlightenment. But he found the Kevin Hart/Woody Harrelson comedy The Man From Toronto dreadful and was even more dispirited by Norwegian sci-fi comedy Blasted. He only managed to cheer himself by watching Avatar ahead of this year's belated sequel, finding it vastly better than he remembered.

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The Business of Film: Elvis, The Black Phone & Everything Went Fine

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 14:51:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, up 4% on the week but almost 50% on this time last year. Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, with Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, is #1 taking £4m at the weekend. James found it entertaining but long and exhausting. The Black Phone with Ethan Hawke enters at #5. James's film of the week is the Francois Ozon movie about assisted dying with Sophie Marceau, Everything Went Fine. It's at selected cinemas and available on Curzon Home Cinema.

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The Business of Film: Lightyear, Hustle & Spiderhead

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 14:43:28 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, still dominated by Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun Maverick. Pixar's Lightyear enters at #3 but with only £13.3m. James found it enjoyable but over-familiar. Emma Thompson in Good Luck To You Leo Grande arrives at #4. James also reviews the Adam Sandler basketball movie Hustle on Netflix, surprising himself by enjoying it, though he was less impressed by Spiderhead with Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller.

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The Business of Film: Jurassic World Dominion, The Worst Person in the World, Cha Cha Real Smooth

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:44:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office, up 32% with the arrival of Jurassic World Dominion at #1. James, a fan of the franchise, found it breathless entertainment. It pushed Top Gun: Maverick to #2 though that's now the highest grosser of 2022. With no other major new films, James chose Foreign Oscar nominee The Worst Person in the World as his DVD of the month, recommending it as a daring, brave and memorable movie. He also looked at Sundance winner Cha Cha Real Smooth, out on Apple+.

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The Business of Film: Men, Emergency & Top US films of 2022

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 15:00:00 -0000

With Top Gun: Maverick powering past £30m at the UK box office, James reviews creepy new entry Men at #3, written and directed by Alex Garland and starring Jessie Buckley. Although periodically interesting, James found it "ludicrous". He preferred Emergency, a well-written and acted take on racism in the US on Amazon Prime, which was overlong but absorbing.

He also looked at the top 10 films so far in 2022 in America, noting that only one does not feature a British actor in a leading role.

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The Business of Film: Top Gun - Maverick, Bob's Burgers: The Movie & Toscana

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:42:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a bounce in UK box office caused by Top Gun:Maverick arriving at #1 a mere 36 years after the original. He found it spectacular and exciting. He also enjoyed the movie spinoff of Bob's Burgers once he became attuned to it, not knowing the TV show. He also recommends the Danish Netflix film Toscana about a chef going to Italy to sort out his late father's affairs.

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The Business of Film: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Along For The Ride & The Contractor

Thu, 26 May 2022 14:36:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office chart, falling substantially for the second week in a row ahead of the release of the new Top Gun movie. James caught up with #2 Everything Everywhere All At Once which he found relentless, with an insufferable tone, but didn't see Benedictine, in at #10. On Netflix he enjoyed youth drama Along For The Ride, with excellent performances and dialogue. He was less impressed by Amazon's thriller The Contractor with Chris Pine, which he found utterly unsurprising.

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The Business of Film: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Firestarter & Father Stu

Thu, 19 May 2022 14:11:47 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, still dominated by the Doctor Strange film, now with £30.4m. Downtown Abbey is #2 with a £10.4m total. At #3 is Everything Everywhere All At Once with Michelle Yeoh while Steve King's Firestarter w. Zac Efron opened at #9 and, was says James, utterly unbelievable. At #16 is true story Father Stu with Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg, a film James found deeply unpleasant.

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The Business of Film: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness & top 20 inflation-adjusted films

Thu, 12 May 2022 14:32:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson explains that all existing films saw a box office collapse in the warm weather while new #1 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness steamrollered all before it with a £19.8m opening. The new Downton film saw a 50% collapse in box office and all other films suffered a worse fate.

With only one new film, James quizzed Simon on his knowledge of the film actresses in the top 20 inflation-adjusted winners at the UK box office. How would you fare in answering these?

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The Business of Film: Downton Abbey–A New Era, Navalny & UK's top inflation-adjusted films

Thu, 05 May 2022 15:23:07 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson marvels at Downton Abbey: A New Era, a British film with the second widest opening of all time in the UK. To his surprise, after the disappointment of the first film, he found it beautifully-crafted, funny, moving and even occasionally exciting and had the best time he can recall in the cinema for ages. However, it only managed £3m at the weekend, presumably as its target "grey pound" audience is fighting shy.

He also recommends an amazing documentary currently on BBC iPlayer called Navalny about the Russian opposition leader which includes extraordinary insights into Putin and those who tried to assassinate Navalny.

He finishes by giving us the top 5 inflation-adjusted movies in the UK of all time.

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The Business of Film: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Bubble & All The Old Knives

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 14:44:00 -0000

UK box office is weak, says James Cameron-Wilson, with only 1 new film in the top 10 ahead of the new Downton Abbey film. At #7 is the highly meta 'The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent' with Nicolas Cage playing himself. It is, says, James, a massive waste of time. He also looks at Judd Apatow's comedy 'The Bubble' on Netflix, with Karen Gillan and David Duchnovy the funniest and at the thriller 'All The Old Knives' on Amazon with Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton, which James found implausible.

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The Business of Film: The Lost City, The Northman & Operation Mincemeat

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 15:13:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the latest UK box office, with adventure-comedy 'The Lost City', starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum & Brad Pitt, the new #1. Highly-acclaimed 'The Northman' is #3 but, while visually impressive, James found it hard to digest and unintentionally funny at times. His film of the week is Operation Mincemeat, the WW2 true story, opening at #5, directed by John Madden and with a starry cast.

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The Business of Film: Fantastic Beasts 3, The Outfit & Nosferatu's centenary

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 14:39:00 -0000

'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' enters the UK b.o. chart at #1 the 3rd highest opening of the year. James Cameron-Wilson found it long, slow and lacking magic, though he enjoyed Dreamworks' 'The Bad Guys' at #3. 'The Outfit' with Mark Rylance at #7 has been well reviewed but is not extensively released. James strongly recommends F.W. Murnau's massively influential 1922 vampire classic 'Nosferatu' out on an extras-laden Blu-Ray but also coming to cinemas and available online from Eureka.

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The Business of Film: Sonic 2, Morbius, The Bad Guys & The Worst Person In The World

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 15:35:01 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a whopping 180% increase in UK box office. #1 is 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' ("a rushed job") while Marvel's 'Morbius' is #2. Dreamworks animation 'The Bad Guys' is #3. Norwegian Oscar- and BAFTA-nominee 'The Worst Person in the World' is the best holdover at #7. James also looks at 'Master' on Amazon Prime, intrigued by the young age of its woman director.

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The Business of Film: Phantom of the Open, Fresh & Deep Water

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:01:10 -0000

Hit by better weather and worries about the cost of living, cinema takings are down by 40%, says James Cameron-Wilson. New British box office entries are Catherine Tate's 'Nan' and real-life sporting drama Phantom of the Open, with Mark Rylance, which James found less than believable. Away from the sparsely-attended cinemas however, he was impressed by Fresh on Disney+, a beautifully-made genre piece about the dating scene and by Deep Water, Adrian (Fatal Attraction) Lyne's first movie in 20 years, out on Amazon Prime.

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The Business of Film: Red Rocket, Turning Red & The Adam Project

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 16:08:00 -0000

With 'The Batman' still dominating cinema screens with a total take of £26m, James Cameron-Wilson looks at 'Red Rocket' from Sean Baker, in at #12. Pixar's animated 'Turning Red', about female puberty, has bypassed cinemas and gone straight to Disney+. James admired it, despite it going OTT at the end. He also much enjoyed the self-knowing time-travel adventure 'The Adam Project' with Ryan Reynolds on Netflix.

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The Business of Film: The Batman, Ali & Ava, Against the Ice & The Metamorphosis of Birds

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 16:50:01 -0000

Most films are suffering the onslaught of The Batman, says James Cameron-Wilson, looking at the UK box office. This dark version of the Dark Knight, almost 3 long hours long, took £13.5m over the weekend, the 3rd highest since the pandemic. British indie comedy Ali & Ava made #9. James had reservations about Netflix's true-life survival drama Against The Ice, a Danish-Icelandic co-production. But he loved Portuguese The Metamorphosis of Birds, almost a new cinematic art form in itself, out in selected cinemas and on various streaming platforms.

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The Business of Film: The Duke, Cyrano & The Justice of Bunny King

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:33:58 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office just before 'The Batman' erupts onto cinema screens. With Uncharted still #1, the quirky true tale of 'The Duke' arrives at #3 with Jim Broadbent & Helen Mirren, the last film from Roger Michell. James gives it a thumbs up. He's less keen on musical 'Cyrano' at #7 with Peter Dinklage which never feels real. At #10 is 'The Godfather', still fresh after 50 years. James also recommends 'The Justice of Bunny King', a New Zealand drama available to rent on various platforms.

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The Business of Film: Dog, Thirteen Minutes & Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 17:42:59 -0000

With Uncharted still riding high, James Cameron-Wilson reviews last weekend's UK box office. The only big new film is Channing Tatum's directorial debut, Dog, at #4 in which he also stars, oddly marketed as a family film. Resorting to streamed movies, James reviews box-ticking tornado disaster movie Thirteen Minutes with Thora Birch and Anne Heche and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the 9th in the franchise, which he found a cut above the average modern horror, though not for the faint-hearted.

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The Business of Film: Uncharted, Death on the Nile and Marry Me

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 15:45:34 -0000

With box office up 12%, James Cameron-Wilson highlights new #1 'Uncharted' with Tom Holland, based on a video game which he enjoyed and hopes is the first of a franchise. At #3 is Kenneth Branagh's remake of 'Death on the Nile' which James found pretty but dull. Only making the #6 spot is 'Marry Me', a romcom with Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson which, to his surprise, he found both romantic and highly witty.

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The Business of Film: Jackass Forever, Moonfall, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Munich & Oscar noms - 10 Feb 22

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 17:11:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the first box office chart since Covid to have 5 films taking over £1m at the weekend. #2 is Jackass Forever ("sickeningly awful") while Roland Emmerich's Moonfall is #4 ("so bad it's enjoyable"). Only making #17 is Oscar-nominated Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. On Apple+ is the disappointing The Sky Is Everywhere but James loved Munich: The Edge of War on Netflix with Jeremy Irons as Chamberlain. He also runs down the list of Oscar nominations, contrasting them with the odd nominations from BAFTA.

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The Business of Film: Sing 2, CODA and My Best Friend Anne Frank

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 21:18:22 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson takes us through the latest UK box office figures, where Sing 2 has leapt to the top with a take of £6.9m, making it the 3rd biggest cinema opening since the pandemic began. The only other new entry is Almodovar's Parallel Mothers at #6. James enthuses about the awards hopeful CODA about a mostly-deaf family on Apple+ which he found not just moving but also funny. He was less excited about Netflix's My Best Friend Anne Frank which, despite being based on fact, he found rather unbelievable.

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The Business of Film: Belfast, Nightmare Alley, My Son, The Sun Shines Bright

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 00:07:38 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box office, with Spiderman still reigning supreme; its £87.4m take makes it the 7th highest-grossing UK film ever. Kenneth Branagh's memoir Belfast opens at #2, though James was less than impressed. Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley (a remake) w. Bradley Cooper is at #4 but also disappointed James. He was more impressed with My Son on Amazon Prime with James McAvoy and Claire Foy and with a new version of the 1953 John Ford film The Sun Shines Bright on Blu-Ray.

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The Business of Film: Top Ten Documentary Films (R)

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 23:55:50 -0000

In April 2020 Vicky Sayers was joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to explore the complex world of the documentary film. James shared his top ten picks of what he felt is a neglected genre, offering them up as a challenge to anyone who might think of documentaries as “boring”.

In this episode: 'Man With a Movie Camera' (1929), 'Triumph of the Will' (1935), 'Shoah' (1985), 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (2004), 'Man on Wire' (2008), 'Senna' (2010), 'Searching for Sugar Man' (2012), 'Citizenfour' (2014), 'They Shall Not Grow Old' (2018), 'The Cave' (2019).

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The Business of Film: Liquorice Pizza, The 355, Titane & The Tender Bar

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 20:47:51 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office, where the new Spiderman film has become the 9th biggest UK grosser. James discusses Liquorice Pizza at #3 ("left me cold"), spy thriller The 355 at #7 ("complete mess") and Palme D'Or winner Titane ("extraordinary") at #14. He also recommends Amazon's The Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney and looks at the results of The Golden Globes.

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The Business of Film: The King's Man, Matrix Resurrections, Don't Look Up & The Lost Daughter

Sat, 08 Jan 2022 18:37:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson discusses the latest box office numbers with Simon Rose with Spiderman soaring ahead. The King's Man is at #2, West Side Story is up 87% and House of Gucci rises 191%. James also reviews two Netflix titles, Adam McKay's satire Don't Look Up with a stellar cast and awards-hopeful The Lost Daughter with Olivia Colman directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

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The Business of Film: James's 2021 top ten, what'll win the Oscars and what does 2022 hold?

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks back at the cinema year, giving us his top ten of 2021, with Tick Tick Boom! taking top spot. He sums up the current thinking on those films that could win the top awards, with a surprising contender a favourite for Best Film Oscar. He also looks ahead to 2022, giving us a run-down of the big blockbuster films heading to cinema screens in the new year.

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The Business of Film: Spider-Man - No Way Home, Louis Wain & Swan Song

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 19:20:01 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the latest state of UK cinema where Spider-Man: No Way Home is shattering box office records, with a US take of $253m. It's Tom Holland's 6th outing as the webslinger. He was engaged rather than stirred but loved The Electrical Life of Louis Wain w. Benedict Cumberbatch, out on New Year's Day. He found Swan Song, a futuristic domestic drama wonderful and very intelligent.

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The Business of Film: West Side Story, Clifford The Big Red Dog & The Unforgiveable

Sun, 19 Dec 2021 16:39:17 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on UK film box office, impacted by the Omicron variant, with box office down 15%. West Side Story is #1 but with a disappointing £1.3m. Snapping at its heels is Clifford The Big Red Dog. Although feeling it could have been better, James found The Unforgiveable, with Sandra Bullock, to be gripping. It's a Netflix film, as are the two films garnering most nominations in the London Film Critics Awards, announced just before the recording, The Power Of The Dog and The Lost Daughter.

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The Business of Film: Resident Evil - Welcome to Raccoon City, C'mon C'mon & Love of Jeanne Ney

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 11:06:42 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, where Boxing Day arrives at #7 and the unimpressive Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City at #8. Joaquin Phoenix stars in the charming C'mon, C'mon which debuts at #15. James found much to admire in the 2-versions-for-one Blu-Ray release of the 1927 silent film The Love of Jeanne Ney, by Pandora Box director G W Pabst and also the 1949 Kirk Douglas film Champion.

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The Business of Film: House of Gucci, Encanto & The Power of the Dog

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 15:31:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the latest UK box office numbers. Opening at #1 is House of Gucci with Lady Gaga, directed by Ridley Scott, pushing Ghostbusters: Afterlife into second place. Disney's 60th animated feature, Encanto, opens at #3 while a special screening of the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes was #7 ("like the best seat in the theatre"). James's pick of the week is Jane Campion's The Power Of The Dog on Netflix. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, James reckons it will pick up many Oscar nominations.

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The Business of Film: Ghostbusters Afterlife, King Richard, Tick Tick Boom & Bruised

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 12:34:47 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, directed by Jason Reitman, storming into the #1 slot with £4.3m. King Richard, with Will Smith in a possible Oscar-winning role, enters at #5 taking only £570,000. On Netflix, James much admires Tick, Tick… Boom! with Andrew Garfield another possible Oscar nominee. He also looks at sports drama Bruised, starring and directed by Halle Berry.

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Business of Film: Spencer, Cry Macho, The Suicide Squad & Sweet Thing

Sun, 21 Nov 2021 23:51:54 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the latest UK box office, down 29% week on week while October as a whole was stronger than 2019. Moving up to #4 as it goes wider is Spencer with Kristen Stewart a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination. Clint Eastwood stars in and directs Cry Macho but it arrives at #15. For home viewing, James recommends James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, one of the best films of the year and the black & white melodrama Sweet Thing, which swept him along.

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The Business of Film: Eternals, Finch, Army of Thieves & Passing

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 22:12:02 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, where the latest Marvel film, Eternals, has opened at #1. Spencer, with Kristen Stewart – hotly tipped for award nominations – as Princess Diana, is #6 on only 183 screens. Tom Hanks stars in the post-apocalyptic Finch on Apple while, on Netflix, James reviews Army of Thieves (part of the Army of the Dead franchise) and Passing, written and directed by Rebecca Hall.

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The Business of Film: Dune, The Boss Baby 2, Last Night in Soho, Ron's Gone Wrong

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 22:00:32 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson discusses the UK box office, with No Time To Die reclaiming the #1 spot. With £86m banked, it's the 6th most successful film in the UK and the only one ever to have taken over £1m a day for 30 consecutive days. Dune, spectacular but unengaging according to James, has been knocked off top spot and is #2. The Boss Baby 2 is #5 while Edgar Wright's "baffling" Last Night in Soho arrives at #8 with Ron's Gone Wrong, a UK animation much recommended, #9. James also looks at two Netflix movies, Hypnotic and The Harder They Fall.

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The Business of Film: How to change the world

Sat, 30 Oct 2021 21:56:00 -0000

In 1971, a group of friends set off to sail into a nuclear test zone in a boat called Greenpeace, and their protest captured the world’s imagination. In 2015, a new documentary called 'How to Change the World' reveals the archives which bring their story to life. In this episode recorded in September 2015, Georgie Frost talks with director Jerry Rothwell.

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The Business of Film: Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Halloween Kills, The Last Duel, Beatles and India

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 09:53:57 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson welcomes a glut of new films now that Bond is finally fading, though it has amassed £68.6m in the UK and looks set to be the 2nd high-crossing in the series. #2 is Venom: Let There Be Carnage w. Tom Hardy, #3 Halloween Kills (the 12th in the franchise), #5 Ron's Gone Wrong, #6 The Last Duel and #10 is Arracht. There's also the documentary Beatles And India about the sub-continent's influence on the Fab Four and their music.

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The Business of Film: The Addams Family 2, The Guilty, I Never Cry, Whistle Down The Wind

Sat, 16 Oct 2021 13:09:39 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office chart, still dominated by A Time To Die, now the most successful Bond film ever. His heart sinks at the advent of The Addams Family 2 but admires Antoine Fuqua's The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhaal on Netflix and the Polish-Irish drama I Never Cry. And, taking a trip down memory lane, he revisits the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind with Hayley Mills, the first movie to be directed by Bryan Forbes.

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The Business of Film: No Time To Die, Chal Mera Putt 3 & Getting Away With Murder(s)

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 16:51:08 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the UK box office, which has erupted on the release of No Time To Die, soaring 450% on the previous weekend. Taking £26m in just 4 days, NTTD is already the highest grossing film of 2021. Indian movie Chal Mera Putt 3 debuted at #6 with an impressive £3,500 ave. on 54 screens but The Green Knight with Dev Patel could only manage #12. James gave a strong recommendation to the searing new documentary Getting Away With Murder(s), concerning the huge number of Nazi war criminals who lived ordinary lives after the Second World War, 400 of them in the UK alone.

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The Business of Film: No Time To Die, The Many Saints of Newartk, Millions & Gunpowder Milkshake

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 14:00:33 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the latest weekend cinema chart before No Time To Die erupts. It is, he says, the longest Bond ever but absolutely wonderful and will set the box office alight. #2 at UK cinemas is The Many Saints of Newark, a belated cinema prequel to the TV series The Sopranos while #6 is The Green Knight with Dev Patel. James also says it's time to rewatch Danny Boyle's Millions and he enjoys Sky's Gunpowder Milkshake, with Karen Gillan and Lena Headey.

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The Business of Film: Rose Plays Julie, Kate & Johnny Guitar

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 21:02:13 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box office, depressed by a lack of any new big films ahead of the new James Bond film, No Time To Die. Stylish Irish film Rose Plays Julie arrived at #30 in the chart, though James still recommends last week's Irish entry Herself, now at #15. With nothing else new to get his teeth into, James recommends the Netflix film Kate, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson, despite a somewhat derivative thriller plot. He also feels the 1954 Joan Crawford film Johnny Guitar, long held to be a camp classic, deserves a higher reputation; it is now out in a restored edition on DVD and Blu-Ray.

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The Business of Film: Respect, Cop Shop, Herself & top stars' salaries going through the roof

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 10:04:05 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson looks at Aretha Franklin biopic Respect with Jennifer Hudson (#3 in the chart), Cop Shop with Gerard Butler (#7) and, at #12, Herself, a British drama with Clare Dunne (also co-writer) and directed by Mamma Mia director Phyllida Lloyd, which James recommends highly. He also looks at the recent revelations of the paydays for the top Hollywood stars, with news that Bond star Daniel Craig is to get $100m from Netflix for making 2 sequels to Knives Out.

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Business of Film: Shang-Chi & Legend of 10 Rings, Candyman, Ruby Sparks & Sweet Girl

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 12:42:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is bemused at the extraordinary box office success of Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings with Simu Liu taking almost £6m at the weekend alone. Will it get its chance in China though? Other new films are the reimagining of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins. James also reviews Sweet Girl, out on Netflix and catches up, thanks to a charity shop purchase, with charming 2012 comedy Ruby Sparks.

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Top Ten Movies: The Western

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 13:28:00 -0000

With Simon Rose taking a well-earned break, we re-visit 'The Westerns' from our top ten reviews. Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to discuss some of the most influential films from the Western genre. Incredibly popular during the silent film era, the Western was revived in 1939 with John Ford’s 'Stagecoach', and reached its peak in the 1950s. But are its best days really behind it?

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The Business of Film: Snake Eyes, Reminiscence, The Father and Beckett

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 20:04:35 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson analyses the latest UK box office, with Free Guy still #1. At #6 is GI Joe spin-off Snake Eyes with Henry Golding. Sci-fi action film noir Reminiscence with Hugh Jackman only limps in at #11 a film so dire that, for the first time ever, James overheard somebody asking for their money back! As DVD of the week, he recommends the Oscar-winning The Father with Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman with excellent bonus material. And he also likes Netflix's Beckett, a thriller with John David Washington.

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The Business of Film: Free Guy, The Courier and Tiger Bay

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 16:33:12 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson tries to make sense of a box office that has risen even though all the existing big movies have seen their takes collapse. Riding high at #1 is Disney's Free Guy with Ryan Reynolds, a film packing cinemagoers in despite little advance buzz. James found it smart and original but was less impressed by the spy thriller The Courier with Benedict Cumberbatch which debuted at #8. On DVD, as well as seeing his earlier recommendation Antebellum again, he also proposes watching 1959's Tiger Bay, the first film to star Hayley Mills.

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The Business of Film: Spirit Untamed, Stillwater, The Last Letter from your Lover & Running Against the Wind

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 10:01:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson is positive about the UK box office, down 16% against a strong week but still up over 2,000% on last year! He reviews computer-animated Spirit Untamed w. Julianne Moore, gripping thriller Stillwater w. Matt Damon from Spotlight director Tom McCarthy and Mills & Boon-y The Last Letter From Your Lover w. Felicity Jones and Shailene Woodley. His DVD of the week is an utterly absorbing Ethiopian film Running Against The Wind.

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The Business of Film: The Suicide Squad, Jungle Cruise & Antebellum

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 13:17:00 -0000

As cinemas are once more permitted to operate at full capacity, James Cameron-Wilson celebrates another uptick in box office take. He reviews The Suicide Squad, James Gunn's latest hit with Idris Elba and Margot Robbie, finding it even better than The Guardians of the Galaxy. He is less impressed by Jungle Cruise with Emily Blunt, another film based on a theme park ride. But he recommends Antebellum, a dark film about racism now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

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The Business of Film: Old, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions & Blood Red Sky

Sun, 01 Aug 2021 15:57:59 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson reports that UK box office is not only up 8.9% week on week but 1,832% year on year! Despite its potential for a great story, he was underwhelmed by M. Night Shayamalan's Old with Gael Garcia Bernal and Rufus Sewell, in at #4. Nor was he convinced by Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, #7 in the chart. He did, however, find himself on the edge of his seat in Blood Red Sky on Netflix , finding it nerve-shredding. He also reflects on the joy of finding laughter in a film that is 100 year old.

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The Business of Film: Space Jam - A New Legacy, The Forever Purge & The Croods - A New Age

Sat, 24 Jul 2021 11:57:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson laments the 41% drop in UK box office weekend takings - and that against cinemas hit by a weekend of sport. But he has trouble recommending the new chart entries, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Forever Purge & The Croods: A New Age. Wondering why Brits don't seek shelter from the heat in air-conditioned cinema comfort, as Americans do, he still highly recommends A Quiet Place 2 and In The Heights.

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Current Film Reviews:: Black Widow, The Water Man & Luca

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 10:25:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the latest UK box office where Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson, has not quite topped the opening weekend success of Fast & Furious 9. He feels it to be, however, one of the better Marvel films for some time. Online, he reviews fantasy adventure The Water Man, with Rosario Dawson, the only film to be directed by actor David Oyelowo. He enthuses over Pixar's latest animated feature Luca, which doesn't underestimate its audience's intelligence, finding it sad, though, that it is released not in cinemas but on Disney+.

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Current Film Reviews: Freaky, Another Round and French Exit

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 20:06:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson on the collapse in weekend box office thanks to Wimbledon and the Euros. The Vince Vaughn comedy-horror Freaky comes in at #6, with James saying he hasn't heard so much laughter in the cinema for some time. Danish film Another Round, starring Mads Mikkelsen, only made #9. Winner of the best Foreign Language Film Oscar it did, however, have the second-best screen average. French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, only made the #22 slot. On Amazon Prime, James recommends the well-paced sci-fi thriller The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt.

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Current Film Reviews: Fast & Furious 9, Supernova & In The Earth

Sat, 03 Jul 2021 11:48:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a Pandemic box office record, with Fast & Furious 9 taking over £6m in the UK over the weekend, a film he found hugely entertaining despite its preposterousness. In at #8 is Supernova, a road movie with Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci in the mould of The Father, which slipped down the charts. Outside the top ten he was impressed with the Ben Wheatley horror pic In The Earth, filmed in just 15 days in lockdown on an estate near Henley.

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Current Film Reviews: In The Heights, The Father, Monster Hunter & The Reason I Jump

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:19:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson welcomes the arrival in cinemas of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In The Heights, laments the disappointing performance of double Oscar-winner The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman and admires hugely the genre-bending Nobody which he calls a cross between Death Wish and American Beauty! He looks at the latest video game adaptation Monster Hunter and, although well down the chart, admires the documentary The Reason I Jump. He welcomes the arrival for home entertainment of the winner of two Oscars, Judas and the Black Messiah.

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Top Ten Movies: the quirkiest

Sat, 19 Jun 2021 16:47:00 -0000

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to talk all things quirky. They discuss what makes a “quirky” film, and Vicky reveals a particular favourite of hers. In this special genre they select: 'O Lucky Man!' (1973), 'How to Get Ahead in Advertising' (1989), 'The Truman Show' (1998), 'Being John Malkovich' (1999), 'Raising Arizona' (1987), 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' (2000), 'Amélie' (2001), 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004), 'Stranger Than Fiction' (2006), 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' (2013), and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014). Whatever happened to 'Spirited Away'(2001)?

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Current Film Reviews: A Quiet Place 2, Gunda, Summertime and Awake

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 20:49:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson marvels at the justified success of A Quiet Place 2 at the top of the UK box office, with a take worthy of pre-pandemic box office. He found the film both thrilling and moving. He was also drawn in – eventually – by Gunda, the cinematic equivalent of slow TV, a black and white documentary following every detail of the daily life of a pig. He re-watched and recommends the 2015 French love story Summertime but had trouble staying awake during Netflix's Awake, a dystopian sci-fi film in which nobody can sleep.

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Current Film Reviews: Cruella, Army of the Dead & Top Gun revisited

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 15:48:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson marvels at the UK box office chart, where The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me, the 8th in the Conjuring series, topped the list with a £2.7 million weekend take. Cruella, with Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, was not as dark as James had hoped, being rather more pantomimic in tone. On Netflix, he felt that zombie film Army of the Dead is Zack Snyder's best film since Man of Steel. Although the sequel has been put back, he also revisited the original 1986 Top Gun.

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Current Film Reviews: Peter Rabbit 2, The Unholy and Oxygen

Wed, 26 May 2021 23:00:00 -0000

James Cameron-Wilson unveils the first UK box office cinema charts since the reopening of cinemas. It is topped by the hugely-successful 'Peter Rabbit 2', although James laments the film itself, about which he struggles to find a kind word. As for 'The Unholy', he considers it a formulaic horror quickie. To find anything worthwhile, he had to turn – as so many do – to Netflix, where he found excitement in the French-American futuristic film 'Oxygen', starring Melanie Laurent, which he recommends.

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Current Film Reviews: those Who Wish Me Dead, Spiral, The Woman in the Window, Sound of Metal

Wed, 19 May 2021 23:00:00 -0000

Flush from the excitement of his first visit to the cinema this year, James Cameron-Wilson reviews action thriller 'Those Who Wish Me Dead', with Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult and Aiden Gillen and 'Spiral: From the Book of Saw' with Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson. On streaming services, he looks at 'The Woman in the Window,' with Gary Oldman and Amy Adams, directed by Joe Wright and double-Oscar winner 'Sound of Metal', starring Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke, which James considers one of the best films of the year. It is in cinemas as well, but only at select sites. He also re-visits the French romantic comedy 'Populaire'.

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Top Ten Movies: Children’s Films

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0000

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to take a trip down memory lane as they discuss some of the most formative children’s films in cinematic history. In this episode: The Wizard of Oz (1939), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Mary Poppins (1964), The Railway Children (1970), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Goonies (1985), Home Alone (1990), Babe (1995), Millions (2004).

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Top Ten Movies: Science Fiction

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0000

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to discuss some of the most influential Science Fiction films ever made. Plus, James risks his reputation among his film critic peers with his claim that Blade Runner 2049 is better than the original! In this episode: Metropolis (1927), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Solaris (1972), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Wars (1977), Blade Runner (1982), Gravity (2013), Interstellar (2014), Arrival (2016), Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

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Top Ten Movies: Comedy

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0000

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to discuss some of the most influential comedy films of all time. With an eclectic selection, from Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. (1924) to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat (2006), there’s something for everyone! In this episode: Sherlock Jr. (1924), A Night at the Opera (1935), Some Like it Hot (1959), The Odd Couple (1968), Young Frankenstein (1974), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Airplane! (1980), Raising Arizona (1987), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) - Visit www.shareradio.co.uk for more

Image designed by Macario Gómez Quibus. "Copyright 1959 – United Artists Corp.". - Scan via LiveAbout. Cropped from original image., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85794299

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Top Ten Movies: The Musical

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0000

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to discuss some of the most influential musicals of all time. They explore the recent return to popularity of the “musical movie”, and whether some stage musicals adapted to film have ended up becoming lost in translation.

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