Mean Girls ★★★☆☆
Directed by Samantha Jayne, Arturo Perez Jr. Starring Angourie Rice, Renée Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Christopher Briney, Jenn Fischer, Busy Phillipps, Ashley Park, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows. 12A cert, gen release, 112 min
Decent big-screen translation of the stage musical based on the 2004 high-school classic. Rice is the new arrival pitched against the terrifying Rapp. The current cast, all possessed of pipes, bellow their way through the action with admirable enthusiasm. Rice is better at the clean girl than the mean girl stuff, but her journey is just about believable. Fey, who co-wrote the original film and the stage show, and Tim Meadows, a tireless performer, wipe away the decades as they reprise their teacher roles. Will do well enough. Full review DC
The Holdovers ★★★★☆
Directed by Alexander Payne. Starring Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston, Andrew Garman, Tate Donovan, Gillian Vigman, Brady Hepner, Naheem Garcia. 15A cert, gen release, 133 min
Touching comedy starring Giamatti as a grumpy teacher minding a fragile student (Sessa) and the school’s bereaved cook (Randolph) over Christmas 1970. All the best traditional Yuletide classics follow the template of Dickens’s indestructible tale. This time round, each of the three stranded grumps gains some sort of wisdom. Okay, the film tends to redemptive sentimentality, but, as an adventure in humanist diversion, it could hardly be bettered. All three leads are excellent. The 1970s ambience is perfect – down to a contemporaneous MPAA cert and Universal logo. Full review DC
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The End We Start From ★★★☆☆
Directed by Mahalia Belo. Starring Jodie Comer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Katherine Waterston, Mark Strong, Gina McKee. 15A cert, gen release, 101 min
Following climactic catastrophe, a mother and her baby flee London. Adapted from Megan Hunter’s 2017 novel, Alice Birch’s compelling script explores a fierce maternalism against an apocalyptic backdrop, deftly moving between gritty circumstances and allegorical overtones. Comer, who shouldered much of Killing Eve and all of the extraordinary Tony-winning play Prima Facie, is outstanding as the unnamed heroine. She’s aided by a gifted ensemble of screen partners and an unexpectedly restrained Biblical storyline. The film’s quiet strength, in step with Comer’s character, lies in its familiarity. Full review TB
The Kitchen ★★★☆☆
Directed by Kibwe Tavares, Daniel Kaluuya. Starring Kane Robinson, Jedaiah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jr, Teija Kabs, Demmy Ladipo, Cristale, BackRoad Gee, Netflix, 107 min
Welcome to The Kitchen, a terrifying vision of neoliberal blighted London in the 2040s, where mushrooming skyscrapers can’t mask grinding poverty. The illegal residents of the lively high-rise estate of the title sell from stalls and bustle around labyrinthian pathways. There are welcome shades of La Haine and Do the Right Thing in Kaluuya’s directorial debut, co-helmed by architect-turned-filmmaker Kibwe Tavares. The urban grit is offset by spectacular sci-fi trimmings, including billboards that would look at home in Blade Runner. The central father-son plotline feels a little too modest, but this is remains impressive. Full review TB
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