Hello, and welcome to this week’s film roundup! Every Thursday we take you through the weekend’s most exciting new cinema releases – this week it’s Valentine’s Day, so naturally we have a giant red rage monster and a slimy bug to get all gooey over…
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these movies yet so all of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
Captain America: Brave New World
Kicking off Marvel’s 2025 slate with a bang, first up we have Captain America: Brave New World. Following on from the events of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has finally accepted that he is ready to pick up Steve Rogers’ mighty shield. But when an attempt is made on the President’s life, Cap II is drawn into a world of shadowy villains and sinister conspiracies. And on top of all that, President Ross is starting to look increasingly angry…
With the trailer setting promising a superhero spy thriller in the vein of The Winter Soldier, this is clearly looking to replicate Cap’s most successful earlier outings, whilst also setting up Sam Wilson as something new. The hero formerly known as Falcon never had the super soldier serum strength of Steve Rogers, but nevertheless managed to hold his own through a combination of specialist skills, military experience and a high-tech suit. In previous films, Wilson has been the anchor tethering Steve Rogers to his morals in an increasingly corrupt world – the winged angel on his shoulder to contrast with the robot-armed Russian agent on the other side. He should have no trouble stepping into Steve’s shoes as the new symbol of American heroism, even without superpowers. And yet, for both Wilson and Mackie, those are some big shoes to fill. It will be interesting to see whether the MCU’s American public and the real world’s audiences will hold him in as high a regard as they did Steve Rogers and Chris Evans.
Although it’s a Captain America film, this is arguably more of a direct sequel to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Several major characters who were introduced in that series are showing up here, including Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres (getting his wings as the new Falcon) and Carl Lumbly’s super soldier Isaiah Bradley. Marvel increasingly expects its audience to have watched the rest of its oeuvre, so if you’re not au fait with the Disney+ series don’t expect too much of an introduction. Bradley should make for a particularly interesting character here though. As a retired hero, he can act as a mentor figure for Mackie as well as providing some Steve Rogers-level strength where it’s needed. But he also has a tragic backstory, in that he was thrown into battles by the US government without ever getting to be publicly recognised as a hero like Cap was – a victim of the nation’s racism and bias. That was explored quite effectively in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Bradley reacting with an frustrated scepticism to another black man now taking up the shield, and I’m looking forward to that theme being developed further on the big screen.
What I’m more intrigued by is how much of this seems to be a sequel to the 2008 Ed Norton Incredible Hulk film. General – now President – Thunderbolt Ross has been a recurring presence in the MCU since then. This is the first time he’s been played by the legendary Harrison Ford, replacing the late William Hurt, and it’s the first time we’ll see his villainous alter-ego the Red Hulk – one of the Hulk’s most famous comic book adversaries. But this film will also see the return of Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross and Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns, who was last seen morphing into another classic Hulk villain after exposure to radiation during the climactic fight. Does Liv Tyler’s return mean we might be getting Red She-Hulk too? It almost feels a shame to have so many Hulk-adjacent characters without an appearance from Mark Ruffalo’s big green guy (although I’m not ruling out a cameo or a credits scene – this is a Marvel movie after all…).
Whatever flavours of Hulk we get (besides strawberry), this looks like a return to form for Marvel after their Deadpool shaped reset button last year brought an end to the string of (mostly) duds in the years before. If you’ve been itching for a good superhero movie, this should definitely scratch it.
- Captain America: Brave New World on IMDB
- Captain America: Brave New World on Rotten Tomatoes
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Arguably the only true date movie coming out this Valentine’s Day (only arguably though – do you really want to date someone who isn’t willing to spend it watching a giant red Indiana Jones throwing a car at a guy with robot wings?), next up we have the fourth Bridget Jones movie: Mad About The Boy. Now a widow and single mother after the death of Mr Darcy, Bridget’s friends set her up on a dating app and she finds herself torn between Chiwetel Ejiofor’s science teacher Mr Wallaker and Leo Woodall’s considerably younger Roxster. Presumably at some point she gets mad about one of them.
I’m not particularly into rom-coms and, to my great shame, I’ve never watched a Bridget Jones movie. As I understand it though, they are very well-regarded entries in the genre with a huge fan base, and I have no doubt fans of the previous films will love this too. I don’t know whether you will need to have seen the other films to follow this one, but I feel like all the cliff notes are in the trailer. There is a definite British charm to it, with Bridget’s voiceover providing a nice self-deprecating humour and Hugh Grant in full cad mode clearly having a great time. Aside from whatever happened to Colin Firth, this looks like a nice easy breezy watch and a perfectly pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
- Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy on IMDB
- Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy on Rotten Tomatoes
Memoir of a Snail
One of the biggest stories in the Oscars this year is the Battle of the Roys – Kieran Culkin (Roman Roy from Succession) and Jeremy Strong (Kendall Roy from Succession) are competing for Best Supporting Actor for their roles in A Real Pain and The Apprentice, respectively. But they’re not the only Roy siblings whose films are in with a chance of walking home with a trophy next month. Sarah Snook (Shiv Roy from Succession) stars in probably the least well known of the contenders for Best Animated Feature: Memoir of a Snail.
Directed by Adam Elliot, Memoir of a Snail tells the story of Grace (Snook) – a woman with a fondness for snails and romance novels – as she and her twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) are separated as children. Although she initially falls into depression and retreats into her shell, Grace finds hope and joy when she meets an eccentric old lady named Pinky (Jacki Weaver).
Retaining the stop-motion stylings of Elliot’s critically acclaimed previous film Mary and Max and his Oscar winning short Harvie Krumpet, this looks every bit as wholesome and heartwarming. The characterisation is reminiscent of a Tim Burton animation, but much more grounded and mature – it takes a bit of getting used to but there is a real beauty and familiarity to the subtle emotions that the animators have managed to work in. And Pinky looks like the sort of character who is going to steal every scene she appears in.
I don’t know much about this one beyond what’s in the trailer, but it does look lovely and it’s getting great reviews. I have yet to find a cinema that’s showing it but hopefully someone in Birmingham will pick it up in time for me to see it before the Oscars…
- Memoir of a Snail on IMDB
- Memoir of a Snail on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
Love is in the air, and so is Captain America. You know, because he has wings now. The MCU is back and we are ready to step into its brave new world…
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
- September 5 – A gripping drama based on real life events, as well as a fascinating look at some wonderfully old school production techniques. September 5 is great cinema and well worth your time.
- Companion – Jack Quaid (The Boys) and Sophie Thatcher (Heretic) star in a hugely entertaining thriller in which a young couple visit their friend’s lakeside retreat, but some of the guests might not be what they seem. Violent in some places and very funny in others, it’s best enjoyed if you go in blind.
- A Complete Unknown
Trailer of the Week
There have been some big new trailers this week for Thunderbolts* and the live action How To Train Your Dragon, but as I’ve featured their respective teaser trailers in previous Roundups I’m passing over them today in favour of a new comedy from Tim Robinson: Friendship. If you’ve seen Robinson’s painfully cringeworthy but wonderfully surreal Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave, you’ll immediately recognise the comic style here – Friendship is basically that show, but with a long-form narrative and Paul Rudd with a moustache. The plot sees Robinson’s Craig and his wife (Kate Mara) move into a suburban town and make friends with their new neighbour (Rudd). But when that friendship comes to an unexpected end, it’s a little more than Craig can handle. This has been produced by A24, which is always a sign of quality, and is released in the States in May (with a UK release date yet to be confirmed).
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