January 15th 2026
Hamnet
Song Sung Blue
Rental Family
Christy
David
Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (streaming on Disney)
Last Breath (streaming on Netflix)
Wallace & Gromit - Vengeance Most Fowl (streaming on Netflix)
Belated Happy 2026, dear readers! After a much-needed break I'm back with a bumper edition, having finally caught a couple of the Boxing Day and New Year's Day releases that I'd missed. And they are great! Plenty of tears shed over several of this week's films too. Also, I've had a bit of a streaming binge over the break. Awards season is upon us and already the nominations and wins are coming thick and fast. Whether it's the cinema experience you seek, or the sofa-at-home streamers there's plenty of fab films to choose from this week.
Hamnet
Dir: Chloe Zhao
Length: 125 mins
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| © Universal - nothing less than exquisite! |
It has 53 wins and 230 nominations already, with Best Motion Picture, and Best Actress at the recent Golden Globes. And why not, I ask, having surrendered to this exquisite film and then dried my copious tears at its conclusion. The story speculates upon what exactly inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet, but it is also a reflection upon artistic inspiration, passionate love, familial devotion, loss and grief. Will Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) meets and falls instantly in love with Agnes (Jessie Buckley), who is a healer and has an other-worldly bond with nature. Three children later, and Will's star is starting to rise, as he spends more time away from his family at the Globe theatre in London with his plays. While Will is absent, their beloved son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) dies. Both Agnes and Will must process their grief in different ways. Director Zhao knows how to bring immediacy, modern-day relevance, and intensity to a centuries old tale. The couple's devotion and passion is palpable, the familial bonds authentic and real, the idyllic English country life mesmerising, and the artistic drive that haunts the Bard is something writers will relate to. The film is a visual treat, capturing nature resplendently, while Agnes' connection to healing and the forest suffuses the story with a near mysticism. Suffice to say Buckley and Mescal are searingly powerful, bringing tenderness and eroticism to their relationship. The film's conclusion, set in the Globe theatre, is quite unforgettable, an emotional tour-de-force from Buckley. This film transcends the generally accepted story of Shakespeare, and moves into a realm of those things that makes humans both great and at the same time humble in their shared humanity. 4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
Song Sung Blue
Dir: Craig Brewer
Length: 132 mins
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| © Universal - these guys sing up a storm |
Who doesn't love a good tribute band? Here's the true story of a Neil Diamond tribute band, consisting of Milwaukee husband and wife team known as Lightning and Thunder, real names Mike (Hugh Jackman) and Claire (Kate Hudson). Regardless of whether you are a Diamond fan or not, there is much to love about this heartfelt film. It celebrates love - love between the couple, love of music, and love of life. Despite tragedy striking, the pair rise above it, to bring joy to countless fans. Films like this can risk running into cliche, but the performances from Hudson and Jackman are so authentic, you can't help but be swept up in the emotion of it all. They play everyday (but talented) battlers that we can really relate to. Costuming is a terrific sequin-encrusted homage to the period, while most impressive is the soundtrack, all vocals expertly performed by Hudson and Jackman. Yes, it's feel good, in a truly uplifting and joyous way, despite the need for plenty of tissues.4 - highly recommended
Rental Family
Dir: Hikari
Length: 110 mins
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© Searchlight Pictures - how could you not
love these characters? |
American actor Phillip (Brendan Fraser) has lived in Tokyo for seven years. His acting engagements are few and far between, and he leads a lonely life. He takes a job with "Rental Family", an agency which provides a service to strangers in which someone stands in as a friend or family member to either keep up appearances or provide emotional support. From a mourner at a funeral, to a groom, to a biographer for an aging famous actor, he juggles one role after another. The connection with the actor (Akira Emoto) will draw him into the old man's world, but when he plays pretend Dad to Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman) to help get her into a private school, he discovers a depth of human connection he hasn't experienced before. What starts off with a lot of humour, becomes a film of such emotion and sincere humanity, that it soon had me in a flood of tears. Brendan Fraser is poignantly powerful in a lovely understated performance, while Gorman's Mia, desperate for a Dad, is a perfect pairing. The plot is clever, with a couple of fun surprises, and the choice to mix the Japanese and English spoken word works well. Such crowd-pleasing films are often accused of emotional manupulation, but for me this one works supremely well, and, while entertaining to the max, underscores the profound need for human connection.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
Christy
Dir: David Michod
Length: 135 mins
 |
© Roadshow - true tale of a fighter -
in sport and life |
Here's another true story, this one tackling a woman who made her name and trailblazed for women in the world of boxing in the 1990s. Christy Martin (Sydney Sweeney) comes from a conservative family, where she has to hide her sexuality and love for Rosie (Jess Gabor). She begins her boxing training with Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who she marries and together they run a boxing gym. Her career trajectory is stellar, but on the home front she fights a darker battle: Jim is controlling and abusive, eventually trying to kill her. This is a power-house performance from Sweeney, who underwent intensive training for the role. The scenes of Christy's many battles in the ring are visceral and thrilling, and make for a terrific narrative contrast with the other more serious battles in her life. Even if you hate boxing, the theme of domestic abuse is so powerfully handled it gives the film a deeper layer. My one big gripe is that twenty years are spanned in this movie, and Christy never seems to age. Putting that aside, it's an engaging, disturbing and ultimately inspiring watch.3.5 - well recommended
Dir: Phil Cunningham & Brent Dawes
Length: 109 mins
 |
© Rialto - good family entertainment based
on a timeless story |
A classic biblical story has been taken by a faith-based animation studio and turned into a rousing musical. It's the tale of shepherd boy David, who is chosen by prophet Samuel to be the next King of Israel. No need to go into the full details of the plot, rather to say what a visually gorgeous animation this is. Scenes of the biblical lands are rendered in stunning colorful animation, and the songs have the feel of a bona-fide musical, as strong as any out there. It's the heavy Americanisation of the whole thing I find a little offputting, with too many corny gestures and scenes played for laughs. The visual characterisation of the various tribes of middle-eastern nomads is also a little heavy-handed, with the very ugly bad dudes (Philistines? Malachites?) too starkly contrasted with the good guys, the chosen people of Israel. No doubt this film could stir up political debate, but as an entertaining and educational family film, telling a timeless story, it works well. 3 - recommended
Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember
Dir: Tom Barbor-Might
Length: 52 mins
Streaming on Disney +
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© Disney+ & Hulu - a son shows the
greatest love for his ailing father |
If you want your heartstrings tugged some more, you can't go past this short and very sweet doco about hunky actor Chris Hemsworth, who takes his ailing Dad, who is developing dementia, on a memory-laden road trip. Having molto money at his disposal, Chris is able to organise a reconstruction of their family home from the '90s. Brain specialist Dr Suraj Samtani assures Chris and viewers that this is an excellent way to delay full blown dementia, getting sufferers in touch with their past memories. Chris makes a wonderful narrator, coming across as a man of much heart, and the love on show in his family is joyful and stirring. As the pair revisit their time spent in a remote community in the Northern Territory, another whole dimension comes into play, with strong connections with Indigenous community front and centre. 4 - highly recommended
Last Breath
Dir: Alex Parkinson
Length: 93 mins
Streaming on Netflix
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© Netflix - nail-bitingly suspenseful
at great ocean depth |
Director Parkinson has adapted his own 2019 doco to tell the true story of a diver Chris (Finn Cole), who works in a team repairing damaged cabling on the freezing ocean floor of the North Sea. The thing about these men, known as saturation divers, is that they live for long periods in special undersea quarters, allowing them to work at great depths for weeks on end. It's a nail-bitingly gripping tale, because (as expected) something major goes wrong, and it's a race to rescue Chris. Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu are excellent as Chris's diving teammates, while the above sea drama going on in the control room is just as exciting as what goes on at depth. Ocean storms, failed computer systems, snagged cables, depleted oxygen tanks - it's all there to make for a heart-stopping and very stressful ride. 3.5 - well recommended
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Dir: Merlin Crossingham; Nick Park
Length: 82 mins
Streaming on Netflix
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© Netflix - as always a heap of fun with
this crazy pommie pair |
Fans of Wallace and his canine companion should love this latest mad-cap adventure. Wallace has invented Norbot, a robotic gnome to help with gardening and to be part of a new neighborhood business. Meantime, imprisoned penguin Feathers McGraw hacks into Norbot's software to help plan his jailbreak. The technology turns rogue and a whole host of evil Norbots wreak havoc. What's not to love about this well-scripted, funny tale which has plenty of not-so-subtle digs at the dangers of technology? It's a great fun family watch, and a worthy BAFTA winner for Best Animated Feature 2025.4 - highly recommended
