Home//Empire/June 2022/In This Issue
Empire|June 2022THIS MONTHWAY BACK IN 1993, this magazine’s Jurassic Park preview feature ran with the headline, “IT’S BIG!” We briefly considered updating those words for this issue’s cover story on Jurassic World Dominion, before deciding against it. After all, “IT’S REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BIG (SERIOUSLY, IT’S MASSIVE)” just didn’t look quite right on the page. Dominion is the kind of epic movie that doesn’t come along every day. The climax to not one but five dinosaur-crammed blockbusters, it’s got marauding creatures the size of a Caffè Nero. Action spectacle on land, air and water. And the return of three iconic characters last seen together heading towards a sunset in a helicopter in ‘93. In short, everything but the Kitchensinkosaurus. To do it justice, we’ve gone all in. I emerged after months…1 min
Empire|June 2022TALK TO USCOMMENT OF THE MONTH THE WAY HOME Just read Chris Hewitt’s story [in the March 2022 issue] on Spider-Man: No Way Home’s box-office take. The last paragraph, about cinema in the time of Covid, slew me — finished the article with tears in my eyes, for two years of lost and changed cinema experiences (and everything else). Hopefully, this is really the way home now. DR GRAHAM WHITE, STIRLING Hear, hear, Dr Graham. Unfortunately, we can’t cast a Doctor Strange-esque spell to make the last two years go away, but we can give you a Picturehouse membership — for many more return trips home to come. Enjoy! Empire’s star letter wins a Picturehouse Membership, plus one for a friend! Valid for one year at 23 Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK,…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./4 May the horse be with youORBAKSEEN IN: THE RISE OF SKYWALKERWhat do you get if you cross a horse with a woolly mammoth? An Orbak! Despite their shaggy hair and tusks, this is the closest to an Earth horse. Except these are as happy galloping into battle on a Star Destroyer as they are grazing on grass.FATHIERSEEN IN: THE LAST JEDIWhat do you get if you cross a horse with a cat? A Fathier! Fast as lightning, tall as a double-decker bus, and ready to gallop through a space-casino at the drop of a hat, these mistreated racing beasts are ready for revolution. Don’t resist!EOPIESEEN IN: THE PREQUEL TRILOGY, OBI-WAN KENOBIWhat do you get if you cross a horse with a tapir? An Eopie! These friendly snoot-horses are ideal transport for a Jedi master, despite…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./6 Meet Marvel’s new kid on the blockSANA AMANAT REMEMBERS sitting in on a Zoom audition with Iman Vellani, the breakout star now playing Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, the character that Amanat created. “She showed me every corner of her room, and it was covered with Avengers, ” she says, laughing. “Then she said, ‘Oh wait, I’m not done, ’ opened up her closet, and there was more Marvel everywhere.” Amanat realised then, without question, that Vellani would be Khan, the Pakistani-American high-schooler who worships superheroes — Captain Marvel especially — before becoming one herself. “She gave me a list of feedback on every single Marvel movie, ” she adds. “Kevin Feige is like her Carol Danvers.”Danvers was the original Ms. Marvel, making her debut in 1968 before being promoted to Captain. Amanat’s reimagination of the…2 min
Empire|June 2022The OfferBeth Webb (News Editor): Are we feeling excited about this project?John Nugent (Reviews Editor): I think it’s an offer I can refuse. I’m just getting that out of my system now.Beth: There’s a movie version of this planned with Oscar Isaac and Elisabeth Moss.Mike Cathro (Deputy Art Director): That’s what I thought this was. Then I watched the trailer, and got so confused. I thought, “Where’s Oscar Isaac?”John: Look, I love The Godfather. We all love The Godfather, right? But I do wish they’d make more original stories.Beth: It could be interesting. I liked The Disaster Artist. That was fascinating because Tommy Wiseau was this elusive character.Alex Godfrey (Features Editor): I feel like you don’t need to have seen The Room to enjoy The Disaster Artist, though. Here, it’s difficult…4 min
Empire|June 2022The OfferBeth Webb (News Editor): Are we feeling excited about this project? John Nugent (Reviews Editor): I think it’s an offer I can refuse. I’m just getting that out of my system now. Beth: There’s a movie version of this planned with Oscar Isaac and Elisabeth Moss. Mike Cathro (Deputy Art Director): That’s what I thought this was. Then I watched the trailer, and got so confused. I thought, “Where’s Oscar Isaac?” John: Look, I love The Godfather. We all love The Godfather, right? But I do wish they’d make more original stories. Beth: It could be interesting. I liked The Disaster Artist. That was fascinating because Tommy Wiseau was this elusive character. Alex Godfrey (Features Editor): I feel like you don’t need to have seen The Room to enjoy The…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./8 Mick Jagger’s mission to write the perfect spy songOVER THE YEARS, cinema has not exactly been reluctant to embrace the majesty of The Rolling Stones. From a climactic rendition of ‘Sweet Virginia’ in Knives Out to pretty much the entire filmography of Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger’s signature wail has been a staple at the movies. “Some people don’t really like to license their songs for TV and movies, but I think the Stones were very like-minded to it. And I enjoy it, ” says Jagger, talking to Empire. “Sometimes it’s weird if you’re in the middle of enjoying a movie, or not enjoying a movie, and suddenly one of your songs comes on, if you’ve forgotten you licensed it.”Yet the appearance of a custom-written Jagger original is a rarity, which is why it’s something of a surprise to…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./8 Mick Jagger’s mission to write the perfect spy songOVER THE YEARS, cinema has not exactly been reluctant to embrace the majesty of The Rolling Stones. From a climactic rendition of ‘Sweet Virginia’ in Knives Out to pretty much the entire filmography of Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger’s signature wail has been a staple at the movies. “Some people don’t really like to license their songs for TV and movies, but I think the Stones were very like-minded to it. And I enjoy it, ” says Jagger, talking to Empire. “Sometimes it’s weird if you’re in the middle of enjoying a movie, or not enjoying a movie, and suddenly one of your songs comes on, if you’ve forgotten you licensed it.” Yet the appearance of a custom-written Jagger original is a rarity, which is why it’s something of a surprise…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./11 THE UPSIDE TO BEING FIRED BY TOM HANKSTHE FIRING“It was a concentrated moment of failure, ” says Dead Eyes host Connor Ratliff of the day Tom Hanks — writer-director of Band Of Brothers Episode 5 — fired him from his big break (playing ‘Pvt. Zielinski’) before shooting in 2000. Hanks had apparently let him go for having “dead eyes”, and the whole incident put Ratliff off acting for a decade.THE PODCASTThe incident gradually became “a charming story to tell people”. That story became an “X-Files model’’ podcast in 2019, where the arc is “the government conspiracy” (Hanks firing Ratliff), but you still get “monsters of the week” (other tales of showbiz disappointment).THE EMAIL“Connor, not sure how to volunteer my services to you, ” the message from Hanks read in 2021, “but joining you on your podcast would…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./11 THE UPSIDE TO BEING FIRED BY TOM HANKSGetty Images, Marvel, Mindy Tucker, Marco Vitturr THE FIRING “It was a concentrated moment of failure, ” says Dead Eyes host Connor Ratliff of the day Tom Hanks — writer-director of Band Of Brothers Episode 5 — fired him from his big break (playing ‘Pvt. Zielinski’) before shooting in 2000. Hanks had apparently let him go for having “dead eyes”, and the whole incident put Ratliff off acting for a decade. THE PODCAST The incident gradually became “a charming story to tell people”. That story became an “X-Files model’’ podcast in 2019, where the arc is “the government conspiracy” (Hanks firing Ratliff), but you still get “monsters of the week” (other tales of showbiz disappointment). THE EMAIL “Connor, not sure how to volunteer my services to you, ” the message…1 min
Empire|June 2022BLACK IN FOCUSWITH IRONHEART, IRON MAN’S MANTLE IS IN GOOD HANDS AVENGERS: ENDGAME LEFT some mighty big shoes to fill. Not only was the MCU left reeling from Steve Rogers’ retirement, but Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice. Thankfully, Sam Wilson stepped up and accepted the role of Captain America in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. And now, Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams is poised to continue the legacy of Iron Man in both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and her own series as introverted tech-whizz Ironheart, while bringing some much-needed Black-girl magic to the MCU in the process. A child super-genius who made her comics debut in 2016’s The Invincible Iron Man #7, Williams quickly made an impression on both Stark and readers with a suit of armour cobbled…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./13 NEXT IN THE SERIESIF YOU LOVED… WE CRASHED THE DROPOUT (DISNEY+) In the avalanche of recent TV dramas telling the extraordinary true stories of grifters and scammers, The Dropout stands out. Like WeCrashed, which charts the rise and demise of WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann (played by Jared Leto), it explores the personality of an entrepreneur with way too much faith in their own expertise and abilities. Amanda Seyfried plays this particular charlatan, Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, whose seemingly ingenious new tech promised huge medical advances but was, in fact, useless. Seyfried is phenomenal and the intricate storytelling works beautifully. JOE VS. CAROLE (PEAco*ck) At one point it seemed like we were going to have multiple TV and film versions of Tiger King, the original Netflix documentary series exposing the antics of…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./16 The bat mitzvah movie with a heart of goldCOOPER RAIFF IS on a one-man mission. “I want to make movies that make people feel really good, ” says the writer, director and star of Cha Cha Real Smooth, an emotionally rich indie film about a 22-year-old college graduate who takes up a side-hustle as a bat mitzvah hype man. The Sundance-winner is Raiff’s second film, after his equally tender (if rudely named) college-set debut sh*thouse. “The idea came to me while I was watching Wedding Crashers, ” he says of Cha Cha Real Smooth’s party premise. “And then the school that I went to was 50 per cent Jewish. My seventh-grade year was defined by going to bat mitzvahs every weekend.” It’s here, amidst the torahs and the trap music, that Raiff’s aimless Andrew forges a connection with…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./16 The bat mitzvah movie with a heart of goldCOOPER RAIFF IS on a one-man mission. “I want to make movies that make people feel really good, ” says the writer, director and star of Cha Cha Real Smooth, an emotionally rich indie film about a 22-year-old college graduate who takes up a side-hustle as a bat mitzvah hype man. The Sundance-winner is Raiff’s second film, after his equally tender (if rudely named) college-set debut sh*thouse. “The idea came to me while I was watching Wedding Crashers, ” he says of Cha Cha Real Smooth’s party premise. “And then the school that I went to was 50 per cent Jewish. My seventh-grade year was defined by going to bat mitzvahs every weekend.” It’s here, amidst the torahs and the trap music, that Raiff’s aimless Andrew forges a connection with…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./17 MANIMALSROBERT PATTINSON THE BATMAN As Bruce Wayne, R-Patz spends his time solving riddles, blasting Nirvana and forgetting to wear shirts. As the Caped Crusader however, his bat-based skillset turns him into vengeance personified. ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD THE NORTHMAN Skarsgård’s Amleth is known as an “úlfheðnar berserker”, a warrior who believes he’s a wolf before entering into battle. Side effects include tearing out throats with your teeth, and furballs. RINTRAH DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Marvel comics fans view this magical minotaur as an alien ally to the Sorcerer Supreme (he was once his apprentice). He also looks a good substitute for those poor Gamorrean guards from Boba Fett.…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./20 Tom Cruise isn’t done chasing highs yetAFTER TOM CRUISE secured himself to the side of a plane as it took off for Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, and after he spent much of the making of Top Gun: Maverick hurtling around inside one, you’d think he and Christopher McQuarrie would have had it up to here with planes. Thankfully, as the star/ director turn their attention to shooting Mission: Impossible 8 on location in South Africa, that doesn’t seem to be the case. “We’re shooting this aerial sequence that’s pretty spectacular, ” confirms McQuarrie, who has taken time out from behind the camera to offer Empire an update on the shoot. The sequence in question involves Cruise climbing out onto the wing of a bright yellow World War II biplane, before hanging upside-down.Cruise initially rehearsed the…2 min
Empire|June 2022JOSH BROLINHow much is a pint of milk?I’ve regressed. I knew how much a pint of milk cost when I was drinking a gallon of milk a day. Where am I? In Los Angeles? One hundred and 19 dollars. I think that might be accurate. It sounds like a joke, but I think it might be accurate.Do you have a nickname?When I was a kid, and which I never understood and still don’t, my dad called me ‘Squash’.I guess because it rhymes with Josh? It’s like a non-nickname. It’s the opposite of a nickname. It didn’t create a lot of confidence as a kid.Do you have a signature dish?I was a cook at a place called Rocky Galentis on the Lower State Street in Santa Barbara, from [age] 12 to 15.…3 min
Empire|June 2022JOSH BROLINHow much is a pint of milk? I’ve regressed. I knew how much a pint of milk cost when I was drinking a gallon of milk a day. Where am I? In Los Angeles? One hundred and 19 dollars. I think that might be accurate. It sounds like a joke, but I think it might be accurate. Do you have a nickname? When I was a kid, and which I never understood and still don’t, my dad called me ‘Squash’. I guess because it rhymes with Josh? It’s like a non-nickname. It’s the opposite of a nickname. It didn’t create a lot of confidence as a kid. Do you have a signature dish? I was a cook at a place called Rocky Galentis on the Lower State Street in Santa…3 min
Empire|June 2022THE NORTHMANBIG SCREEN. SMALL SCREEN. YOUR REVIEWS BIBLE STARTS HERE EXCELLENT ★★★★ GOOD ★★★ OKAY ★★ POOR ★ AWFUL ★★★★★ OUT 15 APRIL / CERT TBC / 136 MINS DIRECTOR Robert Eggers CAST Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, Willem Dafoe PLOT At the turn of the tenth century, a Nordic prince-turned-brutal-warrior named Amleth (Skarsgård) seeks bloody vengeance against the man responsible for the murder of his father (Hawke), and receives supernatural guidance along the way. NO FILMMAKER IN the last 20 years has done folklore quite like Robert Eggers. The Witch and The Lighthouse showcased his skilful ability to transpose the stories of old into celluloid form, without losing the historical, mystical and cultural veracity of their origin, and both have been weird and wacky…4 min
Empire|June 2022THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT★★★★ OUT 22 APRIL CERT 15 / 106 MINS DIRECTOR Tom Gormican CAST Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Paco León PLOT Stuck in a slow career decline, actor Nick Cage (Cage) decides to retire — but not before banking $1 million for appearig at the birthday party of wealthy mega-fan Javi (Pascal). Unfortunately for the movie star, Javi is a drug lord suspected of kidnapping, and the CIA wants Cage to help. “I’M AN ACTOR, ” declares Nick Cage, in the role of his lifetime, playing Nick Cage. “No! You’re a f*cking movie star, don’t you forget this!” screams back another Cage, digitally de-aged to his youthful, Wild At Heart heyday as a roaring ego-phantom version of the actor (playfully credited as ‘Nicky Kim Coppola’).…3 min
Empire|June 2022SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2★★OUT NOW / CERT PG / 122 MINSDIRECTOR Jeff FowlerCAST Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O’ShaughnesseyThe first Sonic The Hedgehog film overcame initial fan backlash, mixed reviews and the video-game-to-movie curse to become the most successful film based on a video game ever. This, the beginning of a burgeoning cinematic universe, is really just more of the same: a Saturday-morning cartoon with a Hollywood budget, targeted primarily at an audience of eight-year-olds. It’s still colourful and kooky, the CG character designs are still jarringly cartoonish in their live-action surroundings, and the jokes are still, on the whole, bad. The closest thing here to a saving grace is Jim Carrey, reminding us again that nobody in Hollywood can expertly gurn quite like him. It’s a…1 min
Empire|June 2022HAPPENING★★★★OUT 22 APRIL / CERT 15 / 99 MINSDIRECTOR Audrey DiwanCAST Anamaria Vartolomei, Luàna BajramiA promising young woman’s life is thrown into disarray in ‘60s France as an unwanted pregnancy forces one bright student to embark on a perilous odyssey to get an illegal abortion. Director Audrey Diwan brings to life the true story of writer Annie Ernaux by adapting her memoir into an arresting, maddening yet always elegant feature. It’s anchored by a revelatory performance from Anamaria Vartolomei as Anne, telegraphing her tenacity and terror with equal commitment. Diwan does well to avoid melodrama, and never shies away from the degree of physical turmoil Anne suffers as she navigates her pregnancy and often takes matters into her own hands. It’s a powerful story told with fearless passion. Anne’s struggle…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE BAD GUYS★★★OUT NOW / CERT U / 100 MINSDIRECTOR Pierre PerifelCAST Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Richard Ayoade, Zazie BeetzThe Bad Guys is no Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, but it’s a fascinating example of its influence: a major studio making some brave creative choices. Opting for stylisation over realism, it has a lovely 3D-but-also-2D feel, which gives the film a much more handmade look. Shame, then, that the plot and characters run a little thin. It’s a fairly basic story (adapted from the books by Aaron Blabey) about baddies learning how to become goodies, but there’s some genuinely witty visual comedy: the army of hypnotised guinea pigs, for example, or the piranha who farts when he lies. With some gorgeously stylised animation and sharp comedy making up for its somewhat lightweight…1 min
Empire|June 2022NAVALNY★★★★OUT NOW / CERT TBC / 98 MINSDIRECTOR Daniel RoherCAST Alexei Navalny, Christo Grozev, Yulia NavalnayaThis documentary follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the days surrounding his poisoning. It was made before the invasion of Ukraine, but it couldn’t be timelier; here is a first-hand account of what it means to go up against Putin, delivered as a political thriller. The assassination attempt is the event around which the movie hangs: the first half establishes why Navalny was such a thorn in the Kremlin’s side; the second deals with the fallout, leading to the film’s most extraordinary sequence, where Navalny prank-calls one of the scientists suspected of poisoning him. It’s a remarkable, ground-level insight into a modern-day police state, and how any kind of meaningful opposition can exist —…1 min
Empire|June 2022FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE★★★OUT NOW / CERT 12A / 136 MINSDIRECTOR David YatesCAST Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Jessica Williams, Ezra MillerPLOT Dark wizard Grindelwald (Mikkelsen) is gaining followers and making a bid for political legitimacy. Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore (Law) hatches a plot to thwart his efforts with the help of a ragtag bunch of heroes — including Newt Scamander (Redmayne), muggle baker Jacob Kowalski (Fogler) and teacher Lally Hicks (Williams).A HEAVY WEIGHT rests on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore. In the four years since The Crimes Of Grindelwald arrived to muted reviews and underwhelming box office, much has changed in the Wizarding World’s orbit. J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments on gender identity have cast a long shadow over the beloved world she created in Harry Potter; Johnny…4 min
Empire|June 2022APOLLO 10½: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD★★★★ OUT NOW (NETFLIX) / CERT 12A / 97 MINS DIRECTOR Richard Linklater CAST Jack Black, Glen Powell, Zachary Levi, Milo Coy, Lee Eddy Richard Linklater has always mined his early years for cinematic treasures; this feels like his most personal film in years. Using a unique style of animation, this sweet, memoir-like film, told from the perspective of a ten-year-old in 1969, has its head in the stars but its heart on the ground. In Stanley’s (Jack Black) telling, there was a secret mission, days before the Apollo 11 walk on the moon, which saw NASA recruit him, a small child, to test their equipment first. That imagined mission bookends the film, but the meat of the thing is really the director luxuriating in his memories. As with many…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE BUBBLE★★★OUT NOW (NETFLIX)CERT TBC / 126 MINSDIRECTOR Judd ApatowCAST Karen Gillan, Peter Serafinowicz, Leslie Mann, David Duchovny, Iris Apatow, Keegan-Michael Key, Pedro Pascal, Guz KhanPLOT At the height of the Covid pandemic, the cast and crew of dinosaur-sequel epic ‘Cliff Beasts 6’, led by returning star Carol Cobb (Gillan), are forced to quarantine in an English country hotel before filming. But as the restrictions take their toll, the production descends into chaos.THE BUBBLE IS an odd concoction. It is, in part, a satire of a film that hasn’t even been released yet: co-writers Judd Apatow and Pam Brady were inspired by the production of Jurassic World Dominion, which was the first major film to resume work after the initial Covid lockdown back in 2020. While it’s not quite a direct…3 min
Empire|June 2022CASABLANCA BEATS★★★OUT 29 APRIL / CERT 12A / 102 MINSDIRECTOR Nabil AyouchCAST Ismail Adouab, Nouhaila Arif, Samah Barigou, Abdelilah BasbousiFor filmgoers, the thought of music in Casablanca brings to mind the twinkling keys of Rick’s Café Américain. Nabil Ayouch’s charming new film hands the mic to the young Moroccans living in the city today, with a story about a mercurial rap teacher and a group of students who, thanks to the magic of hip-hop, find their own voices. If that sounds like Dead Poets Society with a backing track, you’re not far off. Hearty, complex and very real discussions about religion and politics evolve from debate into powerful lyrics, and an earnest crowd-pleaser becomes an invigorating rally for the arts and self-expression. The lesson plan is familiar, but it’s still worth…1 min
Empire|June 2022MOON KNIGHT★★★★OUT NOW (DISNEY+)EPISODES SEEN 4 OF 6SHOWRUNNER Jeremy SlaterCAST Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, F. Murray AbrahamPLOT Museum gift-shop employee and Egyptologist Steven Grant (Isaac) has a sleeping disorder. He wakes up in strange places, experiences peculiar dreams, and regularly hallucinates a sinister, bandage-wrapped apparition. Except Steven is actually Marc, his dreams are real, and that spectral mummy is the earthly incarnation of an ornery Egyptian moon god.KARL PILKINGTON IS not, we might argue, the most obvious place to look to when bringing a Marvel superhero to life. And yet, that’s precisely the inspiration Oscar Isaac has cited when conjuring Moon Knight’s hapless alter ego: bumbling tat-peddler Steven Grant. A significant shift from the comics’ Grant (a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist — you know the type), Isaac’s iteration trades…4 min
Empire|June 2022THE BUBBLE★★★ OUT NOW (NETFLIX) CERT TBC / 126 MINS DIRECTOR Judd Apatow CAST Karen Gillan, Peter Serafinowicz, Leslie Mann, David Duchovny, Iris Apatow, Keegan-Michael Key, Pedro Pascal, Guz Khan PLOT At the height of the Covid pandemic, the cast and crew of dinosaur-sequel epic ‘Cliff Beasts 6’, led by returning star Carol Cobb (Gillan), are forced to quarantine in an English country hotel before filming. But as the restrictions take their toll, the production descends into chaos. THE BUBBLE IS an odd concoction. It is, in part, a satire of a film that hasn’t even been released yet: co-writers Judd Apatow and Pam Brady were inspired by the production of Jurassic World Dominion, which was the first major film to resume work after the initial Covid lockdown back in 2020.…3 min
Empire|June 2022THIS MONTHWAY BACK IN 1993, this magazine’s Jurassic Park preview feature ran with the headline, “IT’S BIG!” We briefly considered updating those words for this issue’s cover story on Jurassic World Dominion, before deciding against it. After all, “IT’S REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BIG (SERIOUSLY, IT’S MASSIVE)” just didn’t look quite right on the page.Dominion is the kind of epic movie that doesn’t come along every day. The climax to not one but five dinosaur-crammed blockbusters, it’s got marauding creatures the size of a Caffè Nero. Action spectacle on land, air and water. And the return of three iconic characters last seen together heading towards a sunset in a helicopter in ‘93. In short, everything but the Kitchensinkosaurus.To do it justice, we’ve gone all in. I emerged after months of lockdown,…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./3 Inside Madonna’s bootcampTHE OPPORTUNITY TO play Madonna, in a biopic directed and co-written by the woman herself, comes once in a lifetime. No wonder everyone from Florence Pugh to Ozark’s Julia Garner are lining up to star in a film that’s said to span her early career through to her infamous and controversial Blond Ambition tour in 1991. With Madonna organising a bootcamp-style audition process, Empire breaks down what it takes to claim the top spot.CHOREOGRAPHYBeing able to strike a pose is the minimum requirement for playing Madonna. “Troop style, beat boy and vogue” were the dance styles outlined in the original audition call-out for the Blond Ambition tour. Those auditioning — who are reportedly undergoing 11-hour choreography sessions — will be expected to keep in step with the tour’s complex and…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./3 Inside Madonna’s bootcampTHE OPPORTUNITY TO play Madonna, in a biopic directed and co-written by the woman herself, comes once in a lifetime. No wonder everyone from Florence Pugh to Ozark’s Julia Garner are lining up to star in a film that’s said to span her early career through to her infamous and controversial Blond Ambition tour in 1991. With Madonna organising a bootcamp-style audition process, Empire breaks down what it takes to claim the top spot. CHOREOGRAPHY Being able to strike a pose is the minimum requirement for playing Madonna. “Troop style, beat boy and vogue” were the dance styles outlined in the original audition call-out for the Blond Ambition tour. Those auditioning — who are reportedly undergoing 11-hour choreography sessions — will be expected to keep in step with the tour’s…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./4 May the horse be with youORBAK SEEN IN: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER What do you get if you cross a horse with a woolly mammoth? An Orbak! Despite their shaggy hair and tusks, this is the closest to an Earth horse. Except these are as happy galloping into battle on a Star Destroyer as they are grazing on grass. FATHIER SEEN IN: THE LAST JEDI What do you get if you cross a horse with a cat? A Fathier! Fast as lightning, tall as a double-decker bus, and ready to gallop through a space-casino at the drop of a hat, these mistreated racing beasts are ready for revolution. Don’t resist! EOPIE SEEN IN: THE PREQUEL TRILOGY, OBI-WAN KENOBI What do you get if you cross a horse with a tapir? An Eopie! These friendly snoot-horses…1 min
Empire|June 2022Herbert NordrumON GETTING INVOLVED IN THE FILMI already knew and loved Joachim’s earlier work; it’s been really important to me. I met him at a few parties — he thought I was fun to hang out with, and asked me if I wanted to be in the film. And I already knew [the film’s star] Renate Reinsve because we went to theatre school together, which meant that with the intimate moments we could jump to the core and explore our characters’ love in a deeper way. Joachim loves to rehearse so we had lots of time together. We ended up becoming like a family.ON THE FILM’S INTERNATIONAL SUCCESSIt’s been crazy! At the premiere in Cannes the audience was clapping for eight minutes. Then the Oscar nominations came — it was overwhelming,…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./7 Is the film industry finally listening?When CODA defied early predictions and scored Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, the audience stood and signed their applause. It was a small gesture, sure, but I can’t help but feel as though the rising representation of Deaf people in cinema has finally brought hearing people to a point we’ve been pushing them towards for decades: to connect with us.CODA is one of two films that have scored big this awards season that feature sign language, along with fellow Oscar-winner Drive My Car, a Japanese road drama that features a mute actor performing a stunning monologue in Korean Sign Language.This on-screen representation isn’t always perfect. Sound Of Metal, for example, takes a very hearing-centric approach when showing Riz Ahmed’s Deaf drummer Ruben looking to “cure” his hearing and…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./7 Is the film industry finally listening?When CODA defied early predictions and scored Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, the audience stood and signed their applause. It was a small gesture, sure, but I can’t help but feel as though the rising representation of Deaf people in cinema has finally brought hearing people to a point we’ve been pushing them towards for decades: to connect with us. CODA is one of two films that have scored big this awards season that feature sign language, along with fellow Oscar-winner Drive My Car, a Japanese road drama that features a mute actor performing a stunning monologue in Korean Sign Language. This on-screen representation isn’t always perfect. Sound Of Metal, for example, takes a very hearing-centric approach when showing Riz Ahmed’s Deaf drummer Ruben looking to “cure” his…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./10 Natasha Lyonne is defying time. Again.WHAT HAPPENS WHEN you stop a time loop of continuous death and decide to start living? That’s where you’ll find Natasha Lyonne’s Nadia Vulvokov in the second season of Netflix show Russian Doll, after breaking free of a cycle that forced her to relive her 36th birthday party.If Season 1 of the darkly comic, highly conceptual show was about self-destruction in your mid-thirties, Season 2 is about intergenerational trauma and, as Lyonne, who is also the show’s co-creator, says, a chance to “illuminate a deeper spectrum of humanity”.Set almost four years after Season 1’s finale, Nadia is in the final weeks before her 40th birthday. But this is Russian Doll, and soon Nadia and her fellow time-loop traveller Alan (Charlie Barnett) are confronted by a portal in Manhattan that takes…2 min
Empire|June 2022BLACK IN FOCUSWITH IRONHEART, IRON MAN’S MANTLE IS IN GOOD HANDSAVENGERS: ENDGAME LEFT some mighty big shoes to fill. Not only was the MCU left reeling from Steve Rogers’ retirement, but Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice. Thankfully, Sam Wilson stepped up and accepted the role of Captain America in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. And now, Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams is poised to continue the legacy of Iron Man in both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and her own series as introverted tech-whizz Ironheart, while bringing some much-needed Black-girl magic to the MCU in the process.A child super-genius who made her comics debut in 2016’s The Invincible Iron Man #7, Williams quickly made an impression on both Stark and readers with a suit of armour cobbled together from…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./12 How to make your hitman a hitBILL HADER ISN’T a hitman. He just plays one on TV. Which is probably a good thing, as it turns out that the co-creator/star of the dark and violent Barry, which has earned him two Emmys, wouldn’t last five minutes as a gun-for-hire. “I’m worthless, ” he laughs. “If you saw me exercise, it’s like, ‘I’m 43, it’s officially just Dad exercises.’”Still, as Barry, an expert assassin who finds a new home among an amateur acting troupe, he’s acquired a particular set of skills. Or, at least, the ability to fake them, as he tells us on the cusp of the show’s third season.SHOOTINGBarry is an ex-Marine who constantly finds his attempts to carve out a new life as a thespian compromised by the odd murderous rampage. Barry never misses,…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./15 “I learned a lot from Michael Keaton about taking chances”ROMANTIC COMEDIES MAY have been her bread and butter, but Andie MacDowell has never settled for being a mere love interest. Whether she was going toe-to-toe with Bill Murray in Groundhog Day or running circles around a bumbling Hugh Grant in Four Weddings And A Funeral, the actor spent her early career giving charismatic leading men a run for their money. And today, MacDowell is focused on a bolder type of role. As the straight-talking academic in Netflix’s Along For The Ride, or the difficult onscreen mother to her real-life daughter in Maid, she’s proving once again that she’s not afraid of a challenge.You play a Mensa-level scholar in Along For The Ride. What drew you to the role?I like doing romantic comedies, and it’s been a while since I’ve…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./15 “I learned a lot from Michael Keaton about taking chances”ROMANTIC COMEDIES MAY have been her bread and butter, but Andie MacDowell has never settled for being a mere love interest. Whether she was going toe-to-toe with Bill Murray in Groundhog Day or running circles around a bumbling Hugh Grant in Four Weddings And A Funeral, the actor spent her early career giving charismatic leading men a run for their money. And today, MacDowell is focused on a bolder type of role. As the straight-talking academic in Netflix’s Along For The Ride, or the difficult onscreen mother to her real-life daughter in Maid, she’s proving once again that she’s not afraid of a challenge. You play a Mensa-level scholar in Along For The Ride. What drew you to the role? I like doing romantic comedies, and it’s been a while…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./18 The return of Mike Myers (and Mike Myers) (and Mike Myers)MIKE MYERS HAS been thinking about The Pentaverate — the secret society that forms the backbone of his brand-new, six-part Netflix comedy series of the same name — for a long time. How long, exactly? Well, in Myers’ 1993 comedy So I Married An Axe Murderer, his conspiracytheory-obsessed Scot, Stuart McKenzie, embarks on a rant that contains some very pertinent information. “It’s a well-known fact, Sonny Jim, that there’s a secret society of the five wealthiest people in the world, known as the Pentaverate, ” says Stuart, “who run everything in the world, including the newspapers, and meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion in Colorado.”So, a long time, then. “It’s been in my mind for forever and forever, ” confirms Myers, talking to Empire not from a secret country…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./18 The return of Mike Myers (and Mike Myers) (and Mike Myers)MIKE MYERS HAS been thinking about The Pentaverate — the secret society that forms the backbone of his brand-new, six-part Netflix comedy series of the same name — for a long time. How long, exactly? Well, in Myers’ 1993 comedy So I Married An Axe Murderer, his conspiracytheory-obsessed Scot, Stuart McKenzie, embarks on a rant that contains some very pertinent information. “It’s a well-known fact, Sonny Jim, that there’s a secret society of the five wealthiest people in the world, known as the Pentaverate, ” says Stuart, “who run everything in the world, including the newspapers, and meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion in Colorado.” So, a long time, then. “It’s been in my mind for forever and forever, ” confirms Myers, talking to Empire not from a secret…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./19 Tackling a taboo tragedyJUSTIN KURZEL HAS spent his career trying to understand violence. Since Snowtown, his 2011 debut about a real-life series of murders in 1980s Adelaide, Kurzel’s films — Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed, and most recently The True History Of The Kelly Gang — have all explored how men become killers and how killing becomes mundane. His latest may not be his most violent (most of the killing happens off-screen), but it is his most complex and incendiary. Nitram is another true story, based on the life of Martin Bryant, a young, intellectually disabled man who murdered 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. It was the most shocking mass murder in modern Australian history. “There are many people who feel this shouldn’t have been made, ” says Kurzel, who is from…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./20 Tom Cruise isn’t done chasing highs yetAlamy, Capital Pictures, Getty Images AFTER TOM CRUISE secured himself to the side of a plane as it took off for Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, and after he spent much of the making of Top Gun: Maverick hurtling around inside one, you’d think he and Christopher McQuarrie would have had it up to here with planes. Thankfully, as the star/ director turn their attention to shooting Mission: Impossible 8 on location in South Africa, that doesn’t seem to be the case. “We’re shooting this aerial sequence that’s pretty spectacular, ” confirms McQuarrie, who has taken time out from behind the camera to offer Empire an update on the shoot. The sequence in question involves Cruise climbing out onto the wing of a bright yellow World War II biplane, before…2 min
Empire|June 2022THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT★★★★OUT 22 APRILCERT 15 / 106 MINSDIRECTOR Tom GormicanCAST Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Paco LeónPLOT Stuck in a slow career decline, actor Nick Cage (Cage) decides to retire — but not before banking $1 million for appearig at the birthday party of wealthy mega-fan Javi (Pascal). Unfortunately for the movie star, Javi is a drug lord suspected of kidnapping, and the CIA wants Cage to help.“I’M AN ACTOR, ” declares Nick Cage, in the role of his lifetime, playing Nick Cage. “No! You’re a f*cking movie star, don’t you forget this!” screams back another Cage, digitally de-aged to his youthful, Wild At Heart heyday as a roaring ego-phantom version of the actor (playfully credited as ‘Nicky Kim Coppola’). We’ve seen Cage acting opposite himself…3 min
Empire|June 2022JUJUTSU KAISEN 0★★★OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 105 MINSDIRECTOR Seong-Hu ParkCAST (VOICES) Megumi Ogata, Chinatsu Akasaki, Aya Endô, Kana HanazawaFinding a happy halfway point between the non-canon, new-audience-accessible anime tie-in films and sequels demanding emotional investment like last year’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie — Mugen Train, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is for viewers new and old to enjoy. Those familiar with the TV show will find similar pleasures here, with its mix of fantasy, horror and dark emotion. The core concepts and tone remain the same too, as the film swings between scares and goofy comedy in its tale of cursed spirits and doomed love. The animation — a dazzling mix of fight choreography and magic powers defined by their own distinct textures — is a pleasure, even if…1 min
Empire|June 2022BENEDETTA★★★★OUT 15 APRIL / CERT TBC131 MINSDIRECTOR Paul VerhoevenCAST Virginie Efira, Daphne Patakia, Charlotte Rampling, Lambert WilsonPLOT In 17th-century Tuscany, Benedetta (Efira) is sent to a Catholic convent, where she spends her days piously and quietly. But when an unlikely romance begins with a new recruit (Patakia), Benedetta claims she’s having visions of Jesus — who wants to make her his wife.“SHOWGIRLS, BUT IN a convent.” That’s how Benedetta has been sold, which really only scratches the surface of this supremely sexy, silly, strangely entertaining film from ever-indelicate satirist Paul Verhoeven. Adapted from Judith C. Brown’s book, Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy, it has the weight of history behind it, as if to deflect against accusations of implausibility. Yes, there really were horny, mystic…3 min
Empire|June 2022JUJUTSU KAISEN 0★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 105 MINS DIRECTOR Seong-Hu Park CAST (VOICES) Megumi Ogata, Chinatsu Akasaki, Aya Endô, Kana Hanazawa Finding a happy halfway point between the non-canon, new-audience-accessible anime tie-in films and sequels demanding emotional investment like last year’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie — Mugen Train, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is for viewers new and old to enjoy. Those familiar with the TV show will find similar pleasures here, with its mix of fantasy, horror and dark emotion. The core concepts and tone remain the same too, as the film swings between scares and goofy comedy in its tale of cursed spirits and doomed love. The animation — a dazzling mix of fight choreography and magic powers defined by their own distinct textures — is…1 min
Empire|June 2022BENEDETTA★★★★ OUT 15 APRIL / CERT TBC 131 MINS DIRECTOR Paul Verhoeven CAST Virginie Efira, Daphne Patakia, Charlotte Rampling, Lambert Wilson PLOT In 17th-century Tuscany, Benedetta (Efira) is sent to a Catholic convent, where she spends her days piously and quietly. But when an unlikely romance begins with a new recruit (Patakia), Benedetta claims she’s having visions of Jesus — who wants to make her his wife. “SHOWGIRLS, BUT IN a convent.” That’s how Benedetta has been sold, which really only scratches the surface of this supremely sexy, silly, strangely entertaining film from ever-indelicate satirist Paul Verhoeven. Adapted from Judith C. Brown’s book, Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy, it has the weight of history behind it, as if to deflect against accusations of implausibility.…3 min
Empire|June 2022SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2★★ OUT NOW / CERT PG / 122 MINS DIRECTOR Jeff Fowler CAST Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O’Shaughnessey The first Sonic The Hedgehog film overcame initial fan backlash, mixed reviews and the video-game-to-movie curse to become the most successful film based on a video game ever. This, the beginning of a burgeoning cinematic universe, is really just more of the same: a Saturday-morning cartoon with a Hollywood budget, targeted primarily at an audience of eight-year-olds. It’s still colourful and kooky, the CG character designs are still jarringly cartoonish in their live-action surroundings, and the jokes are still, on the whole, bad. The closest thing here to a saving grace is Jim Carrey, reminding us again that nobody in Hollywood can expertly gurn quite…1 min
Empire|June 2022HAPPENING★★★★ OUT 22 APRIL / CERT 15 / 99 MINS DIRECTOR Audrey Diwan CAST Anamaria Vartolomei, Luàna Bajrami A promising young woman’s life is thrown into disarray in ‘60s France as an unwanted pregnancy forces one bright student to embark on a perilous odyssey to get an illegal abortion. Director Audrey Diwan brings to life the true story of writer Annie Ernaux by adapting her memoir into an arresting, maddening yet always elegant feature. It’s anchored by a revelatory performance from Anamaria Vartolomei as Anne, telegraphing her tenacity and terror with equal commitment. Diwan does well to avoid melodrama, and never shies away from the degree of physical turmoil Anne suffers as she navigates her pregnancy and often takes matters into her own hands. It’s a powerful story told with…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE BAD GUYS★★★ OUT NOW / CERT U / 100 MINS DIRECTOR Pierre Perifel CAST Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz The Bad Guys is no Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, but it’s a fascinating example of its influence: a major studio making some brave creative choices. Opting for stylisation over realism, it has a lovely 3D-but-also-2D feel, which gives the film a much more handmade look. Shame, then, that the plot and characters run a little thin. It’s a fairly basic story (adapted from the books by Aaron Blabey) about baddies learning how to become goodies, but there’s some genuinely witty visual comedy: the army of hypnotised guinea pigs, for example, or the piranha who farts when he lies. With some gorgeously stylised animation and sharp comedy making up…1 min
Empire|June 2022AMBULANCE★★★OUT NOW / CERT 15136 MINSDIRECTOR Michael BayCAST Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Jackson WhitePLOT Needing money for his wife’s surgery, Will (Abdul-Mateen II) reluctantly agrees to rob a bank with his adoptive brother, Danny (Gyllenhaal). When their getaway goes wrong, they hijack an ambulance, holding a wounded cop (White) and a paramedic (González) hostage; a high-speed police chase on the streets of LA ensues.MICHAEL BAY ‘GOING small’ is everyone else’s ‘going absolutely bloody massive’. Ambulance, the action specialist’s 15th feature film, was trumpeted as a return to the director’s roots, shot rapidly in the summer of 2020 on a fraction of the budget he usually plays with. His roots, of course, were hardly subtle affairs, and neither is Ambulance — but it’s the closest to his career…3 min
Empire|June 2022MURINA★★★OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 96 MINSDIRECTOR Antoneta Alamat KusijanovicCAST Gracija Filipovic, Leon Lucev, Danica Curcic, Cliff CurtisExecutive-produced by Martin Scorsese and exploring toxic masculinity in all its guises, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s debut feature won Cannes’ Caméra d’Or. The Croatian setting looks superb, as strong-willed teenager Julija (Gracija Filipovic) seeks to exploit a millionaire’s visit to challenge the grip that her father exerts over her and her mother. As Julija is imprisoned in an island stronghold, there’s a latter-day fairy-tale feel to the action, reinforced by mesmerising underwater sequences. Yet this can’t disguise the simplistic characterisation, and any sense of brooding menace is dissipated by a lengthy denouement that makes all too clear the story’s melodramatic beats.…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE LOST CITY★★★ OUT NOW CERT TBC / 112 MINS DIRECTORS Adam Nee, Aaron Nee CAST Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt PLOT When grieving romance novelist Loretta (Bullock) is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Radcliffe), her cover model Alan (Tatum) takes off after her in an attempt to prove that he’s more than just a pretty face. Unfortunately for their chances of survival, that face might really be all they have. DEATH CANNOT STOP true love; it can only delay it for a while. Or so The Princess Bride taught us. Sure enough, the much bally-hooed death of the big-screen romcom is beginning to look more like a hiatus, because here we are in 2022 with a crowd-pleasing, star-led romance in an exotic location. If much…3 min
Empire|June 2022AMBULANCE★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 136 MINS DIRECTOR Michael Bay CAST Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Jackson White PLOT Needing money for his wife’s surgery, Will (Abdul-Mateen II) reluctantly agrees to rob a bank with his adoptive brother, Danny (Gyllenhaal). When their getaway goes wrong, they hijack an ambulance, holding a wounded cop (White) and a paramedic (González) hostage; a high-speed police chase on the streets of LA ensues. MICHAEL BAY ‘GOING small’ is everyone else’s ‘going absolutely bloody massive’. Ambulance, the action specialist’s 15th feature film, was trumpeted as a return to the director’s roots, shot rapidly in the summer of 2020 on a fraction of the budget he usually plays with. His roots, of course, were hardly subtle affairs, and neither is Ambulance — but…3 min
Empire|June 2022WECRASHED★★★OUT NOW (APPLE TV+)EPISODES WATCHED 8 OF 8SHOWRUNNERS Lee Eisenberg, Drew Crevello CAST Jared Leto, Anne Hathaway, Kyle Marvin, America FerreraPLOT Adam Neumann (Leto) is an entrepreneur going nowhere when he meets wealthy yoga instructor Rebekah (Hathaway). With her support, Neumann co-founds the office-space company WeWork, at one point valued at $47 billion. But Neumann’s lavish lifestyle and unconventional approach soon threaten to bring the company down.STORIES ABOUT THE rise-and-fall of start-up businesses have been experiencing their own bubble lately: this year alone has seen Inventing Anna, The Dropout and the forthcoming Bad Blood. WeCrashed, thankfully, isn’t a sign of any stock-market implosion, but it does hint at the limits of where this in-vogue subgenre can go.This story begins in September 2019, where, at WeWork’s “galactic headquarters”, Adam Neumann (Jared…3 min
Empire|June 2022CASABLANCA BEATS★★★ OUT 29 APRIL / CERT 12A / 102 MINS DIRECTOR Nabil Ayouch CAST Ismail Adouab, Nouhaila Arif, Samah Barigou, Abdelilah Basbousi For filmgoers, the thought of music in Casablanca brings to mind the twinkling keys of Rick’s Café Américain. Nabil Ayouch’s charming new film hands the mic to the young Moroccans living in the city today, with a story about a mercurial rap teacher and a group of students who, thanks to the magic of hip-hop, find their own voices. If that sounds like Dead Poets Society with a backing track, you’re not far off. Hearty, complex and very real discussions about religion and politics evolve from debate into powerful lyrics, and an earnest crowd-pleaser becomes an invigorating rally for the arts and self-expression. The lesson plan is familiar,…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE PREHISTORY BOYSTHE DUETSThe pair sang a series of duets together, Goldblum on piano and Neill (occasionally) on ukulele, including The Everly Brothers’ ‘Bye Bye Love’ and Kurt Weill’s ‘September Song’. “Sam is a songbird. He’s a nightingale, ” Goldblum tells Empire. “I just do my modest little bit to support him. But he’s a great, great musical star and I sit at his feet. Those toes aren’t always symmetrical, is all I’ll say. Maybe I’ve said too much.”THE RE-ENACTMENTRecreating an iconic Jurassic Park scene, but with Neill instead of Laura Dern, Goldblum pours water droplets onto the hand of his bewildered-looking friend, in front of a hotel bar. “That was pretty weird, ” says Neill now. “I’d forgotten it was a reference to the first film.” The video, which Goldblum refers…1 min
Empire|June 2022DINOS UNCHAINEDTHE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMSIn Eugène Lourié’s 1953 B-movie, an atomic-bomb explosion in the Arctic rouses a frozen Rhedosaurus. Grumpy after being rudely awoken (relatable), big Rhed terrorises New York, infecting civilians and devouring coppers (slightly less relatable).ONE OF OUR DINOSAURS IS MISSINGHelen Hayes stashes a valuable bit of microfilm in a Brontosaurus skeleton from the Natural History Museum in Disney’s 1975 dino caper. Cue silly car chases through a foggy London as Peter Ustinov tails the poorly hidden fossil.WE’RE BACK! A DINOSAUR’S STORYSpielberg produced this wackadoodle 1993 ’toon where non-violent dinosaurs rock, roll, and run amok in NYC. Nothing says ’90s animation quite like a Tyrannosaurus John Goodman and his prehistoric pals singing cheesy, earwormy pop.THEODORE REXThis infamous 1996 flick sees a talking T-Rex team up with Whoopi Goldberg…1 min
Empire|June 2022RETURN FLIGHTFor someone who feels the need, the need for speed, Tom Cruise has taken his sweet damn time making a sequel to Top Gun. Admittedly, Top Gun: Maverick has been in the can for a couple of years, with Covid delaying the film’s release a number of times. But by the time it’s finally released this summer, it will have been 36 years since Top Gun came out. Back in 1986, director Tony Scott’s high-flying movie became a cultural phenomenon, with its stunning flying sequences, influential visuals, and string of sharp one-liners, but it was Cruise who was at the centre of it all, as co*cky aviator Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, deploying the kind of weapons-grade charisma and intensity that saw him quickly become The World’s Biggest Movie Star, a title…14 min
Empire|June 2022MOON KNIGHT★★★★ OUT NOW (DISNEY+) EPISODES SEEN 4 OF 6 SHOWRUNNER Jeremy Slater CAST Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, May Calamawy, F. Murray Abraham PLOT Museum gift-shop employee and Egyptologist Steven Grant (Isaac) has a sleeping disorder. He wakes up in strange places, experiences peculiar dreams, and regularly hallucinates a sinister, bandage-wrapped apparition. Except Steven is actually Marc, his dreams are real, and that spectral mummy is the earthly incarnation of an ornery Egyptian moon god. KARL PILKINGTON IS not, we might argue, the most obvious place to look to when bringing a Marvel superhero to life. And yet, that’s precisely the inspiration Oscar Isaac has cited when conjuring Moon Knight’s hapless alter ego: bumbling tat-peddler Steven Grant. A significant shift from the comics’ Grant (a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist — you…4 min
Empire|June 2022TALK TO USCOMMENT OF THE MONTHTHE WAY HOMEJust read Chris Hewitt’s story [in the March 2022 issue] on Spider-Man: No Way Home’s box-office take. The last paragraph, about cinema in the time of Covid, slew me — finished the article with tears in my eyes, for two years of lost and changed cinema experiences (and everything else). Hopefully, this is really the way home now.DR GRAHAM WHITE, STIRLINGHear, hear, Dr Graham. Unfortunately, we can’t cast a Doctor Strange-esque spell to make the last two years go away, but we can give you a Picturehouse membership — for many more return trips home to come. Enjoy!Empire’s star letter wins a Picturehouse Membership, plus one for a friend! Valid for one year at 23 Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK, including the flagship Picturehouse Central…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./2 From God of Mischief to man of GodTOM HIDDLESTON WAS finishing up the first season of Loki when he got the call: would you like to play a vicar? “They sent me the six episode scripts, and a letter from [director] Clio Barnard, ” Hiddleston recalls. “I was just immediately engaged by it.” The scripts he read were an adaptation of The Essex Serpent, a bestselling 2016 gothic mystery novel by Sarah Perry, set largely on the rural coastlines of Essex during the late Victorian era. Hiddleston, at the time, was engaged in a battle for the multiverse with a variant of his character that took the form of an alligator. The future job promised quite a different experience.“New experiences are always full of curiosity and interest to me, ” he says. Part of that difference was…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./2 From God of Mischief to man of GodTOM HIDDLESTON WAS finishing up the first season of Loki when he got the call: would you like to play a vicar? “They sent me the six episode scripts, and a letter from [director] Clio Barnard, ” Hiddleston recalls. “I was just immediately engaged by it.” The scripts he read were an adaptation of The Essex Serpent, a bestselling 2016 gothic mystery novel by Sarah Perry, set largely on the rural coastlines of Essex during the late Victorian era. Hiddleston, at the time, was engaged in a battle for the multiverse with a variant of his character that took the form of an alligator. The future job promised quite a different experience. “New experiences are always full of curiosity and interest to me, ” he says. Part of that difference…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./5 DashcamWHERE? Campbell Studios, East London.WHEN? 9 December 2020.WHY? To find out how Rob Savage, the director of Host, is following up his Zoom-brewed, lockdown horror hit — the first of a three-picture deal he’s signed with Blumhouse Productions, the people behind The Purge, Get Out and The Invisible Man. While still a pandemic-related, found-footage affair (swapping video chat for an iPhone livestream), Dashcam sees Savage operating on a bigger, gorier scale. “It’s just like Host, except there’s more sticky blood!” he grins.WHAT DID WE SEE? Like the man said, a lot of sticky blood. All over Savage. All over the floor of the East London studio space he’s commandeered. All over the five dead suicide cultists lying around on that floor. And all over actors Annie Hardy (a freestyling Californian…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./5 DashcamWHERE? Campbell Studios, East London. WHEN? 9 December 2020. WHY? To find out how Rob Savage, the director of Host, is following up his Zoom-brewed, lockdown horror hit — the first of a three-picture deal he’s signed with Blumhouse Productions, the people behind The Purge, Get Out and The Invisible Man. While still a pandemic-related, found-footage affair (swapping video chat for an iPhone livestream), Dashcam sees Savage operating on a bigger, gorier scale. “It’s just like Host, except there’s more sticky blood!” he grins. WHAT DID WE SEE? Like the man said, a lot of sticky blood. All over Savage. All over the floor of the East London studio space he’s commandeered. All over the five dead suicide cultists lying around on that floor. And all over actors Annie Hardy…3 min
Empire|June 2022No./6 Meet Marvel’s new kid on the blockSANA AMANAT REMEMBERS sitting in on a Zoom audition with Iman Vellani, the breakout star now playing Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, the character that Amanat created. “She showed me every corner of her room, and it was covered with Avengers, ” she says, laughing. “Then she said, ‘Oh wait, I’m not done, ’ opened up her closet, and there was more Marvel everywhere.” Amanat realised then, without question, that Vellani would be Khan, the Pakistani-American high-schooler who worships superheroes — Captain Marvel especially — before becoming one herself. “She gave me a list of feedback on every single Marvel movie, ” she adds. “Kevin Feige is like her Carol Danvers.” Danvers was the original Ms. Marvel, making her debut in 1968 before being promoted to Captain. Amanat’s reimagination of…2 min
Empire|June 2022Herbert NordrumAlamy, Getty Images ON GETTING INVOLVED IN THE FILM I already knew and loved Joachim’s earlier work; it’s been really important to me. I met him at a few parties — he thought I was fun to hang out with, and asked me if I wanted to be in the film. And I already knew [the film’s star] Renate Reinsve because we went to theatre school together, which meant that with the intimate moments we could jump to the core and explore our characters’ love in a deeper way. Joachim loves to rehearse so we had lots of time together. We ended up becoming like a family. ON THE FILM’S INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS It’s been crazy! At the premiere in Cannes the audience was clapping for eight minutes. Then the Oscar…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./9 How to make the year’s most paranoid filmDRAW ON YOUR WORST MEMORIESTom Stourton knows a thing or two about feeling like the butt of the joke. The co-writer and star of the tightly wound All My Friends Hate Me, in which his character, Pete, is subjected to a nightmarish birthday weekend, remembers attending the wedding of distant friends after a big night out. As the day progressed, Stourton, who was feeling hungover and somewhat frazzled, worried that he had been invited as a prank. “It came to the speeches, and I thought that the groom was going to announce that the funniest part of the day was that I thought that I’d been invited for real, ” he tells Empire.CREATE EXTREME PRANKSIn the film, Pete is subjected to japes of varying intensity, from a car driving off…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./9 How to make the year’s most paranoid filmDRAW ON YOUR WORST MEMORIES Tom Stourton knows a thing or two about feeling like the butt of the joke. The co-writer and star of the tightly wound All My Friends Hate Me, in which his character, Pete, is subjected to a nightmarish birthday weekend, remembers attending the wedding of distant friends after a big night out. As the day progressed, Stourton, who was feeling hungover and somewhat frazzled, worried that he had been invited as a prank. “It came to the speeches, and I thought that the groom was going to announce that the funniest part of the day was that I thought that I’d been invited for real, ” he tells Empire. CREATE EXTREME PRANKS In the film, Pete is subjected to japes of varying intensity, from a…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./10 Natasha Lyonne is defying time. Again.WHAT HAPPENS WHEN you stop a time loop of continuous death and decide to start living? That’s where you’ll find Natasha Lyonne’s Nadia Vulvokov in the second season of Netflix show Russian Doll, after breaking free of a cycle that forced her to relive her 36th birthday party. If Season 1 of the darkly comic, highly conceptual show was about self-destruction in your mid-thirties, Season 2 is about intergenerational trauma and, as Lyonne, who is also the show’s co-creator, says, a chance to “illuminate a deeper spectrum of humanity”. Set almost four years after Season 1’s finale, Nadia is in the final weeks before her 40th birthday. But this is Russian Doll, and soon Nadia and her fellow time-loop traveller Alan (Charlie Barnett) are confronted by a portal in Manhattan…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./13 NEXT IN THE SERIESIF YOU LOVED… WE CRASHEDTHE DROPOUT(DISNEY+)In the avalanche of recent TV dramas telling the extraordinary true stories of grifters and scammers, The Dropout stands out. Like WeCrashed, which charts the rise and demise of WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann (played by Jared Leto), it explores the personality of an entrepreneur with way too much faith in their own expertise and abilities. Amanda Seyfried plays this particular charlatan, Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, whose seemingly ingenious new tech promised huge medical advances but was, in fact, useless. Seyfried is phenomenal and the intricate storytelling works beautifully.JOE VS. CAROLE(PEAco*ck)At one point it seemed like we were going to have multiple TV and film versions of Tiger King, the original Netflix documentary series exposing the antics of big-cat obsessive and convicted criminal Joe…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./12 How to make your hitman a hitBILL HADER ISN’T a hitman. He just plays one on TV. Which is probably a good thing, as it turns out that the co-creator/star of the dark and violent Barry, which has earned him two Emmys, wouldn’t last five minutes as a gun-for-hire. “I’m worthless, ” he laughs. “If you saw me exercise, it’s like, ‘I’m 43, it’s officially just Dad exercises.’” Still, as Barry, an expert assassin who finds a new home among an amateur acting troupe, he’s acquired a particular set of skills. Or, at least, the ability to fake them, as he tells us on the cusp of the show’s third season. SHOOTING Barry is an ex-Marine who constantly finds his attempts to carve out a new life as a thespian compromised by the odd murderous rampage.…2 min
Empire|June 2022No./17 MANIMALSROBERT PATTINSONTHE BATMANAs Bruce Wayne, R-Patz spends his time solving riddles, blasting Nirvana and forgetting to wear shirts. As the Caped Crusader however, his bat-based skillset turns him into vengeance personified.ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRDTHE NORTHMANSkarsgård’s Amleth is known as an “úlfheðnar berserker”, a warrior who believes he’s a wolf before entering into battle. Side effects include tearing out throats with your teeth, and furballs.RINTRAHDOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESSMarvel comics fans view this magical minotaur as an alien ally to the Sorcerer Supreme (he was once his apprentice). He also looks a good substitute for those poor Gamorrean guards from Boba Fett.…1 min
Empire|June 2022No./19 Tackling a taboo tragedyJUSTIN KURZEL HAS spent his career trying to understand violence. Since Snowtown, his 2011 debut about a real-life series of murders in 1980s Adelaide, Kurzel’s films — Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed, and most recently The True History Of The Kelly Gang — have all explored how men become killers and how killing becomes mundane. His latest may not be his most violent (most of the killing happens off-screen), but it is his most complex and incendiary.Nitram is another true story, based on the life of Martin Bryant, a young, intellectually disabled man who murdered 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. It was the most shocking mass murder in modern Australian history. “There are many people who feel this shouldn’t have been made, ” says Kurzel, who is from Tasmania.…2 min
Empire|June 2022JAMIE LEE CURTISHello, Jamie. How are you? Hi! I’m very well. I’m filming the last in the trilogy of the Halloween movies and we’re on night shoots, so I’m assuming it’s Sunday.Where are you right now? Savannah, Georgia. In a lovely, perfectly comfortable hotel, drinking maybe my third coffee.You’re on to a good start. Do you tend to surrender to the roles you’re playing? You have to. It’s like jazz. All of a sudden you’re doing a whole other scene to what was really written, and you just know your part.What’s your read on people?People are actually quite wonderful, and creative people are spectacular, but there can be some complete c*nts in the world. I say that with a little ‘c’. Or maybe with a ‘k’, and then everybody won’t, like, cancel…1 min
Empire|June 2022JAMIE LEE CURTISAlamy, Capital Pictures, Getty Images Hello, Jamie. How are you? Hi! I’m very well. I’m filming the last in the trilogy of the Halloween movies and we’re on night shoots, so I’m assuming it’s Sunday. Where are you right now? Savannah, Georgia. In a lovely, perfectly comfortable hotel, drinking maybe my third coffee. You’re on to a good start. Do you tend to surrender to the roles you’re playing? You have to. It’s like jazz. All of a sudden you’re doing a whole other scene to what was really written, and you just know your part. What’s your read on people? People are actually quite wonderful, and creative people are spectacular, but there can be some complete c*nts in the world. I say that with a little ‘c’. Or maybe…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE NORTHMANBIG SCREEN. SMALL SCREEN. YOUR REVIEWS BIBLE STARTS HEREEXCELLENT ★★★★ GOOD ★★★ OKAY ★★ POOR ★ AWFUL★★★★★OUT 15 APRIL / CERT TBC / 136 MINSDIRECTOR Robert EggersCAST Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, Willem DafoePLOT At the turn of the tenth century, a Nordic prince-turned-brutal-warrior named Amleth (Skarsgård) seeks bloody vengeance against the man responsible for the murder of his father (Hawke), and receives supernatural guidance along the way.NO FILMMAKER IN the last 20 years has done folklore quite like Robert Eggers. The Witch and The Lighthouse showcased his skilful ability to transpose the stories of old into celluloid form, without losing the historical, mystical and cultural veracity of their origin, and both have been weird and wacky gifts to behold. Yet these intimate portraits…4 min
Empire|June 2022X★★★★OUT NOW / CERT 18 / 106 MINSDIRECTOR Ti WestCAST Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi Texas, 1979. Hustler Wayne (Martin Henderson) hires an isolated farm, intending to shoot a p*rn movie. Misunderstandings lead to a bloodbath. Considering that sequels to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are still being cranked out, writer-director Ti West shows guts in reframing many images from Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic early in X, to build background dread while the main characters think they’re in a comical, down-home Boogie Nights. When natural and unnatural desires are awakened on the shoot, the horrors go into overdrive with eye-opening shocks and surprises. West’s fright-films are playful but run to serious scares — and X is a properly satisfying shocker.…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE CONTRACTOR★★★OUT 6 MAY (PRIME VIDEO)CERT TBC / 103 MINSDIRECTOR Tarik SalehCAST Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, Kiefer SutherlandPLOT James Harper (Pine), a Special Forces sergeant in the US Army, is involuntarily discharged without benefits. Broke and suddenly unemployed, he takes a high-risk private contractor job in Germany to settle his debts. When the job doesn’t go to plan, Harper is forced to take matters into his own hands.THE CONTRACTOR WAS originally called Violence Of Action, which at least gave some hint of explosions or excitement. The title they ultimately settled on sounds like a film where Chris Pine plays a handyman who spends most of the running time offering quotes to sort out your extension. It comes as some relief, then, that this film, a sharp, cool-blooded…3 min
Empire|June 2022X★★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 18 / 106 MINS DIRECTOR Ti West CAST Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Scott Mescudi Texas, 1979. Hustler Wayne (Martin Henderson) hires an isolated farm, intending to shoot a p*rn movie. Misunderstandings lead to a bloodbath. Considering that sequels to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are still being cranked out, writer-director Ti West shows guts in reframing many images from Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic early in X, to build background dread while the main characters think they’re in a comical, down-home Boogie Nights. When natural and unnatural desires are awakened on the shoot, the horrors go into overdrive with eye-opening shocks and surprises. West’s fright-films are playful but run to serious scares — and X is a properly satisfying shocker.…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE CONTRACTOR★★★ OUT 6 MAY (PRIME VIDEO) CERT TBC / 103 MINS DIRECTOR Tarik Saleh CAST Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, Kiefer Sutherland PLOT James Harper (Pine), a Special Forces sergeant in the US Army, is involuntarily discharged without benefits. Broke and suddenly unemployed, he takes a high-risk private contractor job in Germany to settle his debts. When the job doesn’t go to plan, Harper is forced to take matters into his own hands. THE CONTRACTOR WAS originally called Violence Of Action, which at least gave some hint of explosions or excitement. The title they ultimately settled on sounds like a film where Chris Pine plays a handyman who spends most of the running time offering quotes to sort out your extension. It comes as some relief, then,…3 min
Empire|June 2022PLAYGROUND★★★★★OUT 22 APRIL / CERT TBC / 72 MINSDIRECTOR Laura WandelCAST Maya Vanderbeque, Günter Duret, Karim LeklouIt begins with a sobbing seven-year-old girl hugging her older brother before heading to school for the first time. It is the first of a few hugs in the film. Hugs so tight, so desperate, you want to cry. For this playground can be a battleground. Nora (Maya Vanderbeque) doesn’t understand why her brother Abel (Günter Duret) is being bullied or why he’s bullying other kids, her innocence being gradually corroded. Vanderbeque’s performance is impossibly great, and director Laura Wandel’s acutely empathetic filmmaking feels almost invisible. This is tender, sensitive, non-judgmental work, which doesn’t put a foot wrong. At 72 minutes, it verges on slight — there’s certainly no fat on it. Yet still,…1 min
Empire|June 2022APOLLO 10½: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD★★★★OUT NOW (NETFLIX) / CERT 12A / 97 MINSDIRECTOR Richard LinklaterCAST Jack Black, Glen Powell, Zachary Levi, Milo Coy, Lee EddyRichard Linklater has always mined his early years for cinematic treasures; this feels like his most personal film in years. Using a unique style of animation, this sweet, memoir-like film, told from the perspective of a ten-year-old in 1969, has its head in the stars but its heart on the ground. In Stanley’s (Jack Black) telling, there was a secret mission, days before the Apollo 11 walk on the moon, which saw NASA recruit him, a small child, to test their equipment first. That imagined mission bookends the film, but the meat of the thing is really the director luxuriating in his memories. As with many a loosey-goosey Linklater joint…1 min
Empire|June 2022PLAYGROUND★★★★★ OUT 22 APRIL / CERT TBC / 72 MINS DIRECTOR Laura Wandel CAST Maya Vanderbeque, Günter Duret, Karim Leklou It begins with a sobbing seven-year-old girl hugging her older brother before heading to school for the first time. It is the first of a few hugs in the film. Hugs so tight, so desperate, you want to cry. For this playground can be a battleground. Nora (Maya Vanderbeque) doesn’t understand why her brother Abel (Günter Duret) is being bullied or why he’s bullying other kids, her innocence being gradually corroded. Vanderbeque’s performance is impossibly great, and director Laura Wandel’s acutely empathetic filmmaking feels almost invisible. This is tender, sensitive, non-judgmental work, which doesn’t put a foot wrong. At 72 minutes, it verges on slight — there’s certainly no fat…1 min
Empire|June 2022THE LOST CITY★★★OUT NOWCERT TBC / 112 MINSDIRECTORS Adam Nee, Aaron NeeCAST Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brad PittPLOT When grieving romance novelist Loretta (Bullock) is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Radcliffe), her cover model Alan (Tatum) takes off after her in an attempt to prove that he’s more than just a pretty face. Unfortunately for their chances of survival, that face might really be all they have.DEATH CANNOT STOP true love; it can only delay it for a while. Or so The Princess Bride taught us. Sure enough, the much bally-hooed death of the big-screen romcom is beginning to look more like a hiatus, because here we are in 2022 with a crowd-pleasing, star-led romance in an exotic location. If much of directors Adam and Aaron Nee’s…3 min
Empire|June 2022NAVALNY★★★★ OUT NOW / CERT TBC / 98 MINS DIRECTOR Daniel Roher CAST Alexei Navalny, Christo Grozev, Yulia Navalnaya This documentary follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the days surrounding his poisoning. It was made before the invasion of Ukraine, but it couldn’t be timelier; here is a first-hand account of what it means to go up against Putin, delivered as a political thriller. The assassination attempt is the event around which the movie hangs: the first half establishes why Navalny was such a thorn in the Kremlin’s side; the second deals with the fallout, leading to the film’s most extraordinary sequence, where Navalny prank-calls one of the scientists suspected of poisoning him. It’s a remarkable, ground-level insight into a modern-day police state, and how any kind of meaningful…1 min
Empire|June 2022FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 12A / 136 MINS DIRECTOR David Yates CAST Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Jessica Williams, Ezra Miller PLOT Dark wizard Grindelwald (Mikkelsen) is gaining followers and making a bid for political legitimacy. Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore (Law) hatches a plot to thwart his efforts with the help of a ragtag bunch of heroes — including Newt Scamander (Redmayne), muggle baker Jacob Kowalski (Fogler) and teacher Lally Hicks (Williams). A HEAVY WEIGHT rests on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore. In the four years since The Crimes Of Grindelwald arrived to muted reviews and underwhelming box office, much has changed in the Wizarding World’s orbit. J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments on gender identity have cast a long shadow over the beloved world she…4 min
Empire|June 2022MORBIUS★★OUT NOWCERT 15 / 104 MINSDIRECTOR Daniel EspinosaCAST Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared HarrisPLOT Medical genius Dr Michael Morbius (Leto) is slowly dying from a blood disorder. In search of a cure, funded by childhood friend Milo (Smith) and with the help of colleague Martine (Arjona), he combines human DNA with that of a vampire bat. The procedure results in some superhuman side effects — but can he control them?SUPERHEROES ARE GETTING moodier. The idea of ‘dark’ comic-book adaptations isn’t exactly new, but lately they’ve stepped up a gear, with Matt Reeves’ extraordinarily emo The Batman, and Marvel’s venture into the murky morality of Moon Knight. Sony’s latest MCU-adjacent Spidey-villain spin-off attempts to jump on this tone-shifting bandwagon, focusing on their most bloodthirsty of anti-heroes: a living vampire.Unlike…3 min
Empire|June 2022SLOW HORSES★★★★OUT NOW (APPLE TV+)EPISODES VIEWED 6 OF 6SHOWRUNNERS Will Smith, James Hawes CAST Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Olivia Cooke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christopher Chung, Dustin Demri-Burns, Antonio AakeelPLOT Disgraced MI5 agent River Cartwright (Lowden) is shunted to the service’s notoriously useless unit, Slough House, but he still finds a way to investigate the case of young Muslim Hassan Ahmed (Aakeel), held hostage by a far-right group who plan on executing him live on the internet.IT BEGINS WITH a spectacularly staged airport-set action set-piece which wouldn’t look out of place in a Bond or Bourne movie. Kristin Scott Thomas, proving she’d make a brilliant M, is MI5 Head Of Ops Diana Taverner, watching from her vast, shiny espionage HQ as young agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) does his level best to…3 min
Empire|June 2022MURINA★★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 96 MINS DIRECTOR Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic CAST Gracija Filipovic, Leon Lucev, Danica Curcic, Cliff Curtis Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese and exploring toxic masculinity in all its guises, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s debut feature won Cannes’ Caméra d’Or. The Croatian setting looks superb, as strong-willed teenager Julija (Gracija Filipovic) seeks to exploit a millionaire’s visit to challenge the grip that her father exerts over her and her mother. As Julija is imprisoned in an island stronghold, there’s a latter-day fairy-tale feel to the action, reinforced by mesmerising underwater sequences. Yet this can’t disguise the simplistic characterisation, and any sense of brooding menace is dissipated by a lengthy denouement that makes all too clear the story’s melodramatic beats.…1 min
Empire|June 2022CHAOS REIGNS“YOU’RE GOING TO SEE JEFF GOLDBLUM DO SOME CRAZY sh*t.”This would be, at any time, in any place, an exciting promise. After all, Jeff Goldblum is a one-man carnival, a human so effervescently entertaining that there exists a YouTube video of his Jurassic Park character, Ian Malcolm, laughing on loop for ten solid hours (it’s been viewed, so far, by 137,000 people). His jazz nights are legendary, not just for the music but for the fact that he’ll happily read out audience members’ WhatsApp messages to the room in dramatic fashion. He might play an impromptu round of Seven Degrees Of Jeff Goldblum with you, or announce that he feels “sleek as a panther”. Anything is possible.But today that promise, delivered to Empire by director Colin Trevorrow, feels especially electric.…15 min
Empire|June 2022MORBIUS★★ OUT NOW CERT 15 / 104 MINS DIRECTOR Daniel Espinosa CAST Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris PLOT Medical genius Dr Michael Morbius (Leto) is slowly dying from a blood disorder. In search of a cure, funded by childhood friend Milo (Smith) and with the help of colleague Martine (Arjona), he combines human DNA with that of a vampire bat. The procedure results in some superhuman side effects — but can he control them? SUPERHEROES ARE GETTING moodier. The idea of ‘dark’ comic-book adaptations isn’t exactly new, but lately they’ve stepped up a gear, with Matt Reeves’ extraordinarily emo The Batman, and Marvel’s venture into the murky morality of Moon Knight. Sony’s latest MCU-adjacent Spidey-villain spin-off attempts to jump on this tone-shifting bandwagon, focusing on their most…3 min
