FILM OF THE WEEK
WOLFWALKERS (Cert PG, 103 mins, streaming from December 11 exclusively on Apple TV+, Animation/Fantasy/Adventure) Featuring the voices of: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Maria Doyle Kennedy.
IN 1650, English forces, led by a glowering Lord Protector (voiced by Simon McBurney), occupy the city of Kilkenny. Superstitious locals live in fear of wolves that roam the nearby woods.
The Lord Protector enlists swarthy hunter Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean) to exterminate the beasts.
Bill's young daughter Robyn (Honor Kneafsey) yearns to hunt like her father but she is consigned to the scullery of the Lord Protector's house.
The headstrong girl sneaks out of the city and encounters a flame-haired free spirit called Mebh MacTire (Eva Whittaker), who belongs to a fabled tribe of wolfwalkers. When Mebh sleeps, her soul escapes her body in lupine form to wander the mortal realm.
Alas, Mebh's mother Moll (Maria Doyle Kennedy) is trapped in stasis because her wolf spirit has not returned. Robyn pledges to locate Moll and reunite the magical family.
Wolfwalkers is an enchanting animated fable distinguished by expressive hand-drawn visuals and emotionally rich storytelling. The bold, angular aesthetic of Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, which has become the studio's trademark, is a handsome fit for a coming-of-age story set in mid-17th century Ireland.
Energetic vocal performances from Kneafsey and Whittaker firmly anchor our affections to the spunky heroines as they wager their lives to protect the wilderness from destruction. McBurney invokes fire and brimstone as the film's tyrannical antagonist, tingeing his scenes with palpable menace.
Screenwriter Will Collins sows seeds of female empowerment and wilful defiance. He demonstrates a light touch with the environmentally conscious subtext and deftly navigates shifting political tides of the era without the need for a stodgy history lesson.
Rating: 8/10
ALSO RELEASED
TENET (Cert 12, 144 mins, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Action/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Romance, available from December 14 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from December 21 on DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray £24.99)
Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Martin Donovan, Sir Michael Caine.
AN AMERICAN operative known as the Protagonist (John David Washington) accepts a new assignment with cryptic instructions to perform a secret hand gesture (interlaced fingers) in conjunction with a palindromic code word: Tenet.
"It'll open the right doors. Some of the wrong ones too," teasingly explains his handler (Martin Donovan).
A Mobius strip of evidence leads the Protagonist and mission partner Neil (Robert Pattinson) down the rabbit hole of bullying Russian billionaire Andrei Sator (Sir Kenneth Branagh) and his wife (Elizabeth Debicki).
Tenet is an intricately assembled puzzle box inlaid with outlandish action set-pieces and eye-popping special effects, which visualise time flowing simultaneously in opposite directions.
It's a rush of blood to the head that will inspire as many headaches as whoops of delirium.
Paracetamol or popcorn? You decide.
The technical virtuosity required to realise Nolan's elaborate vision with minimum digital effects, including a daring heist on a busy six-lane motorway, boggles the mind more than the symmetrical plotting or interplay between characters.
Swedish composer Ludwig Goransson's discordant score quickens the pace while ponderous dialogue about cause and effect, entropy and the grandfather paradox accounts for unnecessary bloating to the running time.
Washington's resolute hero remains an enigma by design. Only Debicki's emotionally brittle spouse resonates on a satisfying emotional level, although she suffers grievously like many of Nolan's female characters.
The writer-director's on-screen talisman, Sir Michael Caine, savours a throwaway role as an aristocrat with a trembling finger on the pulse of impending doom.
Rating: 8/10
THE PROM (Cert 12, 132 mins, streaming from December 11 exclusively on Netflix, Musical/Comedy/Romance) Starring: Jo Ellen Pellman, Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington.
INDIANA high school student Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) wants to attend prom with her girlfriend Alyssa (Ariana DeBose). Progressive principal Tom Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key) is supportive of an inclusive event but Mrs Greene (Kerry Washington), influential head of the PTA, stirs up a hornet's nest of protest, which results in prom being cancelled.
New York stage stars Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden), whose new musical about Eleanor Roosevelt is doomed to close on opening night after disastrous reviews, learn about Emma's predicament. They decide to boost their public profiles by travelling to Indiana to advocate for equality.
"This is our chance to change the world one lesbian at a time," gushes Barry.
Chorus girl Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman) and jobbing actor Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells) join the ramshackle road trip. The plan backfires and the four interlopers reluctantly expose their insecurities to make a genuine difference.
Adapted from an award-winning Broadway musical, The Prom is a feelgood comedy about the power of love to overcome prejudice and intolerance.
Director Ryan Murphy relies on the show's Tony Awards-nominated creative team – writers Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin and composer Matthew Sklar – to ensure a seamless transition from stage to screen, with some additional character development to flesh out back stories of adult characters.
Streep and Kidman both have a blast, the former raising the roof with her barn-stopping anthem, It's Not About Me. Corden is less successful with the flamboyant, effete swishes of his role, which I found offensive, while lip-syncing inconsistencies during one song momentarily break the spell.
Rating: 6/10
BOX SETS
THE WILDS (10 episodes, streaming from December 11 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Thriller/Drama/Romance)
RACHEL Griffiths headlines a tantalising teen survival drama with echoes of Lost, which explodes on Amazon Prime Video this week.
A plane carrying teenage girls from disparate backgrounds suffers a catastrophic failure in mid-air and crashes into the sea.
Eight plucky survivors emerge from the twisted, sinking wreckage.
They are Dot Campbell (Shannon Berry), Fatin Jadmani (Sophia Ali), Leah Rilke (Sarah Pidgeon), Martha Blackburn (Jenna Clause), Nora Reid (Helena Howard), Rachel Reid (Reign Edwards), Shelby Goodkind (Mia Healey) and Toni Shalifoe (Erana James).
The girls seek shelter on a deserted island, clinging forlornly to the hope of rescue.
The survivors soon realise that they must create a makeshift community to battle the unpredictable elements.
As they wrestle with adolescent angst in unfamiliar surroundings, the teenagers are painfully unaware that their grim plight on the island is no accident.
TINY PRETTY THINGS (10 episodes, streaming from December 14 exclusively on Netflix, Drama/Romance)
THE pursuit of artistic excellence puts physical bodies under intolerable strain in a 10-part drama based on the book by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton.
Cassie Shore (Anna Maiche) is the star pupil at The Archer School, an elite ballet academy in Chicago which provides a pathway for gifted graduates into the professional ranks of City Works Ballet.
Late one night, Cassie is practising on the school's roof when a hooded figure pushes her into gravity's arms.
A new student, Neveah (Kylie Jefferson), arrives to take her place, unaware of Cassie's shocking demise or the web of intrigue and betrayal at the heart of the school.
As Neveah asserts herself against venomous rivals, she uncovers ruthlessness and jealousy percolating beneath the surface of seemingly perfect student life.
