The Bride!

 

The Bride! 2026

• Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz, Peter Saarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal
• Why? Buckley and Bale
• Seen: 26 May 2026

             Mary Shelly (Buckley) is long dead but is now trying to write the story that has been trying to get out since Frankenstein. She takes possession of Ida (also Buckley), making her behave oddly at a party.

       1936 Chicago. Frankenstein’s creation (Bale), now called Frank, seeks out Dr Euphronius (Bening) for help in creating a bride. His loneliness is agony.

       By now Ida is dead. They dig her up and…

       Many viewers hated this film. A few loved it. I’m one of them. It’s intelligent, tender, funny, sad, wild, feminist, quite a brilliant spin-off of the Mary Shelley classic. It’s much more entertaining than del Toro’s 2025 Frankenstein. Buckley and Bale prove once again that they can do anything. 

4 ½ * of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Four Lions

 

Four Lions 2010

• Director: Christopher Morris
• Cast: Riz Ahmed, Adeel Akhtar, Kayvan Novak, Preeya Kalidis, Julia Davis
• Why? Good reviews
• Seen: 25 May 2026      

       A comedy about four British Muslims who are planning a terrorist attack. Only they’re completely incompetent.

       It’s actually quite funny, especially the water pistol fight, but also sad.  The acting is very good. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

Let Them All Talk

 

Let Them All Talk 2020

• Director: Stephen Soderbergh
• Cast: Meryl Streep, Gemma Chan, Dianne Weist, Candice Bergen, Lucas Hedges, John Douglas Thompson·       
• Why? The cast
• Seen: Four or five times before. Now 3 January 202022 May 2026      

        Award-winning author Alice (Streep) invites two friends from 50 years ago, Susan (Wiest) and Bert (Bergen), as well as her young nephew Tyler (Hedges) to sail to England on the Queen Mary 2. Alice’s agent Karen Chan) is also on the ship.

       It’s talky and meandering but the characters are engaging and the actors are, of course, well, they’re stars for a reason.      

4* of 5

 

 

 

 

Fiddler on the Roof update 2026

 

Fiddler on the Roof 1971 Update May 2026

• Director: Norman Jewison
• Based on stories by Sholom Aleichem
• Cast: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, Paul Mann, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Neva Small, Paul Michael Glaser, Ray Lovelock, Louis Zorich
• Why? an old favourite
• Seen: Four or five times before. Now 3 January 2020      

       Why is this a favourite? Briefly: it’s a musical, the songs are great and the lyrics clever. It’s history. There’s even a little revolution. What more could one ask? Well, a lot less religion would be nice but it’s relatively inoffensive.

      6 * of 7 (Hal says 4* of 5).

 

Update May 2026: 

I don’t usually get tired of musicals but that seems to be the case with this one. I don’t love it any more. Most of the acting is hammy and Tevye, the rabbi and Yente are actually irritating, as is the religion. Not at all as good as it was before but since some of the songs are good 3 ½* of 5

 

https://rubyjandsfilmblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/fiddler-on-roof.html

 

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures 2026

• Director: Olivia Newman
• Cast: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Colm Meaney, Kathy Baker, Alfred Molina’s voice
• Why? The book
• Seen: 20 May 2026      

       Sally Fields is Tova, a night cleaner in an aquarium. Marcellus (Molina) is an octopus, a very intelligent octopus who is dying and longs to return to the sea.

       They become friends.

       Sally Fields is very good, as is Marcellus, but there’s far too much about the humans and not nearly enough about the octopus. Just like the book. 

3* of 5

 

 

 

 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

• Director:  Jim Sharman
• Cast: Tim Curry, Susan Sarondon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien,  Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meatloaf·        
• Why? Cult film
• Seen: Once before. Now:16 May 2026           

   A cult film, yes, but is it good?

Not especially. Lame story, only OK songs, silly characters.

Nope.

2* of 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oliver!

 

Oliver! 1968

• Director:  Carol Reed
• Cast: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild·        
• Why? A musical
• Seen: Once before. Now 14 May 2026    

       This is not a musical I know well, only having seen it once before. The reviews are mostly glowing and it won an Oscar for Best Film.

       If I remember correctly I wasn’t that impressed.

       So far, only Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger has any charisma and his ‘Consider Yourself’, the only catchy tune, and then ‘Anything’ together with Nancy (Wallis) and the altogether too sweet Oliver (Lester) and hammy Fagin (Moody).

       Actually most of them are hammy, even the usually wonderful Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes. The songs are mostly mediocre and go on far too long. Oliver has a weak and reedy voice.

       Nancy singing ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ after being beaten by her lover Bill loses the film another *.        

2 /2* of 5