Emma Seligman’s short but sweet black comedy may have had its release delayed due to the pandemic, but the delay has in no way dampened its well-earned critical success.

The film tells the story of a young Jewish woman, Danielle, attending a shiva with her parents, with surprise guests including her secret sugar daddy, plus his wife and child, as well as her ex-girlfriend. The film follows our lead’s pinball style journey, bouncing around the party and colliding with its colourful cast of characters; all the while the possible uncovering of her sugar daddy relationship with the husband hangs over her, ready to drop at any minute.

What makes the film special is the horror-style elements overlaid over the comedy and drama. You’ve got a stripped back, menacing score, combined with claustrophobic cinematography to really ramp up the tension, building and building as we reach what we have to believe must be the climax of the drama that has slowly been unveiling itself. On top of this, the director manages to turn a relatively small and quiet wake setting into a sprawling mass of chaos, waiting to spill over.

There’s great performances from the cast, bringing a realistic, documentary-style feel to the proceedings, especially with perfect small cameos from the various attendees who wander in and out of the film during the 78 minutes. Rachel Sennott as Danielle is great, imbuing the character’s aimlessness, while Molly Gordon as her ex-girlfriend Maya brings out the warmth of a harsh character well. Also big shout-outs have to go to Fred Melamed and Polly Draper as Danielle’s parents, who play off against each other with brilliant comic timing.

After months of restrictions and hardship, the country is beginning to dream again as England have made history by reaching the Euro 2020 finals.

Retail experts have predicted that the England teams success will boost the UK economy by ￡3 billion, as fans head out or stay in to celebrate the match.

Whether you’re heading to your local to party like it’s 1966 or staying at home to catch the match, there are plenty of discounts to be had. Coupon code site, WeThrift, has shared their most popular codes to help you score a bargain ahead of Sunday.

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You can never go wrong with Bob Odenkirk, right? Well, that’s the logic behind why I sat down to watch his latest movie, the action killathon that is Nobody.

Odenkirk plays Hutch Mansell, a man seemingly stuck in a rut at a 9-5 and mocked by pretty much everyone, including his wife and son.

However, a chance break-in at his house reveals there’s a lot more to the straight-laced man than we were initially led to believe. Hutch flips back into killer assassin mode, cripples a mob boss’s brother and things escalate. A lot.

From the writer of John Wick, you get a one-man killing machine employing an eye-openingly fun variety of different ways to kill the bad guys. It’s exciting, extremely well-paced, and Odenkirk is superb, channelling droll humour and world-weariness to perfect effect, on top of some real stunt prowess.

As you’d expect, the fight choreography is top-notch, with innovative set pieces really pushing action film making to the limit, without too much dependence on special effects, which always adds a little bit more magic and weight to the film.

But it’s not just a one-man show, with Connie Nielsen offering up fantastic chemistry, RZA speaking volumes despite a relatively small part, and Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s adorable dad.

A simple, fun and extremely effective Saturday night action thriller, and one we may be lucky enough to get a sequel to in the future.

With Father’s Day coming up fast, we’ll all be thinking of gifts for our dads – ideally, not just another pair of socks! We know that gift-giving can seem at odds with the zero waste ethos, but our dads are special and we want to show them how much they’re valued.

The answer? Zero waste father’s day gifts that are kind to the planet as well as to our dear ole dads. And who knows, perhaps your father will be so impressed by his prezzie that you convert him to a low-waste lifestyle, too. Read on for some of our favourite eco-friendly gift ideas.

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Flower borders are billowing, crops are taking shape on the veg patch and summer is finally here! The folks at Robert Dyas share their green-fingered know-how to ensure gardens hit the peak of perfection in time for high season.

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Critics have already chosen their nominees for this year’s Oscars, but who are the public’s favourites to take home the famous gold statues? Curious to find out, OnBuy.com analysed IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes ratings of the 10 most popular Oscar categories to reveal which movies would win if chosen by the viewers.

Some of the highlights include:

• Judas and the Black Messiah is the fan’s favourite to win best picture – with average ratings of 89%
• Anthony Hopkins would take the prize of best lead actor for his role in The Father (89.1%)
• Carey Mulligan is the favourite to win best lead actress (84%) for her role in Promising Young Woman, ahead of big stars such as Frances McDormand (Nomandland) and Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
• Despite being the most diverse Oscars ever, female categories received the lowest overall ratings
• Best original screenplay and best lead actor are the categories winning the most rave reviews from fans

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Today we take a look at John Cusack’s diverse range of past roles.

Being John Malkovich

In one of the most original and thought-provoking films of the 90s, John Cusack gets the opportunity to see the world from John Malkovich’s eyes, in the most literal way imaginable. After finding a portal in his office that transports you inside the mind and body of the acclaimed film and theatre actor, Craig Schwartz (Cusack) becomes addicted to his new escape but fails to keep this revelation a secret, leading to him selling tickets to all of those who want to be someone else for 15 minutes at a time. Cusack succeeds in being compassionate enough for audiences to empathise and understand his actions, whilst also carrying off the creepy and perverse nature of his character to make the audience also question his motives.

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It’s that time of year again when you’re making resolutions, goals and plans for the months ahead – and it wouldn’t be complete without a list of the top video games that you’re eagerly awaiting to sink your teeth into! So here’s our curated selection of which games you’ll be frantically waiting to install on your various platforms in 2021.

Bravely Default 2 (Switch)
The series which takes a refreshing spin on the traditional RPG is thankfully returning to wow us with its intricate storytelling, marvellous world building and stunning soundtrack. The demo has already got us excited, with its idyllic introduction to strange lands and an intriguing set of characters, and we can’t wait to get return when the full game is released this year.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 (Switch)
The follow up to arguably one of the best ever console launch titles, Breath of the Wild 2 has much to live up to, but we’re hopeful it’ll astound us just like original game did back in 2017. It appears the game will re-use the original lands of Hyrule, but with addition of many areas, stories and game mechanics. The trailers eeleaes so far suggest a darker tone than the original, with nods to 2006’s Twilight Princess.

Bayonetta 3 (Switch)
Developer PlatinumGames are on a bit of winning streak of late, with major hits like Nier:Automata and Astral Chain under their belt, so the third entry in the Bayonetta series is definitely going to be one the slash ‘em up to beat in 2021. With more cheesy supernatural battles than you can shake a high heeled shoe at, Bayonetta’s return is bound to be unforgettable (TBC 2020)

Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC/Switch)
Originally intended as a smallish add-on to the original platforming classic Hollow Knight, this game is now set yo be a full-blown sequel. With its unique art style returning, this entry will take Hornet on an adventure you’ll be dying to get your claws into.

Far Cry 6 (PS4/5; Xbox One/X; PC)
The vast open world shooter returns for the sixth time with the drama and acting ramped up with the inclusion of Giancarlo Esposito as the menacing dictator of the Caribbean island that’ll be your playground for countless hours.

God of War: Ragnarok (PS5)
With the triumphant return of the self titled God of War on the PS4 back in 2018, the new found narrative and storytelling focus was a welcome surprise and that game’s framework is likely to set the tone for this PS5 exclusive.

Halo Infinite – (Xbox Series X; PC)
Despite being lauded as the must-have new Xbox launch title, the fact the long awaited sixth main entry in the Master Chief’s story is having a bit more development time is nothing to complain about, especially considering the recent issues with Cyberpunk 2017.

Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)
It’s incredible to think that the groundbreaking first game in the series, Horizon Zero Dawn, was only released in 2017, and we’re lucky enlightened to have a sequel in 2021 that will make as much use of the PS5 as the original did on the PS4. With its gloriously beautiful open world, memorable characters and pitch perfect combat, this is a sequel well worth getting excited about.

Resident Evil Village (PS5; Xbox Series X; PC)
The first person reboot which was Resident Evil 7: Biohazard scared the bejesus out of us back in, especially the VR version, so we’re eagerly awaiting to have the hairs stand up on the back of necks in Capcom’s follow up, which takes you into a creepy village setting, recalling the classic Resident Evil 4. Let’s hope that the famous chainsaw scene returns in some form of another!

Elden Ring: (PS4/Xbox; PC)
This much hyped project combines the do or die combat of the Dark Souls series with the narrative stylings of a certain George R R Martin, which by our estimation, makes it the must-have action-RPG for 2021. Fingers crossed it lives up to the hype!

Another Round / Druk London Film Festival 2020 Movie Review

Druk (“Another Round”) is the latest feature from Danish director and Dogme 95 co-founder Thomas Vinterberg, reuniting him and actor Mads Mikkelsen some eight years after the Oscar-nominated Jagten (“The Hunt”). This dark comedy follows four disillusioned high school teachers who decide to rejuvenate their lives by embarking on an elaborate drinking game.

Martin (Mads Mikkelsen), Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen), Peter (Lars Ranthe) and Nikolaj (Magnus Millang) are all in a mid-life limbo, with the lead, Martin, increasingly isolated from his wife and children, mocked by his students, and reconsidering his life choices. Following an enjoyably boozy birthday meal, all four agree to engage in an experiment based on the work of a Norwegian psychologist, who claims humans are born with a deficit of 0.05% blood alcohol.

Faced with the four characters’ pathetic plights, the audience easily begins to root for them as they unleash their new selves upon the world. The early scenes are brilliantly funny, with the four adjusting to their new inebriated states during their school lessons, and are uplifting for the characters as they take their new-found confidence to help engage better with their students and lives outside of class. The physical humour is uncannily inspired, with the actors perfectly embodying the swaying bodies, alcohol-fuelled swagger and the odd bumping into walls and collapsing that occurs. Mads Mikkelsen in particular, effortlessly captures the progression of Martin, from lifeless to boisterously playful, along with more subtle levels of anguish, despair and catharsis.

Despite the comedy, a sense of dread builds as their plans become perilously close to being uncovered. The film slowly cranks up the tension as they progress from Hemingway rules (no drinking after 8 pm or at weekends) to Tchaikovsky approach (adjusting alcohol levels for optimal social and mental ability) to last but definitely not least, the Total Oblivion – maximum blood alcohol level. While they attest to their drinking being a scientific experiment, they begin to fool themselves into the logic of it, with increasingly farcical reasoning to go further and further.

As the film has been hinting, this ship they’ve embarked upon can only come crashing down on the rocks, with the first incident after the Total Oblivion, leading to the study ending “due to immense, negative social effects and the danger of alcoholism”. The event that leads to this, results in Martin’s separating from his wife, Nikolaj crawling into bed with his wife and wetting himself, while it leads Tommy down an even more dangerous route. In the face of a horrifically bleak ending, the film comes full circle with the friends in the harsh daylight, celebrating the successes of their students and culminating with an cathartic, impromptu jazz ballet dance piece from Mads Mikkelsen.

While mostly adhering to a realistic style, with hand-held camerawork, natural lighting and a simple setting, warm colours and flare are subtly added to the drinking scenes to emphasise their enticing nature. On top of that, the rising pressure and descent of the quartet is incredibly well matched by the cinematography of each of the seasons. The documentary-style is further heightened by the silent movie style black dialogue cards that flash up, alerting the audience to the various characters’ blood alcohol levels, as well as the short clips of various politicians famous for their drinking, such as Yeltsin, Sarkozy and even Boris Johnson.

This bittersweet tragicomedy is a meditation on attitudes to alcohol, ageing and masculinity in a nation that “drinks like maniacs”. While we see the bright positives and the grim negatives of intoxication, Druk instead wants to focus on why people turn to such destructive behaviour – is it boredom, stress or the desire to re-engage with their lives? In one sense, the alcohol is merely the springboard from which to take a deep look into the male psyche through these four very different characters.

While the quartet’s humorous, yet brutal trials and tribulations with alcohol set the scene, Druk is a bold examination of the thirst for life, love and friendship.