Pick of the Week
The Substance
The filmmaker's bold commentary addresses the tyranny of female beauty along with the perceived horrors of advancing years. Demi Moore offers a brilliant portrayal playing Elisabeth, a 50-year-old celebrity demoted to hosting an aerobics show on television. Pushed out thanks to her deceitful superior Harvey, played by Dennis Quaid, she undergoes an enigmatic and horrifying treatment known as this experimental method. This generates a youthful duplicate named Sue, culminating in a steadily more vampiric relationship between them. Friday 17 October, Paramount Plus
This Mystery Thriller
This classic whodunit mystery stars the talented actress playing Laura, an ace reporter who decides to take a break from covering global conflict to embark on a high-end voyage with a gravely sick Scandinavian billionaire and charitable figure, her husband, and other extremely wealthy guests. But after an enigmatic female disappears from the ship one night and the entire crew insists she wasn't real, Laura's investigative instincts take over. Streaming currently, the Netflix platform
Presence Film
Soderbergh pushes his creative boundaries with this nifty ghostly tale filmed completely through the eyes of a ghost. As a family featuring mother Rebekah plus Callina Liang as Chloe settles into their new suburban house, the lens – representing the ghost – tracks their movements. The daughter appears conscious of the supernatural presence, and it looks like defensive toward her. However, the motive remains? This is an entertaining concept that avoids overstaying, featuring a surprise you might not see coming. This Saturday, multiple showings, Sky Cinema
This Self-Referential Film
Cage fully commits to his unique fame through this self-referential adventure. He portrays a narcissistic film star called Nicolas Cage who agrees to a million-dollar gig to appear at a celebration in Mallorca for billionaire Javi Gutierrez. Contacted by the intelligence agency to gather intel on the suspected cartel boss, Cage's unique performing skills proves useful. Saturday 11 October, 9pm, Channel 4
The Black Phone Horror
Derrickson's claustrophobic thriller holds up well without requiring a follow-up. Set in the late 70s in Denver, a series of child abductions has left the children frightened. When Finney gets captured by “the Grabber” and held captive in a dungeon, he dreads the worst. But the disconnected phone in the room continues to ring, with eerie communicators providing assistance, while the prophetic visions of his sister Gwen might rescue him. An effective horror. Saturday 11 October, 10.50pm, on Film4
The Tammy Faye Biopic
In the conflict between faith and wealth, the victory is clear for greed in Michael Showalter's delightfully tacky film adaptation about the fallen religious broadcaster and her felon spouse. Andrew Garfield acts as the greedy Jim, who proclaims at the beginning, asserting religious justification for riches. He and Tammy Faye begin monetising the people's religious faith. It's a riot of poor styling, excessive cosmetics and bad faith, though Chastain succeeds to depict Tammy Faye with compassion. October 14th, early morning, Film4
The Spy Mystery
This period's second offering from Steven Soderbergh presents a intelligence thriller as sharp as the polo necks sported by Michael Fassbender's British agent. He receives a mission to identify a traitor among the team out of five possibilities – among them is Kathryn, played by Cate Blanchett. The two stars are experts of calm composure, leading to a delightful mental battle of fact versus fiction takes place. Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, Naomie Harris and Marisa Abela participate the intelligent intelligence fun. This Friday, various showings, Sky Cinema Premiere
