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 Shadows reviews    
Trailers and other previews... | ||
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C O M I N G S O O N to the UK & US... | O N T H E H O R I Z O N can’t hardly wait... |
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 16 Oct: 
FORGOTTEN ISLAND   
STREET FIGHTER
LA BOLA NEGRA (Sp)
CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN'
WINTER OF THE CROW
CASE 137 (Fr)
MUSK
HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL
NAZA23 Oct: 
WILDWOOD
ALI G: WHO IZ I?
CLAYFACE
FATHERLAND (Pol)
POSSIBLE LOVE (Kor)
THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS*30 Oct:
PRIMETIME
WICKER
QUEEN AT SEA
GENTLE MONSTER (Aut)
ON THE ROAD
EVEREST: THE OTHER SIDE6 Nov:
WILD HORSE NINE
ONWARDS AND SIDEWAYS*
LA BOLA NEGRA (Sp)
THINK OF ENGLAND
DE GAULLE: RESISTANCE (Fr)13 Nov:
BEING HEUMANN
FJORD (Nor)20 Nov: 
I PLAY ROCKY*
YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER
FILIPINANA (Ph)27 Nov:
IN WAVES*
ALL OF A SUDDEN (Fr)
BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY4 Dec:
RAY GUNN
BEHEMOTH!
DE GAULLE: LIBERTE (Fr)8 Jan:
INK19 Feb:
BUNKERRELEASE DATE TBC . . .
C O M I N G U P . . .
UNRELEASED FESTIVAL FILMS . . . 
• Venice:
AGATA THE WRITER.
ARRESTED MEMORY.
BACK TO BUENOS AIRES.
BEFORE THE WAR.
A BIT OF LIGHT.
CHILDREN OF THE MONKEY.
DAU.
DIANE IN THE LOOP.
FALLING HOUSE.
THE FIRE WITHIN YOU.
FROM INSIDE OUT.
THE GOOD LAWYER.
GURIA.
HOMBRE AL AGUA.
HOUSE OF THE WIND.
LONDON.
LOVERS IN THE BLUE NIGHT.
MOONFISH.
NO PARADISE IF YOU ARE KILLED BY A WOMAN.
OUR SHARE OF SAND.
ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT.
TIJUANA, TODAVIA.
SALON DE BELLEZA.
TRICK.
WHAT BELONGS TO OTHERS.• FrightFest: BAD KARAOKE. BLOOD SECRET. DO YOU WANT TO PLAY? DRACULA: THE NIGHT AROUND US. ELECTRIC MEAT. HY3NA. ITHAQUA. STARSUCKERS. VALLEY VIEW MOTEL. • Annecy: NOBODY. SOUL SHIFT. THE VIOLINIST. • Raindance: MY DAUGHTER'S HAIR. PESCADOR. THE TROLL. WHISKEY DIXIE AND THE BIG WET COUNTRY. • Flare: 10s ACROSS THE BORDERS. BLACK BURNS FAST. THE BROKEN R. CAN'T GO OVER IT. HUNKY JESUS. I AM GOING TO MISS YOU. JARIPEO. KEEP COMING BACK. THE LAST GUEST OF THE HOLLOWAY MOTEL. LOW RIDER. LUNAR SWAY. OUT LAWS. SATISFACTION. STRANGE RIVER. TO DANCE IS TO RESIST. UCHRONIA. WHAT WILL I BECOME? • Cinema Made in Italy: A BRIEF AFFAIR. FUORI. LA GIOIA. THREE GOODBYES. SHADOWS FILM FEST |
GODZILLA MINUS ZERO
dir-scr Takashi Yamazaki; with Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Miou Tanaka, Munetaka Aoki, Sakura Ando, Yuki Yamada, Min Tanaka, Michael Arias 26/Japanrelease UK/US 6.Nov.26 Following on from the unexpected success (and Oscar win) for 2023's Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki and much of the cast is back for this sequel. It's set in 1949, two years after the events of the first movie, as this beleaguered family has to face another full-on attack from gigantic creatures that emerge from the sea. As before, we expect the plot and dialog to be corny, with overwrought character drama. But what we really want to see are even more bracingly original effects that bring these monsters to vivid life. THE HUNGER GAMES: SUNRISE ON THE REAPING
dir Francis Lawrence; with Joseph Zada, Mckenna Grace, Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons, Kieran Culkin, Maya Hawke 26/USrelease UK/US 20.Nov.26 Set some 15 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this story fills in another chunk of the saga's back-story, 24 years before the events of the original movies. At the centre is Haymitch (We Were Liars star Joseph Zada playing a young Woody Harrelson), who finds himself in the Hunger Games on a fluke and sets out to break the entire system. There are terrific characters in Suzanne Collins' novel, and previous films have adapted the books faithfully, catching clever storytelling elements. So let's hope this one has a bit more spark than the last rather over-serious chapter. The cast definitely bodes well. PAPER TIGER
dir-scr James Gray; with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller, Gavin Goudey, Roman Engel, Cindy Katz, Yves Garvy, Victor Ptak, Semion Bogoyavich 26/USrelease US 20.Nov.26, UK 5.Feb.27 James Gray is a solid filmmaker, and he has assembled a terrific central trio for this thriller, which apparently begins as a family-style drama before things cut loose. The film has been well-received on the festival circuit, acclaimed largely due to the performances by Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. So this looks like it might be a nice guilty pleasure movie, a throwback to taut 1980s grit. It's screening at the London Film Festival, but the UK release has been pushed back to February. THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH
dir David Fincher; with Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Timothy Olyphant, Peter Weller, Emily Alyn Lind, Scott Caan 26/USrelease US/UK 25.Nov.26 Brad Pitt returns to his Oscar-winning role as stuntman Cliff Booth for another sharp-edged comedy written by Quentin Tarantino. Although this time David Fincher has taken over the directing role, which signals that we're in for something rather different. Fincher is a skilled craftsman, so the details will be stunning. The question is whether he can navigate the humour and also muster up some emotional resonance along the way. The cast is excellent, with some nice surprises (Peter Weller as Cliff's dad!). So bring it on. DUNE: PART THREE
dir Denis Villeneuve; with Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Robert Pattinson, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, Charlotte Rampling 26/USrelease US/UK 18.Dec.26 "Dunesday!" Easily one of the most anticipated films of the year, this caps off Denis Villeneuve's already definitive version of Frank Herbert's Dune by adapting the second novel in the series, Dune Messiah. The staggeringly gifted cast and crew are back, adding all manner of nuance to Villeneuve's inventive world-building. The story goes to some very dark places this time, and it will be interesting to see if the film can more gently navigate the shift than the books did. And the addition of Robert Pattinson to the cast bodes very well indeed. AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY
dirAnthony & Joe Russo; with Robert Downey Jr, Pedro Pascal, Florence Pugh, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Vanessa Kirby, Simu Liu, Chris Evans, Channing Tatum, Paul Rudd, Ian McKellen 26/UKrelease US/UK 18.Dec.26 "Dunesday!" Frankly, I'm not really looking forward to this overcrowded sequel, largely because there is so much riding on it. Marvel needs to prove that there's life in the Avengers, so they have included scores of characters and an astonishing cast list that seems to go on forever. How all of these characters will get a chance to have any presence is the big question, as it seems clear that the movie's main reason to exist is to kick off another flurry of storylines. Marvel is best when they simply tell a story, but maybe this will surprise us. WERWULF
dir Robert Eggers; with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Ned Dennehy, Hannah Harpin 26/USrelease US 25.Dec.26, UK 1.Jan.27 Robert Eggers takes on another legend, and his distinctive style of filmmaking guarantees that this is going to be darker and nastier than any werewolf movie we've seen. And the cast is solid too, including another no doubt meaty role for his regular collaborator Willem Dafoe. It also looks intensely personal, digging into the mythology like he did with Nosferatu. So expect something grisly and disturbing, in all the right ways. Although it might be nice to see the filmmaker switch up his style at some point. NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW
dir-scr Greta Gerwig; with David McKenna, Beatrice Campbell, Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan, Emma Mackey, Ciaran Hinds, Denise Gough, Susan Wokoma 27/UKrelease US/UK 12.Feb.27 With the appearance of the first trailer, we discover that Greta Gerwig is making a full-on goth-rock epic here, and I'm all in. CS Lewis' novel traces the origins of Narnia, and it has been tripping me out since I was very young. Gerwig is clearly leaning heavily into that feeling. She is such a talented writer and director that it's hard to imagine this going wrong, unless the studio begins meddling with it. But Netflix seems to be giving her vision their full support, so bring it on ... on an Imax screen, please. Also on my want-to-see list...
I LOVE BOOSTERS
KLARA AND THE SUN
THE MOSQUITO BOWL
PRIMETIME
RUNNER
SACRIFICE
YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING
THE CAT IN THE HAT
EBENEZER
ELSINORE
HEXED
HOW TO ROB A BANK
STEPS
Winter: BAD LIEUTENANT: TOKYO
THE DEBUT
MR IRRELEVANT
2027: ICE AGE: BOILING POINT
WIFE & DOG
DAY DRINKER
GATTO
VARANASI
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Release dates: British film release schedules are even more fluid than American ones, so please be patient as I try to keep up with distributors. I'm working to keep this list up-to-date as they keep trying to outfox me. I'm sure it's personal. Embargoes: Britain's Film Distributors Association asks us to hold reviews until the week of release, and distributors are increasingly restrictive (and proscriptive) about when reviews can run. Normally, once the film is shown to a paying audience, even at a festival, the full review can be posted. © 2026 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK | ||
• I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING. THE DEBUT.
CLAYFACE. THE DEVILS. THE ASSCHER CUT. BLUEBERRY INN. GODZILLA MINUS ZERO.
MANIPULATION. 1 IN 2.
THE APOLOGIST.
