This Life by Take That: Ninth album by the English pop band, their first studio release in over six years following 2017’s Wonderland; includes the singles ‘Windows’, ‘Brand New Sun’, and ‘This Life’....
COMIMG SOON
Out this week
Albums
* This Life by Take That: Ninth album by the English pop band, their first studio release in over six years following 2017’s Wonderland; includes the singles ‘Windows’, ‘Brand New Sun’, and ‘This Life’.
Movies
* Family Switch (starring Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon) – comedy; a family faces challenges after a mysterious event leads the parents and children to switch minds with each other.
* Wish (with the voices of Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber) – animated musical; a teenage girl (DeBose) makes a wish on a star after sensing a darkness in the kingdom.
* Leave the World Behind (starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la Herrold) – psychological thriller, based on the Rumaan Alam novel; a family’s vacation is interrupted by the arrival of two strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout.
* Napoleon (starring Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Rupert Everett) – historical drama; depicts French leader Napoleon Bonaparte’s (Phoenix) rise to power and his relationship with Empress Joséphine (Kirby).
* Maestro (starring Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman) – biographical drama; centres on the relationship between American composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and his wife Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan).
Stephen James Merchant
* Born on 24 November 1974 in Bristol, England.
* Has a sister, Alexandra.
* Was inspired to get into comedy by the works of John Cleese.
* Began his career performing stand-up comedy.
* Teamed up with comedian Ricky Gervais, an immensely successful partnership that led to the creation of projects like the television series The Office (2001 – 2003), Extras (2005 – 2007), An Idiot Abroad (2010 – 2012), The Ricky Gervais Show (2010 – 2012), and Life’s Too Short (2011 – 2013).
* Has since co-created and starred in the series Hello Ladies (2013 – 2014) and The Outlaws (2021 – present), and written and directed the film Fighting with My Family (2019).
* Upcoming projects include the animated film The Ark and the Aardvark (2024).
SPOTLIGHT
The Marvels
Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, and Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Nia DaCosta
Tagline: Higher. Further. Faster. Together.
* Superhero action; after getting their powers entangled, Carol Danvers (Larson), Monica Rambeau (Parris), and Kamala Khan (Vellani) must work together to save the universe.
* Is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and part of Phase Five of the franchise. Is the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel. Is also connected to two Disney+ MCU series: WandaVision (2021) and Ms. Marvel (2022).
* Is the shortest MCU film, with a running time of 1 hour 45 minutes.
* Had a budget of over $200 million. Has grossed $120 million in around a week and been referred to as a box-office bomb. Had the lowest opening weekend total ever for an MCU film.
* Has received mixed to negative reviews, with criticism aimed at the storyline but praise for the chemistry between the cast.
* Score composed by Laura Karpman.
