BLACK IN FOCUS

THIS MONTH

BOB ODENKIRK IS, put simply, a legend. The

TALK TO US

COMMENT OF THE MONTH ARRGHHH! ARRGGGHHHHH!! What have

MASK Chosen by TIG NOTARO

Standout sequences from the great movies

Doctor Strange is about to get even stranger

Benedict Cumberbatch on the post-Spidey Multiverse

Say hello to Pixar’s puberty panda

Director Domee Shi and character designer Jason Deamer explain the big, furry transformation at the heart of TURNING RED

Jude Hill

THE NORTHERN IRISH 11-YEAR-OLD MAKES HIS BIG-SCREEN DEBUT IN KENNETH BRANAGH’S SEMI-BIOGRAPHICAL BELFAST

Finding horror in haute cuisine

Director Lee Haven Jones breaks down the meaning in the meal that ties together his grisly debut, The Feast

From the Temple of Doom to a multiverse of madness

After decades away, KE HUY QUAN is back with a blast in wild new sci-fi film Everything Everywhere All At Once

FILM COURT

As two die-hard Ana de Armas fans sue a studio, here are some of Hollywood’s weirdest lawsuits

The fantasy show that goes against the grain

NEIL GAIMAN on why the long-awaited adaptation of The Sandman is a TV series like no other

No. /7 NEXT IN THE SERIES

You fell in love with that incredible new TV show. And then it ended! Don’t despair — Boyd Hilton recommends the sibling shows to watch next

No . /8 Beavis and Butt-Head’s grand odyssey

With Mike Judge’s dullard delinquents set to return, we look back on some of their lowbrow highlights

No. /9 A new age for the Gold en Age

With new biopics of Gene Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire on the way, Empire investigates Hollywood’s latest fixation on its own formative years

TIFFANY HADDISH

Getty Images How are you, Tiffany? I’m happy

No. /10 The king of the erotic thriller is back

Fatal Attraction director Adrian Lyne returns to sex, lies and homicide with Deep Water

No. /11 “Ellen Ripley was my favourite character as a kid”

[ THE Q&A] From saving Ryan Reynolds’ life in The Adam Project to reprising her roles as Gamora and Neytiri, ZOE SALDANA is embracing her action-queen status

No. /12 The TV thriller that gave us something to chew on

The creators of cannibal-teens drama Yellowjackets on how their show went stratospheric

No. /13 Welcome to the paranoia party

With a new wave of movies centring on cover-ups, meet the conspiracy theorists who won’t shut up

No. /14 How The Foo Fighters became the Boo Fighters

Dave Grohl on why he couldn’t run from STUDIO 666

No. /15 INTO THE WONKAVERSE

WITH MORE ADAPTATIONS ON THE WAY THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A SNOZZCUMBER AT, WE PONDER THE FUTURE OF THE ROALD DAHL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

No. / 16 Inside the taming of Project Mayhem

David Fincher responds to China’s recut of FIGHT CLUB, the latest in a long trend of tampered-with films

HUG CLUB

How would these other David Fincher films look with happy endings?

No. /17 A scaredy-cat who became a Scream queen

Jenna Ortega breaks down the roles that have earned her horror’s crowning title

Halo

Unfiltered, uncensored, uncompromising trailer reactions from team EMPIRE

No. /18 How to crack open the romcom

Rose Matafeo on shaking up the genre with BBC show Starstruck

No. /19 JAMIE DORNAN SINGING

If you’ve heard melodious crooning on screen this year, there’s a solid chance it came from one Northern Irish actor|

No. / 20 Farewell to a true Hollywood hero

[ IN MEMORIAM] Remembering SIDNEY POITIER, whose legacy paved the way for future generations

CHARLIE DAY

What would you call your autobiography? ‘Day By

RED ROCKET

18 FEB- 11 MAR BIG SCREEN. SMALL SCREEN.

MOONFALL

The evil moon looms. It’s made of cheese,

PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT

Oh, l’amour. ★★★ OUT 4 MARCH CERT 18

JACKASS FOREVER

Jackasses assemble; Eric Manaka enjoys a nice,

LA MIF

★★★★ OUT 25 FEBRUARY / CERT TBC /

ZEROS AND ONES

★★ OUT 7 MARCH (DIGITAL) / CERT TBC

THE DUKE

They loved a bit of Matrix. ★★★★ OUT

HERE BEFORE

★★★ OUT 18 FEBRUARY / CERT TBC /

THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN

★★★ OUT 18 FEBRUARY / CERT TBC /

A BANQUET

★★★ OUT 11 MARCH / CERT TBC /

GREAT FREEDOM

★★★★ OUT 11 MARCH / CERT TBC

REBEL DREAD

★★★ OUT 4 MARCH / CERT TBC /

I WANT YOU BACK

★★★ OUT NOW (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO) / CERT

SCREAM

Who ya gonna call? An all-new Ghostface hits

DEATH ON THE NILE

Kenneth Branagh returns as the moustachioed super-sleuth. ★★★

HIVE

★★★★ OUT 18 MARCH / CERT TBC /

FLAG DAY

★★ OUT NOW / CERT 15 / 109

ALI & AVA

It’s the way he tells them. ★★★★

PAM & TOMMY

Pam (Lily James) & Tommy (Sebastian Stan). ★★★★

STATION ELEVEN

Mackenzie Davis as Kirsten — her Lear was

REACHER

Brolly left on the bus again. ★★★ OUT

THE AFTERPARTY

Party on! ★★★★ OUT NOW (APPLE TV+) EPISODES

CHECKLIST

Your at-a-glance view of this month’s reviews

INTO DARKNESS

MOON KNIGHT IS ONE OF MARVEL’S MOST OBSCURE, BRUTAL AND COMPLEX CHARACTERS. SO HOW EXACTLY HAS HE BAGGED HIS OWN DISNEY+ SERIES? STAR OSCAR ISAAC AND MORE TELL US WHY THE MCU IS EMBRACING THE SHADOWS

A MAN ON THE MOON

MAHESH ANAND, PROFESSOR OF PLANETARY SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION AT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY, ON WHY THE MOON IS PERFECT ENTERTAINMENT FODDER

BAYHEM 101

MICHAEL BAY HAS BEEN CAUSING C ARN AGE FOR ALMOST THREE DECADES, AND HIS NEW FILM AMBULANCE DOES NOT BUCK THAT TREND. HERE, HE TAKES US TO ACTION SCHOOL

"I'M GOING TO KICK MORE ASS THAN I EVER HAVE."

WHEN BETTER CALL SAUL’S BOB ODENKIRK HAD A HEART ATTACK LAST YEAR, THE WORLD FROZE, WAITING FOR GOOD NEWS. IN AN EXTRAORDINARY INTERVIEW, THE COMEDIAN-TURNED-ACTION STAR TALKS RESURRECTION AND REINVENTION

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Dark comedy RED ROCKET introduces us to a bedraggled sleazebag determined to get what he wants. Director Sean Baker and his cast tell us why, despite their country’s obsession with fantasy, reality is far more interesting

MR VENGEANGE

He rampaged through Hollywood on a one-man mission. He slayed enemies with bullets and deadly one-liners. And he never went down without a fight. His name was Charles Bronson. But you can call him…

COPYCAT KILLER

WITH FILMS LIKE DEATH KISS, BRONSON LOOKALIKE ROBERT ‘BRONZI’ KOVACS GOES ALL THE WAY

ANATOMY OF A MANIAC

With the imminent arrival of PEACEMAKER , the Suicide Squad anti-hero’s own spin-off show, we get a tour of his troubled psyche from star John Cena and showrunner James Gunn

CATE BLANCHETT

The powerhouse who finds strength in unlikely places

THE MOMENT

The Queen leads her men in battle

MIA

The Blanchett roles that never were

Fighting Talk

FOR DECADES, TWO GOSSIP COL UMNISTS RULED HOLLYWOOD, TERRORISING ACTORS, STUDIOS AND EACH OTHER. WE PAY TRIBUTE TO ACIDIC RIVALS LOUELLA PARSONS & HEDDA HOPPER

Desert power

INDISPENSABLE HOME ENTERTAINMENT [ EDITED BY CHRIS HEWITT]

The Elephant Man

We reassess the greatest films of all time, one film at a time

DAVID LYNCH IN NUMBERS

1967 THE YEAR HE DIRECTED HIS FIRST SHORT,

Puppet and strings

Ron and Russell Mael, aka Sparks, talk us through key songs from their wild marionette-baby musical, ANNETTE

MOVIE PLAYLI

THE CRITIC AND SCALA RADIO PRESENTER CHOOSES SCORES HE’S BEEN PLAYING ON HIS WEEKLY SHOW

Alan Partridge

Four Empire writers tackle the prodigious output of Steve Coogan’s comic creation

THE TOP TEN

1 I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE S1 Chris: “Coogan and

The secrets of the slime

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE director Jason Reitman on the film’s horde of Easter eggs

THE CULT OF KIM NEWMAN

The critic and novelist on this month’s weirdest home-entertainment picks

THE VIEWING GUIDE

A deep dive into the must-see moments from the month’s big release

Way Out West

How iconic images came to life

6 OF THE BEST

Team Empire on the month’s essential movies

CROSSWORD AND COMPETITION

ACROSS 1 Michael, who had success with The