THE HERO

Welcome to

This month we’re looking into our cinematic crystal

CALL SHEET THIS ISSUE’S EXTRAS

EDITOR AT LARGE JAMIE GRAHAM @JAMIE_GRAHAM9 It was

JESSICA CHASTAIN

Actor, producer and campaigner Jessica Chastain has worked with Malick, Nolan, Scott and Bigelow to shape a career of badass, real-life, deified and authentic women on screen. Now bringing The Eyes Of Tammy Faye to (larger than) life, she tells Total Film how love is the thread through her work

Dialogue

Mail, rants, theories etc

CLONE STAR

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT Star Wars’ most iconic bounty hunter – finally – gets his moment in the twin suns…

HOT RIGHT NOW

Back when pop star Harry Styles was about

HOUSE OF HORRORS

AMULET Actress Romola Garai makes a directorial debut that’s unnervingly bonkers. Be frayed. Be very frayed…

YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?

FILM QUOTES POSE AS QUESTIONS. FILM STARS TRY TO COPE. IN THE CROSSHAIRS THIS MONTH…

REAL STEAL

FLAG DAY Sean Penn co-stars with daughter Dylan in this tale of swindler John Vogel…

WAR AND PEACE

MUNICH: THE EDGE OF WAR WW2 spy thriller reappraises a maligned prime minister…

BIG BANG THEORY

MEMORIA Apichatpong Weerasethakul heads to Colombia to bring the noise…

RAW MEET

MASS Fran Kranz’s directorial debut is a searing, stripped-back four-hander

SOUND BYTES

The month in dialogue and digits

PERFORMING ARTS

SING 2 The all-singing, all-dancing animal animation returns

LAW AND DISORDER

A HERO Asghar Farhadi enters a moral maze in his latest Iranian masterwork…

NEXT BIG THING

AGATH E ROUSSELLE IS RARING TO GO…

HOUSE OF GUARDS

SCREW Prison series spotlights officers rather than inmates…

LOCAL HERO

SAVE THE CINEMA How one woman saved her small-town cinema, with help from Spielberg

CAN WE TA LK A BOUT?

WHO GETS TO PLAY WHO ACTING OPPORTUNITIES STILL AREN’T EQUAL

IT SHOU LDN ’T H A PPEN TO A FILM JOU RNA LIST

Editor-at-Large JAMIE GRAHAM lifts the lid on film journalism

A STAR IS PORN

RED ROCKET A washed-up sex worker discovers the next X-rated superstar in Sean Baker’s latest

BETWEEN TAKES

NAOMIE HARRIS THE SWAN SONG STAR ON SPONGE PUDDINGS, STEALING AND RATS…

FULL CIRCLE

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS David Tennant gets back in the travel habit…

ANIMAL TRAGIC

COW Andrea Arnold’s first-ever documentary is a moo-vie you will never forget

ROCK ‘N’ RULE

Dwayne Johnson’s badass Black Adam explodes into the DCEU – and the box office – like a bolt of lightning in 2022. The star/producer/Adam nerd and his director tell Total Film how Kahndaq’s fierce ruler promises to shake up power dynamics, disrupt the comic-book landscape and deliver the event movie of the year

LEAGUES APART

The comic universe prepares to throw some shade…

DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS

Off the leash…

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU

A prequel-sequel to go bananas for

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

Star-powered sequel looks to make a sonic boom…

ROAR MATERIALS

Director Colin Trevorrow on honouring the past while taking Jurassic World: Dominion in a bold new direction…

THE NORTHMAN

Swords, sandals and sweeping savagery…

RISK FACTOR

The MCU takes its next wave of sequels in bold new directions…

UNCHARTED

We’re going on a treasure hunt…

UNWELCOME

Don’t call it a gnome-invasion horror…

TOP GUN: MAVERICK

Highway to the danger zone…

AMBULANCE

Chasing a new action thrill

ALI & AVA

Clio Barnard’s unique take on the romantic drama

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN

A train journey down memory lane…

LIGHTYEAR

Infinity saga

TURNING RED

High-school panda-monium

FA NTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE

Mads Mikkelsen wades into the battle of Good vs. Evil…

MORBIUS

There will be blood…

THE LOST CITY

Time to escape for an island adventure…

EMILY

Taking the Brontë biopic to new (Wuthering) Heights

OPER ATION MINCEMEAT

War games…

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

Guns. Lots of guns. And knives. And car chases. And…

NITRAM

Revisiting a traumatic moment in Australian history

BENEDETTA

Nun more controversial

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA

Glitz abroad…

MARRY ME

Boy meets pop megastar

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN

Mark Rylance takes a big swing…

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Lily James is back in romcom territory

PANDOR A UNBOXED

At last, it’s time to return to the Na’vi homeworld

ON THE RECORD

For his latest masterpiece, Paul Thomas Anderson ransacks his own youth growing up in the San Fernando Valley. Total Film meets PTA and Valley girl Alana Haim, his rocking lead, to take their memories for a spin…

MASK of EVIL

As Ethan Hawke finds “his Shining moment” in Scott Derrickson’s coming-of-age horror THE BLACK PHONE, Total Film lifts the mask on next year’s most terrifying – and heartfelt – serial-killer thriller

HOUSE OF GUCCI 15

High fashion and misdemeanours

SWAN SONG TBC

Clone war of conscience…

THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN 12A TBC

One curious cat

THE HAND OF GOD 15 TBC

Touching drama…

THE LOST DAUGHTER 15

Trip down memory pain

CITIZEN ASHE TBC

The tale of King Arthur…

LAMB 15

You couldn’t make this sheep up…

NINE DAYS TBC

Testing circumstances…

BOXING DAY TBC

’Twas the party night after Christmas…

THE TENDER BAR TBC

Coming of drinking age…

THE HUMANS TBC

Family fret together…

TITAN E 18

Let there be car-nage…

ENCANTO PG

House of magic…

LOLA AND THE SEA TBC

★★★★★ OUT 17 DECEMBER CINEMAS, DIGITAL

8-BIT CHRISTMAS 12

★★★★★ OUT NOW DIGITAL

DEAR FUTURE CHILDREN 15

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS

THERE IS NO EVIL TBC

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS, DIGITAL

BRUISED 15

Halle gets in the directing ring…

FINAL ACCOUNT 15

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS

STEALING CHAPLIN 15

★★★★★ OUT NOW DVD, DIGITAL

THE STORY OF FILM: A NEW GENERATION TBC

★★★★★ OUT 17 DEC CINEMAS

THE LEGENDARY 1979 NO NUKES CONCERTS 12

★★★★★ OUT NOW DIGITAL

WRATH OF MAN 15

Khan’s got nothing on the Stath…

RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT 12

★★★★★ OUT NOW DIGITAL

TICK, TICK...BOOM! 12

★★★★★ OUT NOW NETFLIX

THE UNFORGIVABLE 15

Outside chances

ENCOUNTER TBC

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS 10 DEC AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

THE ADVENT CALENDAR TBC

★★★★★ OUT 9 DEC SHUDDER

ALL OR NOTHING/ VERA DRAKE 18/12

Bleak, brilliant moments…

MENACE II SOCIETY 18

1993 ★★★★★ OUT NOW BD

SUNDOWN: THE VAMPIRE IN RETREAT 15

1989 ★★★★★ OUT NOW BD

LE SAMOURAÏ 12

1967 ★★★★★ OUT NOW BD

MULHOLLAND DRIVE 15

2001 ★★★★★ OUT NOW 4K UHD

DEMENTIA 13 15

1963 ★★★★★ OUT NOW BD

THE GREAT SILENCE 15

1968 ★★★★★ OUT NOW BD

MY STEPMOTHER IS AN ALIEN 15

1988 ★★★★★ OUT 13 DEC BD

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY 15

2011 ★★★★★ OUT NOW 4K UHD

OUT OF THE BLUE 15

Not such an easy ride…

LEGO IDEAS HOME ALONE

OUT NOW

TOP TRUMPS

OUT NOW

LEGO STAR WARS AT-AT

OUT NOW

SCOTTISH CINEMA POP ART

OUT NOW

TICK, TICK… BOOM! ★★★★★

Even if few of the songs are in

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE ★★★★★

MGM, SONY MUSIC Reunited with Tully helmer Jason

WEST SIDE STORY

LEONARD BERNSTEIN SONY MUSIC

GAMES PREVIEW

The titles we’re looking forward to in ’22…

STRAY

OUT EARLY 2022 PC, PS4/5

HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST

OUT 18 FEB PS4/5

DYING LIGHT 2: STAY HUMAN

OUT FEB 4 PC, PS4/5, Switch, Xbox One/Series

DOKEV

OUT TBC PC, PS5, Xbox Series

SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

OUT TBC PC, PS5, Xbox Series

STARFIELD

OUT 11 NOV PC, Xbox Series

REDFALL

OUT SUMMER 2022 PC, Xbox Series

FORSPOKEN

OUT TBC PC, PS5

ELDEN RING

OUT 25 FEB PC, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series

3 MORE

Webs, Wes and what to watch…

THE JAMES BOND ARCHIVES: NO TIME TO DIE EDITION

★★★★★ EDITED BY PAUL DUNCAN TASCHEN

DAVID FINCHER: MIND GAMES

★★★★★ ADAM NAYMAN ABRAMS

PLANET OF THE APES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY

★★★★★ SEAN EGAN APPLAUSE

PUTTING THE RABBIT IN THE HAT

★★★★★ BRIAN COX QUERCUS

TOTAL FILE BUFF

CINEMA CE LEBRATED AND DEBATED. BOOSTING YOUR MOVIE GENIUS TO SUPERHERO LEVELS…

NIGHTCLUBS IN MOVIES

Burning up the celluloid and dance floor…

FILM: CHITTY CHITTY

BANG BANG VEHICLE: MODIFIED FORD YEAR: 1968

FLOP CULTURE

Forty years ago, Michael Cimino’s revisionist western tanked. Was he an egomaniac unleashed, or a whipping boy for Hollywood excess? Probably both…

IS IT JUST ME OR HAS THERE NEVER BEEN A BAD SPIDER-MAN FILM?

Fun fact: Peter Parker has had more films

GIVING CREDIT

Saluting the behind-the-scenes talent making movie magic

The Little Shop HORRORS

“Feed me, Seymour. Feed me!” As Audrey II turns 35, director Frank Oz looks back on his epic allsinging, all-dancing – and all-consuming – musicalcomedy hit…

INTERMISSION

A WRITER TAKES PAUSE TO CONSIDER… How Once provided the soundtrack for his marriage

BRUCE CAMPBELL Making an Ash…

SUPER-8 MAN Born in 1958, Michigan local Bruce

THE BIG SHOT GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES’ STAR-CEMENTING SHOWSTOPPER

Marilyn Monroe had made numerous films by the

BIOPICS

Are you a real-life people person? Test your movie knowledge!

NAME THE FRAME

Can you guess these eight Christmas scenes?