Moffie review - heart rates will rise with Oliver Hermanus’ powerful war film

★★★★ MOFFIE Heart rates will rise with Oliver Hermanus’ powerful war film

A visceral LGBTQ period piece set against the backdrop of the South African Border War

Oliver Hermanus’ potent fourth feature Moffie certainly has a controversial film title. A homophobic slur, it can be translated from Afrikaans as "faggot". If you were to see buses with film posters emblazoned with the title in translation, there might rightly be cries of outrage.

Run, Sky Comedy review - vicarious thrills for the self-isolation era

★★ RUN Vicarious thrills for the self-isolation era

Vicky Jones' ‘Run’ is a sexy, unpredictable thriller about being anywhere but home

Watching Run, HBO’s newest seven-part series, feels like off-the-rails escapism: it’s a fast-paced thriller about dropping everything, chasing intimacy and courting danger. It’s a vicarious adventure centred on a woman who has spent too long stuck at home. Run has hit our screens at the best possible time.

Feel Good, Channel 4 and Netflix review - a fresh, bingeable comedy that digs deep but feels mild

★★★ FEEL GOOD A fresh, bingeable comedy that digs deep but feels mild

Mae Martin’s dramedy about addiction is honest and enjoyable — but is it that funny?

“I am not intense.” That declaration arrives early in Feel Good, the new Channel 4 and Netflix romantic comedy fronted by comedian Mae Martin, who plays a fictionalised version of herself. Over Mae’s shoulder, we see a literal trash fire. She’s lit up the evidence of a past drug addiction. It smoulders in the background while she smoulders in the front.

Run review – wheels on fire in Scotland

Dreams of leaving flavored by Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run'

Run is the story of disgruntled 36-ish Finnie (Mark Stanley), a big, dour worker in a fish processing plant in the Aberdeenshire port of Fraserburgh – writer-director Scott Graham’s hometown. Long married to his onetime high-school sweetheart Katie (Amy Manson), and the father of twentyish Kid (Anders Hayward) and adolescent Stevie (Scott Murray), Finnie wants to get the hell out – or he thinks he does.

Calm with Horses review - a stirring debut

★★★★ CALM WITH HORSES A stirring debut

Stark Irish drama with a sympathetic heart

Nick Rowland marks his breakout from TV drama with this very competent feature, an adaptation of Colin Barrett’s short story. Set in a bleak, rural Ireland, Cosmo Jarvis plays Arm, an ex-boxer with an estranged girlfriend, a non-verbal, autistic five-year-old son and the kinds of friends who get him into trouble.

Blithe Spirit, Duke of York's Theatre review - Jennifer Saunders in serious comedy

★★★ BLITHE SPIRIT, DUKE OF YORK'S THEATRE Jennifer Saunders in serious comedy

Thoughtful revival of Coward classic has all the ingredients - except the laughs

Jennifer Saunders is a one-woman tickle machine. As her countless appearances in television shows such as French and Saunders and Ab Fab prove, this triple BAFTA winner is box office magic. The mere incantation of her name is enough to sell out any West End show.

The Trouble With Maggie Cole, ITV review - Dawn French stars in new comedy drama

★★★ THE TROUBLE WITH MAGGIE COLE, ITV Dawn French in new comedy drama

She's the local gossip who wreaks havoc

ITV's drama department is in overdrive at the moment, with a seemingly endless release of series with high production values and stellar casts, and the latest is The Trouble With Maggie Cole. It's a six-parter based on an idea by Dawn French (who also stars) and is written by Mark Brotherhood.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire review – love unshackled

★★★★★ PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE Love unshackled in spellbinding drama

Céline Sciamma's spellbinding costume drama has no room for a Mr. Darcy or Heathcliff

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is windblown, spare, taut, and sensual – a haunted seaside romantic drama, set in the 18th century, that makes most recent films and series dressed in period costumes seem like party-line effusions of empty style and social conservatism (Gentleman Jack excepted).