Top Selection
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat's bold commentary addresses the tyranny of female beauty and the perceived horrors of advancing years. The veteran actress offers a brilliant performance playing Elisabeth, a 50-year-old celebrity forced into presenting a workout series on television. Edged out thanks to her deceitful superior Harvey, played by Dennis Quaid, she undergoes a secretive and gruesome treatment known as this experimental method. This creates a youthful duplicate portrayed by Margaret Qualley, culminating in a progressively vampiric relationship among both women. October 17th, Paramount+
The Woman in Cabin 10 Film
This classic whodunit mystery includes Keira Knightley in the role of Laura, a skilled journalist who opts for some time off from covering world issues to embark on a high-end voyage accompanied by a terminally ill Norwegian shipping heiress and charitable figure, her spouse, plus additional filthy rich individuals. But after a mysterious woman disappears from the ship during the evening and all passengers insists she wasn't real, her journalistic curiosity kick in. Available now, the Netflix platform
Presence
Steven Soderbergh challenges his directorial skills in this nifty ghostly tale filmed completely from the perspective of a ghost. As a family with Lucy Liu as Rebekah plus Callina Liang as Chloe moves into their new suburban house, the camera – representing the ghost – shadows their actions. The daughter appears aware of the supernatural presence, and it seems guarding her. However, the motive remains? It's a fun idea that avoids overstaying, including a revelation that could catch you off guard. Saturday 11 October, 4.35pm, 10.10pm, Sky Cinema
This Self-Referential Film
The iconic actor embraces his eccentric image through this meta comedy caper. He plays a narcissistic celebrity named Nicolas Cage who accepts a lucrative offer to appear at a birthday party on the Spanish island for the wealthy Javi, played by Pedro Pascal. Contacted by government spies to investigate the potential kingpin, the actor's “nouveau shamanic acting ability” proves useful. This Saturday, 9pm, on Channel 4
The Black Phone
The director's locked-room horror holds up well even without a sequel. Taking place in 1978 Denver, multiple kidnappings has made the children frightened. After Finney is taken by the villain and held captive in a dungeon, he dreads a fatal end. Yet the disconnected phone in the room keeps ringing, with spooky callers giving advice, as the intuitive nightmares of his sister Gwen might rescue him. An effective horror. Saturday 11 October, nighttime, the Film4 channel
The Tammy Faye Biopic
In the conflict between faith and wealth, the winner is obvious for Mammon in Showalter's delightfully tacky true story about the fallen TV preacher and her felon spouse. Garfield plays the greedy Jim, who declares at the beginning, “God does not want us to be poor,”. The couple set about monetising the American public's spiritual convictions. It's an extravaganza of poor styling, excessive cosmetics and hypocrisy, though Chastain manages to present the character with compassion. October 14th, early morning, on Film4
The Spy Mystery
The current week's second offering by the same director is a spy mystery as precise like the turtlenecks sported by Fassbender's UK spy. His assignment is to identify a mole within their ranks from five suspects – one of whom is his spouse. The two stars excel of calm composure, resulting in an engaging mind game of fact versus fiction develops. The supporting cast participate the intelligent intelligence fun. October 17th, 8.05am, 12.55pm, 8pm, Sky Cinema
