Octavia Spencer
Spirited review – Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds hit all the wrong notes in Christmas musical
The two make for an awkward double act in a slick but grating song-and-dance spin on A Christmas Carol that will make grinches of us all
Benjamin Lee
09, Nov, 2022 @6:03 PM
Encounter review – Riz Ahmed shines in sophisticated alien-invasion thriller
Family road movie and sci-fi conspiracy merge in this subtle psychological drama from Beast director Michael Pearce
Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
05, Dec, 2021 @8:00 AM
Thunder Force review – Melissa McCarthy gets superstrength in rote superhero comedy
McCarthy and Octavia Spencer are childhood friends turned crime-fighting duo in this by-the-numbers comedy
Peter Bradshaw
09, Apr, 2021 @7:01 AM
The Witches review – Roald Dahl reboot fails to cast the original's magic spell
Robert Zemeckis’s retelling of the wicked children’s story feels more grumpy than scary, while its comedy veers between frantic and strained
Peter Bradshaw
21, Oct, 2020 @4:00 PM
Idris Elba, Viola Davis and over 300 stars call on Hollywood to divest from police
A letter aimed at the entertainment industry calls for more investment in black talent and less glorification of police violence
Adrian Horton
23, Jun, 2020 @7:35 PM
Self-Made and The Banker showcase the power of black-owned businesses
The Netflix series and Apple TV movie tell true stories of entrepreneurship at odds with an ongoing Hollywood narrative of black tragedy
André Wheeler
01, Apr, 2020 @7:55 AM
Self Made review – Octavia Spencer sparkles in inspiring Netflix drama
The story of Madam CJ Walker, the first self-made female millionaire in America, makes for an involving four-part series about groundbreaking entrepreneurship
Benjamin Lee
20, Mar, 2020 @6:10 AM
Onward review – Pixar's best film in years is Frozen with boys
The animation studio conjures some of the old magic with a touching tale of childhood grief and brotherly bonding
Steve Rose
21, Feb, 2020 @5:00 PM
Dolittle review – Robert Downey Jr's middling talking-animals pantomime
The Avengers star opts for a dodgy Welsh accent in an uninspiring if not entirely unwatchable new take on the animal-friendly doctor
Benjamin Lee
15, Jan, 2020 @6:00 PM
Truth Be Told review – a criminally bad podcast thriller
Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul star as a former investigative journalist and the prisoner she may have helped to wrongly convict, in this shallow take on the true crime boom
Lucy Mangan
06, Dec, 2019 @6:00 AM
Luce review - provocative examination of race in America
A young black man is lauded by his school as a model student
Wendy Ide
09, Nov, 2019 @3:00 PM
Luce review – hard lessons for a high-school star
In this strange and muddled drama, Octavia Spencer plays a teacher who makes an unsettling discovery about one of her pupils
Peter Bradshaw
06, Nov, 2019 @1:00 PM
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