Top Selection
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat's bold commentary addresses the oppressive nature of women's appearance and the perceived horrors of growing older. The veteran actress delivers a masterful portrayal in the role of Elisabeth, an aging actress forced into presenting a fitness program on TV. Pushed out by her unscrupulous employer her manager Harvey, she turns to a mysterious and gruesome treatment known as the Substance. This produces a youthful duplicate called Sue, resulting in a steadily more vampiric relationship between the two. This Friday, Paramount Plus
The Woman in Cabin 10 Film
This Agatha Christie-esque mystery includes Keira Knightley as Laura, a top-notch writer who decides to take a hiatus from writing about international wars to embark on a high-end voyage alongside an ailing wealthy inheritor and donor, her spouse, plus additional extremely wealthy guests. Yet once an unknown lady disappears from the ship one night and all passengers claims she was never there, her journalistic curiosity awaken. Available now, on Netflix
Presence
Steven Soderbergh pushes his film-making abilities in this clever ghostly tale shot entirely from the viewpoint of the phantom. As a family including mother Rebekah and troubled teenage daughter Chloe settles into their recent residence, the filming device – representing the ghost – follows them around. The teen shows signs of conscious of the ghostly being, and it looks like guarding her. However, the motive remains? This is an entertaining concept that avoids overstaying, with a twist you might not see coming. This Saturday, 4.35pm, 10.10pm, Sky Cinema
Nicolas Cage's Meta Comedy
The iconic actor fully commits to his eccentric image via this meta comedy caper. He plays an egotistical celebrity called Nicolas Cage who takes on a lucrative offer to appear at a birthday party at a Mediterranean location for the wealthy superfan Javi. Contacted by government spies to gather intel on the potential kingpin, his unique performing skills comes in handy. October 11th, prime time, the Channel 4 network
The Black Phone Horror
Derrickson's locked-room horror holds up well even without a sequel. Taking place in 1970s Colorado, several kidnappings has rendered the youth on edge. When Finney is taken by the kidnapper and locked up in a dungeon, he dreads the worst. But the old telephone mounted nearby repeatedly calls, with spooky callers providing assistance, as the prophetic visions of Gwen, his sister could save him. A genuinely scary movie. This Saturday, 10.50pm, the Film4 channel
The Tammy Faye Biopic
In the conflict between faith and wealth, the winner is obvious for greed in this director's delightfully tacky biopic of the disgraced TV preacher and her felon spouse. Andrew Garfield plays the corrupt Bakker, who states early on, claiming divine approval for wealth. Both individuals commence profiting from the American public's Christian beliefs. It's a spectacle of tacky decor, overdone appearance and insincerity, yet Chastain manages to show the character with compassion. October 14th, late night, Film4
Black Bag
This period's second offering by the same director delivers a intelligence thriller as precise as the polo necks used by Michael Fassbender's UK spy. He is tasked to identify a double agent among the team from five suspects – including is his spouse. Both actors are experts of deadpan cool, leading to a delightful mind game of deception or honesty develops. Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, Naomie Harris and Marisa Abela participate the intelligent intelligence fun. October 17th, multiple time slots, the Sky channel
