Study of an insufferable table-tennis prodigy is an intelligent entertainment as generously stuffed as the greatest 19th-century novel

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, anyone? What about Arnie in Jingle All the Way? It doesn’t matter: Christmas movies are the audiovisual equivalent of snow in a can

Julian Assange, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña and Martin Scorsese feature in a quartet of movies released in the week of December 19th, 2025

The stars of Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-tipped film, talk Shakespeare, acting and growing up in different Irelands

Plus: Who has never played a Swan (or a Swann)?

Big winners among Irish productions were Sinéad O’Shea’s Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story and Brendan Canty’s Christy

Among those contributing anecdoates are Charles Dance, Simon Russell Beale and Tom Hollander

Morgan Neville unlocks the solipsism at the centre of the decade in a sharp analysis of a body politic apparently unaware of its own psychological instability

If the first instalment of the franchise was a version of Dances with Wolves, this one owes a debt to The Jungle Book. It will make a squidillion dollars

Reiner had a gift for delivering standout lines and moments in his movies that stayed with audiences long after final credits had rolled

From 1984 to 1992, the unclassifiable film-maker delivered one of the most extraordinary directorial runs in Hollywood history

The Avatar, Alien and Ice Storm actor never had any illusions about show business. That may have helped her become an old-school Hollywood star

Young, talented and good-looking? Then prepare for an online onslaught

The Cork actor is having quite the year, with Saipan en route to cinemas and his London role in The Playboy of the Western World

Rian Johnson, director of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, on Agatha Christie, religion and Columbo