Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 156 mins

F1 is the hotly anticipated Apple TV-fronted mega-budget film about the race circuit, with Lewis Hamilton credited as a producer who prances onto screen at one point, alongside other big racing names. The film’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, who has plenty of experience with big-budget fare and is riding on a high after Top Gun: Maverick (and the little seen but excellent Spiderhead). The story is very simple – an aging American racing driver and former Formula One prodigy, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is approached by his former Lotus teammate Rubén Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who offers him a test drive to fill their spare seat on the APXGP F1 Team he now owns. The team have been performing badly and Cervantes reveals the investors will sell it unless they win one of the remaining Grand Prix races that year. If you’ve watched a racing sports drama before, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the story beats the film is likely to take you through.

Although F1‘s story feels like it was written on the back of a cigarette packet, it’s Joseph Kosinski’s kinetic direction that ultimately makes the film work, along with some committed performances. There’s nothing here to rival the dogfight at Top Gun: Maverick‘s climax, but the race sequences here are vividly shot by Kosinski’s regular cinematographer Claudio Miranda and exciting to watch unfold. It’s testament to the quality of the direction that I was never bored (despite the paper-thin story) during the lengthy 156 minute run time. And although it’s far from his best work, Hans Zimmer’s score has its moments.

Brad Pitt is effortless as the has-been racer, who has made a bit of a mess of his life with a gambling addiction and three marriage breakdowns, as he grapples with the changing landscape of the Formula One scene. The chemistry he shares with Damson Idris’s hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce, is excellent and develops at a fine pace. After being nominated for her brilliant performance in The Banshees of Inisherin, Kerry Condon also stands out as the race team’s female technical director and is given a strong story arc. Then, there’s Javier Bardem who always elevates anything he’s in and Killing Eve‘s Kim Bosnia is also having fun as the team’s principal.

Although I’d have liked F1 even more if it had some meat to the bone, what Kosinski’s made is perfectly entertaining, if rather shallow. His energetic direction and exciting race sequences make this a perfectly passable way to spend two-and-a-half hours, and Brad Pitt’s slightly cocky but empathetic racer is sure to put a smile on your face.

Director: Madeline Sharifian, Domee Shi & Adrian Molina
Starring: (voices of) Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remi Egerly, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil
Certificate: PG
Run Time: 98 mins

Elio is the new Disney Pixar film and the first original work from the studio since Elemental in 2023, with Inside Out 2 a big win for the brand last year. Neither of those films were top-tier Pixar, in my opinion, with the last standout hit Soul all the way back in 2019. Elio has had a bit of a troubled direction, with Adrian Molina originally in the director’s chair but then vacating in August 2024 to go and work on the forthcoming Coco 2 (now there’s a sequel that really doesn’t need to happen). Domee Shi, who directed Turning Red and Madeline Sharafian, best known for her Pixar short film, Burrow, replaced Molina, with all three ultimately receiving a credit.

Elio follows the 11-year-old titular character, an orphaned boy (Yonas Kibreab) who doesn’t fit in among his peers and has a strained relationship with his Air Force major aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña). He’s obsessed by the idea of discovering life in space and wishes he was abducted by aliens. After much effort, he achieves his wish when he’s picked up by the Communiverse, mistaken as the leader of Earth. He is swiftly tasked with proving his worth when a warlord named Grigon (Brad Garrett) wields trouble.

This is a bizarre film –  while on the one hand, Elio feels schmaltzy, predictable and tonally jumbled, it also has its tender moments and an amiable message. Unlike the photorealist animation Pixar has become famous for, this film is more vivid in its visuals, with a real clash of colours that borders on psychedelic. The script is sincere and the development of the relationship between Elio and his aunt sweet-natured, but it’s a shame the filmmakers feel the need to tell rather than show.

What I liked most about the film was how it explores the theme of loneliness and how this manifests within disability (Elio displays many autistic traits but the film doesn’t explicitly label him as such). This is the daring Pixar that’s seen so much success with its original concepts, and much in the vein of Inside Out 2 (in how it explores puberty), might explain why Elio is rather shambolically constructed because it’s being told from an unconventional perspective.

I can’t say Elio is representative of Pixar at its best – and I’m unlikely to rush to rewatch it. But you can’t deny that Elio is certainly original and ambitious, even if the film doesn’t completely land.

Director: John Maclean 
Starring: Tim Roth, Jack Lowden, Takehiro Hira, Joanne Whalley, Rory McCann, Alex Macqueen, Kōki
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 91 mins

Tornado is the new film by Scottish director John Maclean, 10 years since he burst on the scene with his Michael Fassbender-starring Western masterpiece, Slow West. His hotly anticipated Western-inspired follow-up is a revenge thriller set in 1790s Scotland about a young Japanese woman called Tornado (Kōki), who’s rather handy with a samurai sword. The film opens with Tornado fleeing with a small boy from a gang of highwaymen, led by the merciless Sugarman (Tim Roth), who suspect her of stealing their gold. After a tense stakeout in a mansion, we head into a flashback and learn how these characters came to be in this cat-and-mouse situation, before said revenge is enacted. It’s a simple set-up but like Slow West, this is lean and mean and only clocks in at an economical 91 minutes. Was Tornado worth the 10 year wait?

The answer is a resounding yes, and Tornado has a near-perfect, hypnotic first half. Just like Slow West, Maclean transposes genre elements into a setting you wouldn’t expect and Robbie Ryan’s cinematography is beautiful, giving the lawless landscapes a mythic quality. The second half of Tornado doesn’t quite work quite as well because it starts to introduce a whole host of characters without much development, but it’s still a very entertaining time, especially once we reach the inevitable bloodshed.

There’s some brilliant performances here, with Kōki the standout in the lead role. You wouldn’t know she originated as a Japanese model and songwriter, and manages to really sell the protagonist through her body language – there isn’t masses of dialogue. This is also true of Tim Roth, who skilfully underplays the world-weary villain in another role that’s sparse of speech. There’s entertaining turns too from Jack Lowden as the wickedly evil Little Sugar, Sugarman’s son, and both Rory McCann and Alex Macqueen always elevate anything they star in. The film’s complimented by a brilliant Jed Kurzel score (his Slow West score was magnificent) that’s full of memorable themes that add tension or emotion to the events on-screen.

All in, while Tornado isn’t quite as assured a film as Slow West, this sophomore effort still wears Maclean’s fingerprints with his deconstructive, barebones yet atmospheric style – it’s very clear this is by the same filmmaker. That first half in particular shines and I’m very much looking forward to rewatching Tornado again.

Director: Sean Byrne
Starring: Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston, Rob Carlton, Ella Newton, Liam Greinke, Jai Courtney
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 93 mins

Dangerous Animals is the new film by Tasmanian horror filmmaker Sean Byrne, best known for The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy. Jai Courtney plays Tucker, an eccentric ship captain who runs a shark cage tourist attraction business. But as we very quickly learn, he’s also a serial killer with a seriously twisted mind, with his latest victims Heather (Ella Newton), an Englishwoman on a gap year and a feisty American drifter, Zephyr (Hassie Harrison). He likes to harness women up and slowly dunk them into shark-infested waters, and film the results. This genre mash-up of a crime thriller and a shark film is certainly clever, especially the latter where virtually all recent efforts in the genre haven’t landed, such as The Shallows, The Meg (and its dreadful sequel) and 47 Meters Down to name a few.

For about 70 minutes of its run time, Dangerous Animals is a near-perfect genre mash-up that’s deliciously nasty – a blending of Jaws meets Peeping Tom, but turned up to eleven. Nick Lenard’s script is sharp and deftly develops the characters, so it’s easy to care for them later into proceedings. The film’s also gorgeously shot by cinematographer Shelley Farthing-Dawe, with some stunning ocean vistas and blending the turquoise waters with blood red. Until that 70 minute mark or so, I’d go as far as to call Dangerous Animals the definitive shark film.

It’s such a shame that in the last 20 minutes, the film really jumps the shark (pun fully intended) – neither Byrne or writer Nick Lenard have the strength to act on their sadistic convictions and you really have to suspend disbelief.

This is easily career-best work from Jai Courtney – unfortunately, he’s been an actor who’s been easy to poke fun at, with terrible performances in films such as A Good Day To Die Hard, Terminator Genisys and Suicide Squad. But Byrne really makes the most of his talents here, with a role that requires him to be equally charming and disconcerting that he completely laps up. I hope Dangerous Animals is the film that revamps Courtney’s career.

Hassie Harrison as the aloof American drifter is also excellent, reminiscent of a young Jennifer Lawrence, and completely sells her plight as a seemingly impenetrable young woman who doesn’t quite understand the world and how she fits in. Based off this performance, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her earn higher-profile work.

Many films have been trying to chase the success of Jaws, but without success. For the most part, Dangerous Animals smartly demonstrates why simply copying that format doesn’t work, by reframing the sharks as not being the predator but a force of nature. This is a wonderfully demented film with a sadistic edge that builds and sustains its tension until that 70 minute mark. But what a shame that Byrne can’t work out how to end the film.

Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Starring: (voices of) Lindsay LaVanchy, Louis Ozawa, Rick Gonzalez, Michael Biehn
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 90 mins

Predator: Killer of Killers is the first of two Predator films releasing this year, an adult animated anthology film filmed in secret ahead of the live action Predator: Badlands. Dan Trachtenberg, who made the excellent Prey, is once again in the director’s chair (and is also behind the upcoming Predator: Badlands). This animated film is split into four sections – three which tell the stories of human warriors throughout various points of history who face off against a Predator and a final section which ties the preceding stories together. The first chapter, ‘The Shield’ follows a fearsome Viking queen Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy), the second ‘The Sword’ is centered around a ninja (Louis Ozawa) in feudal Japan and in the third chapter, ‘The Bullet’, we see a World War II pilot (Rick Gonzalez) battle with Nazi fighters and a Predator.

Predator: Killer of Killers is an odd film – the three standalone stories are rather undercooked but the final section that then ties them together is rather excellent, with some fascinating concepts. The film is balls-to-the-wall action and holds nothing back when it comes to gore, which I’m sure many will appreciate.

But I like some meat to the bone, and the standalone stories feel as if they’re feature film concepts that have been distilled into their final climax Predator face-off sequence. They feel like distinct films that Trachtenberg wanted to make – much like how Prey was a period piece – only condensed into 20 minute shorts. As a result, character development is virtually non-existent and the leads of each respective story feel like caricatures. Micho Robert Rutare’s rote and on-the-nose screenplay certainly isn’t helping proceedings (fortunately Patrick Aison, who wrote Prey, is also writing Predator: Badlands). I also found the animation style rather disorienting, although considering the story Trachtenberg tells, this would have been one very budget-heavy live-action feature.

Although the lack of substance of the three stories failed to properly engage me, it’s the final section which really elevates proceedings. How Trachtenberg ties these stories together is like a child playing in a sci-fi sandpit, with a thrilling set piece and some tantalising teases that hint towards the future. It’ll be interesting to see if Predator: Badlands further develops these concepts – and that’s what Predator: Killer of Killers really functions as in a nutshell – a teaser towards something more exciting in the future.

Predator: Killer of Killers is an ambitious film in the series, and you have to hand it to Trachtenberg for his innovative concepts. But the three separate stories that make up the majority of the film’s runtime don’t cut the mustard and are sorely lacking in a reason to care for the characters, partly down to how they are condensed into 20 minutes without any substance and a generic script. Fortunately, it’s not all for nothing if you can stick out the first hour.

Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 125 mins

Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick is a spin-off in the series focusing on Eve Macarro (Ana de Arias), a ballerina-turned-assassin. Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, Macarro seeks revenge against those responsible for the death of her father. This is the first film in the series not to be directed by Chad Stahelski, with Underworld and Die Hard 4.0 helmer Len Wiseman taking the reins. However, Stahelski oversaw major reshoots after unfavourable early test screenings without Wiseman’s involvement, so he hasn’t really left. Another person who hasn’t really left is Keanu Reeves as Wick, who shows up in Ballerina in a reasonably significant role.

Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick is undoubtedly the weakest of the series, but it’s still wickedly entertaining in places. After showing real promise in the action genre with No Time To Die, Ana de Armas seamlessly slots into the role, with bags of personality and empathy. It’s easy to understand why she wants revenge after the childhood horror she had to endure. That said, Macarro doesn’t have a deadpan delivery like Wick – Reeves is clearly in on the joke – but that’s as a result of how her character has been written.

There’s three excellent setpieces that left me with a big grin on my face – one involving grenades, another set in a chalet-style kitchen and a climactic sequence with a flamethrower. Stahelski’s impact is really felt here, although cinematographer Romain Lacourbas doesn’t shoot the action with anywhere near the same pizzazz as series regular Dan Laustsen. There’s nothing here that comes close to topping the train fight of John Wick: Chapter 2, the horseback chase of Chapter 3, or the overhead fire setpiece of Chapter 4. Laustsen lit the three films he was responsible for (Chapter 2 to Chapter 4) with real grandeur and Ballerina lacks that. Although the action is above average, the fights and chases also lack, dare I say it, the balletic quality, of the Stahelski-helmed films.

The film feels a little shambolically edited together, particularly in its first act but the film better finds it feet later on. Gabriel Byrne makes for a sadistic villain, even if he’s not the series best, and it’s nice to see series regulars Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston and Lance Reddick (sadly in his final posthumous role) get some great moments. Also returning are Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richards on music duties, replacing what would have been newcomers Marco Beltrami and Anna Drubich who were originally set to score the film. They introduce some new themes, rather than recycle the ones used in the mainline films and while it’s a decent enough score, it’s not very memorable.

Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick somewhat proves that the magic of Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves can be replicated by others, even if the pair ended up contributing heavily to the finished product. While not as strong as any of the other John Wick films, there’s still plenty to like in Ballerina with Ana de Armas seamlessly pirouetting into action, even if the action and cinematography lack some the balletic skill of Stahelski.

Director: Babak Anvari
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Megan McDonnell
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 80 mins

Hallow Road is the new film by British-Iranian director Babak Anvari, most famous for the excellent Persian language horror film Under The Shadow. Since that knockout debut, Anvari’s follow-up films, Wounds and I Came By received a more mixed reception and he’s gone back to basics for Hallow Road. Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys play Maddie and Frank, a couple who are awoken by a phone call from their 18-year-old daughter, Alice, in the middle of the night. Having run out of an argument from her parents earlier that evening, Alice has got herself into a rather terrible spot because she’s hit a girl who ran out into the road with her car. The rest of the film follows Maddie and Frank’s journey to get to Alice, as they drive the forty painstaking minutes.

Hallow Road is a real return to form for Babak Anvari with this very effective psychological chiller about a truly terrible situation that inevitably worsens. William Gillies’ taut script slowly reveals its hand and I really liked how he combines the impressive realism with fairytale-like elements that give certain scenes an almost spiritual quality. Kit Fraser’s claustrophobic cinematography is also assured, and the decision to shoot the exterior scenes in 16mm, and use digital for the interior is a strong creative choice.

Rosamund Pike is the star of the show and has a real gravitas that really elevates the film – the film may have struggled without the weight of such an actress. Matthew Rhys is also brilliant, and the two make for an interesting pair, as they flit between standing up for and pointing out each other’s flaws in their believable panic.

The only real flaw I have with the film is its geography. The film’s meant to be set in a sprawling UK city, yet all of the roads to get to the scene of the crime are on rural farm tracks that are very clearly not set in the country. Digging deeper, Hallow Road was filmed in both Ireland and the Czech Republic, and it’s very evident watching the film. I know it’s nitpicking but I’d rather the film be set in an undisclosed location – that way, the journey the couple take would be more believable.

Geography-flaws aside, Hallow Road is a really strong piece of work from Babak Anvari, with plenty to say about the lengths parents will go to in order to protect their child. The predominantly fixed location isn’t to the film’s detriment, and this is a much better film than Locke, for example. The film’s also well-paced and doesn’t outstay its welcome, at a very economical 80 minutes.

Director: Jake Schreier 
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 126 mins

Thunderbolts* is the second effort of the year in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and combines a group of rag-tag antiheroes who are caught in a deadly trap and are forced to work together – sound familiar? Part Black Widow sequel but also a continuation of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series, the film opens with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) tired of being a mercenary and contemplating her purpose. She’s given one last job by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to prove herself before a promotion to destroy a laboratory. Once there, she learns that all the operatives there have been pitted against one another as a means of concealing de Fontaine’s involvement in a superhuman project. The group includes John Walker (Wyatt Russell) from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and a mysterious man named Bob (Lewis Pullman).

The film’s directed by Jake Schreier, most famous for heartthrob romcom Paper Towns a decade ago, and he got the gig after apparently blowing away Marvel executives with his pitch. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a rocky ride lately – The Marvels and Captain America: Brave New World both received a lukewarm critical reception (although I liked elements of the latter), although Deadpool and Wolverine fared well (which I thought was a real let-down). Can Schreier inject new life into the machine?

The answer is kinda. Thunderbolts* is another mixed bag but on the plus side, it has some genuinely thoughtful and original ideas. Schreier just makes a bit of a hash of the execution. It’s easy to draw parallels with The Suicide Squad and to some extent, Thunderbolts* is Marvel’s answer but it lacks the darkness and stakes of that film. Like its DC cousin, this film assembles an unkempt team of C-list superheroes. While Pugh made a promising impression as Yelena in Black Widow, I still haven’t warmed to her character here and although he’s usually a fine actor, David Harbour is once again saddled with some poor dialogue here. Wyatt Russell fares better as Walker, although Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost is given next-to-no development. Anchoring proceedings is Sebastian Stan, who turns in his best performance in the series to date as Bucky (he’s really developed as an actor with recent films such as Fresh, A Different Man and his Oscar-nominated turn in The Apprentice). Thunderbolts* instantly feels more alive whenever he turns up on screen. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is also having fun and really chews the scenery and Lewis Pullman turns in a nuanced performance as the mysterious Bob.

I really liked that the film explores the themes of anxiety, depression and addiction – surprisingly grounded fare for a tentpole film. Unfortunately, these heavier themes aren’t satisfyingly developed and are often cheapened by the usual Marvel quips, none of which really worked for me. Captain America: Brave New World was given a bit of critical kicking but one thing it did really well was its more serious tone. As a result, Thunderbolts* is a real tonal jumble and although it’s undoubtedly coherently put together, the tone just didn’t work for me.

My other major problem with Thunderbolts* is that the stakes feel really low. and I never felt the characters were in danger. This is particularly problematic given the villain’s skillset, which I won’t spoil, but most of the action sequences and plot points just felt tired and overfamiliar. Despite the lack of stakes, there’s no denying Thunderbolts* is one of the best-looking Marvel films – it’s crisply shot by David Lowery’s preferred cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo. The opening scene in particularly stands out visually, especially the way in which Palermo uses light and shadows, and he also captures some lovely desert backdrops during one extended sequence. The score by Son Lux, the band who hit the big leagues with Everything Everywhere All At Once is also one of Marvel’s best (certainly since Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning work on Black Panther) with clear, memorable themes that are well-developed.

Despite some original concepts, I can’t say that Thunderbolts* is one of my favourite Marvel Cinematic Universe films but it’s certainly much better than Black Widow, Deadpool and Wolverine and The Marvels. That intriguing asterisk in the film’s title is revealed in the film’s closing moments which should provide some excitement for fans, who will be intrigued to see where the direction these characters go in next. But if I had to ask myself the question – “would I want to see a Thunderbolts* sequel?” – I can’t say I’d be jumping for joy at the idea of rushing to the cinema on opening night. It’s a failing of Schreier’s film that the characters aren’t particularly well developed or likeable and I’d much rather see a film in the vein of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad where life is infinitely more expendable and exciting, with real stakes.

Director: David F. Sandberg
Starring: Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young You, Belmont Cameli, Maria Mitchell, Peter Stormare
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 103 mins

Until Dawn is a film adaptation of the 2015 PlayStation video game, featuring its own standalone story that expands upon the game’s mythology. The film’s directed by David F. Sandberg, who returns to his horror genre roots after stepping up to superheroes with Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Sandberg originally made his name with the solid Lights Out but then really delivered the goods with the gleefully sadistic Annabelle: Creation, one of the highlights of The Conjuring Universe. While I really enjoyed it, his second Shazam! effort didn’t hit the mark from a critical and box office perspective, which perhaps explains his return to horror. The film’s written by Gary Dauberman, who also wrote Annabelle: Creation and went on to direct Annabelle Comes Home, and he rewrote Blair Butler’s original draft.

The film opens with five friends – Clover (Ella Rubin), her ex-boyfriend Max (Michael Cimino), her best friend Nina (Odessa A’zion) and accompanying boyfriend Abe (Belmont Cameli) and Max’s step sister Megan (Ji-young Yoo). They’re retracing the steps of Clover’s missing sister, Melanie, and when they stop at a petrol station, the station attendant Hill (Peter Stormare) reveals people tend to go missing around the the nearby mining town of Glore Valley. In typical silly horror fashion, the friends delve too deep into the mystery and wind up in a secluded area embedded within a time loop, where they have to avoid being killed by all manner of entities every night and survive until morning.

While there’s a couple of bright spots, Until Dawn is a real disappointment – especially when you consider a talent like Sandberg is behind the director’s chair. There’s a decent enough introduction and the film establishes the quintet, so you know who’s who and I had some semblance of care for the characters. It also has a reasonably high production design and I like that when the carnage ensues, there’s a clear effort to stick with practical effects wherever possible.

But that’s about it. Once the film reveals its hand, it’s just content to roll through every trope in the horror book and there are zero stakes. Character development also takes a backseat and by the time the third act rolls around, Until Dawn becomes quite tiresome. Not even Peter Stormare, who’s excellent whenever he shows up, can save it because he’s woefully underused. Also not helping proceedings is Maxime Alexandre’s cinematography – many of the shots are just too dark, murky and hard to make out. Benjamin Wallfisch’s score is also lazy and not memorable in the slightest.

It’s a shame Until Dawn isn’t better than it is, especially considering the talent involved. While there’s flickers of promise here and there and you can see Sandberg’s tried to inject some personality, the film falls under its own weight. Until Dawn is easily Sandberg’s worst film and I don’t suspect this film will have much of a shelf life once it leaves the cinema.

Director: Peter Cattaneo
Starring: Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce, Vivian El Jaber, Björn Gustafsson
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 112 mins

The Penguin Lessons is a comedy-drama directed by Peter Cattaneo, best known for The Full Monty, based on a 2015 memoir by Tom Michell. Michell was a British teacher who taught at a boys’ boarding school in Argentina in the 1970s, during the escalating coup d’état and after he goes on a trip with fellow science teacher Tapio (Björn Gustafsson) to Uruguay for a week, he comes back with a penguin, which he finds covered in oil on a beach that he can’t get rid of and the two form a strong bond. Steve Coogan plays the English teacher and the film’s script is written by Jeff Pope, who wrote the excellent Philomena, which Coogan also starred in.

This is a rousing film with an excellent central Steve Coogan performance and his winning relationship with the penguin gives the film a strong emotional core. Pope’s sharp script gives Coogan plenty of opportunities with lots of wit – the film definitely wouldn’t work as well as it does without Coogan. Although this feel-good memoir succeeds on the buddy narrative, it struggles with the haunting political subtext which is rather glossed over. This is especially unfortunate given the recent release of the Oscar-winning I’m Still Here, which tackles eerily similar political themes with far more depth and emotion.

Despite the odd, but true events, Cattaneo’s film resorts to a predictable Hollywood structure with the typical heartwarming comedy story beats. But even though you can see most of the beats coming, the film does just enough to keep things fresh with Coogan’s performance and the various warm character relationships he has in the film. Vivian El Jaber is excellent as Maria, one of the housekeepers whose granddaughter, Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio) is an activist who is at risk of getting into trouble with the Argentine authorities, and I really bought the relationship between them and Coogan’s teacher. And it’s always refreshing to see Jonathan Pryce in a film, who brings a twinkle to the stern, but impenetrable Headmaster of the boarding school.

Although familiar in its construction and flawed in that it glosses over what was a disturbing part of Argentina geopolitical history, I still found a lot to like in The Penguin Lessons. Coogan really carries the film and the bond his teacher forms with the penguin is an effective metaphor for the more troubling historical backdrop, as well as a good serving of wry writ of Jeff Pope’s script.