The Screen Critic: Oasis rocks, witches return and Gal Gadot runs for her life

The Screen Critic with Jim Schembri

Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger

The power of music to move, heal and unite is the driving force behind Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger, an excellent, insightful, uplifting documentary concert movie about one of pop music’s most talented and outlandish bands.

Combining footage from their world-conquering 2025 comeback tour with clips from the archives, rehearsals and chats with fans, the superbly edited film recounts the group’s rise, the split between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher and their reconciliation after 15 years of not talking to each other.

Full of golden moments and awesome images of them performing to packed arenas, the film is generously peppered with choice quotes from the lads as they reflect on their bumpy ride and how maturity and experience put the excesses of youth in perspective.

Oh, and the music is great.

Practical Magic 2

In yet another sequel nobody was pining for, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as witches Sally and Gillian Owen in Practical Magic 2, a tepid, cash-grab studio sequel that perfectly captures the mediocrity of the 1998 movie — which, by the way, gained a loyal following but was not a box-office hit.

This time around Sally’s daughter Kylie (Joey King) runs off to the UK in a desperate bid to lift the curse that afflicts all the Owen women — namely, that any man who falls in love with them is doomed for an early exit.

All cynicism aside, it’s a passable piece of multiplex mulch and will be adored by fans who won’t mind the whopping 130-minute running time — though even they will struggle with why Sally’s girls, who were tweenagers in the first film, are now somehow in their mid-20s instead of their mid-30s.

Perhaps it was magic.

By Any Means

In the intense, factually based, ultra-violent civil rights drama By Any Means, a naive black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is sent to the defiantly racist Mississippi of 1966 to support the work of a mafia hitman (Mark Wahlberg), who the FBI loves because of his effective use of baseball bats during interrogation.

With exceptionally strong performances throughout, the tale is gritty, gripping and definitely not for the faint of heart. The opening scene will show you what you’re in for.

Doing some of his finest work yet, consummate British actor Bill Nighy plays a famous writer nearing his end in the absorbing, unusual family drama & Sons.

Gathered at his sprawling mansion, his disaffected sons (Johnny Flynn; George MacKay; Noah Jupe; Arthur Conti) bicker as they try to make sense of a revelation their eccentric father has just made about his past. It’s a classy showcase of top acting.

Fall 2: Deadpoint

Those who enjoyed the adventure of 2022’s Fall, in which two girls climb a decrepit communications tower, won’t get quite the same thrills from Fall 2: Deadpoint, in which two girls teeter on a decrepit walking track 4000 feet up a sheer cliff face.

There are a few cool scenes but the story is simply too silly. Save your coins and wait for it to stream.

Though it feels like the first part of a trilogy, Tony is a very well-performed biopic about the early career of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain whose talent for cooking was matched by his love of lying and drug taking.

As the ego-driven young Bourdain, Dominic Sessa is very good, ably supported with strong performances from Leo Woodall and an outstanding Antonio Banderas.

Forgotten Island

Two big doses of family fun open next week (17 Sept) that should put smiles on plenty of faces.

With so many sequels and remakes around, Forgotten Island turns out to be one of the most delightful, original and enjoyable animated features we’ve seen in yonks.

Two girlfriends who are about to separate after their high school graduation are transported to a hidden realm full of colour, adventure, funny characters and life lessons about the value of memories. It’s a glistening gem and one that’ll probably be up for an Oscar.

Coyote vs Acme

Also, be sure to check out Coyote vs Acme, a fast and fabulous lark in which Wile E. Coyote from the classic Road Runner cartoons sues Acme for all their malfunctioning products.

Beautifully animated and with a terrific ending, this wonderful film was stupidly shelved by the studio in 2023 before succumbing to sustained pressure from fans for it to be released.

And, lo, it’s already been a huge hit. What were they thinking?

De Gaulle Part One: Resistance

Over at the arthouses, Francophiles and French persons alike can bask in the epic biopic De Gaulle Part One: Resistance, a big-budget historical drama recounting how General Charles de Gaulle (Simon Abkarian) fled his Nazi-occupied homeland to set up shop in London.

Fine stuff, with some big battle sequences. Part two arrives in a few weeks.

It Ends

Meanwhile, those cineastes eager for something unusual should get a kick out of It Ends, a micro-budget horror film about a car-load of college graduates who find themselves stuck on a road that goes on for infinity.

Weird, fun and done with a straight face.

Runner

Set in sunny Brisbane, the over-cooked action film Runner sees an ex-alcoholic courier (Alan Ritchson from Reacher) and a jet-lagged live-organ expert (Owen Wilson) in a fight-filled race with terrorists as they try to deliver a liver to a dying kid.

A pretty good popcorn movie. And loud.

The Runner

Staying with the running theme, The Runner has a sweat-streaked Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) blackmailed into frantically running across London to kill the star witness she’s been working with. If she doesn’t do it by the end of the hour, her son dies.

Apart from one silly sequence where she outruns a speeding train — which she couldn’t do even if she was Wonder Woman — the soiree is fairly tense and well-directed.

Think of it as a tourist video with guns, fights and lots of gasping.

Check it out on Prime, where it’s presently #1.

For more visit jimschembri.com with updates on X at @jimschembri