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PREVIEWS MOVIES & TV

MOVIES & TV SHOWS OUT THIS MONTH JULY THE POPE’S EXORCIST

RUSSIAN DOLL: SEASON 2 As if the first season couldn’t be any more outlandish - thanks to Natasha Lyonne’s character Nadia finding herself caught in a Groundhog Day -esque time loop - Season Two has her cast into the past, where she finds herself trapped inside her mother’s body. To confound the matter, she is pregnant with, erm, herself! This odd and hugely entertaining series has won all manner of accolades, and is essential viewing. THE GREATEST DEMON LORD IS BORN AS A TYPICAL NOBODY Based on the popular Japanese light novel of the same name (which was previously adapted into manga), this series tells the story of Varvatos, the most powerful demon lord of all time, who finds himself supremely bored with overlording and decides to hang up his proverbial sceptre for good. Reincarnating himself as an Average Joe to live amongst the people, he ultimately struggles with the fragility and weakness of humankind. BLACK LOTUS Frank Grillo ( Kingdom ) and 11-time World Kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven star in this hard-hitting action thriller from the producers of Fall (2022). Telling the story of an ex-special forces operative waging a one-man war through the streets of Amsterdam in search of his friend’s kidnapped daughter, the movie is a violent caper that delivers bang-for-buck action, and will appeal to fans of Taken (2018) and The Foreigner (2017). 05/07/23 TV Anime THE BLACK DEMON The director of Rambo: Last Blood (2019) brings us a shark movie with teeth! Josh Lucas plays an oil rig safety inspector who finds himself trapped on a decrepit rig with the surviving crew of a megalodon attack. With a unique, oil-polluted underwater perspective, The Black Demon is a thrilling creature feature for fans of movies like Deep Blue Sea (1999) and The Meg (2018). 19/07/23 TV Drama 05/07/23 Action

Teaming up with Aussie director Jules Avery ( Overlord ), Russell Crowe stars in this supernatural horror movie based on the real life experiences of Father Gabriele Amorth, official exorcist for the Vatican. Taking cues from William Friedkin’s 1973 classic The Exorcist , the film is a fright-feast of scares accompanied by a surprising amount of humour. The demonic possessions depicted are gnarly and grotesque, making it a thrilling and thoroughly compelling exploit. BEAU IS AFRAID Ditching his trademark horror for dramatic comedy, cinema auteur Ari Aster follows up his cult hits Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019) with this disturbing story of a mild mannered man who must overcome anxiety and agoraphobia in order to attend his mother’s funeral. Told as a fable, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix (with support from Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, and Parker Posey), who delivers a memorable, tour de-force performance which has to be seen to be believed. 19/07/23 Horror HYPNOTIC This film flew under the radar and failed to gain the traction it deserves. Directed by cult filmmaker Robert Rodriguez ( Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn ) and starring Ben Affleck, Hypnotic is a mysterious and mind-bending thriller about a cop in search of his missing daughter, engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse with a lethal spectre. Fans of films like Source Code (2011) and Inception (2010) will get a particular kick out of this one. FROZEN PLANET II Almost five years in the making, Frozen Planet II is bigger and more majestic than ever as Sir David Attenborough returns to narrate this compelling documentary series about Earth’s frozen wilderness. Going beyond the polar regions of its predecessor, the second series examines the greater span of the cryosphere, and is accompanied by a stunning score by Hans Zimmer with vocals from Norwegian singer songwriter AURORA. 26/07/23 Action 19/07/23 Comedy

Documentary

05/07/23

Thriller

26/07/23

NEW TO BLU-RAY ™ & DVD AT JULY 5

NEW TO DVD

JULY 5

AT

Strong crude humour, animated violence, sexual references, drug use and coarse language

Predatory animal behaviour

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