bighearted

While much of Marvel’s output has rather blurred together of late into a gaudy onslaught of overplotted multiverse-hopping, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies have, for better or worse, always had a distinctive personality. What elevates Vol 3 (supposedly the final film in the GOTG series) is the way it keeps that personality, nodding to the irreverent swagger that is a crucial component of the Guardians USP while delivering a series of devastating emotional sucker punches along the way.To achieve this, director and…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeThink about it: when did you last see a great British romcom? Can you even remember the last time anyone achieved that perfect alchemy between wistful longing, self-deprecating humour and characters who live in incredibly nice houses? There’s been endless fretting about whether the genre can adapt to a more inclusive, feminist age – but with the big-hearted What’s Love Got to Do With…

There’s warmth, humour, sadness and tenderness in this big-hearted feature debut from writer-director Dionne Edwards. It’s a movie about masculinity that could have been solemn and prescriptive; instead it’s pulsing with humanity, thanks in great part to tremendous performances from its leads Natey Jones, Alexandra Burke and smart newcomer Temilola Olatunbosun.Burke is already known as the West End performer, recording star and X Factor winner; she plays Candice, a singer about to land the role of a lifetime playing Tina…