Movies with Rhianna

There's one big film in cinemas right now - okay, two, Twisters is still holding strong, let's give it some respect - but for a lot of us blockbuster botherers, it's all about Deadpool And Wolverine these days, so here we have Ali (and Clarisse and Ian)'s thoughts on Marvel's box office record-breaking return to form. Oh, and with some guy called Robert Downey Jr. somehow coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom (!!!?!??!?!!!!), that very much gets discussed as well, don't you worry...

Deadpool And Wolverine - undeniably the film of the summer - is finally, at long, long last, in cinemas. Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have been doing all the press opportunities they can lay their claws / katanas on to drum up interest - and it's safe to say there are more than a few people out there keen to see their motion picture. The trouble is all the spoilers: the twists, turns and surprises inside the movie that Ali (and Hugh, and Ryan, and their director Shawn Levy) can't talk about... but obviously really want to. Here, then, is a spoiler-free interview special all about the film, the characters' legacies and the trick to getting Disney to release an R-rated film (oh my!).

The week before Deadpool And Wolverine hits cinemas, Ali sits down with friend of the show Aoife Wilson - the excellent and much-admired gaming journalist, as well as die-hard X-Men fan - to finally dig into the other big mutant release, X-Men '97. Critically acclaimed and a reminder that these characters have enormous potential on the big screen, the show has been heralded as one of the best things Marvel has made in quite some time: so here we are to discuss just that in SPOILERIFIC details, as well as the rumours the Russos might be returning to the MCU fold and which X-Man's powers would be the toughest to actually live with...

What a collection of films we have for you this week: a critically-adored chiller in the form of Nic Cage's Longlegs (from the mind of Osgood Perkins), the fourth in the Despicable Me series (but the sixth in the franchise) and the return of Axel Foley, only this time... he's on Netflix. Hopping back onto the mic to help Ali tackle all these - and some of the biggest news stories of the week - is friend of the podcast and The Independent's chief film critic, Clarisse Loughrey, who just so happens to be a massive history buff and has many, many thoughts on the Gladiator II trailer for you...

It's July. How is it July? And yet... it is. So now seems like a good time to bring back friend of the podcast - and professional TV critic, as heard on BBC Radio Five Live and elsewhere - Scott Bryan to check in on his favourite TV shows of the year so far. Somehow his list doesn't feature Shogun, which is definitely controversial (and he knows it). Also! As more than a bit of a bonus we have Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Lionel Boyce talking about The Bear as its third series drops in the UK on Disney+ - and Ali does his best not to watch all of it in just one evening / sitting.

You know how it goes - the inevitable sequel to the successful original, eh? Little over a month since their last appearance, friend of the show (and The Independent's chief film critic) Clarisse Loughrey joins forces once again with Digital Spy's Movies Editor Ian Sandwell to review the biggest releases of the past few weeks with good ol' Ali, including A Quiet Place: Day One, Kinds Of Kindness and more. Plus, a look back on Inside Out 2 now that it's the BIGGEST FILM OF THE YEAR in just a few weeks (sorry about that Dune Part Two).

Now that he’s seen it, Ali can talk about Inside Out 2 - he’s good like that, waiting to see the film before he gives his thoughts on it - as well as this week’s big release, The Bikeriders (you know, with Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and a lot of classic motorbikes). And then there’s the cherry on top, some bonus House Of The Dragon chat from the cast of series two, including Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke and Fabian Frankel.

Comedian, presenter, writer and arts 'n' crafts connoisseur Bec Hill joins Ali this week for a special Ali Plumb's Film Club episode of Radio 1's Screen Time, where the geeky, animation-loving pair chat about the original Pixar classic Inside Out (2015) in advance of its sequel hitting cinemas this weekend. They do their level best not to cry as they talk about Bing Bong, The Numskulls and whether PIxar is actually making movies for adults and not, um, for kids.

June is here, and with it - we are told - the summer. Summer means blockbuster movies, and so Radio 1's Screen Time is here, ready to remind you of what's coming out and when. With The Euros and The Olympics both fighting for your attention this year, there may not be quite as many big movies as you were expecting, but there's still a fair bunch of them, and Ali is here to guide you through the dates in your diary. Plus! Friend of the show and all-round excellent human being Daisy Ridley stops by to chat about her new film, sports biopic Young Woman And The Sea (as well as the fine art of surprising Ali on stage).

A very special spoiler special for you this week - one that relies on you having watched the new Fallout series, what with it being... all about the new Fallout series. What makes it extra special is the reappearance of one of its stars on this here podcast, Ella Purnell herself, who plays Lucy in the show and is casually utterly excellent. She stops by for 15 mins of spoilery chat, then new friend of the show Jane Douglas - broadcaster, gamer, D&Der and Fallout fan - sits down with Ali for a very, very rambly (even by Ali's standards) wander around the spoiler wasteland. Okie dokie? Okie dokie.

Veteran of The Queen's Gambit, Last Night In Soho, The Menu, The Northman and, well, this here podcast, Anya Taylor Joy returns to talk to Ali about her experiences on set in the desert with director George Miller as they worked on Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Plus! Mad (in a nice way) Mad Max fan - okay, expert - Ian Nathan stops by to talk about the franchise as whole and the incredible story of how the previous film, Fury Road, somehow managed to make its way into cinemas after the most unbelievable production.

Friend of the show (and The Independent's chief film critic) Clarisse Loughrey joins forces with Digital Spy's Movies Editor Ian Sandwell to review the biggest releases of the past few weeks with good ol' Ali, including The Fall Guy, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, The Idea Of You, Back In Black and much, much more. Spoilers are avoided, so if you're keen to watch any of these, fear not: only casual allusions are alluded to.

By now, you'd think Ali would have shut up about going on holiday to Japan... and yet, that's somehow not the case - but with good reason! Joining him to talk about the critically adored drama series Shōgun is his new best pal Chris Broad - creator of the Abroad In Japan YouTube channel and a man who knows a thing or two about the land of the rising sun - and now you can enjoy their exceptionally geeky and thoroughly spoiler-filled conversation yourself, with one of them (Ali) still jetlagged and the other (Chris) in his studio in Tokyo. Fingers crossed most of this makes some sort of sense.

It’s a return visit from Such Brave Girls’ Kat Sadler for a short and sweet Ali Plumb’s film club while he shakes off the jet lag from his trip to Japan. Kat’s choice for everyone’s favourite on and off film club? National Treasure. As in, Nic Cage and Sean Bean and puzzles and stealing the declaration of Independence. It’s better than you remember, honest.

It’s been a short while since Denis Villeneuve took us all on a return trip to Arrakis, but with Dune: Part Two starting up its home entertainment release, Ali and his fellow Frank Herbert aficionados Clarisse Loughrey and Steffan Powell decided now was the time to really dig into what happened with Paul and Chani and the rest of the epic sci-fi sequel’s much-loved (and oh-so-complicated) characters. Expect spoilerific and highly nerdy chat on everything from the score to, well, the very final shot. So… if you haven’t seen the movie yet, maybe now’s a good time?

Such Brave Girls: the darker-than-dark BBC 3 sitcom that hopefully you’ve seen already… but then again, if you haven’t yet, that’s okay too because you’re really in for a treat. Ali’s such a fan he’s invited the star and creator, Kat Sadler, onto the podcast for a special conversation about how the programme came together. So as you may have guessed, hop to iPlayer to catch up first, whydoncha?

Fallout has landed - all eight episodes of it - and with it comes some interviews with BBC Radio 1's answer to "The Ghoul", Ali Plumb, as Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Walton Goggins and more sit down to try and make sense of the post-apocalypse. Plus, a quick round-up of the biggest blockbuster news stories of the past couple of weeks, including the MONSTER trailers that have landed lately. Yep, Joker, we're looking at you here.

You're a big fan of Dev Patel, of course you are. As is Jordan Peele, as is our Ali. So join us as we learn what trials and tribulations he endured and magnificently overcame in the process of putting together his directorial debut, the gritty action thriller Monkey Man on this here podcast. Spoiler alert: it's safe to say the bone-breaking struggle that was the Monkey Man production has finally paid off, with happy critics comparing it to John Wick as it hits cinemas square in the jaw this weekend. Plus! Ali reminds us what new movies have landed on the biggest streaming services in the UK, including BBC iPlayers amazing film section...

While Ali's been poorly of late, we're not going to let you down podcast-wise, no no no - so here are some Poor Things interviews we didn't include on Screen Time back when the film was first released in the UK back in January. And it's perfect timing (sort of) with the film now on streaming, so it's almost as if we planned it, eh? Plus: have you heard about Robot Dreams? It's this adorable and wonderful and thoroughly excellent animation Ali's very keen on, check it out, go on.

Lots of exclamations in the title there, apologies - but then again, when you've got acting talent like this lot on your podcast, maybe a few exclamations can be forgiven. This week we have a slightly poorly Ali as he wraps up the past seven day's biggest news headlines, chucks out a few TV recommendations and then presses play on a couple of interviews in honour Ghostbusters Frozen Empire (Ernie Hudson and McKenna Grace) and then Netflix's new sci-fi show 3 Body Problem (Benedict Wong and John Bradley). It's a bumper week, that's for sure.