Author: Gabriella Incalza Kaplanova

Three years have gone by since his stripping retirement and Magic Mike (Channing Tatum), now a furnishing business owner, is back for one last dance.

When his former stripper mates, the Kings of Tampa, call to check on him, they hardly struggle to convince him to join them for one last show at a Stripper convention. For he not only misses the camaraderie and the stage adrenaline, but his business is not as rewarding as he hoped and the girl who he thought was the one… well, wasn’t quite.

Mike joins his pals on a road trip with stopovers in Jacksonville and Savannah, where the hunks face their fears and their past. Magic Mike XXL sees old and new acquaintances lend a helping hand in their quest to bring back their stripping magic.

The long awaited sequel to Magic Mike is directed by Gregory Jacobs, who was one of the producers of 2012 Magic Mike.

Magic Mike XXL features some of the original Magic Mike cast including Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, Matt Bomer and Kevin Nash.

Fans may be disappointed to find out that Matthew McConaughey is not part of the cast. And McConaughey’s strong character is strongly missed, too. Three ladies try to make up for it, Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard and Jada Pinkett Smith, the latter in a brilliant performance as Rome, a male stripper owner and Mike’s former lover.

Magic Mike, the first one, caught me by surprise, because I actually loved it. So, clearly, I had high expectations when it came to the sequel. Sadly, my high expectations were highly disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the sculpted bodies and the supposedly sexy dancing. But that’s all there was, not a very strong storyline, average dialogue (although I did laugh out loud at how Mike is tricked into joining his mates), and not enough characters’ depth. If I had to, I’d save the soundtrack, which was often on point.

Over all, it felt a bit too much for me. Too dated, too predictable and too toe curlingly cheesy. Besides an impressive supposedly improvised dance where Mike is jumping around in his workroom using electric drills and stools as props, I struggled to appreciate the dollar bill showers and the simulated sex on stage routines. Oh, and don’t get me started on the artificial male bonding – too many “I love you, man” for my taste.

I also don’t think that 15 is an appropriate age rating. There is absolutely no way I would bring my fifteen year old sister to witness this visual stripper’s orgy.

Undisputedly targeting the hen night parties shown on stage, Magic Mike XXL does not feel extra large to me, if anything, it belittles its predecessor. But if erotic male dancers is all you’re into, then you’re in for a treat.

Magic Mike XXL is out in UK cinemas tomorrow, Friday 3^rd July 2015.

Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) meets Chantry (Zoe Kazan) at a house party while rearranging fridge magnets into meaningless phrases.

Despite the awkwardness and desperately nervous small talk, the two get on so well that Chantry ends up giving him her number because “it would be great to hang out again”, before rushing home to her live-in boyfriend. Diffident and painfully shy, Wallace has just endured a very painful breakup and as a result he has dropped out of med school, so he decides to steer clear and throws away her number.

But, as this is of course a romantic comedy, the two will bump into each other again as they both decide to go and see the same classic screening of “The Princess Bride”. As you do, right?

The chemistry is apparent but Chantry is in love with her boyfriend, despite spending all her time with Wallace. They laugh, they have so much in common and they have no filters with each other. They are a modern version of When Harry Met Sally, without the famous orgasm scene.

‘Good friends, bad idea?’ is What If’s movie strap line and Wallace’s dilemma throughout the film. They become, after all, great buddies. Except that Wallace falls madly in love with her and struggles to cope in the friend zone.

Set in Toronto, What If is a slightly acerbic rom-com with great potential that falls a bit short. Hogwarts old boy Radcliffe feels slightly out of place as the romantic lead and there’s not much to look forward to, bar for the occasional animation.

An easy watch, sure to spark the antediluvian question of: what if your best friend is actually the love of your life?

Perfect for Valentine’s Day, What If is out now on DVD.

Adam Wimpenny directed this short film in 2009, years before his feature film Blackwood, which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2013. His talent, however, was already quite apparent when Roar was produced.

Roar, showing beautiful opening shots of London around Christmas, tells the story of grumpy Eva (Jodie Whittaker), who’s just had an argument with someone and walks into a shop to pick up her dry cleaning and get her keys cut.

She is greeted by extrovert shop owner Mick (Tom Burke), who is annoyingly trying to strike a conversation at all costs, while timid Tom (Russell Tovey) is cutting her key and discretely looks at her through a mirror. Eva disregards Mick’s advances and walks off, forgetting her wallet. Tom seizes the chance and runs after her to hand it back and to apologize for Mick’s inappropriate behaviour, but she simply ignores him. The encounter clearly sparks an emotional turmoil in the lonely boy, desperate for some closeness. And desperate times call for desperate actions.

Roar, which has since secured major awards at Aspen and Rhode Islands Film Festivals, is a very visually engaging, dark movie with a great narrative that creates brilliant suspense. It looks and feels magnificent. One to watch.

Directed by Garry Sykes and premiered earlier this month at the London Independent Film Festival, Drunken Butterflies is something between a mockumentary and a teen reality show. Set in working class Newcastle Upon Tyne´s Byker, the film focuses on the life of six teenager girls, their intricate relationships and a life changing weekend made of partying and fighting, topped by a generous sprinkling of bullying, envy and resentment.

Drunken Butterflies opens with the aftermath of a drinks and drugs fuelled Friday night where hardly anyone remembers what happened the night before, except for when Chloe (Leanne Rutter) disappeared for an hour with the ´magic trick guy´ Chris (Michael Grist) and cheated on her boyfriend Liam (Dean Bone).

Unfortunately, the betrayed man in question happens to be the brother of scary Tracy Bell (Yasmine Ati), the town´s queen bee. Tracy takes the event very personally, and assisted by her faithful wing girls Sarah (Lucy-Jeanne Kelly) and Becca (Kate Knight), instigates a cat fight in the middle of the street against Chloe and her faithful friends, two outcasts that the adulterine had recently ditched for Tracy, but who are surprisingly still there to fight her corner.

The film´s linear narrative is often broken up by documentary style interviews about bully Tracy Bell and her impact on local teenagers.

Featuring excessive make up, existential conversations about vajazzles, piercings and outfits, this is an interesting and at the same time very depressing outlook on disillusioned working class girls and their struggle to cope with life hardships and shifting friendships. So realistic it’s scary.