This month there’s a chance to revisit one of the great adventure movies of your youth and get under the skin of an iconoclastic singer. And that’s not even counting Jason Statham being funny. Deliberately
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Amy
Starring: Amy Winehouse
This doco about the tragic chanteuse has already received praise and bile in equal measure, the latter mainly from Winehouse’s family who feel it paints them in a negative light.
Amy’s relationship with her now-semi-famous father Mitch was always interesting and this study by director Asif Kapadia, who made the brilliant Senna, is thorough and a sad reminder of a wasted talent.
Get Santa
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Starring: Jim Broadbent, Warwick Davis, Rafe Spall
Christmas family comedies are normally left to American cable channels, but this is a very British take, with Broadbent as Father Christmas. When Santa gets arrested after crashing his sleigh, it’s left to Spall and his son to make sure everyone’s presents are delivered on time. Cue lots of dad/kid bonding – which makes it pretty perfect for DAD.info. Expect this one to run and run on telly in future years.
Spy
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Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Jude Law
You probably wouldn’t have thought funnywoman McCarthy and the Stath would be natural movie bedfellows, but the latter in particular is a riot in this espionage comedy.
McCarthy is an office-based analyst who’s always wanted to get into the field and finally gets the chance, despite the protestations of a legendary agent played by the British star.
As always with her movies, some of the jokes rely too much on the actress’s appearance, but the gags in general hit the mark and you’ll see a new side to the previously rather po-faced action hero.
The Goonies 30th Anniversary Edition
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Starring: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Martha Plimpton
Can you believe it’s 30 years since The Goonies came out? But now is the perfect time to introduce your kids to one of the great family adventure movies, about a troupe of mates who go in search of some legendary lost treasure.
The children will enjoy the pirate ship, the chase scenes and the camaraderie. You, meanwhile, can enjoy all the Blu-ray extras, like a mini where-are-they-now magazine and never-before-seen deleted scenes.
