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This review was originally published during the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.

Domestic thrillers can be deliciously messy, but Magpie, starring the alluring Daisy Ridley in an ambitious and delectable role, takes things to the next level. The psychological thriller is engrossing, its slow-burn buildup feeding the fire that burns brightly in an immensely satisfying final act that is equal parts chilling and petty. Magpie turns certain tropes into narrative weapons, and it works at every turn, culminating in a finale that will leave you wanting more even as it gives us a tension-fueled conclusion.

Magpie

Director Sam YatesRelease Date March 9, 2024Writers Tom BatemanCast Emmet Kirwan, Jenny Galloway, Andy M Milligan, Cherrelle Skeete, Niall Wright, Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Alistair Petrie, Daisy Ridley, Shazad LatifRating RRuntime 90 MinutesGenres Thriller Magpie Is Riveting & Clever

The fact that first-time director Sam Yates manages to pull off such a stunning and effective film is impressive.

Before returning to the front row of the mainstream with more Star Wars projects, Daisy Ridley has been on a tear lately with smaller, more interesting films, such as the recent Young Woman and the Sea and her wildly different drama, Sometimes I Think About Dying, before that. Those two showcased her ability to pull off a flawless American accent as is the case with many acclaimed English performers but now she's back to her native voice with Magpie, a gripping neo-noir set in the U.K. that sees her taking names as an embattled wife and mom of two trying to navigate a fractured marriage thanks to a somewhat bonehead husband.

The film is directed by Sam Yates and written by Tom Bateman, Ridley's spouse, and she developed the story of Magpie. It's co-produced by Bateman and Ridley, so you know this is a project she's passionate about.

The stylish neo-noir thriller Magpie is set to play on the big screen in New York, Los Angeles, and select U.S. cities starting on October 25th, and with that theatrical release date just one month away, Shout! Studios has unveiled a poster and a trailer for the film. The trailer can be viewed in the embed above, and the poster can be found at the bottom of this article.

Directed by Sam Yates from a screenplay by Tom Bateman that was based on an original idea by star Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Magpie has the following synopsis: The lives of married couple Anette and Ben begin to fracture when their daughter is cast alongside a glamorous movie star, Alicia. As Anette’s suspicions of Ben’s infatuation with Alicia intensify, their secrets and lies threaten to burst to the surface and destroy them all.

Ridley plays...

Exclusive: As the West End production of Mamma Mia! enters its 25th year on stage, Judy Craymer, its creator and driving force, is expanding the Mm! universe with ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream talent show. Set on an idyllic Greek island, it’s aimed at finding Mm! stars of the future. There’s definitely a desire to see Mm! back on Broadway in 2025, Craymer confirms, and she says she’s also pushing to make the dream of a third Mm! film a reality.

“It’s in its earliest stages,” she says, revealing that she has come up with a way to bring back all of the previous movie’s favorite characters. Which is no mean feat given that those parts involve stars such as Meryl Streep, who played the independent, fierce and spirited Donna Sheridan onscreen, and Cher, who played Donna’s vivacious mother Ruby in 2018’s...

On the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel, we will be posting one full movie every other day throughout the week, giving viewers the chance to watch them entirely free of charge. The Free Movie of the Day we have for you today is the World War II drama In Tranzit, starring Vera Farmiga and John Malkovich. You can watch it over on the YouTube channel linked above, or you can just watch it in the embed at the top of this article.

Directed by Tom Roberts from a screenplay by Natalia Nightingale-Grey and Simon van der Borgh, In Tranzit has the following synopsis: In 1946, a group of German POWs are mistakenly sent to a Soviet female transit prison camp and must cope with the hostility of the Soviet female inmates and guards, under the orders of cruel camp commander Pavlov.

Farmiga and Malkovich are joined in the cast by Thomas Kretschmann,...

Derek Jacobi and Fleabag‘s Jenny Galloway have joined the cast of Come Away, the fantasy Peter Pan-Alice in Wonderland origin story movie that stars Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo. Brave Oscar winner Brenda Chapman is directing the script from Marissa Kate Goodhill. The pic has been shooting in the UK before moving to Los Angeles in October.

Meanwhile, ahead of a sales push at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, Steve Richards has joined the project as producer, with his Endurance Media, Alex Lebovici and Steve Ponce’s Hammerstone Studios and Christian Mercuri’s Capstone Group joining Fred Films and Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon Productions as production partners. Additional financing is coming from Ace Pictures, Creasun Entertainment USA and Tin Res Entertainment..

Capstone is now set to launch international sales oronto, where UTA and Wme are repping domestic rights.

The pic is set before Alice went to Wonderland and Peter became Pan,...

U.S. fans of Les Misérables who couldn’t get to the 25th anniversary concert at London’s O2 arena last October (or one of the movie theaters that screened it in a one-night-only event), will finally be able to see it on PBS come March 6. PBS will air the U.S. premiere of Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2, featuring Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean), Lea Salonga (Fantine), Nick Jonas (Marius), Norm Lewis (Javert), Matt Lucas (Thénardier), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thénardier), and Katie Hall (Cosette). The concert hits DVD on Feb. 22. Les Misérables, which opened in London on Oct.