Entertainment

New to stream, download or watch on DVD: Soul, The New Mutants, We Can Be Heroes, Bridgerton and more...

Animated feature Soul stars Jamie Foxx as the voice of Joe
Animated feature Soul stars Jamie Foxx as the voice of Joe Animated feature Soul stars Jamie Foxx as the voice of Joe

FILM OF THE WEEK

SOUL (Cert PG, 97 mins, streaming from December 25 exclusively on Disney+, Animation/Fantasy/Adventure/Comedy)

Featuring the voices of: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Questlove, Angela Bassett, Graham Norton.

JOE Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a part-time middle school teacher in New York City, who fervently believes that "music is life".

He inherited a passion for jazz from his late father and hankers for creative enrichment as a full-time musician.

A former student called Curly (Questlove) secures Joe an audition to play piano in a quartet led by saxophonist Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett).

On his way home from impressing Dorothea, Joe absent-mindedly tumbles down an open manhole and his soul separates from his body.

Joe's essence refuses to travel into the light of The Great Beyond – "I have a gig tonight. I can't die now!" – and tumbles instead into The Great Before, where fledgling souls develop personalities.

The gatecrasher agrees to mentor Soul 22 (Tina Fey) to chart a path back to his hospitalised body.

Soul is a wildly imaginative and deeply moving meditation on humanity from the computer animation wizards at Pixar, which tackles abstract concepts – mortality, depression, grief, alienation – with a playful sense of humour.

In Inside Out, director Pete Docter cleverly visualised the tug of war between the five core emotions of an 11-year-old girl.

He applies a similarly deft touch here with co-director Kemp Powers to a coming of middle-age story that inhabits a space between the physical and spiritual.

Soul riffs confidently to its own beat, employing bold visual flourishes to render Joe's odyssey in strokes that can be appreciated on multiple levels.

The exquisitely beautiful picture reminds us to cherish everyday pleasures and let the joyful act of living be a soothing balm to our troubled souls.

Rating: 9/10

ALSO RELEASED

THE NEW MUTANTS (Cert 12, 94 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Thriller/Romance, available from December 28 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from January 4 on DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £21.99/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray £36.99)

Starring: Blu Hunt, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga, Alice Braga.

CHEYENNE teenager Danielle Moonstar (Blu Hunt) is the sole survivor of a ferocious level-five tornado which tears through her tribe's reservation.

She wakes in hospital under the care of Dr Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), who reveals that 16-year-old Dani is on the cusp of discovering her 'mutant' powers.

Reyes firmly encourages her patient to follow a routine of one-to-one sessions and group therapy to control her psionic energy.

Dani is introduced to the doctor's other charges: miner's son Sam Guthrie (Charlie Heaton), devoutly Catholic shrinking violet Rahne Sinclair (Maisie Williams), handsome Brazilian rich kid Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga) and Russian troublemaker Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy).

Under close supervision, tempers flare and secrets bubble to the surface, compelling Dani to question the sincerity of Dr Reyes' actions.

The New Mutants was intended as the opening salvo of a super-powered Marvel Comics trilogy and establishes loose narrative tethers to X-Men mythology (Illyana is the sister of Colossus in Deadpool, the evil corporation behind the hospital program is a clear nod to Logan).

Judged on its own meagre merits, Josh Boone's picture works most effectively as a snapshot of teenage sexual awakening.

Once the characters' superpowers are noisily invoked, on-screen action passes in one ear and out the other without firing brain synapses or registering any pleasing memories.

A tidal wave of digital effects blights an overblown final act, drowning out solid performances from an ensemble cast of bright young things who deserve a better vehicle for their talents.

We Can Be Heroes: Priyanka Chopra as Ms Granada
We Can Be Heroes: Priyanka Chopra as Ms Granada We Can Be Heroes: Priyanka Chopra as Ms Granada

WE CAN BE HEROES (Cert PG, 100 mins, streaming from December 25 exclusively on Netflix, Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Comedy)

WRITER-director Robert Rodriguez returns to the high-stakes action of his 2005 caper The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl In 3-D with a standalone sequel, which passes the mantle to a new generation of pint-sized champions.

In the future, Earth is protected by The Heroics: a team of superheroes led by Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal) whose members include Miracle Guy (Boyd Holbrook), Tech-No (Christian Slater) and Ms Vox (Haley Reinhart).

Alien invaders capture The Heroics and issue a warning to the beleaguered US president (Christopher McDonald) that they intend to take over the planet .

Ms Granada (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), director of The Heroics programme, gathers together the fallen superheroes' children in an underground bunker for their safety.

The talented tykes are targeted by the aliens and Marcus Moreno's self-doubting daughter Missy (YaYa Gosselin) becomes the leader of the young fugitives as they seek a way to defeat the extra-terrestrials and rescue their parents.

BOX SETS/SERIES

Bridgerton: Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset and Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton
Bridgerton: Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset and Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton Bridgerton: Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset and Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton

BRIDGERTON (8 episodes, streaming from December 25 exclusively on Netflix, Drama/Romance)

BOSOMS heave and sparks fly in a lavish eight-part historical drama created by Chris Van Dusen, based on the best-selling series of novels penned by Julia Quinn.

Shona Rhimes, creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, takes a producer's credit on Bridgerton, which centres on Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), eldest daughter of the titular clan as she makes her debut in the high society of Regency London.

She hopes to secure a perfect match based on true love but her meddling older brother Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), who has assumed the role of head of the family, rules out most potential suitors.

Adding to Daphne's woes, the enigmatic Lady Whistledown (voiced by Dame Julie Andrews) casts aspersions on her eligibility in a high society scandal sheet.

Committed bachelor the Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page) is the prize catch for any debutante.

He has no interest settling down and no romantic feelings towards Daphne.

Yet sparks of attraction are palpable between the couple and they engage in a battle of wits and wiles to defy society's rigid expectations while still following their fickle hearts.

Vikings Season 6 Part 2: Georgia Hirst as Torvi, Jordan Patrick Smith as Ubbe and Ray Stevenson as Othere
Vikings Season 6 Part 2: Georgia Hirst as Torvi, Jordan Patrick Smith as Ubbe and Ray Stevenson as Othere Vikings Season 6 Part 2: Georgia Hirst as Torvi, Jordan Patrick Smith as Ubbe and Ray Stevenson as Othere

VIKINGS: SEASON 6 PART 2 (10 episodes, streaming from December 30 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Drama/Action/Romance)

THE lavish drama inspired by the epic adventures of Nordic raiders reaches its thrilling conclusion in these final 10 episodes.

At the end of the first half of the sixth series, Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) was left for dead on the battlefield after his half-brother Ivar the Boneless (Alex Hogh Andersen) betrayed him to fight with the Rus forces and wrest control of Norway away from King Harald (Peter Franzen).

In these instalments, The King of Wessex, Alfred the Great (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), is the only Saxon ruler to pose a serious challenge to the increasing domination of the invading Vikings.

Also, the conflict between the Rus and Vikings reaches its heartrending conclusion and Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) vows to fulfil the dream of his father Ragnar and sail further west from Iceland than every other member of the clan.

Best Leftovers Ever! judges Rosemary Shrager, Jackie Tohn and David So
Best Leftovers Ever! judges Rosemary Shrager, Jackie Tohn and David So Best Leftovers Ever! judges Rosemary Shrager, Jackie Tohn and David So

BEST LEFTOVERS EVER! (8 episodes, streaming from December 30 exclusively on Netflix, Documentary)

CHRISTMAS is a time of excess, especially when it comes to food, creating plenty of leftover treats to enjoy into the new Year.

Actress and musician Jackie Tohn, who features on the hit Netflix series Glow, hosts a fast-paced competition, which challenges three home cooks to transform leftovers into delicious creations over two rounds.

London-born chef Rosemary Shrager and stand-up comedian David So judge the hastily conceived food makeovers.

At the end of each episode, they award a glittering first prize of 10,000 US dollars to the queen or king of the kitchen.