Alex Cann’s weekly film blog - Thursday 16th October 2025

This week, me and Mrs C took a trip to the Penistone Paramount, which is a real cinematic gem. Friendly staff, a characterful building that dates back over 100 years, and even an intermission to grab a tipple! Along with the Parkway in Barnsley and the Rex in Elland, it's one of my favourite hidden cinema gems. Mike Wallbank tells me Tameside's towns had many indie cinemas back in the day, and it will be great to see Ashton's Metro Majestic reopening in due course.

The Smashing Machine is a true story of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, and the personal struggles he faces amid his determination to stay at the very top of his game. Without knowing it at the time, he was a trailblazer for household names in the sport who followed in his wake, and there's a lovely cameo scene at the end showing the real Mark Kerr doing his supermarket shopping! Dwayne Johnson is the star and producer, and is well matched with Emily Blunt, who plays his long suffering girlfriend Dawn. In spite of the film's title, it's surprisingly subtle and I really believed in the main characters. 

Whilst some of the fight scenes may be a little pulpy and unflinching for some (one bloke walked out during the first five minutes), stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a really great sports movie. Some cracking songs in the soundtrack too, including the underrated Jon Secada Just Another Day as Emily Blunt rides a spinning fairground coaster. Can Mark Kerr stop his addictions from spiralling out of control and get his life back on track? I almost forgot it was 'The Rock' I was watching, and it's definitely not one of his more production line roles. Superb stuff.

I'm not sure how Good Boy didn't go straight to streaming, to be honest.. Whilst the starring dog Indy (the director's own pooch) is indeed a very good boy, even he can't outrun a shonky script. A man moves from the city into a long-abandoned house in the middle of the countryside, and Indy quickly senses that there are supernatural forces at work in the shadows. He's right to be wary. Whilst there are a couple of decent creepy scares, I was relieved it was only 73 minutes long. You can't fault the ambition of filming a horror film largely from the perspective of a dog, but I was more entertained by Bouncer's dream in Neighbours (if you're too young to remember this, do look it up on YouTube!).

A good one for the Halloween half term, Night of the Zoopocalpyse has beautiful animation that pops with colour, fun one-liners, wise cracking animals, and a decent storyline, as the inhabitants of a zoo are hit by a meteor that turns them into zombies. A mountain lion and wolf lead an unlikely pack of survivors who try to save their habitat from destruction. A good mix of kid-friendly horror and silliness. It should keep your little monsters entertained.