Welcome to the latest stop-motion/claymation delight from Aardman studios and Nick Park, who brought us Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run among other fun films.

Early Man follows a young Stone Age caveman named Dug (voiced by Redmayne), who is part of a rabbit-hunting tribe made up of some rather backwards and dim-witted, yet comical, characters, who are reluctant to change their ways.
When the tribe are discovered by the ‘modern’ bronze age army, their home comes under threat of being mined for minerals. Whether or not our rabbit-hunting heroes can continue living in their bubble of a world will come down to whether they are able to defeat their new rivals in – you guessed it – a soccer match.

Some recent Aardman films such as Arthur Christmas and Flushed Away have fallen into being wholly CGI – a lazy approach – and suffered for it. Early Man goes against this trend and uses the traditional claymation methods for which Aardman is famous. For whatever reason everything seems funnier when done in stop motion using plasticine figures. Whether you are a Wallace and Gromit fan or you have kids looking to be entertained, audiences of all ages will leave this film with a smile.

Shocking, meditative, and heart-wrenching, The Mercy is an account of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst’s attempt at the Golden Globe Race, a non-stop, single-handed sailing voyage around the world.

Crowhurst began the race in October 1968, on a boat he had built for the purpose. But as the film expounds, Crowhurst was not a professional sailor; he was just a businessman. In entering the race, Crowhurst originally only intended to win a cash prize to aid his failing business. As the voyage begins and he faces up to the enormity of his task, the ocean begins to overwhelm him, threatening both his life and his sanity – leading him to do the unthinkable to survive.

This film is the second biopic in a row from director James Marsh after The Theory of Everything. Like that film, The Mercy features powerful performances amidst heartbreaking tragedy. Marsh’s fascination continues to lie not just with the historical figure, but the people around them. This film focuses in on Crowhurst’s family as they prepare to bid their husband and father farewell on his voyage. Rachel Weisz gives a remarkable turn as Clare Crowhurst, alongside Colin Firth in the leading role.