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Connected brings together crime, romance and high-octane action in a new British heist thriller that sees two very different women caught up in a dangerous game involving stolen diamonds and a priceless family heirloom.
Directed by Deborah Hadfield, whose previous work includes The Kindness of Strangers, the film follows street-smart motorbike courier Stevie, played by Rose Muirhead, whose life takes an unexpected turn when she accidentally swaps phones with international jewellery designer Angel, played by Fern Taylor.
The seemingly innocent mistake plunges the pair into each other's very different worlds. While Stevie finds herself enjoying a taste of Angel's lavish lifestyle, Angel is forced to experience the less glamorous reality of multi-drop deliveries. What begins as a comedic case of mistaken identity soon develops into something far more dangerous.
As Stevie and Angel's paths eventually cross again, they discover they have become caught in the middle of a high-stakes robbery involving a secret stash of diamonds and a priceless heirloom handbag that once belonged to a fleeing movie star.
Their differences in status and lifestyle mean the unlikely pair must put their differences aside and work together. Their target is Neil, played by Sam Patrick, a seductive and ruthless playboy thief intent on escaping to Monaco with the stolen treasure.
With Neil's glamorous lifestyle proving difficult to resist, Stevie faces a choice between helping Angel and being drawn further into a world of wealth and luxury. As the twists continue to unfold, the pair must stay one step ahead if they are to outmanoeuvre their dangerous adversary.
Following its World Premiere at London Rolling Film Festival, Connected promises an adrenaline-fuelled female-led thriller packed with secrets, lies, criminal action, romance and plenty of danger.
Connected arrives on UK digital on 5 October from Trinity Content Partners.
Chinese Whispers looks set to offer a sharp mix of drama, romance, comedy and unexpected twists when Deborah Hadfield’s multi-award-winning British feature arrives on UK digital this September.
The film follows a group of old university friends who reunite on Christmas Eve for a Chinese meal in honour of their late friend Bryan. What begins as an opportunity to remember someone they once knew quickly becomes a night of revelations, as buried secrets and hidden agendas begin to emerge.
At the centre of the story is Jay, played by Jonathan Bremner, a jet-setting host who hires Cindy, played by Rose Muirhead, to pose as his girlfriend for the evening. However, Jay is unaware that Cindy has motives of her own, setting the stage for a reunion where appearances cannot be trusted.
Elsewhere, superstar sportsman Anthony, played by renowned sports commentator Arlo White, finds that his public image hides deeper problems, while surfer Harry, played by Howard J. Davey, carries a tragic story of his own. John Ian Mason plays the mysterious Ian, a man consumed by a dark obsession with death and determined to uncover the truth, whatever the consequences.
Jay's seemingly glamorous lifestyle also conceals a shameful past, and as the evening descends into chaos, the carefully constructed stories surrounding the friends' supposedly successful lives begin to unravel.
Directed by Hadfield, whose previous work includes The Kindness of Strangers, Chinese Whispers has earned plaudits and multiple awards during its festival run. With a cast that also includes Tim Bryn Smith, the film promises a compelling story of deception, trauma, love, loss, regret and acceptance.
As secrets continue to surface and relationships are put under pressure, Chinese Whispers looks set to keep audiences guessing about what is really happening behind the stories its characters tell.
Chinese Whispers arrives on UK digital on 21 September 2026 from Trinity Content Partners.
Swallowtail & Dragonfly tells the remarkable true story of Chinese artist Lianxia ‘Ziyi’ Zhou, following her journey from a young woman fighting against the restrictions of early 20th Century China to a celebrated artist whose life is transformed by love, war and revolution.
Written and directed by Julia Jay Pierrepont III, the period drama is produced by Zhou’s granddaughter Evelyn Xu. The film stars Vanessa Yao, Vivian Dawson, Russell Wong, Jim Lau and Cici Lau, and arrives in the UK following an award-winning run on the festival circuit.
The story begins in 1914, when Ziyi's adventurous spirit is constrained by a cruel stepmother and the patriarchal expectations of the time. Her circumstances change when she is given the rare opportunity to study under some of China's most prominent painting masters, an honour previously reserved for men.
Her talent soon opens doors, allowing Ziyi to establish herself within Shanghai's dazzling art scene. It is there that she meets photographer Wanping Xu, played by Dawson, and the two fall in love. Their creative partnership and glamorous lifestyle bring them into a circle of prominent international artists and creatives.
But their happiness is shattered by the outbreak of World War II. Separated from Xu, Ziyi is left to raise their five children in increasingly desperate circumstances as war and political upheaval transform the country around them.
Refusing to give up hope of being reunited with the man she loves, Ziyi fights to keep her family together while continuing to paint. Her determination becomes central to a story about love, survival and the ability to hold on to a sense of identity when everything else is being taken away.
Swallowtail & Dragonfly promises a moving portrait of a woman who forged her own path in a world determined to limit her choices. With its sweeping historical backdrop and deeply personal story, the film offers a glimpse into a remarkable life shaped by both extraordinary success and devastating adversity.
Swallowtail & Dragonfly makes its UK digital debut on 14 September 2026, courtesy of Miracle Media.
Mayday has a lot going for it. It has Ryan Reynolds. It has Kenneth Branagh. It has Cold War espionage, aerial dogfights, KGB agents, stolen military hardware and a reluctant friendship forged while two very different men try to survive behind enemy lines.
What it does not have is much of a surprise.
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein's action comedy is polished, energetic and frequently entertaining, but it is also remarkably content to follow the well-worn path laid out by countless buddy movies before it. Fortunately, when you put Reynolds and Branagh together and give them plenty of opportunities to bicker, argue and reluctantly save one another, there is enough personality to keep the formula moving.
Set in 1987, Mayday opens with US Navy Lieutenant Troy "Assassin" Kelly rescuing his wingman before being sent on a top-secret mission aboard an SR-71 Blackbird with US Air Force pilot Major Sanders. The mission goes badly when they are intercepted by a MiG, leaving Sanders dead and Kelly stranded in Russian territory.
His situation looks bleak until he is discovered by Nikolai Ustinov, a former KGB officer who has grown disillusioned with his past and harbours an affection for American culture.
Naturally, Kelly does not immediately trust the man who has just rescued him.
That distrust forms the basis of the film's strongest element. Reynolds and Branagh have excellent chemistry, and their relationship develops in a way that feels considerably more entertaining than the increasingly predictable plot surrounding them. Kelly wants to get home. Ustinov wants a new life. Neither man quite knows what to make of the other, and their constant friction gives the film much of its personality.
Branagh, in particular, is terrific.
Ustinov is easily the most enjoyable character in the film, and Branagh steals practically every scene he is in. There is a wonderfully eccentric quality to his performance, but he also gives the character genuine warmth. Ustinov could easily have been reduced to a collection of stereotypical Soviet traits, yet Branagh finds enough humanity beneath the gruff exterior to make his predicament matter.
It is arguably Branagh at his most effortlessly entertaining.
Reynolds is equally assured, although Mayday does not exactly ask him to venture into unfamiliar territory. Troy Kelly is another cocky, sarcastic protagonist who can throw out a one-liner while surrounded by danger, and Reynolds has played variations of this character many times before.
The difference here is that Reynolds works particularly well opposite Branagh. Rather than competing for attention, the two complement each other. Reynolds provides the familiar wisecracking action hero while Branagh gets to play the more unusual and unpredictable character.
The result is a convincing odd-couple pairing.
The action also gives Mayday enough momentum to compensate for some of its weaker storytelling. The opening sequence immediately establishes the scale of the film, while the subsequent pursuit provides plenty of opportunities for the two leads to become increasingly entangled in situations that neither anticipated.
A train escape, a desperate journey towards Moscow, an attack on Ustinov's daughter's apartment and the theft of a mobile nuclear launcher all contribute to a story that becomes increasingly ridiculous as it progresses.
Thankfully, the film mostly understands that ridiculousness is part of the appeal.
There are some excellent action sequences here, and the film looks and feels suitably polished. It is the kind of production that is easy to sit back and watch. There is always another chase, confrontation or escape around the corner, and the pacing rarely becomes completely stagnant.
Unfortunately, the comedy is much less consistent.
Some jokes work because they come naturally from the relationship between Kelly and Ustinov. Others feel considerably more forced, and there are several moments where the film seems to assume that a particular joke will land simply because the characters are in an absurd situation.
It does not always work.
Some of the humour also feels dated, which is particularly noticeable in a film that otherwise seems determined to keep its action and presentation modern. When the comedy succeeds, it is usually because Reynolds and Branagh are allowed to bounce off one another. When the script starts reaching for obvious gags, the results are considerably less impressive.
That points towards Mayday's biggest weakness, the screenplay.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with a formulaic action comedy, particularly when it is this watchable, but Mayday rarely attempts to escape its formula. The major beats are easy to anticipate, the character dynamics are familiar and the eventual developments do not carry much in the way of surprise.
Even the more outrageous elements feel strangely safe.
The story moves from espionage thriller to buddy adventure to increasingly broad action comedy, but the transitions never quite produce the sense of unpredictability that the premise promises. Instead, Mayday often feels like a collection of familiar ideas arranged around two very charismatic actors.
The film could also have benefited from a sharper edit.
At around 105 minutes, Mayday is hardly overlong, yet it feels about 15 minutes too long. By the latter stages, the central premise has already delivered most of its entertainment value, and some of the remaining material feels like it is simply ticking off the final requirements of the story.
The film's conclusion is perfectly serviceable, but the journey there could have been considerably tighter.
The supporting cast do solid work, with Marcin Dorociński providing a suitably threatening presence as Alexander Volkov, while Maria Bakalova adds another layer to Ustinov's personal story. David Morse and Clark Johnson also contribute effectively, although this is very much Reynolds and Branagh's film.
And that is ultimately both Mayday's greatest strength and its biggest limitation.
The film does not have a particularly compelling reason to exist beyond putting these two actors together.
Fortunately, that is a pretty good reason.
Branagh and Reynolds are entertaining enough to carry a familiar script, and their chemistry makes the increasingly improbable journey across Russia considerably more enjoyable than it has any right to be. There is a genuine sense of fun whenever they are sharing the screen, and Branagh's performance alone gives the film an identity it would otherwise lack.
But there is a nagging feeling throughout Mayday that something better was possible.
The ingredients are all there. The Cold War setting, the spy thriller framework, the action, the comedy and two enormously recognisable leading men should have produced something sharper and more memorable. Instead, the film settles for being good enough.
And, to its credit, good enough is often enough here.
Mayday is a polished, enjoyable action comedy with two excellent leads, some genuinely entertaining action and enough laughs to make the journey worthwhile. It is also predictable, occasionally sluggish and saddled with a screenplay that rarely takes the opportunities presented by its premise.
For fans of Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, there is plenty to enjoy. Branagh in particular makes the film worth watching, delivering a performance that is easily the highlight.
But once the credits roll, Mayday is unlikely to demand much further thought.
It is a perfectly decent evening's entertainment, rather than a film that will be remembered.
From Third Window Films comes Crazy Lips / Gore from Outer Space double-bill on Bluray released on September 14th, this set of totally insane films from Japan’s Omega Pictures (Audition, Love Exposure), produced by Takashige Ichise (Juon, Dark Water), written by Hiroshi Takahashi (The Ring series) and directed by Hirohisa Sasaki (Tales of Terror from Tokyo).
And to celebrate we have a copy on Blu-ray to give away!
Synopsis:
This 2-disc special edition release (limited to just 2,000 units) contains new director approved restorations of both these J-horror cult classics.
CRAZY LIPS (2000)
発狂する唇
Satomi and her family are hounded by the press when her brother is accused of a vicious killing spree. Desperate to prove his innocence, Satomi goes to a psychic for help. The price the psychic asks is far more than she expected, and the answers they give her are nothing she could ever have imagined.
GORE FROM OUTER SPACE (2001)
血を吸う宇宙
Just before being lead to the electric chair for the murder of her daughter Misato, Satomi tells her story to a nun. It began with no one believing Satomi’s story of the kidnapping of her daughter. When the police are called in to investigate, Satomi’s husband tells them they have no daughter. From there we are led onto a wild ride with psychics, dirty politicians, headless corpses, strange Jello eating FBI agents and more.
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