At the Movies for 11 May 2022

Simon Morris wonders if some movies are sacrificing appealing characters for over-complicated plots. And he looks at a documentary where hardly anything happens, and a film where the lead isn't really a character at all. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness features Benedict Cumberbatch as Marvel Comics' resident sorcerer trying to make sense of several alternate universes. Featuring Benedict Wong (The Martian), Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) and Chiwetel Ejiafor (12 years a slave), and directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man). The Velvet Queen sees French author-adventurer Sylvain Tesson travel with wildlife photographer Vincent Munier to the Tibetan wilderness in search of a rare big cat. In competition at Cannes 2021. And After Yang - based on a sci fi short story about a future where children can buy an android sibling for company. But what happens when your mechanical best friend breaks down? Starring Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen and Slim)and Haley Lu Richardson (Support the girls).