This week’s guest is the one and only Sir Ian McKellen, who is on the show to very eloquently tell Simon all about his starring role in ‘The Critic’, a period thriller in which a powerful – and pompous – London theatre critic lures a struggling actress into a blackmail scheme that has deadly consequences.

Mark also weighs in on the film, as well as reviewing ‘Lee’, a Kate Winslet-starring biopic of photographer Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II; ‘Speak No Evil’, a psychological thriller with James McAvoy, which sees an American family’s dream holiday turn into a living nightmare when they spend a weekend at a British family’s idyllic country estate; and ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 comedy horror classic, which sees the mischievous poltergeist Beetlejuice return for more supernatural chaos, as a new family stumbles upon his bizarre afterlife realm.

By all accounts, a stellar week!

Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):

Lee Review – 06:00

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – 22:37

Sir Ian McKellen Interview – 29:11

The Critic Review – 43:41

Speak No Evil – 54:56

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

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