Shaurya Thapa

This week’s release of the trilogy-wrapping MaXXXine, a Ti West horror flick that sends Mia Goth’s wannabe starlet to a Brian De Palma-esque ’80s Hollywood, has got us thinking about the art of the trilogy. What makes a great trio of films? In truth, they come in all shapes and sizes from the three act structure of The Lord of the Rings, the original Star Wars movies and Hiroshi Inagaki’s masterful The Samurai Trilogy. to the looser thematic links of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy or Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. East Asian and Scandinavian cinema has given us loosely connected ‘spiritual’ trilogies, with Joachim Trier exploring Norwegian urban youth in his Oslo trilogy, Park Chan-wook helming blood-soaked Korean revenge sagas with the Vengeance trilogy. Some trilogies have futzed up the landing in their final entries. Alien, The Terminator, X-Men and Spider-Man all miss out on this list on the back of their wobbly final chapters. But the overall cultural impact of some trilogies is such that we can be willing to forgive the odd one out. So The Godfather and The Dark Knight, no matter how polarising their final instalments are. From poetic romances to swashbuckling adventures, this list will take you through the best movie trilogies. RECOMMENDED:  📽️ The 100 greatest movies of all time📺 The greatest TV and streaming series ever made

Every summer brings us a new superhero movie, muscular and flexing for your wallet. This time around it’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, a sure-to-be-snarky, sweary and irreverent middle ground between mainstream MCU fare and the satirical edge of ‘The Boys’. But before you flinch, drop that attitude: several of these blockbusters have been excellent action movies, redeeming Hollywood's most profitable genre as opportunities for sophistication, sarcasm and panache. We love the best superhero movies because they help us to dream big. Here are the 20 best examples – tie on your cape and dive in.

With ‘Bridgerton’s success, many more revisionist dramas are arriving in the streaming space. Shows like ‘Mary & George’ and now ‘My Lady Jane’ subvert British history while retaining the costumes and grandeur of the time. The latter is a Prime Video historical fantasy that has Bridgerton production designer Will Hughes-Jones handling all the Tudor-era worldbuilding. Backdropped by Britain’s historical castles, manors and stately homes, the series revolves around Lady Jane Grey, the ill-fated ‘Nine Days’ Queen’ who was executed by Mary I – aka ‘Bloody Mary’ – in 1554. But what if the titular heroine had lived a little longer? And what if there was also a war between humans and Ethians, humans who can transform into animals? That’s the premise behind My Lady Jane alternate history of Tudor England. Despite its magical elements, ‘My Lady Jane’ sticks to the period setting and incorporates many real-world medieval locations ranging from Dover Castle to the gardens of Hampton Court Palace. Photograph: Jonathan PrimeEmily Bader as Lady Jane Grey Where did they film My Lady Jane? Period drama isn’t a new genre for ‘Bridgerton’ production designer Will Hughes-Jones who also worked on 2011’s ‘Jane Eyre’, the Jodie Comer-starring ‘The White Princess’ (2017) and ‘The Spanish Princess’ (2019). He and locations manager Bill Darby scouted dozens of historical properties to use in the show’s exterior shots. Most of the interiors were designed and filmed in studios.  ‘We blur the lines so

July 4 is here again and with it a chance to run up the Stars and Stripes, pledge allegiance to the nearest barbecue and ponder the greatness of America – past, present, and, hopefully, future. And Hollywood is, once again, here to help. Tinseltown was born celebrating American virtues – resilience, courage, independence, ambition and occasionally putting one over the Russkies – and it’s remained true to that holy quest ever since. Which means there are a plethora of movies to kick back to when the barbecuing is done and the fireworks have finally fallen silent. Here’s seven family-friendly classics to get started with.  Photograph: 20th Century FoxBill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore in Independence Day Independence Day (1996) How many votes would Bill Pullman’s ID4 President get in 2024? All of them? The dreamy POTUS delivers a rousing speech for the ages as he leads the fight back against a species of hi-tech alien species with major USB security issues. It might be a toughie for some Americans to witness this level of glint-eyed leadership this July 4, but with Will Smith’s fighter pilot doing the Top Gun thing and Jeff Goldblum’s tech wizard coming up with brainy solutions to Earth’s imminent extinction, Independence Day is the perfect escapist slice of American exceptionalism – all delivered with spectacular aplomb by the German Roland Emmerich.  Photograph: United International Pictures Born on the Fourth of July (1989) The title sounds hyper-nationalistic but