We had a content-packed period on the site last week, with loads of reviews, an exclusive interview and even a ticket giveaway to South Africa’s rAge gaming expo, so we’re doing our weekly pop culture news catch-up now. Below are the trailers and stories that stood out for us.

But first, the most notable star death of the past seven days is probably actor Tony Todd, who passed aged 69 after a long illness. With his imposing presence and gravelly voice, Todd will probably be best remembered for playing the original hook-handed Candyman, but he also had memorable roles in Final Destination, The Rock, and The Crow, while he proceeded to voice Venom in blockbuster PS game Spider-Man 2.

Film

Cue the theme music. Espionage actioner Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, formerly known as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two (as it’s the back-to-back conclusion to 2023’s Part One) is six months away, give or take.

If you need a plot refresher, Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is in a race against time to find missing submarine the Sevastopol so that he can destroy dangerous cyberweapon turned sentient AI The Entity. Ethan’s band of allies are played by the likes of Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby, and series regulars Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg. The Final Reckoning was partially filmed in South Africa, so look out for familiar locales.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is in cinemas from 23 May 2025.

We love a good career comeback, so we’re keen for The Last Showgirl, a gritty and insightful drama that is earning Pamela Anderson the best reviews of her career as Shelley, a veteran Las Vegas showgirl who is suddenly adrift when her production closes after 30 years. Anderson is joined on the screen by the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd. Meanwhile, there’s Gia Coppola (Francis’s granddaughter) behind the camera, and Miley Cyrus providing music.

Having debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Last Showgirl comes to select US theatres on 13 December, before enjoying a wider release in January.

Finally, for a complete direction change, there’s the trailer for the fourth Bridget Jones romantic comedy, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, based on the book by Helen Fielding.

This time Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is facing multiple struggles, trying to forge a new path forward as a widow after the death of husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). She’s now a single mother to 9-year-old Billy and 4-year-old Mabel, raising her children with help of friends and even former lover, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). Life gets more complicated when Bridget meets an enthusiastic younger man (Leo Woodall) on a dating app, and then there’s her son’s rational-to-a-fault science teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

In the US, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is streaming from 13 February on Peacock, while internationally the film will be in cinemas from Valentine’s Day, 14 February.

Series

So much to watch, so little time. But one we’re definitely scheduling in for December is Prime Video’s upcoming animated anthology series Secret Level, a celebration of gaming from the minds behind LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS. Games that inspired the various tales include the likes of Dungeons & Dragons, Sifu, Spelunky, The Outer Worlds, PAC-MAN, Warhammer, various PlayStation Studios games, and, uh, the already removed-from-play Concord.

Secret Level has also assembled an all-star voice cast with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Laura Bailey, Kevin Hart, Temuera Morrison, Ariana Greenblatt and many more all contributing. The 15-episode Secret Level starts streaming from 10 December.

TV news tidbit time:

Gaming

Nominations for The Game Awards 2024 are being announced today, Monday, 18 November at Noon ET / 9am PT / 5pm GMT, after which voting will open to the public. Sparking some controversy, nominees can now include DLC, expansions, season content and remakes/remasters. This presumably will open the door for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree to win Game of the Year.

For the record, the actual Game Awards show is taking place on Thursday, 12 December in Los Angeles (4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET), which translates into Friday 13 December 2024, 2:30 am – 6:00 am in South Africa.