Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
After the sexy cine-brat satire Irma Vepp and the perversely appealing Gallic navel-gazing of Late August, Early September, Olivier Assayas' latest marks a major change of direction - - and not necessarily for the best.
A period melodrama set in the first half of the 20th century, Les Destinées Sentimentales relates the troubled marriage between Protestant minister Jean (Charles Berling) and a spirited younger woman, Pauline (Emmanuelle Béart). Among the obstacles are Jean's first, very bitter wife (Isabelle Huppert), World War One, and Jean's eventual obsession with saving the family business.
The foregrounding of a marriage against half a century of French history is a fine idea in principle, but Assayas is too reverential both to his literary source and the genre. It means that despite looking sumptuous, three rambling hours spent dwelling on miserable people takes its toll.
Avowed is an RPG that aims to respect your time: "I'm getting older, I got a lot of responsibilities, I don't got time for a 500-hour game"
Helldivers 2 takes home the prize for Best Multiplayer Game at the Golden Joystick Awards 2024
The Bad Guys 2 filmmakers break down the first trailer introducing a new all-female gang: "We wanted to play with something else than the typical James Bond male villain"
