Gasp-worthy, clunky, a moral problem? Critics react to The Hunger Games: On Stage

The reviews are in for the long-awaited adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian novel, presented in a purpose-built theatre in Canary Wharf

The Hunger Games: On Stage review – thundering fight to the death in a dazzling dystopia

Eye-popping visuals and a strong lead performance energise Matthew Dunster’s production – but the emotion gets lost amid the action

Christmas Karma review – Dickens adaptation has as much Yuletide spirit as a dead rat in the eggnog

Gurinder Chadha’s leaden update of the hardy seasonal chestnut with Kunal Nayyar is joyless and nausea-inducing

Adele to make acting debut in star-studded Tom Ford movie

The singer will star alongside Adolescence breakout Owen Cooper, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Colin Firth, Thandiwe Newton and Nicholas Hoult in an Anne Rice adaptation

We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir by Anthony Hopkins review – a legend with a temper

The Oscar-winning actor’s autobiography combines vulnerability with bloody-mindedness and belligerence

The Running Man review – Glen Powell sprints through fun update of Stephen King future-shock sci-fi satire

Full-tilt chase sequences, a punk aesthetic and a sugar-rush soundtrack, means there is plenty of enjoyment to be had as Edgar Wright goes back to King’s original 1982 novel

The Secret Santa Project review – festive romcom tries for the Love Actually style multiple story strands

Set in a London council office, this clunky Christmas comedy interweaves a handful of storylines but musters only a brief flicker of cosy charm

100 Meters review – mesmerising anime of young athletes in search of physical and spiritual high

Dazzling rotoscoped running sequences make up for a lack of narrative subtlety in Kenji Iwaisawa’s film

Readers reply: Who is the most evil villain in fiction?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

From the Celebrity Traitors finale to a Margaret Atwood memoir: the week in rave reviews

A truly satisfying climax to the celeb reality show, and the sharp and engaging thoughts of the Handmaid’s Tale author. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews

Lee Tamahori, director of Once Were Warriors and James Bond movie Die Another Day, dies aged 75

New Zealand film-maker became a Hollywood fixture in the 90s and 00s, including making Pierce Brosnan’s last 007 movie, before returning to his home country

Train Dreams review – Joel Edgerton superb in Malickian story of trees, grief and railroads

A logger clears a path for change in this sunset-hour-tastic adaptation by Clint Bentley – clearly a director of considerable power and feeling

Horror show: North American box office records lowest monthly total since 1997

Halloween weekend failed to make numbers jump, adding up to the weakest monthly performance – other than during the pandemic – for three decades

My Father’s Shadow looms over competition at British independent film awards

Akinola Davies Jr’s Nigeria-set drama has 12 nominations including best film and besr director

Winter in Sokcho review – atmospheric slow-burner about family and intimacy in South Korean border city

Koya Kamura’s debut film is about shared identities at the centre of quiet, chilly drama as an enigmatic French writer visits the eponymous town