For up to date local cinema links and day-by-day listings of what’s showing on local screens every week visit the Virtual-Lancaster Cinema Page. Read on for the weekly round-up, and reviews.
We have only two new releases making it to the local screens during this period. There is the musical documentary Gimme Danger (15) featuring the band The Stooges and a Star Wars based adventure Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (PG).
Films that have come to an end of their screening include A Street Cat Named Bob and Doctor Strange. However by way of compensation, we see the return of Inferno; Ouija: Origin of Evil; Storks and The Secret Life of Pets.
Romance on offer this period includes the forbidden love in A United Kingdom and the wartime Allied.
Drama comes with the action/suspensel Inferno; aviation adventure in Scully: Miracle on the Hudson and the dark The Innocents. In addition there is science fiction action in Arrival and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Horror returns with Ouija: Origin of Evil and fantasy is represented by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Adult humour this period comes with Bad Santa 2 and Office Christmas Party.
Family movies on offer include Ice Age: Collision Course; Moana; Storks; and Trolls.
Film of note that are being screened include the classic White Christmas and In the Heat of the Night, both being shown at the Dukes. Also the Vue are offering another family treat with Little Screen December Show.
For high culture during this period we have the Opera Madame Butterfly; ballet with The Nutcracker and National Theatre Live: No Man’s Land.
Reviews
A United Kingdom
Director: Amma Asante
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: David Oyelowo Rosamund Pike
Based on the book ‘Colour Bar’ by Susan Williams, the film is a
romantic drama based on the real life romance between Sir Seretse Khama,
king of Botswana and Ruth Williams. Seretse and Ruth met in London, in
the 1940’s, fell in love and subsequently married. However the marriage
was opposed by their families, the couple becoming ostracised by their
friends. Governments were also involved as South Africa had recently
introduced their system of apartheid and they pressured the British
government with threats of economic sanctions if the marriage was
allowed to go ahead. This is a fine period romance with excellent
costumes, impressive cinematography and exotic backdrops. The film
concentrates on the human drama faced by the couple and rather glosses
over the political complexities, but it is not the worse for that. The
movie has received good reviews.
Bad Santa 2
Director: Mark Waters
Certificate: 15
Cast Includes: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Kathy Bates, Brett Kelly
A sequel to the 2003 movie ‘Bad Santa’, starring many of the original
cast. Wilie Soke (Thornton) again plays the role of drunk, lecherous and
greedy anit-hero. He teams up with his helper Marcus (Cox) to attempt
to rob a Chicago charity of $2 million on Christmas eve. Also involved
in the scheme is Soke’s foul mouthed mother Sunny (Bates) and ‘the kid’
from the first movie Thurmon Merman (Brett Kelly) now fully grown but
no less innocent. The movie contains much bad language and sex scenes
as it tries to recapture the magic of the original. However there are
fewer ‘laugh out loud’ moments amongst the rather muddled plot. An
average movie which received mixed reviews.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Director: David Yates
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell
This is a Harry Potter prequel, inspired by J K Rowling’s book of the
same name. The movie is set in the 1920’s, where Newt Scamander is a
magizoologist, collecting and studying magical creatures. He visits New
Your City where several of these creatures escape from his suitcase.
He collects about him a group of allies to try to recapture the beasts.
However New York at this time has been under a reign of terror from the
dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) and in the era of suspicion the
creatures are believed to be responsible for an attack. Hence Percival
Graves (Farrell), a director of magical secrets, declares war on
Scamander and his helpers. This is a wonderful film and a fine tribute
to the creativity of Rawlings. There are lots of plots, strange people
and weird and wonderful beasts. The movie has received favourable
reviews, but is perhaps a little darker than the Harry Potter series.
Ice Age: Collision Course
Director: Mike Thurmeier and Galen T Chu
Cast includes: Simon Pegg, Roy Romano, Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah, Hohn Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Chris Wedge
A computer animation family adventure film. This is the fifth
instalment in the Ice Age series and the sequel to Continental Drift.
Scratt (Wedge), the sabre toothed squirrel, activates an alien UFO in
his continued pursuit of the acorn. The craft propels Scratt into outer
space and thence causes a planetary collision resulting in the creation
of meteors that threaten to engulf the earth. Manny (Romero) the Wooly
Mammoth, Sid (Leguizamo) the sloth and Diego (Leary) the sabre toothed
tiger hatch a plan with the weasel Buck (Pegg) to save the earth. The
plot is quite unbelievable, but the resulting mayhem is as entertaining
as ever. New characters are introduced as the movie unfolds and the
film a worthy addition to the franchise. Whats not to like?
Moana
Director: Ron Clements and John Musker
Certificate: PG
Cast includes: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson
A Walt Disney animated fantasy adventure. Moana (Cravalho) is the
teenage daughter of the chief of a Polynesian island. However the fish
and island produce become less abundant and hence Moana undertakes a
nautical quest to find the magical amulet Te Fiti’s heart and the
demigod Maui (Johnson). The quest involves monsters and battles This
is a magical film, with music, comedy and a good dose of adventure. It
is extremely well produced and has received excellent reviews from both
critics and audience. A must see movie for all ages.
Storks
Director: Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland
Certificate: U
Cast Includes: Kelsey Grammer, Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Anton Starkman
Conerstone used to be in the business of delivering babies and
most of its employees are stalks. However CEO stalk Hunter (Grammer)
discontinued the service for the more lucrative business of delivering
parcels. The business receives a letter from Nate (Starkman) a
neglected boy who wants a baby brother and Tulip (Crown), a woman
working for Cornerstone, causes the baby machine to create a girl in
response to the letter. Now Tulip and her stork friend Junior (Samberg)
must deliver the baby before Hunter finds out. This involves their
facing a pack of wolves, militant penguins and an avalanche. This is a
bizarre, non stop and fun packed movie that will appeal to all ages. It
has been well received by the critics and is sure to please.
The Secret Life of Pets
Director: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney
Certificate: U
Cast Includes: Louis C.K., Ellie Kemper, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart
A family animation film that follows the lives of pets living in
a Manhattan apartment building during the time their owners leave them
alone. Max (Louis) is a rather spoilt terrier who starts to find himself
neglected when his owner Katie (Kemper) brings home Duke (Stonestreet),
a mongrel, from a dog pound. However the two dogs must put their
rivalry behind them when they are captured by Snowball (Hart) a rabbit
and an army of abandoned pets who are trying to get back at all happily
owned pets and their owners. This is a delightful and energetic
animation movie that is inoffensive and fun for all, young and old.