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.
This week finds nine new releases making it to the local screens. There is the action & adventure movie Sicario (15); historical drama with Suffragette (12A); comedy with A Walk in the Woods (15) and drama with the films Regression; Mia Madre (15) and The Walk (PG). In addition there are the family movies Ghosthunters on icy Trails (PG) and Pan (PG). Finally, celebrating its fortieth anniversary, there is a new release of the superb Monty Python and the Holy Grail (PG).
The comedy Bill has vanished from the screens and it seems likely that Miss You Already and The Visit are coming to the end of their screening. However we see the return of the movies Ant-Man and Pixels.
Movies coming soon include James Bond in Spectre in theatres on 26th October and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 due mid November.
The film of the week is still The Martian, though the adult dramas Legend and Everest are well worth seeing. Also the comedies The Bad Education Movie and The Intern continue to entertain.
A film of note is Buster Keaton’s silent classic Sherlock Jr., accompanied with a live score. Finally there are three offerings of high culture. At the beginning of this period we have The Importance of Being Earnest, whilst on the 15th there is Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Finally, being shown through the week, there is Macbeth.
Reviews
Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Certificate: 12A
Cast Includes: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Hayley Atwell, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll
Ant-Man is the latest super-hero in the Marvel pantheon to make it to the screen. Scott Lang (Rudd) used be a systems engineer but is now a petty criminal, trying to go straight. He acquires a suit developed by Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas) and Dr Pym becomes something of his mentor. The suit allows Lang to become ant man as he shrink in size, increase his strength and has the power of communicating with insects. Together Pym and ant-man must overcome the ambitions of Darren Cross (Stoll) who has a militarised version of the suit. Ant man was only a minor Marvel super-hero but nonetheless this is an entertaining movie. The characters are given chance to develop and the film provides both wit and plenty of gags. An entertaining movie.
Everest
Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Robin Wright, Nasko Mori
A docudrama set in May 1996 when two expeditions tried to make it to the peak of Mount Everest. However a blizzard resulted in the death of eight climbers. The main emphasis is on the five climbers who perished on the South face. This is a dramatic and moving film, best appreciated in 3D to get the most of the scenery and the dizzying drops. The mountain itself is the primary focus, with character development taking second place, though there is much made of the trials of the climbers and of the emotional distress of loved ones left behind. An unsentimental movie which makes the viewer feel that he is part of the expedition.
Miss You Already
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette
Milly (Collette) and Jess (Barrymore) are lifelong friends though their lives are very different. Milly works as a PR executive. She is married to a Rock star and has a perfect family. Jess however has a more mundane job and is desperate to have a baby. Milly’s life is thrown in turmoil when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. The film follows her fight with cancer and the stresses it puts on her relationship with Jess who finally conceives a baby. This is a passable movie which provides something of an emotional rollercoaster ride.
Pixels
Director: Chris Columbus
Certificate: 12A
Cast Includes: Adam Sandler, Kevin james, josh Gad, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Monaghan
As children Sam Brenner (Sandler), Will Cooper (James), Ludlow Lamonsoff (Gad) and Eddie Plant (Dinklage) were expert video game players and they competed in tournaments. They grew and thought they had put their past behind them. However aliens have discovered classic archive video games and interpret these as a declaration of war. They invade earth using strategy and characters derived from the games. Will Cooper is now president and he gathers together his old pals to combat the aliens who will claim the earth if they are not defeated. The movie is a science fiction comedy that will appeal to anyone who enjoyed playing classic video archive games. However it has so far attracted indifferent reviews and looks to be a rather forgettable film.
The Martian
Director: Ridley Scott
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig
A manned mission to the planet mars is aborted when the crew face a huge sandstorm. However astronaut and botanist Mark Watney (Damon) is left behind, presumed dead. Yet he lives and must now find a way to survive and contact Earth in the hope that a rescue mission can be mounted. The movie is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Andy Weir. This is a homage to the ingenuity of man in desperate circumstances. The movie is visually effective, scientifically accurate and is well seasoned with humour. An excellent film that has received glowing reviews.
The Walk
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Certificate: PC
Cast Includes: Joseph Gordon-Leveiit, Charlotte Le Bon, Ben Kingsley.
This is the tale of Philippe Petits audacious crossing between the world trade centres on a high-wire. Petit (Gordon-Levitt) developed the idea for the artistic coup whilst in Paris. Along the way he adopts a band of misfit co-conspirators which include ‘Papa’ Rudy Omankowsky (Kingsley) who teaches the skill of walking a high wire. The attempt, which was strictly illegal, took place on 7th August 1974 and no safety harness was used. This is an excellent movie, a great story, great acting and superb camera work which will have you clinging onto the cinema seat.