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 period finds five new releases on our local screens. There is drama with Misconduct; period drama with Love and Friendship (PG) and romantic drama in Me before You (12A). In addition we have the delightful animation Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants (U) and fantasy in Warcraft: The Beginning (12A).
Movies that have vanished from the screens include Bad Neighbours 2; Captain America: Civil War; Eye in the Sky and Florence Foster Jenkins. However we do see the return of Hail Caesar! and Zootropolis.
Films arriving in this region in the near future include The Conjuring 2 on 17th June; Independence day: Resurgence on the 23rd June; Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie on the 1st July and The BFG on the 22nd July.
Despite the loss of Captain America, this is still a period for superheroes with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and X-Men: Apocalypse. Drama is represented with A Hologram for the King; Love and Friendship; Me Before You; Misconduct; Money Monster; Purple Rain and The Trust. Comedy is not quite so well represented with only Hail Caesar! on offer.
For fantasy we have Alice Through the Looking Glass and Warcraft: The Beginning.
Family entertainment is provided by Kung Fu Panda 3; Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants; The Angry Birds Movie; The Jungle Book; Top Cat Begins and Zootropolis.
Finally there are two entries in the category of high culture with NT Encore: The Audience and RSC Live: Hamlet.
At the time of this posting, a complete film listing from the Vue cinema was not available.
Reviews
A Hologram for the King
Director: Tom Tykwer
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Tom Hanks, Alexander Black, Sanita Choudhury
Based on the best selling 2012 novel by Dave Egger, Alan Clay (Hanks)
is an American Businessman whose life is falling apart following the
recession. He is trying to make a comeback, leading a team to sell a
new holographic telepresence system to the King of Saudi Arabia.
However he is out of his depth with no knowledge of the local customs
and facing a bureaucracy worthy of Kafka. Attempts to see the king
repeatedly fail and he and his team just wait in a venue with failed
communications and air conditioning. The only hope seems to be his taxi
driver Yousef (Black). This is something of a convoluted story which
is both funny and terribly sad. However Hanks gives a great performance
and the whole provides a very entertaining movie.
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Director: James Bobin
Certificate: PG
Cast includes: Johnny Depp, Alice Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska
Alice (Wasikowska) has spent three years travelling and has now
returned to London to contemplate her future. She uses a mirror to
return to Wonderland but find things are not well, and the Hatter is
more mad than ever. To aid him she must go back in time and face the
Jabberwocky. This is Disney’s sequel to the 2010 production of ‘Alice
in Wonderland’ and all the major characters from the original movie make
an appearance. The film is a visual feast, a lavish performance with a
star studded cast. However for this reviewer the whole seemed more
gloss than substance. It does not quite live up to the magic of the
original.
The Jungle Book
Director: Jon Favreau
Certificate: PG
Cast includes: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba
Based on Rudyard Kipling’s works, this is a reworking of a the well
known classic using live action and CGI. Mowgli (Sethi) is an orphaned
boy raised by a wolf and thence by Bagheera (Kingsley) a black panther.
Mowgli alienates the Bengal tiger Shere Khan (Elba) and so must make
his way to humankind for safety, meeting the well known characters Baloo
and Kaa on the way. Subsequently he returns to the jungle to face
Shere Khan. The movie is a good example a remake that improves on the
original. An excellent movie that will entertain all ages.
The Trust
Director: Alex and Benjamin Brewar
Certificate: 15
Cast includes: Nicholas Cage Elijah Wood
David Waters (Wood) and Jim Stone (Cage) are two bored and corrupt
officers working the the Evidence Unit of the Vegas police department.
Stone comes to hear of a large amount of money in the possession of a
drug dealer and held in a large safe. The two police officers
investigate, and decide to steal the money off the crooks and take it
for their own. However as the robbery progresses they start to fall out
among themselves. This movie is a dark comedy. It very effectively
builds up the tension despite something of a thin plot. Both Cage and
Wood put in excellent performances with the former providing very
memorable one liners. However the film does not have the feel of
greatness about it.