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 is a fairly quiet period for movies with only one new release, the family animation Finding Dory (U).
Films The Conjuring 2 and The Jungle Book have been dropped while Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and Me Before You look likely to disappear from our screens in the near future. However we do see the return of family adventure with Kung Fu Panda 3 and Zootropolis.
Movies scheduled for release later in August include Suicide Squad and David Brent: Life on the Road.
Action and adventure during this period comes with Embrace of the Serpent; Jason Boure; Star Trek Beyond and The Legend of Tarzan. For drama there is Now You See Me 2 and Remainder.
For family oriented entertainment there is an excellent selection with Finding Dory; Ice Age: Collision Course; Kung Fu Panda 3; The Angry Birds Movie; The BFG; The Secret Life of Pets and Zootropolis. More adult comedy is provided with Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie; Central Intelligence and Ghostbusters.
The one category not represented this period is high culture.
Reviews
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Director: Mandie Fletcher
Certificate: 15
Cast includes: Jennifer Saunders Joanna Lumley, Julis Sawalha, June Whitfield, Jane Horrocks
It was 1992 when Absolutely Fabulous first appeared on the TV and
twenty four years later Patsie and Eddy finally make it to the big
screen. The couple are blamed for a major incident involving Kate Moss
at a fashionable launch party. To escape the paparazzi and poor
publicity, they flee, penniless, to the French Riviera, where they
concoct a plan to regain their fortune. The film retains the cast of
the TV series and a number of major celebrities also make cameo
appearances. This is a hilarious film, that maintains the character of
the original TV series. Excellent entertainment.
Central Intelligence
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Dwayne Johnson, Kelvin Hart
Robbie Wierdicht (Johnson) was bullied at high school. On leaving, he
changed his name to Bob Stone, developed an impressive physique and
became a CIA operative. Calvin Joyner (Hart) was his friend at high
school and had a career in accounting. At the time of their high school
reunion, Bob starts to work with Calvin to stop the illegal sale of
satellite codes by a mystery agent Black Badger. Calvin however is
approached by the CIA and told that Bob is actually delusional. Yet
Calvin continues to help his friend and the two of them face fights, gun
battles and car crashes to track Black Badger. The movie is a fast
paced buddy action comedy. Johnson and Hart work well together and the
fast talking dialogue from Hart goes a long way to carrying the film.
Expect some slapstick and a great deal of humour.
Finding Dory
Director: Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane
Certificate: U
Cast Includes: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Hayden Rolence
Pixar’s sequel to the 2003 movie ‘Finding Nemo’. Dory (DeGeneres), who
helped reunite Nemo (Rolence) with his father Marlin (Brooks) in the
first movie, has a flashback in which she remembers her own family. She
decides to look for them despite her problems with a faulty memory.
Marlin and Nemo agree to help and the three swim to California to start
the search. Dory is caught and held in a marine life institute aquarium
for shipping to Cleveland. However with the help of Hank (O’Neill),
the octopus she escapes back to the ocean and finds her parents Charlie
and Jenny. Now she has to come to the aid of Marlin and Nemo who are
also imprisoned in the institute aquarium. The movie is essentially the
same plot as the original, but provides impressive animation and
contains some emotional scenes. However this is ultimately a fun ‘happy
ever after’ sort of film that will delight people of all ages.
Ghostbusters
Director: Paul Feig
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey
It has been thirty-five years since the original Ghostbusters movie.
Now, finally there is a remake where women take the leading parts. Erin
Gilbert (Wiig) and Abby Yates (McCarthy) are co-authors of a book which
postulated that ghosts are real. When supernatural forces invade
Manhattan, Gilbert and Yates team up with a nuclear engineer Jillian
Holtzmann (McKinnon) and subway worker Patty Tolan (Jones) to combat the
malicious demon Rowan (Casey) and a legion of ghouls. The movie pretty
much follows the plot of the original, but the actors provide great and
extremely funny performances. A terrific movie full of good hearted
fun.
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?
Star Trek Beyond
Director: Justin Lin
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sofia Boutella
This is the thirteenth Star Trek movie and the third in the reboot
series. Kirk (Pine) takes the Enterprise on a rescue mission to the
planet Altamid. However the ship gets ambushed by a force working for
the power mad Krall (Elba). The Enterprise is destroyed and much of the
crew captured. It is up to Kirk, Scotty (Pegg), Spock (Quinto), Chekov
(Yelchin), McCoy (Urban) and a native fighter Jaylah (Boutella) to save
the day. They repair an early generation starfleet vessel that had
crashed on the planet and are able to pursue Krull. This is an action
packed film with impressive special effects and a good number of
impressive battles. The movie harks back to the early days of Star
Trek, retracing old ground. A must see film.
The Legend of Tarzan
Director: David Yates
Certificate: 12A
Cast includes: Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, Djimon Hounsou, Samuel L. Jackson
The film is set about a decade after Tarzan left the jungle and became
John Clayton III or Lord Greystoke to live in the UK with his wife Jane
(Robbie). Meanwhile the African Congo has been divided between Belgium
and the UK, and the Belgian government has sent an emissary Captain
Leon Rom (Waltz) to develop the mineral wealth of the land. Rom makes a
pact with Mbonga (Hounsou) a chief and Tarzan’s old enemy to give him
Tarzan in exchange for diamonds. Rom captures Jane and uses her to lure
Tarzan to him During the film we have flashbacks of Tarzan’s origins
to help set the plot and the film benefits from splendid scenery, lavish
special effects and grand fight sequences. However, despite solid
performances from the actors, the movie has not managed to inspire the
critics. An enjoyable, but ultimately average adventure film.
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.