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.
There are five new films arriving to local cinemas during this period. There is adult comedy with Bad Neighbours 2 (15) and family comedy with Florence Foster Jenkins (PG). We have drama with Dheepan (15) and Our Little Sister (PG). Finally family animation comes with Robinson Crusoe (PG).
The movie The Boy had disappeared, whereas films that are coming to the end of their screening include Bastille Day; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and The Huntsman: Winter’s War. However we do see the return of the science fiction thriller Midnight Special.
New releases due to be appear later in the month include Thomas & Friends: The Great Race; Warcraft: The Beginning and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Caped crusader action continues with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War. For adult comedy there is Bad Neighbours 2 and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Adult drama comes with Bastille Day, Eye in the Sky and Friend Request.
Family entertainment is represented with the Ratchet and Clank, Robinson Crusoe and the excellent The Jungle Book.
High culture this period comes with NT Live: A View from the Bridge being shown at the Vue. In addition, the Dukes is screening the classic black and white comedy Shooting Stars and the arthouse movie Three Colours Trilogy: Blue.
Reviews
Bastille Day
Director: James Watkins
Certificate: 15
Cast includes: Richard Madden, Idris Elba, Charlotte Le Bon
Michael Mason (Madden) is a pickpocket working in Paris. He steals a
bag but finds it contains a bomb and this brings him to the notice of
Sean Briar (Elba) who is a CIA agent. Briar recruits Mason and uses his
skills to help him combat a terrorist threat and corruption within the
French police. Some aspects of the plot are not quite believable, but
the film is an excellent thriller with a number of very impressive set
pieces. An enjoyable movie.
Eye in the Sky
Director: Gavin Hood
Certificate: 15
Cast includes: Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman
Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren) is tasked with capturing a terrorist
who is attending a meeting in Kenya. The meeting room is bugged and a
drone used to provide surveillance. Powell discovers the terrorists are
actually planning suicide bombing attacks and so she seeks authority to
call in a missile attack on the building. However there is a chance
any attack will result in civilian casualties. The movie is a gripping
and well received drama that explores some of the moral issues of drone
warfare.
Florence Foster Jenkins
Director: Stephen Frears
Certificate: PG
Cast includes: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant
A period drama based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins
(Streep). Jenkins is a rich heiress with ambitions to be a singer
despite a terrible singing voice. Her husband St Clair Bayfield
(Grant), despite being something of a cad, arranges for her to sing in a
concert, having carefully selected the audience to ensure her efforts
will be well received. This is the second recent movie based on the
life of Jenkins and it provides a more light hearted approach to the
2015 film Marguerite. The movie is has been well received and provides
a good share of laughs, though, for this reviewer, it was something of a
one joke film.
Friend Request
Director: Simon Verhoeven
Certificate: 15
Cast includes: Alycia Debnam-Carey, Liesl Ahlers
Laura (Debnam-Carey) is a popular college student and an avid user of
social media. She received a friend request from an unknown girl Marina
(Ahlers) but finds her new friend is stalking her. Subsequently Marina
commits suicide but her spirit continues to stalk Laura. Despite some
occasional rough lines, this is an effective horror story that delivers
enough twists to keep the plot interesting and provides some real
scares.
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.
Zootropolis (Zootopia)
Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Certificate: PG
Cast includes: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman
This is a comedy animation set in the city of Zootropolis which is
populated by animals. Judy Hopps (Goodwin) is a rabbit rookie police
officer. She parters with a con-artist fox Nick Wilde (Bateman) to
solve the mystery of a missing husband. An excellently made fun movie
that will appeal to a wide range of ages.