Here’s a date for your diaries, film fans: 17th December 2034, aka Origi-geddon.
According to YorkMix’s top team of movie scientists, that is the date when every conceivable piece of character backstory in a popular film franchise will have been painstakingly explored by an origin story, spin-off, or 10-part Disney+ limited series.
And when the dust has settled – when Clock Tower Lady: Casablanca Nights has detailed the surprising wartime adventures of the old lady who asks Marty McFly for some money to save Hill Valley’s clock tower, and when the final part of the Baby Herman prequel trilogy explains just how the foul-mouthed infant first came to work with Roger Rabbit – then Hollywood screenwriters will be faced with something strange and beautiful: a blank canvas.
They will sit there, stupefied, drunk on the limitless possibilities that suddenly stretch out before them: the chance to write an entirely new story, about characters that no-one has seen before, who can do and be anything they want without fear of disrupting established timelines and enraging over-entitled fans.
Finally, the awestruck silence will be broken as one of them nervously clears his throat and asks, “Hey, so the guy who sold the gun to the guy who killed Bruce Wayne’s parents…what’s his story?”
New releases
Minions: The Rise of Gru
Another week, another origin story, and this time it’s the turn of Despicable Me’s not-so-very-evil genius, as we head back to the 70s to find out how he first met his hyperactive little helpers.
The story sees the 12-year-old Gru (Steve Carell) desperately hoping to join the ranks of his supervillain idols, the Vicious 6 – but when they laughingly rebuff his application, the nascent criminal mastermind swipes a precious jewel from under their noses.
With the dastardly gang out for revenge, Gru heads out on the run – but fortunately help is at hand from his diminutive and very excitable new friends.
Largely positive reviews suggest there’s still fun to be had here, not least with the seemingly Expendables-inspired voice casting for the baddies (including Dolph Lundgren as the excellently-named Svengeance) – while 6 Music-listening parents may appreciate the soundtrack of 70s covers from the likes of St. Vincent, Thundercat and Caroline Polachek.
| Cert U, 88 mins | |
| Cineworld, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Jul 1 | |
| More details |
Nitram
Caleb Landry-Jones (Get Out) takes the title role in this true-life drama about the perpetrator of the Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania in 1996.
‘Nitram’ is an unstable, frustrated young man who lives an isolated life with his parents (Judy Page and Anthony LaPaglia) but finds an unexpected connection with an eccentric recluse (Essie Davis, The Babadook).
When that friendship meets its tragic end, Nitram’s loneliness and anger grow and he begins a slow descent that leads to disaster.
The latest film from Snowtown director Justin Kurzel, it has attracted both acclaim and controversy since its premiere at the Cannes Festival in 2021 (where Landry-Jones won the Best Actor award) – with critics praising the direction and performances, but some questioning the need for another film which gives the spotlight to a mass murderer.
| Cert 15, 112 mins | |
| City Screen | |
| From Fri Jul 1 | |
| More details |
Outdoor cinema
City Screen sets up camp in the Museum Gardens this weekend for a trio of outdoor screenings of some old favourites.
Marty and Doc kick things off on Fri 1st with Back to the Future, then it’s back to Rydell High for a Grease Sing-a-long on Sat 2nd, while Gene Kelly levels of ebullience (or at least a good brolly) may be required should the gods of cinema frown on the frankly fate-tempting 70th anniversary screening of Singin’ in the Rain on Sun 3rd.
Tickets are the standard price, doors are at 7:30pm and the films will start after sundown (approximately 8:30 – 9pm). A further three films are set to follow next month.
| Museum Gardens | |
| Fri Jul 1 – Sun Jul 3 | |
| More details and tickets |
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Other screenings
With a legacy sequel due to pull into cinemas later this month (rail strikes permitting), this weekend offers a chance to see 1970 children’s classic The Railway Children back on the big screen.
You can catch up with Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter at Cineworld, City Screen and Vue on Sun 3rd – flags at the ready.
City Screen’s Ennio Morricone season continues on Sun 3rd with another of the myriad westerns to have been blessed with the Italian maestro’s magical musical touch, The Great Silence.
Directed by Sergio Corbucci (the man behind the original Django films) and hailed by many as one of the greatest of all spaghetti westerns, the screening also serves as a timely tribute to the late French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, who stars as a mute gunslinger defending a young widow and a group of outlaws against a gang of bounty killers.
On Mon 4th, City Screen’s Culture Shock strand hosts Earwig, the latest hallucinatory tale (and first English-language film) from acclaimed French director Lucile Hadžihalilović, which centres on a young girl with dentures made of ice.
Art lovers may want to check out new documentary Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War (City Screen, Tues 5th, Thurs 7th), which shines a light on the life of this overlooked British war artist, with Grayson Perry and Alan Bennett among those lining up to pay tribute.
Quirky British one-man-and-his-robot comedy Brian and Charles – ‘splitting the difference between ‘Wallace and Gromit’ and ‘Frankenstein’’, according to Variety – gets a preview screening at City Screen on Weds 6th, ahead of its general release on Fri 8th.
Over at Everyman, true-life sporting drama Tigers (Tues 5th) pulls back the curtain on the modern football industry via the story of Swedish teen prodigy Martin Bengtsson.
Meanwhile, after a general consensus that the out-of-this-world antics of Moonraker were getting a little bit silly, 1981’s For Your Eyes Only (Vue, Sat 2nd) sees Roger Moore clamp down those eyebrows and make a return to the (slightly) more serious Bond of old.
Animal antics abound as ever in this week’s budget family-friendly screenings, with City Screen’s Kids’ Club showing The Secret Life of Pets 2 (Sat 2nd, tickets £3.00), while Vue have Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd, £2.49) and Cineworld’s Movies For Juniors selection is heist caper The Bad Guys (Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd, £2.50)
And finally, Cineworld’s monthly Autism-Friendly screening on Sun 3rd is Lightyear (tickets standard price) – an origin story the point of which will have me scratching my head to infinity and beyond…
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Community cinema
There’s an excellent choice for this month’s South Bank Community Cinema screening in the form of British comedy-drama Limbo.
This funny, original and moving film from director Ben Sharrock follows four asylum seekers stuck on a remote Scottish island while they await the outcome of their applications for refugee status.
There’s a hint of the absurdist outlook of The Lobster in the surreal, deadpan humour here, as the new arrivals engage in awkward encounters with the locals while gritting their teeth through excruciating cultural awareness classes.
For all the gently eccentric humour on display, though, this soulful, humanist film never loses sight of the reality of the men’s desperate situation, with the subtle, well-calibrated performances – in particular from Amir El-Masry in the lead role as musician Omar – providing the film with real emotional heft.
The film shows at Clements Hall, South Bank on Fri 1st at 8pm (doors 7:30pm) – tickets are £4 (cash only), and SBCC advise that it’s best to book in advance by e-mailing [email protected].