Given that the hero himself is essentially a perma-brooding billionaire with a latex fetish, it’s perhaps not surprising that Batman’s colourful, charismatic adversaries have sometimes threatened to eclipse their crime-fighting counterpart.
They’re certainly beating the Caped Crusader hands down when it comes to screen time at the moment, with Colin Farrell’s Penguin just starting his own eight-part origin story on TV (Tim Burton managed that in the first five minutes of Batman Returns, just saying), and Joaquin Phoenix embarking on a bad romance with Lady Gaga in the long-awaited Joker: Folie à Deux, out in cinemas this week.
Would pay good money to watch Arnie in Mr. Freeze’s Summer Vacation, if any Warner Bros. execs are reading…Elsewhere, Sebastian Stan finds life as A Different Man isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Saoirse Ronan makes a fresh start in The Outrun.
New releases
Joker: Folie à Deux
Joaquin Phoenix reprises the role that saw him laughing all the way to the Oscars in this follow-up to 2019’s grimy, gritty origin story for Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime.
Following on from the events of the first film, the story here sees Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) locked up in Arkham State Hospital and awaiting trial for his murderous actions as Joker – but when he encounters fellow patient Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), it’s the beginning of a dark and twisted love affair.
As was widely rumoured ever since Gaga’s casting was announced, this eagerly-awaited sequel does indeed see the pair become Gotham’s answer to Fred and Ginger, with Empire calling it ‘as sweet and beguiling a musical romance as it’s possible to have between two murderous psychopaths’. Aww…
| Cert 15, 138 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Oct 4 | |
| More details |
A Different Man
This darkly comic thriller stars Sebastian Stan as an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to change his appearance.
Stan plays Edward, who feels isolated from life by his severely disfigured face, and jumps at the chance to take part in a new clinical trial that will completely alter his looks.
When he discovers that his erstwhile neighbour Ingrid (Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World) has written a play based on her friendship with him, he auditions in his new guise as ‘Guy’ and gets the part – but finds himself becoming obsessed with a fellow actor (Adam Pearson, Under the Skin) who’s completely at ease with his own disfigurement.
| Cert 15, 112 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Vue | |
| From Fri Oct 4 | |
| More details |
The Outrun
Powered by a magnificent central performance from Saoirse Ronan, this highly acclaimed drama follows a recovering alcoholic relocating from London to her childhood home in the Orkney Islands.
Adapted from Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir, the story follows Rona (Ronan) as she attempts to rebuild her life, whilst dealing with painful memories of her chaotic past and reckoning with the legacy of her father’s (Stephen Dillane) mental health issues.
Director Nora Fingscheidt’s spellbinding film blends documentary-style realism with wide-eyed lyricism, with the wilds of Orkney serving as a bleakly beautiful backdrop to Rona’s story.
| Cert 15, 117 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Sep 27 | |
| More details |
Other screenings
Family-friendly films
Two Irish orphans embark on a journey across 19th century America in animated tale Buffalo Kids, which previews at Cineworld and Vue this weekend ahead of its release next Friday.
Voicing one of the adventurous pair is young actor Alisha Weir, who shot to fame in Matilda the Musical a couple of years ago before scaring cinemagoers silly in this year’s bloodthirsty horror Abigail – you can catch her in her former, non-nightmare-inducing incarnation at City Screen on Sat 5th, when their Kids’ Club screens the story of Roald Dahl’s beloved bookworm (tickets £3.30).
Vue’s budget-viewing choice is talent show/Biblical saga mash-up Noah’s Ark (Sat 5th, Sun 6th, £2.49), while Cineworld offer Anxiety, Embarrassment and much more besides courtesy of Inside Out 2 (Sat 5th, Sun 6th, £2.50) – they also have an Autism-Friendly screening of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on Sun 6th (standard price, £8.99).
There’s also something new for younger viewers this week in the form of Disney Junior Cinema Club, a 50-minute compendium of songs, games and stories featuring the likes of Mickey Mouse, Ariel and Bluey, and showing at City Screen (Sat 5th, £5.00), Cineworld (Sat 5th, Sun 6th, £5.00), Everyman (Sat 5th, £6.25 child/£9.80 adult plus toddler) and Vue (Sat 5th, Sun 6th, £6.99).
Zombies, witches and mean girls: old favourites back on the big screen
October is here, which means there will be plenty of cinematic tricks and treats for us to enjoy in the coming weeks – particularly at Vue, where they’re taking no chances and calling in the Ghostbusters early.
Join Dr. Venkman and associates as they celebrate 40 years of busting, sliming and wisecracking from Fri 4th to Mon 7th – or if you prefer, you can save yourself some candle money and help Messrs. Pegg and Frost mark 20 years of their rom-zom-com Shaun of the Dead (Vue, daily).
Those lumbering brain-munchers will be breaking out the party hats again at Cineworld when Zombieland gets a 15th anniversary screening on Fri 4th, while back over at Vue, Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Young Frankenstein turns 50, lurching back to life on Sat 5th, Sun 6th and Tues 8th.
Bette Midler takes to the skies in Hocus Pocus (Vue, daily), while Everyman are getting into the spirit on Fri 4th when their Late Nights strand screens 90s slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (sat around waiting for it to stop raining, as I recall).
Meanwhile, Cineworld are marking Black History Month with a season of Black cinematic classics, starting this week with Jordan Peele’s politically-charged horror Get Out (Weds 9th), which of course works nicely for Halloween too.
Those of a nervous disposition will be pleased to hear it’s not all spooks and scares this week, as Cineworld’s Star Wars season continues with Return of the Jedi (showing daily) – and you can also skip straight ahead to the sequel trilogy at Vue with screenings of The Force Awakens (Fri 4th), The Last Jedi (Sat 5th) and The Rise of Skywalker (Sun 6th).
The Godfather Part II marks 50 years of being a sequel without equal (until they made Paddington 2, anyway) in Everyman’s Throwback strand on Sun 6th and Tues 8th, while the Plastics continue their reign of terror in Mean Girls at Vue (Sun 6th to Weds 9th).
And finally, over to City Screen, where they’ve got two 90s favourites to chase away those autumn blues: their Six Degrees of Shakespeare season gives the Bard a John Hughesian makeover with 10 Things I Hate About You on Mon 7th, while their celebration of Searchlight Pictures continues with The Full Monty on Sun 6th.
In honour of which, let’s close proceedings with Robert Carlyle and chums in what’s surely the most British dance routine ever committed to film – form an orderly queue please…