“Indiana Jones. I always knew someday you’d come walking back through my door…”
I can’t pretend I’m massively looking forward to the new film, but my inner 11-year-old is delighted by news that Harrison Ford has been seen sauntering out of a tunnel in Grosmont in full Indy regalia.
What with this and Tom Cruise popping up in Pickering, who knows what could happen next. Sly Stallone in a shoot-out at the Richmond Duck Race? Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I: The Filey Years?
Keep your eyes peeled…Meanwhile, there’s action aplenty (though sadly not against a North Yorkshire backdrop) in two of this week’s new releases – plus an Oscar-winning performance from Sir Anthony Hopkins.
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New releases
The Father
Anthony Hopkins won his second Oscar for his portrayal of a man grappling with dementia in this widely acclaimed drama co-starring Olivia Colman.
Hopkins stars as Anthony, a cantankerous octogenarian whose daughter Anne (Colman) is desperate to find a carer for him before she moves away to Paris.
Director Florian Zeller’s film (adapted from his own stage play) has also been commended for its immersive depiction of Anthony’s disoriented mental state, with familiar locations and even faces starting to shift and change without warning.
Cert 12A, 96 mins | |
Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue York | |
From Fri 11 Jun | |
More details |
Nobody
Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk flexes his action chops here, playing a seemingly ordinary suburban dad with a crushingly mundane life – until events conspire to reawaken his far-from-ordinary former self.
When Hutch Mansell’s (Odenkirk) house is broken into one night, his unwillingness to defend himself and his family sparks something long dormant within him, setting in motion a chain of events that will pit him against a deadly Russian drug lord (Aleksey Serebryakov, BBC1’s McMafia).
Given the John Wick-via-Taken premise, it’s no surprise that the screenplay is by Wick creator Derek Kolstad – and the brace of positive reviews from its US release suggest Hutch is more than capable of looking Wick in the eye without blinking (immediately before gouging it out with a Popsicle or something).
Cert 15, 92 mins | |
Cineworld, Everyman, Vue York | |
From Weds 9 Jun | |
More details |
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson reunite as beleaguered bodyguard Michael Bryce and his troublesome client Daniel Kincaid in this sequel to the popular 2017 action comedy.
As the title would suggest, Salma Hayek also returns as Kincaid’s foul-mouthed spouse Sonia, who drags Bryce out of his enforced sabbatical to help rescue her husband from his latest misadventure.
Antonio Banderas is on supervillain duties this time round, and Morgan Freeman also joins the cast in an undisclosed role – though, given that he is credited as ‘Senior’ on IMDB, might we expect The Hitman’s Wife’s Father-in-Law’s Bodyguard some time in 2023?
Cert 15, 100 mins | |
Cineworld, Vue York | |
From Mon 14 Jun | |
More details |
Other screenings
One of the side effects of there being a dearth of blockbusters when cinemas reopened last summer was the increased profile afforded to smaller, independent films – the British chiller Saint Maud being a notable example.
Comedy-drama Limbo may have to fight harder for attention now that the big beasts have returned, but glowing reviews suggest that this gentle, deadpan tale of asylum seekers stuck on a remote Scottish island deserves to become another homegrown success story – you can catch a preview of it at City Screen on Tues 15th, ahead of its general release next month.
Leading the pack in terms of rereleases this week is Fargo, back on the big screen for its 25th anniversary.
The excellent small screen adaptation of this darkly comic tale has established itself as one of the very few TV spin-offs that’s actually worth watching, but does the Coen brothers’ 1996 original still stand up? It’s a “Yah!” from me – you can decide for yourself at Vue (screenings throughout the week) and Everyman (from Mon 14th).
Head to City Screen, meanwhile, for a couple of cult Japanese favourites – their Studio Ghibli season offers the steampunk shenanigans of Howl’s Moving Castle (Sat 12th/Sun 13th), while Mon 14th sees a screening of 2000’s bloodsoaked dystopian thriller Battle Royale, in which a group of teenagers are forced to fight to the death by a totalitarian government (another classic I’ve never seen, but my understanding is that it makes The Hunger Games look like a dainty aperitif).
Finally, if you prefer your noughties nostalgia with less blood and guts and more song and dance, then Vue have you covered – they’re showing 2002’s multi-Oscar winning musical hit Chicago throughout the week. Jazz hands at the ready!