Putting Hercule Poirot on your guest-list is always something of a fate-tempting choice, but inviting the man to an actual séance? You might as well ask him if he knows the number of a good coroner while you’re at it.
Kenneth Branagh’s little grey cells (and huge grey ‘tache) will be working overtime in A Haunting in Venice this week – while Timothy Spall tries Bolan’s Shoes on for size and The Jungle Book provides a refresher course in the Bare Necessities.
Plus, gas masks on for the return of a Shane Meadows classic, and vigilante millionaires rejoice – it’s Batman Day on Saturday!
New releases
A Haunting in Venice
Kenneth Branagh is back for a third round of scintillating sleuthing in this horror-inflected new Poirot mystery, which sees the dapper detective come face to face with the supernatural.
Set in post-World War II Venice, the story (based on Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party) sees Poirot asked by old friend Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) to attend a séance at the home of a former opera singer (Kelly Reilly, Yellowstone) whose daughter has recently died after throwing herself into the canal.
The sceptical Belgian is keen to debunk the methods of medium Mrs. Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), but when one of his fellow guests crosses over to the other side, he sets to work to unmask the culprit.
| Cert 12A, 104 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Sep 15 | |
| More details |
Bolan’s Shoes
Glam rock icon Marc Bolan appears to be having something of a cinematic moment this month, with forthcoming documentary AngelHeaded Hipster preceded by this T.Rex-inspired drama starring Timothy Spall and Leanne Best (Cold Feet).
Set in the 1970s and the present day, the film follows Bolan superfan Penny (Best) as she sets out on her annual pilgrimage to her idol’s shrine in London – but a chance encounter with reclusive Jimmy (Spall) causes both of them to face up to the traumatic impact of a devastating road accident in their childhood.
The debut directorial feature of former Coronation Street actor Ian Puleston-Davies, the film was praised by the Guardian for impressive performances from its two leads, with Best hailed as ‘so good you wonder why she’s not had more leading roles instead of support turns’.
| Cert 15, 98 mins | |
| City Screen, Vue | |
| From Fri Sep 15 | |
| More details |
The Nettle Dress
With the impact of ‘fast fashion’ ever more of a concern, this documentary combines environmental themes with a moving personal story in its depiction of one man’s seven-year quest to hand-make a dress in memory of his late wife.
The meditative film centres on Brighton-based textile artist Allan Brown and his mission to create a dress made only from the fibre of locally foraged stinging nettles – an intricate and painstaking process which becomes a source of strength and comfort.
Director Dylan Howitt’s gentle portrait of Brown’s dedication to his ‘hedgerow couture’ has been championed by Mark Rylance as ‘an exquisite film…extremely beautiful and helpful for anyone suffering loss or grief’.
| Cert 12A, 68 mins | |
| City Screen | |
| From Fri Sep 15 | |
| More details |
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Other screenings
Other new releases and previews
Former EastEnders hard case Craig Fairbrass tools up once more for Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance (Cineworld and Vue, daily), the latest chapter in the successful British gangster franchise which seems to cast its films largely by firing up IMDb and setting the acting credits filter to ‘Henchman’.
Fairbrass promises a different, Get Carter-inspired tone to the new instalment, which sees his antihero Pat Tate on the warpath in 90s Soho to avenge the death of an old friend.
That change of tone looks sadly unlikely to extend to the inclusion of immaculately choreographed dance sequences, but thankfully Hindi action thriller Jawan (Cineworld, daily; Everyman, Fri 15th to Sun 17th) is on hand to supply that deficiency.
Cineworld have a preview of upcoming demonic possession horror It Lives Inside on Mon 18th, while at City Screen on Tues 19th you can catch a sneak peek of comedy drama Dumb Money, which sees Cruella director Craig Gillespie return to the strange-but-true genre that served him so well in I, Tonya.
And if you fancy a night at the opera without using those funny little binoculars, then head down to the cinema for ROH Live: Das Rheingold, which kicks off a new Royal Opera House production of Wagner’s Ring cycle – it’s showing at City Screen, Everyman and Vue on Weds 20th.
Family-friendly screenings
Fans of racing, nocturnal strepsirrhine primates and once-great comedians turned whiny, legacy-trashing bores will be well-served by this week’s new animation Rally Road Racers, the tale of a young slow loris who dreams of being a race-car driver; John Cleese gives voice to his amphibious foe, the aptly named Archie Vainglorious.
Rev up your engines and motor down to Cineworld (daily) and Vue (Fri 15th, Sat 16th, Sun 17th, Weds 20th, Thurs 21st).
Boasting some of its most loveable characters and earwormiest bangers, Disney’s centenary celebrations continue this week with 1967’s The Jungle Book, the studio’s much-loved take on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale.
Swing by City Screen’s Kids’ Club on Sat 16th (tickets £3.30) and Everyman’s Toddler Club on Fri 15th and Sat 16th (£6.10 child, £8.60 adult); you can also catch general admission screenings at Cineworld (Sat 16th/Sun 17th, £5.00), Vue (Sat 16th/Sun 17th, £6.99 – £9.99), City Screen (Tues 19th to Thurs 21st, £6.00 child, £8.00 adult) and Everyman (Sun 17th, £9.40 child, £14.40 adult).
The peerless animated version was one of the first of the studio’s films to be given the dubious honour of a ‘live-action’ remake, which if nothing else proved that not absolutely everything is improved by the addition of Bill Murray; their most recent rejig, this year’s The Little Mermaid, gets an Autism-Friendly screening at City Screen on Sun 17th.
Your budget viewing options at Cineworld this week are Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (both showing on Sat 16th and Sun 17th, tickets £2.50), while Vue are showing Ukrainian animation Mavka: The Forest Song on Sat 16th and Sun 17th (£2.49); English-dubbed versions screen on both days, with an additional screening in Ukrainian with English subtitles on Sun 17th.
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Considine’s return and an audience with Björn: old favourites back on the big screen
There’s a welcome re-release this week for the most darkly glittering jewel in This is England director Shane Meadows’ filmography, in the form of his haunting 2004 revenge saga Dead Man’s Shoes.
Showing daily at City Screen, the film features a career-best performance from Paddy Considine as a soldier turned gas mask-sporting angel of vengeance who metes out a terrible punishment on the drug dealers who tormented his vulnerable younger brother.
And talking of one-man armies with a score to settle, it’s Batman Day on Saturday – and if you’ve failed to pick up on all those hints your partner’s been dropping about that replica Adam West-era Batphone they’ve seen on eBay, you’re in luck, as three of the most celebrated Batflicks are back on the big screen this weekend.
Choose from Tim Burton’s classic 1989 Nicholson-Keaton face-off Batman (Cineworld, Sat 16th; Everyman, Sun 17th, Tues 19th; Vue, Fri 15th, Sat 16th), the Christopher Nolan trilogy’s high water mark The Dark Knight (Cineworld, Everyman, Vue, Sat 16th) and Joaquin Phoenix’s tour-de-force performance as Joker (Cineworld, Sun 17th; Everyman, Fri 15th; Vue, Sat 16th, Sun 17th).
Appropriately enough, this week’s Scorsese-De Niro selection at City Screen is a film which was a big influence on Phoenix’s interpretation of Gotham’s clown prince: 1982’s blackly comic tale of celebrity obsession, The King of Comedy (Sun 17th), starring De Niro as a hapless aspiring stand-up whose fixation on Jerry Lewis’ chat-show host becomes ever more unhinged.
Over at Vue, they’re getting back in the hobbit with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, showing in an enticingly shiny 4K extended edition on Sat 16th, Sun 17th and Tues 19th.
And finally, we celebrate the Fellowship of the Ring Ring (sorry) with the re-release of ABBA: The Movie, the 1977 mockumentary-cum-concert doc which follows the Swedish pop legends as they set out on their Australian tour, while being pursued by a local radio DJ desperately trying to bag an interview with them; extras include insights from the creators of the hugely successful ABBA: Voyage production, plus a glimpse at Stockholm’s ABBA Museum.
Voulez-vous? Then pull those platforms on and head down to City Screen (Sun 17th) and Everyman (Sun 17th, Tues 19th).