York film preview: Avatar: The Way of Water and festive favourites

I believe it was the noted pop philosophers Eiffel 65 who once proclaimed, “I’m blue, da ba dee, da ba daa, da ba dee, da ba daa.”

Not only was this a profound insight into the human condition, but it was also an uncanny cinematic prophecy — ten years after the Italian popsters’ catchy ditty hit the no. 1 spot in 1999, Avatar arrived and gave a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘blue movie’.

Coincidence? I think not…This week the 13-year wait is over and audiences can step back into the magical land of Pandora. 3D glasses at the ready, everyone!

New releases

Avatar: The Way of Water

When the first Avatar film was released in 2009, it was, to coin a phrase, kind of a big deal – but 13 years on, can director James Cameron wow audiences afresh with this long-gestating sequel?

Going on the decidedly mixed reviews, the answer would appear to be “sort of, sometimes, but for god’s sake go to the loo before it starts.”

Set more than a decade after the original, The Way of Water reintroduces Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), now happily living among the forests of Pandora with their four children – in an intriguing piece of casting, the 70-something Sigourney Weaver plays their adopted teenage daughter Kiri.

However, Weaver’s not the only member of the original cast returning in a new form here – the first film’s Big Bad, Colonel Miles Quaritch, hasn’t let a little thing like dying keep him down, and is hellbent on revenge.

His return forces the family to flee to a tropical island reef where they seek refuge with the Metkayina, led by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his wife Ronal (Kate Winslet) – but while the two clans bond, Quaritch’s forces are closing in…

The island setting provides the film’s major selling point – a series of intricately realised underwater sequences that aim to build on the first film’s immersive appeal – but many reviews suggest that while the film delivers on spectacle, it falls short on story.

Christmas Crackers

Pick of the week: Gremlins

While fans of Love Actually, Elf and Die Hard continue to be well-served by cinemas, this is, as far as I can see, York’s only big screen outing this year for the cuddly Gizmo and his slightly less cuddly pals.

So if you’re looking for a cathartic release from all the enforced jollity and frenzied present-buying, why not head down to City Screen on Monday for a night of gleefully gory Christmas carnage courtesy of director Joe Dante’s anti-festive classic?

Just remember those three all-important rules…

Other festive treats

If the best way to spread Christmas cheer is indeed singing loud for all to hear, then partaking in a festive tipple or two should certainly help you achieve that goal – which makes Brew York the ideal venue for a screening of Elf.

The Will Ferrell favourite is screening in Brew York’s Hoptail Lounge on Thurs 22nd – all ages are welcome, and best of all admission is free!

Buddy’s antics are plentifully available to watch in the cinema too – you can get over-excited about Santa at Cineworld (Fri 16th, Thurs 22nd), City Screen (Mon 19th), Everyman (Sat 17th, Tues 20th, Thurs 22nd) and Vue (Fri 16th, Thurs 22nd).

Macaulay Culkin’s still holding off those pesky Wet Bandits in Home Alone at Cineworld (Sat 17th, Sun 18th, Tues 20th), Everyman (Fri 16th, Sun 18th, Weds 21st) and Vue (Sat 17th, Mon 19th, Weds 21st) – and if you’ve ever wondered just how well those booby traps would work in real life, perhaps you should have become a stand-up comedian, because James Acaster and pals have got paid good money to find out.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is also screening at Cineworld on Sun 18th, Mon 19th and Weds 21st, and Vue on Sun 18th, Tues 20th and Weds 21st.

Meanwhile, the most famous vest in all of cinema gets a few more airings as Die Hard shows at City Screen (Fri 16th, Sun 18th and Thurs 22nd – all screenings are free for members) and Vue (Tues 20th).

Michael Caine gets a few life lessons from his furry friends in The Muppet Christmas Carol at Cineworld (Tues 20th), Everyman (Sun 18th, Thurs 22nd) and Vue (Sun 18th, Tues 20th, Thurs 22nd), and Clarence gets his wings in It’s a Wonderful Life (daily at City Screen, and Sun 18th at Everyman).

The best Prime Minister we never had? You might very well think that; I couldn’t possibly comment…Hugh Grant rallies the country once more in Love Actually (Everyman, Tues 20th, Weds 21st; Vue, Mon 19th, Thurs 22nd), while elsewhere in fairytale England, Jude Law breaks out Mr. Napkin Head again in The Holiday (Everyman, Sun 18th, Tues 20th, Thurs 22nd; Vue, Weds 21st).

Over at City Screen, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara’s forbidden affair in Carol (Fri 16th, Mon 19th) is a reminder that not all festive heartache can be cured via a few self-deprecating placards, while there’s more alternative fare courtesy of Ingmar Bergman’s sibling saga Fanny and Alexander (Fri 16th, Sat 17th, Sun 18th).

There are also encore screenings of The Royal Ballet’s new performance of festive ballet The Nutcracker at City Screen on Weds 21st and Everyman on Thurs 22nd.

Festive family fare

With a bit of a gap between the end of term and the main event, parents running out of shelves for their elves will be glad to know that budget family-friendly screenings are on offer throughout the week.

Cineworld’s Movies For Juniors strand is showing Elf daily from Fri 16th (tickets £2.50), while How the Grinch Stole Christmas (that’s the 2000 Jim Carrey version) shows daily at Vue from Sat 17th (tickets £2.49).

City Screen are showing The Muppet Christmas Carol on Sat 17th, Mon 19th, Weds 21st and Thurs 22nd, plus an Autism-Friendly screening on Sun 18th – tickets for all screenings are £3.00.

There’s also a double bill of Raymond Briggs favourite The Snowman and its sequel The Snowman and the Snowdog at City Screen on Mon 19th, Weds 21st and Thurs 22nd – again, tickets are £3.00.

Over at Cineworld, there’s a (frankly underwhelming-sounding) new animated take on The Nutcracker in the form of The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute, showing daily (tickets standard price), while there are a couple more chances to catch the 2022 CBeebies Panto at Vue on Sat 17th and Sun 18th.

And finally, the new Matilda musical is showing in a special charity sing-along screening at Cineworld, City Screen and Vue on Sat 17th, with all proceeds going to MediCinema, which runs cinemas in hospitals for patients and their families.

After all, as Cliff Richard likes to remind us, Christmas is a time for giving. And for getting. And for forgiving. And for forgetting. Honestly, the lyrical genius of that man…