Moore, Moore, Moore – how do you like it?
Well, I imagine she’s very pleased…I speak, of course, of Demi Moore’s headline-grabbing Golden Globes win for her terrific turn in last year’s gleefully deranged body horror The Substance.
It’s an accolade that’s inevitably ramped up speculation of possible Oscar glory for the actor too – but she’ll likely face stiff competition from the leading ladies in two of this week’s big releases, as Nicole Kidman throws caution to the wind in Babygirl and Angelina Jolie stars as the diva’s diva in Maria.
Plus, Moore’s fellow Globes winner Kieran Culkin hits the road with Jesse Eisenberg in odd couple comedy A Real Pain – can you guess which one of them is chaotic but charming and which is uptight and twitchy…?
New releases
Babygirl
If the phrase ‘erotic thriller’ tends to bring to mind various films of yesteryear in which Michael Douglas came to regret delegating important life decisions to his genitals, this highly acclaimed drama starring Nicole Kidman looks set to bring a degree of respectability to that most lurid of sub-genres.
Kidman has wowed critics with her performance as Romy, a high-flying CEO whose fastidiously controlled existence is upended when she begins a passionate affair with charismatic young intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson, Triangle of Sadness).
In time-honoured fashion, both her career and her marriage come under threat as the relationship intensifies – but reviews have praised director Halina Reijn (whose 2022 comedy horror Bodies Bodies Bodies you can currently catch on iPlayer) for crafting a human story that’s as tender and funny as it is raunchy.
| Cert 18, 114 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Jan 10 | |
| More details |
Maria
“Book me a table at a cafe where the waiters know who I am. I’m in need of adulation.”
Angelina Jolie makes an imperious return to the big screen in this biopic of Maria Callas, which follows the legendary opera singer as she looks back over a lifetime of triumphs and tribulations, on stage and off.
Director Pablo Larrain has form in this area, having previously crafted sumptuous portraits of iconic 20th century women in 2016’s Jackie and 2021’s Spencer, with which this forms a loose sort of trilogy – while the screenplay comes from Peaky Blinders mastermind Steven Knight.
| Cert 12A, 124 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Vue | |
| From Fri Jan 10 | |
| More details |
A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg writes, directs and stars in this comedy drama about two mismatched cousins on a road trip across Poland.
The story sees old tensions resurface when Eisenberg’s anxious, nervy David is thrown together with Kieran Culkin’s charming layabout Benji on a tour of Poland in honour of their recently deceased grandmother.
Neither actor is exactly playing against type there, but impressive reviews suggest the film hits that happy/sad indie comedy sweetspot, with the Guardian proclaiming that ‘with no great fanfare, Jesse Eisenberg has just given us a masterpiece’.
| Cert 15, 90 mins | |
| Cineworld, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Weds Jan 8 | |
| More details |
Family-friendly films
Did they still have it? Of course they did! The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief on Christmas Day as Vengeance Most Fowl proved every bit the equal of Wallace and Gromit’s previous adventures – though nuns have reported a tenfold increase in suspicious looks from passers-by concerned that they might be dastardly penguins in disguise.
You can witness Feathers McGraw’s original reign of terror in a double bill of The Wrong Trousers and A Matter of Loaf and Death at City Screen on Sat 11th (tickets £4.00), while Cineworld’s budget viewing choice is 200% Wolf (Sat 11th/Sun 12th, £2.50), and Vue are going with the well-regarded, not at all confusingly titled prequel Transformers One (Sat 11th/Sun 12th, £2.49).
Everyman’s Toddler Club takes us back to the Ice Age (Fri 10th/Sat 11th, £6.25 child/£9.80 adult plus toddler), while Vue are showing Julia Donaldson double bill Tabby McTat & Stick Man on Sat 11th and Sun 12th (£3.99), as well as daily screenings of Sarah and Duck on the Big Screen (£3.99), which is a new one to me but apparently is narrated by Roger Allam, who feels like exactly the sort of person you’d want doing this sort of thing. Him or Bill Nighy. Ideally both. In fact, how about a series where Allam and Nighy voice a pair of crime-solving otters? Actually, I’m feeling quite annoyed that doesn’t already exist now. Do I have to do everything, BBC? Honestly…
What’s in the box: other new releases and old favourites
Timothée Chalamet’s hotly-tipped turn as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown hits our screens next Friday, but you can catch a preview at Cineworld on Thurs 16th, followed by a recorded Q&A with the director and cast moderated, for reasons which are unclear, by Goop magnate Gwyneth Paltrow, of whom more later.
Vue have a few more screenings of the well-received new Jude Law thriller The Order (Fri 10th, Sun 12th, Mon 13th, Tues 14th, Weds 15th), while City Screen have a relaxed screening of romantic drama We Live in Time on Mon 13th – relaxed screenings are designed to make cinema-going easier for those needing additional support, with lights left on low, the volume reduced, and audience members free to move around during the film.
Last week saw City Screen kick off their new Noir in Nine Chapters season, celebrating some of the classics of the genre famed for its hard-bitten ‘tecs, heinous hoodlums and duplicitous femmes fatales – perfect viewing for these dark winter months. It continues on Sun 12th with 1946’s The Killers, which starts with Burt Lancaster’s boxer casually accepting his fate at the hands of two hit men, then flashes back to reveal how he came to reach his ignominious end.
And speaking of noir, this week’s major re-release is David Fincher’s classic 90s update on the genre, Se7en, back on the big screen for its 30th anniversary, and showing at Cineworld (Fri 10th, Tues 14th), Everyman (Sun 12th, Tues 14th) and Vue (Sat 11th, Sun 12th, Mon 13th, Weds 15th).
In honour of the film’s most famous scene, then, we’ll close proceedings this week with Living in a Box by Living in a Box – which is, well, half appropriate at least…