If you were to fuse together two seemingly incompatible organisms in the name of law enforcement, which would they be?
Hmm, that does sound rather like a lost cue card from a Vic and Bob reboot of Blind Date that never made it to air, but it’s actually inspired by this week’s new release Dog Man, in which a cop and his loyal pooch are surgically conjoined to form a new crime-fighting superhero (in a fun, family-friendly way, not a stomach-clutching David Cronenberg one).
Best I’ve got so far is RhinoFish. Head of a rhino, body of a fish – a true terror of the deep. Seriously, even Jason Statham would think twice.
Plus, there’s tense drama in September 5, and York’s community cinemas open their doors once more…
New releases
Dog Man
I have to say I’d completely forgotten about the Captain Underpants movie, which delighted kids and grown-ups alike when it came out in 2017, overflowing with wit, imagination and good old-fashioned silliness.
Eight years on, we now have this fun-looking spin-off about one of the characters dreamed up by Underpants’ dynamic duo George and Harold: as the title suggests, our hero here is the result of a rather innovative spot of life-saving surgery which joins together an injured police officer and his beloved hound.
The canine-human hybrid swiftly becomes a crime-fighting sensation – and inevitably earns himself a nemesis in the form of the dastardly Petey (Pete Davidson), aka ‘the world’s most evilest cat’.
| Cert U, 89 mins | |
| Cineworld, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Feb 7 | |
| More details |
September 5
This acclaimed true-life thriller follows the American sports broadcasters who found themselves reporting live on the unfolding horror of the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Led by ambitious young producer Geoff Mason (John Magaro, Past Lives), the team must react swiftly while navigating some thorny ethical conundrums as they broadcast live to an estimated one billion people.
Director Tim Fehlbaum’s film has received plaudits for its grittily authentic recreation of what became known as a landmark day for TV news, with Empire calling it ‘an erudite and well-performed ode to journalism in an analogue age’.
| Cert 15, 95 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Thurs Feb 6 | |
| More details |
Nickel Boys
This adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has picked up rave reviews from critics for its moving depiction of the friendship between two African American boys in an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida.
Director RaMell Ross has come in for particular praise for his decision to film the story through the eyes of its lead characters, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), with nearly everything we see being shot from their perspectives.
Nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars, it’s been hailed as a ‘soulful masterpiece’ by Time Out and ‘a sublime piece of film-making’ by the Observer.
| Cert 12A, 140 mins | |
| City Screen | |
| From Fri Feb 7 |
Community cinema
Who would you rather spend the night with – Alain Delon or Dustin Hoffman?
That’s the choice facing film fans this Friday, with both York community cinemas returning with two very different offerings.
South Bank Community Cinema kick off their winter/spring programme with 1970 French crime thriller Le Cercle Rouge – famed for its almost dialogue-free climactic heist sequence, Jean-Pierre Melville’s film stars the late, great Delon as a recently-released prisoner who masterminds the robbery of a Parisian jewellery store, aided by a fugitive (Gian Maria Volonte) and an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand).
The film screens at Clements Hall, South Bank on Fri 7th at 8pm (doors 7:30pm). Tickets are £5 for non-members and £4 for members (cash only), and SBCC advise that it’s best to book in advance by e-mailing [email protected].
Meanwhile over in New Earswick, Hoffman’s getting hot under the collar as Film at the Folk Hall have a Valentine’s-adjacent screening of The Graduate.
It’s the first pick from their brand new team, and it looks like they’ve got plenty more crackers lined up in the coming months too – get seduced at the Folk Hall, New Earswick on Fri 7th at 7:30pm (doors 7pm). Tickets can be booked or reserved on their website: prices are £6 for general admission and £5 for concessions, with a small number of free tickets available to those who need them.
Family-friendly films
Expect an Anxiety spike at City Screen on Saturday morning, as the all-conquering Inside Out 2 screens in their Kids’ Club (Sat 8th, subtitled, tickets £3.30) – while Everyman’s Toddler Club hosts a Pixar classic from yesteryear in the form of Finding Nemo (Fri 7th/Sat 8th, £6.25 child/£9.80 adult plus toddler).
Cineworld’s budget viewing choice is the so-so sounding Panda Bear in Africa (Sat 8th/Sun 9th, £2.50), while Vue have Disney’s fantasy adventure Raya and the Last Dragon (Sat 8th/Sun 9th, £2.49).
Your delectable dose of double Donaldson is Tabby McTat & Stick Man, showing at Vue on Sat 8th and Sun 9th (£3.99), and they’ve also got a few more outings for Sarah & Duck on the Big Screen (Fri 7th, Sat 8th, Sun 9th, Weds 12th, Thurs 13th, £3.99).
Other new releases and previews
Having reignited his career in spectacular style with Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ke Huy Quan now gets the ultimate honour for male actors of a certain age – his very own geriactioner, in the form of Love Hurts (Cineworld, Vue, daily), which sees him play a mild-mannered realtor forced to reckon with his former life as – and I do hope you’re sitting down for this – a violent hitman.
Vue are also screening acclaimed true-life sporting drama The Fire Inside (daily), which tells the story of Flint, Michigan boxer Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, and her journey to the 2012 Olympics – according to Variety’s glowing review, it’s a tougher, grittier take on the ever-popular underdog genre.
And if you’re a lover not a fighter, Marked Men: Rule + Shaw absolutely sounds like it’s about two blokes caving each other’s heads in but is in fact the first big screen adaptation of a popular series of adult romance novels – swoon your heart out at Vue (daily to Weds 12th).
Wickes title of the week, meanwhile, goes to Becoming Led Zeppelin (Cineworld, Vue, daily), which shows a whole lotta love to Messrs. Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham (no word yet on whether City Screen will do a Black Dog-Friendly screening).
City Screen, Everyman and Vue all have preview screenings of Pamela Anderson’s hotly-tipped comeback in The Last Showgirl on Mon 10th, followed by a recorded Q&A with the lady herself, and you can also catch a sneak peek at Oscar-nominated Brazilian political drama I’m Still Here at City Screen on Tues 11th.
There’s a relaxed screening of Mike Leigh’s latest Hard Truths at City Screen on Mon 10th (and if ever a film needed a relaxed screening, it’s that one), while Cineworld and Vue both have a Secret Screening of an upcoming horror film on Sat 8th – my money’s on Stephen King adaptation The Monkey, due later this month.
And if you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s night out, why not join David Tennant and Cush Jumbo as literature’s ultimate power couple in Macbeth, which really shows how a shared interest can bring a spark to a relationship – filmed live at the Donmar Warehouse, the duo’s greatly garlanded take on Shakespeare’s classic tale encores at Cineworld (Sun 9th, Weds 12th), City Screen (Fri 7th, Sun 9th), Everyman (Tues 11th, Weds 12th) and Vue (daily to Weds 12th).
Dirty dances and forgotten romances: old favourites back on the big screen
Kirk Douglas plays a washed-up reporter who discovers a man trapped in a cave – and cynically exploits the situation for his own ends in Ace in the Hole, which continues City Screen’s season of film noir classics on Sun 9th; it’s directed by Billy Wilder, who provided two of the genre’s most darkly glittering jewels with Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard.
Sinful behaviour to be sure – and there’s plenty more where that came from at Vue as Se7en continues to mark its 30th anniversary with screenings on Fri 7th, Sat 8th and Weds 12th.
Let’s not get too hard-bitten though, as there’s plenty of soul-stirring romance on offer in the run up to Valentine’s Day – not least at Everyman, where Dirty Dancing is this week’s Throwback screening on Sun 9th and Tues 11th, while Jim Carrey remembers why he tried to forget Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at Cineworld (Tues 11th) and Vue (Sat 8th, Sun 9th, Tues 11th).
And finally, with last year’s excellent Anora having been hailed by many as a more realistic take on Pretty Woman, those who prefer the fairytale version can bask in the glow of Julia Roberts’ career-making, megawatt performance at Vue on Sat 8th, Sun 9th and Tues 11th.
Faced with an impossible choice, I had to toss a coin for this week’s outro – and sorry Roxette, you were heads…