As Dune Part II blasts on to the big screen, I’ve been wondering – where do the people of Arrakis go on their hols?
I’m thinking that when you live on a planet made entirely of sand, a trip to the seaside maybe loses some of its appeal – which is a shame, as a scene where Timothée Chalamet chews on some candy floss while sporting a Kiss Me Quick hat in the deep space equivalent of Bridlington could have provided a welcome breather from all those complex sci-fi shenanigans.
Not to criticise Denis Villeneuve, but surely that’s the kind of thing a truly visionary director would include in their film…Elsewhere, the writer of Juno returns with an 80s-tastic horror comedy, and South Bank Community Cinema hit the road with a noughties classic.
New releases
Dune Part II
Director Denis Villeneuve takes us back to the mysterious world of Arrakis in this long-awaited second chapter of his epic sci-fi adventure, adapted from the cult Frank Herbert novel.
Picking up where part one left off (and if you’re not sure exactly where that was beyond ‘Um, in a desert somewhere?’, then Florence Pugh is helpfully on hand to recap things in the opening minutes), the story sees Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) continuing to bond with the Fremen people after his escape from House Harkonnen’s brutal massacre of his clan.
As Paul plots his revenge, he finds himself growing closer to warrior Chani (Zendaya) – but while some believe him to be a heroic figure of ancient prophecy, Paul is tormented by visions that suggest he might be the one to plunge them into darkness.
Impressive reviews suggest that critics have once again had their gobs thoroughly smacked by Villeneuve’s spectacular visuals – expect an increased role for the terrifying sandworms that were glimpsed in part one – while there’s also been praise for a charismatic turn from Elvis star Austin Butler as a villainous Harkonnen hardman.
| Cert 12A, 167 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Mar 1 | |
| More details |
Lisa Frankenstein
In 2009, screenwriter Diablo Cody followed up her Oscar-winning debut hit Juno with the Megan Fox-starring horror comedy Jennifer’s Body, a film which was as critically reviled as Juno had been adored – but which, in the way of these things, has grown in cult status ever since to the point where it’s now seen by some as a feminist classic.
Expectations will be high among fans for Cody’s return to the genre with this new, 80s-set tale, which sees high school outcast Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton, Blockers) seeking sanctuary from her mean girl classmates in the local cemetery – only for a freak accident to reanimate one of the occupants (Cole Sprouse, Riverdale), with whom, naturally, she starts going steady.
It’s certainly a set-up that has all the markings of another future cult fave – and given that reviews have been mixed following its US release, you may as well get on board with it now so you can have bragging rights over all the unbelievers come 2034.
| Cert 15, 101 mins | |
| Cineworld, Vue | |
| From Fri Mar 1 | |
| More details |
Other screenings
Community cinema
A defective campervan, a sullen Steve Carrell, and a deeply inappropriate dance routine are just some of the ingredients that went into making this month’s South Bank Community Cinema selection a hit with audiences and critics alike on its release in 2006.
The tale of a dysfunctional family en route to take their young daughter to a child beauty pageant, Little Miss Sunshine won viewers over with its blend of sharp comedy and poignant drama, as performed by a top-notch ensemble including Carrell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Alan Arkin (who bagged the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a hellraising grandad).
Hit the road and head to Clements Hall, South Bank on Fri 1st at 8pm (doors 7:30pm). Tickets are £4 (cash only), and SBCC advise that it’s best to book in advance by e-mailing [email protected].
Other new releases and previews
Those for whom the title Titanic: The Musical evokes images of a woefully misjudged, Springtime for Hitler-esque stage version of the Kate’n’Leo classic will be relieved (or perhaps disappointed?) to learn that this specially-filmed big screen version of the Tony award-winning production (not related to the hit film) is an altogether more tasteful affair – all aboard at Cineworld and Vue on Thurs 7th.
Andrew Scott continues to do All The Acting in his highly acclaimed one-man show Vanya, showing at City Screen (Sun 3rd, Weds 6th), Everyman (Weds 6th), and Vue (Fri 1st, Sat 2nd, Mon 4th, Tues 5th) – it certainly seems a long time ago now since his first appearance as a rather manic Moriarty caused Sherlock Holmes purists to choke on their pipes…
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, pleasingly titled comedy drama The Persian Version follows a young Iranian-American woman caught in a culture clash when her family reunite in New York for her father’s heart transplant – you can catch a preview at City Screen on Thurs 7th ahead of its release later this month.
Also on Thurs 7th, City Screen’s showcase of highlights from the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme continues with tender gay romance Egoist, which follows the blossoming relationship between a fashion magazine editor and his personal trainer.
Showing at Cineworld on Sun 3rd and Mon 4th, Malayalam-language survival thriller Manjummel Boys follows a group of friends whose holiday takes a frightening turn when one of them gets trapped in a cave, while Vue have a couple more screenings of Malayalam horror Bramayugam on Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd.
Meanwhile, proving that Hollywood doesn’t have the monopoly on latter-day cash-ins on beloved franchises, Polish comedy Sami swoi. Początek serves as a prequel to a popular trilogy of films from the 1960s and 70s about quarrelling neighbours – it screens daily at Vue from Fri 1st.
Family-friendly films
It’s a good week for rhyming titles: while grown-ups can enjoy The Persian Version, youngsters can flock to Australian animated adventure Combat Wombat: Double Trouble, which is this week’s budget viewing selection at Vue (Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd, tickets £2.49).
Pixar coming-of-age tale Turning Red shows in City Screen’s Kids’ Club on Sat 2nd (£3.30), while there are boyband gags aplenty as Justin Timberlake harks back to his teen idol past in Trolls Band Together at Cineworld (Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd, £2.50) and Everyman’s Toddler Club (£6.25 child/£8.65 adult and toddler).
Cineworld also have budget-priced screenings of Disney’s centenary self-homage Wish on Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd (£2.50).
Kurt’s Antarctic dread and a melting Nazi head: old favourites back on the big screen
In the same year that E.T. showed Elliott a handy life hack for beating the rush-hour traffic, Kurt Russell was stuck in Antarctica dealing with a rather less helpful alien visitor in John Carpenter’s claustrophobic 1982 classic The Thing, creeping back into Everyman in their Late Nights strand on Fri 1st.
City Screen’s Werner Herzog season continues on Sun 3rd with 1974’s The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, based on the true story of a young man who appeared in a Nuremberg town square one morning in 1828, having spent his whole life chained in a cellar with no human contact.
Meanwhile on Mon 4th City Screen’s brilliant Powell and Pressburger season comes to a close with A Canterbury Tale, the legendary British filmmaking partnership’s Chaucer-inspired 1944 tale of two soldiers and a land girl who embark on a pilgrimage of their own in the Kent countryside.
And finally, it’s a pet peeve of mine (and one that will be completely incomprehensible to anyone under the age of 25) that my beloved Indiana Jones films are no longer screened on the BBC.
You could always rely on the Beeb to treat them with a bit of respect, giving them the Great Escape-esque honour of only ever showing them on Bank Holidays and Christmas.
Now Channel 4’s snapped them up, they’re on Film4 what seems like every other bloody week, and with adverts to boot! Is nothing sacred, I ask you?
For this reason I heartily approve of Vue’s decision to restore the great man to his rightful place on the silver screen, with screenings of the classic trilogy and the other two taking place over the next few weeks – kicking off with the original and best, Raiders of the Lost Ark, showing on Fri 1st, Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd.
(And don’t get me started on how they’ve renamed it as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark in newer releases – it sounds really clunky, and everyone knows it’s an Indiana Jones film anyway! Grumble grumble…)