York film preview: Matilda, Glass Onion and She Said

When Knives Out was released three years ago, its witty and inventive spin on the whodunnit was a big hit with critics and cinemagoers alike.

Its success was all the more heartening as it was an original story which wasn’t part of an ongoing mega-franchise – so when the news came that Netflix had signed up director Rian Johnson for a pair of sequels, my heart sank a little: would the new films suffer the fate of many a previous Netflix ‘blockbuster’ and be unceremoniously dumped in amongst the rest of their content churn, to be all but forgotten a month later?

Mercifully, we are getting a chance to get reacquainted with Daniel Craig’s uniquely-accented detective Benoit Blanc on the big screen this week, with his new case Glass Onion receiving the biggest release yet for a Netflix film.

That’s the good news – the bad news is that it’s playing for just one week, prior to resurfacing on the streaming service on 23rd December.

Progress of a sort, then – so if you believe that great films are best experienced in the cinema, I’d suggest voting with your feet this week and sending a message to our streaming overlords…

New releases

Glass Onion

Daniel Craig is back on the case as Benoit Blanc, smartly dressed purveyor of confusing donut-based metaphors, in this eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Knives Out.

Writer-director Rian Johnson again uses a classic Agatha Christie-style setting for Blanc’s new mystery, which sees the debonair detective arrive as one of a number of guests of a tech billionaire (Edward Norton) on his lavish private estate on an idyllic Greek island.

It’s not long before one of the party checks out early, and Blanc must identify the culprit from a starry melange of dubious characters including Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical

Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s classic gets a second big screen outing here (following Danny DeVito’s excellent 1996 take on the tale) with this new film adaptation of the hit stage musical.

Newcomer Alisha Weir stars as Dahl’s book-loving heroine, who discovers some surprising special powers when her uncaring parents send her away to the prison-like school Crunchem Hall, presided over by the diabolical Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson).

Recent 007 Lashana Lynch stars as kindly teacher Miss Honey, while Antipodean tunesmith Tim Minchin supplies the songs (including a new one written for the film), and orchestrating things behind the camera is Matthew Warchus – who not only directed the stage version, but also helmed another crowd-pleasing outsider story in the form of 2014’s hit comedy-drama Pride.

Strange World

There’s a bit of a Jules Verne feel to this latest Disney animated adventure, which sees a family of explorers set out on a quest to a mysterious land.

When the citizens of Avalonia discover that their energy source is running out, risk-averse farmer Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) is dispatched to ‘Strange World’ – a colourful, fantastical netherworld beyond the mountains – in order to replenish it.

It’s the place in which his legendary adventurer dad Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) disappeared 25 years before – and with Searcher’s teenage son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White) tagging along for the ride, the scene is set for plenty of intergenerational bickering and bonding as the clan explore the bizarre landscape and its weird and wonderful inhabitants.

She Said

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan lead this investigative drama about the New York Times story which brought down Harvey Weinstein and gave rise to the #MeToo movement.

The story follows the painstaking work of journalists Jodi Kantor (Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Mulligan) in uncovering the Hollywood producer’s widespread sexual abuse of women – a task made all the more difficult by the culture of fear and silence which Weinstein presided over.

Based on Kantor and Twohey’s book about the investigation, it features a strong supporting cast including Patricia Clarkson and Samantha Morton, while Ashley Judd, one of the first celebrities to go on record about Weinstein’s abuse, appears in the film as herself.

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Other screenings

Also out this week, Bones and All sees Timothée Chalamet reunite with Luca Guadagnino, the director who gave him his breakthrough role in Call Me By Your Name – but their new collaboration showcases a love story of a very different stripe.

Chalamet and Taylor Russell (Escape Room) play a cannibal couple on a gore-soaked trek across Reagan’s America in this highly acclaimed romantic horror, showing daily at Cineworld, Everyman and Vue.

This month’s Dementia-Friendly screening at City Screen comes courtesy of the King himself, as Elvis Presley’s 1961 musical Blue Hawaii surfs back onto the big screen on Mon 28th.

Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy is your budget family-friendly offering at Vue this weekend, showing on Sat 26th and Sun 27th – there’s also an Autism-Friendly screening on Sun 27th, and tickets for all shows are £2.49.

There’s more adventuring on offer at Cineworld in the form of Mia and Me: The Hero of Centopia, while the nascent criminal mastermind gets a little help from his friends in Minions: The Rise of Gru – both films show on Sat 26th and Sun 27th, tickets £2.50.

City Screen, meanwhile, have gone with a tear duct-troubling Disney classic in the form of Bambi, showing on Sat 26th (tickets £3.00).

Christmas crackers

Pick of the week: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story

Mark Gatiss’ atmospheric readings of ghost stories have become something of a festive TV staple in recent years, so it’s no surprise to see him tackling one of the most famous spooks of all in this new stage version of the Dickens classic.

Given his love of the macabre, it’s no surprise that the League of Gentlemen alumnus leans into the story’s darker aspects in his acclaimed retelling of the much-loved tale.

Filmed live at the Alexandra Palace in 2021, the production sees Gatiss take the role of Jacob Marley, back to give his old employee Ebeneezer Scrooge (Nicholas Farrell) a performance review he’ll never forget…

Other festive treats

Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds give their all-singing, all-dancing take on Dickens’ tale in Spirited (Everyman, daily except Sun 27th), a modern-day re-telling of the story from the point of view of the ghosts.

Time will tell if it becomes a seasonal staple like Ferrell’s first festive foray, which this year received the dubious honour of being co-opted by a major supermarket’s advertising campaign – Elf shows at Everyman on Sun 27th, and at Vue on Sat 26th, Sun 27th and Tues 29th.

And talking of co-opting the festive season, Jack Skellington and his Halloween Town chums very much take the go-hard-or-go-home approach in The Nightmare Before Christmas, showing at Vue on Sat 26th and Sun 27th, and City Screen on Sun 27th – the latter screening is free for City Screen members.

And finally, the ever-resourceful scamp is back to take on the Wet Bandits once more in Home Alone, showing at Vue from Sat 26th to Mon 28th.

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Community cinema

Film at the Folk Hall have something a little different to mark Disability Awareness Month this Friday (25th).

Their screening of acclaimed comedy drama The Peanut Butter Falcon will be preceded by a live performance and a short film from the Hands and Voices choir – one of the first singing and signing choirs in the UK.

The Mark Twain-inspired The Peanut Butter Falcon follows the adventures of a young man with Down Syndrome and a fisherman whom he befriends while on the run from his nursing home.

Writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz wrote the film for its star Zack Gottsagen at his request after they met at a camp for actors with disabilities, and Gottsagen’s funny, soulful performance won him plenty of plaudits on the film’s release in 2019.

The screening takes place at the Folk Hall, New Earswick on Fri 25th – doors are at 6:30pm, the Hands and Voices performance starts at 7pm and the film follows at 7:30pm.

Tickets can be reserved via Eventbrite, or you can secure them in person at the Folk Hall reception or by calling 01904 752211 – the price is £3.00, and there are also a small number of free film-only tickets available for those who need them.