A Caped Crusader inspired by Kurt Cobain; a Riddler modelled on a real-life serial killer; and a horror-tinged story influenced by paranoid 1970s conspiracy thrillers.
Yep, it’s safe to say that the long-awaited Batman reboot hasn’t gone down the Adam West route…
Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight swoops into action this week – while Bradford-set love story Ali & Ava offers a feelgood antidote to all that Gotham gloom.
New releases
The Batman
Robert Pattinson dons the iconic (s)cowl for this new take on Gotham City’s crime-fighting vigilante, which pits him against Paul Dano’s Riddler – a serial killer preying on Gotham’s elite.
Director Matt Reeves (who did a great job with the recent Planet of the Apes films) helms this noirish tale, which promises to give more weight to its hero’s detective skills while not skimping on the usual ka-pows and ker-blams.
Batman’s investigations draw him into a murky underworld of conspiracy and corruption, bringing him into the orbit of nightclub waitress Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) and rising crime lord Oswald Cobblepot (an unrecognisable Colin Farrell) – both of whom will, of course, come to be better known by other names.
| Cert 15, 176 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Mar 4 | |
| More details |
Ali & Ava
A chance encounter leads to a blossoming romance in this highly acclaimed Bradford-set drama from director Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant).
When property manager and DJ Ali (Adeel Akhtar) offers teaching assistant Ava (Claire Rushbrook) a lift home one day, the two strike up a bond fuelled by their love of music, which offers a glimmer of hope as the pair negotiate the painful aftermath of their previous relationships.
Enthusiastic reviews suggest this is an uplifting love story firmly rooted in everyday life – the two lead characters are both based on real people whom Barnard met while working on other films in the city – with Sight and Sound calling it ‘a nuanced slice of life that is generous to all its characters’.
| Cert 15, 95 mins | |
| City Screen | |
| From Fri Mar 4 | |
| More details |
Q&A Screening
Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes + Live Q&A
There’s a treat for fans of the surreally satirical 1990s TV comedy Brass Eye this week, as City Screen hosts a screening of this behind-the-scenes documentary about the series, followed by a live Q&A with director Michael Cumming.
With Brass Eye mastermind Chris Morris remaining an elusive presence off-screen, it gives a rare insight into the creative process behind the controversial show, which became celebrated and vilified for spoofing media coverage of hot-button subjects such as sex, drugs and religion – including infamously duping celebs such as Noel Edmonds and Richard Blackwood into fronting ridiculous fake campaigns.
In keeping with the air of mystique around the show, the documentary (originally released in 2017) is not available for home viewing and will only ever be seen at live cinema events such as this one – director Michael Cumming (who also directed the original TV show) will introduce the screening and will be present for a Q&A session afterwards.
| Cert 18, 100 mins | |
| City Screen | |
| Weds Mar 9, 8:30pm | |
| More details |
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Other screenings
While The Batman director Matt Reeves has cited Kurt Cobain as an influence for Robert Pattinson’s tortured Bruce Wayne, the Nirvana frontman’s erstwhile bandmate Dave Grohl makes an unlikely foray into horror this week in comedic splatterfest Studio 666, showing at Vue (daily from Sat 5th to Tues 8th, plus Thurs 10th).
Inspired by and shot in the spooky mansion in which Foo Fighters recorded their tenth album Medicine at Midnight, the goofy tale sees a possessed Grohl picking off his bandmates in a variety of gruesome ways – watch out for cameo appearances from some familiar faces too.
Meanwhile, Vue are also continuing the Corleone saga with The Godfather Part II (Sat 5th, Thurs 10th), the film which became the ultimate byword for sequels that surpass the original (at least until Paddington 2 came along).
City Screen’s Studio Ghibli season continues this weekend with Tales of Earthsea (Sat 5th), an adventure tale loosely adapted from the works of fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin, and Pom Poko (Sun 6th), which sees a gang of loveable racoon-type creatures band together to save their forest home.
Mon 7th sees a screening of Japanese domestic drama Tomorrow’s Dining Table, which uses the stories of three very different women to paint a portrait of motherhood in modern Japan.
City Screen mark International Women’s Day on Tues 8th with a preview of Hive, an acclaimed drama based on the true story of Fahrije Hoti, who started her own business selling honey in order to provide for her family when her husband went missing in the Kosovo war – a recorded Q&A with director Blerta Basholi follows the film.
Over at Everyman on Weds 9th, Rebel Dread is a portrait of legendary DJ, filmmaker and musician Don Letts, the man credited with introducing reggae to the punk scene in the late 70s – the film is followed by a recorded Q&A with the man himself.
Cineworld’s autism-friendly screening this month is the Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg video game adaptation Unearthed, showing on Sun 6th.
Your budget family-friendly offering at both Cineworld and Vue this weekend is Clifford the Big Red Dog, showing on Sat 5th and Sun 6th (tickets £2.50 at Cineworld, £2.49 at Vue) – Vue also have budget screenings of the film on Fri 4th and Weds 9th.
Meanwhile, City Screen’s Kids’ Club is showing Spike Jonze’s 2009 take on the classic Maurice Sendak picture book Where the Wild Things Are (Sat 5th, tickets £3.00) – and that seems reason enough to revisit the director’s Christopher Walken-starring video for Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice, which alarmingly came out in 2001, 21 years and three Batmen ago…
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Community cinema
It’s great to see South Bank Community Cinema open their doors for the first time in 2022 this week, and with one of the best films of last year to boot.
SBCC will be showing one film a month for the rest of the year (with a break over the summer), kicking off this Friday with the brilliant First Cow, a low-key western set in 1820s Oregon.
The story follows quietly-spoken chef ‘Cookie’ (John Magaro) and the entrepreneurial King Lu (Orion Lee) – two outsiders who concoct a money-making plan which involves secretly milking the cow belonging to a wealthy landowner (Toby Jones).
As with director Kelly Reichardt’s previous western, Meek’s Cutoff, the appeal here is in the slow-paced, immersive storytelling and nuanced performances, with the central duo forging an understated and affecting friendship, just as memorable in its own way as Butch and Sundance.
The film shows at Clements Hall on Fri 4th at 8pm (doors 7:30pm) – tickets are £4, and SBCC advise that it’s best to book in advance by e-mailing [email protected].