The final starting pistol has been fired and the last medals have been dished out – but as we bid “Au revoir” to Paris 2024, you can still cheer on Team GB’s cinema squad on the big screen this weekend.
Dazzling displays of actorly aptitude and thespian technique abound as three of Britain’s finest aim to set a new PB.
Ian McKellen stalks the streets of Theatreland as The Critic, while Kate Winslet is on indomitable form in Lee, and that lovely James McAvoy invites you to spend a weekend in the country in Speak No Evil – NB it’s a Blumhouse film, so you’ll want to have your excuses ready…
New releases
The Critic
Ian McKellen dishes out brickbats and bouquets – but mainly brickbats, it has to be said – in this darkly witty period thriller about a theatre critic who’s the scourge of the West End.
In 1930s London, Jimmy Erskine’s (McKellen) waspish word can make or break careers – none more so than that of Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), a struggling actress whose performances draw some of his most punishing put-downs.
When his paper acquires a new proprietor (Mark Strong), Jimmy’s previously unassailable position begins to look vulnerable – prompting him to enlist Nina in a devious scheme to get back on top.
| Cert 15, 101 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Sep 13 |
Lee
Kate Winslet stars as American photographer Lee Miller in this biographical drama focussing on her time reporting on the front line in the Second World War.
Having started out as a fashion model, when war broke out Miller began taking pictures for Vogue, going on to provide some of the most important images of the conflict at a time when the odds were stacked against female correspondents.
Reviews suggest that this is another bravura performance from Winslet, for whom it was a real passion project, right down to her paying the crew’s wages when funding faltered – while there have been plaudits too for Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Andy Samberg, showcasing his dramatic chops as Miller’s fellow photojournalist David Scherman.
| Cert 15, 117 mins | |
| Cineworld, City Screen, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Sep 13 | |
| More details |
Speak No Evil
James McAvoy looks to be on terrifyingly good form in this psychological thriller from horror maestros Blumhouse, which serves as a warning to anyone looking to send a friend request to that lovely couple they met by the hotel pool on their hols.
The story sees Americans Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis) encounter charismatic British doctor Paddy (McAvoy) and his family while on holiday in Italy – and after they all hit it off, Paddy invites them to spend some time in his Somerset home.
Suffice to say that it’s not the idyllic vacation in the English countryside that they were hoping for, in this remake of the acclaimed 2022 Danish original (available to stream on Shudder) from director James Watkins (The Woman in Black).
| Cert 15, 110 mins | |
| Cineworld, Everyman, Vue | |
| From Fri Sep 13 | |
| More details |
Other screenings
Family-friendly films
New out this week, Boonie Bears: Time Twist (Cineworld, Sat 14th, Sun 15th; Vue, daily) is the latest big screen outing for the popular Chinese TV series about the adventures of a couple of ursine besties.
As the title suggests, the story for this one sees them engaging in a bit of timeline-hopping what-iffery, with the results being ‘nothing you couldn’t find equalled by the average preprogrammed set of computer screensavers’ according to the Guardian’s review, which charitably awards one star for each bear.
Laika Studios’ stop-motion Neil Gaiman adaptation Coraline continues in both 2D and 3D at Vue, while City Screen’s Kids’ Club kicks off a season in honour of another much-loved author on Sat 14th, with a screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (tickets £3.30) – all manner of Dahlian delights are to follow in the coming weeks.
My Neighbour Totoro is City Screen’s Autism-Friendly screening this month, showing in its dubbed edition on Sun 15th (£3.30).
The adventures of Gracie and Pedro are your budget viewing choice at both Cineworld (£2.50) and Vue (£2.49), showing on Sat 14th and Sun 15th, while Cineworld also has a screening of IF on Sun 15th only (£2.50).
And with Colin from Accounts back for a second series on BBC2, you can catch another Antipodean canine crossover hit in the form of Bluey at the Cinema: Family Trip Collection, showing daily at Vue (£3.99) and in Everyman’s Toddler Club on Fri 13th and Sat 14th (£6.25 child/£8.75 adult plus toddler).
Saoirse leaves the Emerald Isle and it’s Shakespeare, Keanu-style: old favourites back on the big screen
Holy camp classic, Batman! As cinema’s celebration of the Caped Crusader’s 85th anniversary continues, 1997’s cavalcade of kitsch Batman & Robin is officially inducted into the LGBTQ+ hall of fame with a screening in City Screen’s OUT strand on Mon 16th.
You can also watch George Clooney’s debonair Dark Knight face off against Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane (quite different to the Tom Hardy version) at Vue on Sat 14th, Sun 15th and Weds 18th – while Cineworld are taking the whole thing much more seriously with a screening of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy opener Batman Begins on Sun 15th.
Meanwhile over in the MCU, Tom Holland’s web-slinger swings by Europe in Spider-Man: Far From Home, showing daily at Cineworld and at Vue on Fri 13th, Sat 14th, Sun 15th and Weds 18th.
Having concluded the prequel trilogy last week, Cineworld’s Star Wars season continues with 2016’s well-received standalone film Rogue One on Sun 15th, setting the scene for the exploits of Han, Luke and Leia next week – but if you can’t wait that long, The Empire Strikes Back is showing at Everyman (Sun 15th, Tues 17th) and Vue (Fri 13th to Mon 16th).
And talking of masterful middle parts, Vue are also screening the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on Fri 13th, Sat 14th and Tues 10th.
Let’s wind things up with three very different literary adaptations, courtesy of City Screen: first up, their Love Ireland season concludes with Brooklyn (Sun 15th), the highly acclaimed film of Colm Tóibín’s wonderful novel, starring Saoirse Ronan as a young Irish woman starting a new life in America in the 1950s .
City Screen’s journey through the murky underworld of 1970s thrillers continues on Mon 16th with The Long Goodbye, Robert Altman’s take on Raymond Chandler’s noir potboiler which saw Elliot Gould step into the (gum)shoes of Chandler’s legendary detective Philip Marlowe.
And finally, what do you get if you cross Shakespeare, Keanu Reeves and the B-52s? It can only be My Own Private Idaho (City Screen, Sun 15th), director Gus Van Sant’s cult 90s favourite starring Reeves alongside River Phoenix, which was loosely adapted from Henry IV and took its title from an early single by the Love Shack hitmakers – who have obligingly stopped by to sing us out.