York film preview: The Nun II, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 and Past Lives

She’s back in the habit…of scaring you senseless!

Time to start saying your Hail Marys as the Satanic sister returns in The Nun II: Second to Nun (not actually its official title but I’m lobbying the studio for a last-minute change, watch this space).

There’s more Portokalos chaos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, and a decades-spanning romance in Past Lives – plus lock up your pups, Cruella’s back in town…

New releases

The Nun II

The be-wimpoled menace is back to put the “Aaargh!” into Ave Maria in this sequel to the 2018 horror spin-off, which explored the origins of The Conjuring II’s tormentor-in-chief.

Picking up the story four years on, the story sees the redoubtable Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga, sister of The Conjuring star Vera) now settled in a French boarding school – but little does she realise that her demonic nemesis Valak (Bonnie Aarons) has not followed far behind.

With its predecessor generally regarded as something of a low point for the franchise, early social media reactions suggest this is a (mother) superior follow-up  – perhaps in part due to a co-writing credit for Akela Cooper, the screenwriter of this year’s breakout horror hit M3GAN.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

The Portokalos clan head back to their roots in this latest chapter in the popular romcom series, the original of which was a huge surprise hit on its release back in 2002.

Star and screenwriter Nia Vardalos reprises her role as Toula Portokalos while also stepping behind the camera for this third instalment, which sees the chaotic but loving family head to Greece for a reunion following the death of Toula’s father Gus.

While Toula sets out on a mission to find her dad’s childhood best friends, daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) is distracted by the unexpected reappearance of an old flame…

Past Lives

There have been rave reviews for this romantic drama about two Korean childhood friends who find each other again as adults over the course of one fateful week in New York.

Spanning 24 years, the story follows Nora (Greta Lee, The Morning Show) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), whose burgeoning relationship at school in Seoul was cut short when Nora’s family moved to Canada.

After reconnecting online during their twenties, the pair are finally reunited in person in New York 12 years later, when their deep-seated connection is tested by the complications of adult life – not least the presence of Nora’s husband Arthur (John Magaro, First Cow).

Writer-director Celine Song’s debut feature was a huge hit when it premiered at this year’s Sundance Festival, with Sight and Sound hailing it as “(a) poignant, slow-burn study of an enduring romance that both sneaks up on you and races ahead of expectations”.

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Other screenings

Outdoor cinema

Summer may be drawing to a close, but there are still a couple more chances to enjoy cinema under the stars this weekend courtesy of City Screen.

On Fri 8th, the Museum Gardens will echo with the dulcet tones of Meryl Streep (and the slightly less dulcet tones of Pierce Brosnan) with a screening of the original Mamma Mia!, while on Sat 9th Barbie makes its outdoor debut – rumours that a replica Mojo Dojo Casa House would be built for the occasion are sadly unfounded.

Doors open at 7:30pm and the films will begin as soon as it gets dark; tickets are £12.50 adult, £8.00 child and £32.00 for a family, and bookable via City Screen’s website – but you can also get half-price tickets to Mamma Mia! with YorkMix’s special offer.

Other new releases and previews

Ee-eye, ee-eye, oh my goodness…new documentary A Life on the Farm is the intriguing tale of farmer and amateur filmmaker Charles Carson, whose output sounds a little like that of a cheerier, Somerset-dwelling David Lynch – get your wellies on and head to City Screen to enter his weird and wonderful world (showing daily except Sun 10th and Thurs 14th).

City Screen also have previews of acclaimed drama R.M.N. (Tues 12th), following the simmering tensions between locals and immigrants in a Transylvanian village, and new Marc Bolan doc AngelHeaded Hipster (Thurs 14th), which sees musicians including Joan Jett and Nick Cave lining up to sing the praises of the glam rock icon, as well as putting their own spin on selections from his glittering back catalogue.

Vue’s regular BFI Presents strand continues to bring the arthouse into the multiplex with a preview of Japanese domestic drama Love Life (Weds 13th), which sees a family’s peaceful life upended by the return of the wife’s previous husband; and if your moustache is bristling with anticipation for Kenneth Branagh’s latest Poirot mystery, head to Everyman on Thurs 14th for a sneak peak of A Haunting in Venice.

Expect thrills and spills aplenty in two Hindi Bollywood action epics screening this week: revenge saga Jawan screens daily at Cineworld, while 70s-set sequel Gadar 2 (Vue, Sat 9th and Sun 10th) sees hero Tara Singh on a mission to rescue his son.

And ballet fans should pirouette their way to City Screen on Weds 13th for a screening of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, a return to the big screen for this specially-filmed performance of Bourne’s all-male take on the Tchaikovsky classic.

Family-friendly screenings

Pongo and Perdita’s pups are in a spot of bother in this week’s Disney centenary release, as 101 Dalmatians returns to the big screen.

The harrowing tale of a trailblazing fashion designer and the short-sighted animal rights activists who scupper her vision, it’s City Screen’s Kids’ Club choice on Sat 9th (tickets £3.30) and is also showing in Everyman’s Toddler Club on Fri 8th and Sat 9th (£6.10 child, £8.60 adult); you can also catch general admission screenings at Cineworld (Sat 8th/Sun 9th, £5.00), Vue (Sat 8th/Sun 9th, £6.99 – £9.99), City Screen (Tues 12th, £6.00 child, £8.00 adult) and Everyman (£9.40 child, £14.40 adult).

Plus, you can bring your pooch along for a special Dog-Friendly screening at City Screen on Sun 10th (£6.00 child, £8.00 adult) – I trust they’ll have a canine therapist on hand afterwards.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse makes its budget-price debut at Cineworld this weekend, alongside this year’s The Little Mermaid remake (both showing on Sat 9th and Sun 10th, £2.50), while Vue’s Mini Mornings choice is Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (Sat 9th/Sun 10th, £2.49) – plus they’re also kicking back with the original Kung-Fu Panda (Sat 9th/Sun 10th, £6.99 – £9.99) – parts two and three follow over the coming weeks.

De Niro’s knockout and Gyllenhaal’s freakout: old favourites back on the big screen

Grab yourself a ringside seat for another Scorsese/De Niro classic at City Screen on Sun 10th, as Raging Bull continues their tribute to the celebrated actor-director partnership ahead of their eagerly-awaited new one Killers of the Flower Moon.

City Screen also have another film showing in tribute to the late William Friedkin this week, with the Exorcist director’s other best-known work, 1971’s Gene Hackman thriller The French Connection, screening on Mon 11th.

Jack Black celebrates twenty years of corrupting young minds with an anniversary screening of the evergreen School of Rock at Vue on Sat 9th, while Everyman are showing Quentin Tarantino’s gloriously mis-spelled wartime romp Inglourious Basterds in their Throwback strand on Sun 10th and Tues 12th.

And finally, what’s up doc? Quite a lot actually if you’re hallucinating a giant talking rabbit: Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Donnie Darko in Everyman’s Late Nights slot on Fri 8th – a cult classic which is exactly as doom-laden and gothic as a film which opens with Echo and the Bunnymen’s The Killing Moon ought to be.