The summer – nay, the year – is really going by in a flash, huh? Appropriately enough, there is a different kind of “Flash” that’s leading this week’s crop of film releases, which also includes a feel-good boy band musical, and an action-packed streaming sequel…
Movie of the Week
Cinemas
Streaming + On-Demand
MOVIE OF THE WEEK
The Flash (2023, dir. Andy Muschietti)
CAST: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Ben Affleck, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso, Luke Brandon Field, Ian Loh
CREW: Andy Muschietti (director), Christina Hodson (writer), Michael Disco and Barbara Muschietti (producers), Benjamin Wallfisch (composer), Henry Braham (cinematographer), Jason Ballantine and Paul Machliss (editors)
PLOT: Barry Allen (Miller), who has the ability to move at superhuman speeds, decides to use his powers to venture back in time to prevent his mother Nora (Verdú) from being murdered. However, in doing so, he unwittingly becomes trapped in an alternate reality where metahumans do not exist, and must rely on the help of another version of himself (also Miller), the powerful Kryptonian Kara Zor-El (Calle), and wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne (Keaton) who moonlights as the notorious Batman…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) After a seemingly cursed development and production phase – which had everything from departing filmmakers to pandemic-influenced delays – DC’s long-awaited big-screen take on their super-speedy hero The Flash is finally ready to be seen by the masses
2) Despite the controversy surrounding lead actor Ezra Miller’s bizarre and even dangerous off-screen behaviour, they still put in a deeply compelling and emotionally-led performance that shines on-screen
3) The main attraction, though, is the return of Michael Keaton to his career-making turn as Bruce Wayne/Batman, who here hails from a different universe (and allows for Ben Affleck to have one last go in the Batsuit)
4) You can expect plenty more cameos from across DC’s wide range of heroes and villains, some of whom may come as a true surprise that will have audiences and fans going nuts!
5) Most importantly, the film is said to completely reset the DC Cinematic Universe as we know it, just in time for the new plan that current bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have mapped out for the bright future ahead
The Flash is showing in cinemas from Wednesday 14th June 2023
WHAT’S SHOWING
IN CINEMAS
THIS WEEK?
Greatest Days (2023, dir. Coky Giedroyc)
CAST: Aisling Bea, Alice Lowe, Jayde Adams, Amaka Okafor, Marc Wooton, Lara McDonnell, Jessie Mae Alonzo, Nandi Hudson, Carragon Guest, Eliza Dobson, Aaron Bryan, Joshua Jung, Dalvin Cory, Mark Samaras, Mervin Noronha
CREW: Coky Giedroyc (director), Tim Firth (writer), Jane Hooks, Danny Perkins, Kate Solomon, Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani (producers), Nick Foster and Oli Julian (composers), Mike Eley (cinematographer), Mark Davies (editor)
PLOT: Twenty-five years after experiencing the best night of their lives whilst at a concert for their favourite boy band, best friends Rachel (Bea), Heather (Lowe), Claire (Adams) and Zoe (Okafor) reunite for a trip to Athens where the band is scheduled to play a brand-new concert…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Fans of the popular boy band Take That will be singing in the aisles during this delightful new jukebox musical that incorporates some of their biggest hits
2) It is adapted from Tim Firth’s hit stage musical of the same name (which debuted under the name The Band), which recontextualises fifteen of Take That’s most hummable tunes
3) A sparkly quartet comprising of actors Aisling Bea, Alice Lowe, Jayde Adams and Amaka Okafor light up the lives of the engaged viewers
4) The gorgeous backdrops of Athens, where a large chunk of the film takes place, will instantly make you want to travel there and see it for yourself
5) Filled with heart, laughs, and of course plenty of singing, this could be a crowd-pleasing musical that could rule the world
Greatest Days is showing in cinemas from Thursday 15th June 2023
Pretty Red Dress (2023, dir. Dionne Edwards)
CAST: Natey Jones, Alexandra Burke, Temilola Olatunbosun, Eliot Sumner, Nicholas Bishop, Maria Almeida, Ben Caplan, James McNicholas, Edwin De La Renta, Thomas Grant, Emeka Sesay, Adé Dee Haastrup, Maria Crittell, Eddison Joseph
CREW: Dionne Edwards (director, writer), Georgia Goggin (producer), Brijs (composer), Bernin Isaac (cinematographer), Andonis Trattos (editor)
PLOT: Travis (Jones), fresh out of prison, returns home to his loving partner Candice (Burke) and their teenage daughter Kenisha (Olatunbosun), but finds that things have changed since he went away. After buying Candice a flashy red dress for an upcoming audition, Travis finds himself irresistibly attracted to the dress, causing him to reconsider his own identity as well as confronting the changes within his own family…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) This South London-set music drama has a strong enough sense of charm and heart to make it a potential audience favourite
2) Its lively ensemble includes the acting debut of music superstar Alexandra Burke, who many will know for her work in theatre and as the winner of the fifth series of The X Factor
3) The music of Tina Turner provides a memorable backdrop to the core themes of identity, family and masculinity
4) Debut writer-director Dionne Edwards brings a strong lovability to the plot and characters, setting her up as a storyteller to watch
5) With the success of Rye Lane earlier this year, this should keep the on-screen love for South London and its varied cultures burning bright
Pretty Red Dress is showing in cinemas from Friday 16th June 2023
Inland (2023, dir. Fridtjof Ryder)
CAST: Rory Alexander, Mark Rylance, Kathryn Hunter, Shaun Dingwall, Nell Williams, Alexander Lincoln, Sebastian Orozco
CREW: Fridtjof Ryder (director, writer), Louis Paine and Henry Richmond (producers), Bartholomew Mason (composer), Ravi Doubleday (cinematographer), Joe Walton and Lincoln Witter (editors)
PLOT: A young man (Alexander), recently released from a psychiatric hospital, returns to his hometown in Gloucester, where he settles into a routine working in a garage for fatherly Dunleavy (Rylance). However, it’s not long before the young man’s reality becomes obscured by a vivid, and potentially dangerous, imagination…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Filmmaker Fridtjof Ryder arrives onto the scene with a haunting psychological thriller that will distort your mind
2) Oscar-winner Mark Rylance gives reliable support for lead actor Rory Alexander, who delivers a captivating performance as an unreliable protagonist
3) The unconventional approach to storytelling sets itself apart with its daring desire to leave viewers asking several intriguing questions
4) It made its debut at last year’s BFI London Film Festival, where it received plenty of enthusiasm from open-minded audiences
5) It’s impossible to predict where things will end up, but the journey is so vivid and devilishly playful that it’s hard not to become invested
Inland is showing in cinemas from Friday 16th June 2023
You Can Live Forever (2023, dirs. Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts)
CAST: Anwen O’Driscoll, June Laporte, Liane Balaban, Antoine Yared, Hasani Freeman, Tim Campbell, Deragh Campbell, Lenni Kim
CREW: Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts (directors, writers), Robert Vroom (producer), Michael Silver (composer), Gayle Ye (cinematographer), Amélie Labrèche (editor)
PLOT: After the death of her father, teenager Jaime (O’Driscoll) is sent to live with her relatives, who are devout Jehovah’s Witnesses. She soon strikes up a close bond with Marike (Laporte), the daughter of a respected Witness Elder, but when their attraction to each other becomes apparent, they are forced to choose between their faith or their love…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Love shines through in this LGBTQ+ romance drama from Canada, directed by duo Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts in their feature debut
2) Young actors Anwen O’Driscoll and June Laporte make for an engaging on-screen couple with impeccable and passionate chemistry
3) The film tackles the intrusive and restrictive practises of the Jehovah’s Witness community, specifically their exclusionary stance on gay relationships
4) While the film isn’t intended to be autobiographical, it is based loosely on co-director Watts’ own upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness
5) Both a tale of forbidden love and a coming-of-age drama, this is a romantic but also rather sad film that will make you grateful for the love that you have
You Can Live Forever is showing in cinemas, and will be available to rent/buy on most digital platforms, from Friday 16th June 2023
Sunlight (2023, dir. Claire Dix)
CAST: Barry Ward, Liam Carney, Maureen Beattie, Ericka Roe, Lydia McGuinness, Gus McDonagh, Mark O’Halloran, Sean Stafford, Orén Kinlan, Alex Connelly, Tony Doyle
CREW: Claire Dix (director), Ailbhe Keogan (writer), Roisin Geraghty (producer), Matthew Nolan and Stephen Shannon (composers), Narayan Van Maele (cinematographer), Tony Cranstoun and Alec Moore (editors)
PLOT: Leon (Ward), a former addict who credits his best friend Iver (Carney) for helping him on the path to recovery, learns that Iver has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is determined to have an early death. Leon decides to take him out for one last day in Dublin, with the hope that it will be enough to convince Iver to keep living, but the outcome knocks them both off course…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Friendship is magic in this emotional Irish comedy-drama that will liven the spirits and leave you in a state of tears
2) Character actors Barry Ward and Liam Carney share tender chemistry as two friends who could not be more opposite
3) It revels in its charm and easy charisma, sucking you in to the personal drama of its central protagonists
4) The luscious landscapes of Ireland provide a pleasant atmosphere to match the touching story
5) It’s almost the anti-Banshees of Inisherin, celebrating a long-lasting friendship instead of the bitter end of one!
Sunlight is showing in cinemas from Friday 16th June 2023
WHAT’S SHOWING
AT HOME
THIS WEEK
(STREAMING AND
ON-DEMAND)?
Extraction 2 (2023, dir. Sam Hargrave)
CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Olga Kurylenko, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Andro Jafaridze, Miriam Kovziashvili, Marta Kovziashvili, Daniel Bernhardt, Tornike Gogrichiani, Levan Saginashvili, George Lasha
CREW: Sam Hargrave (director, producer), Joe Russo (writer, producer), Eric Gitter, Chris Hemsworth, Mike Larocca, Patrick Newall, Anthony Russo, Angela Russo-Otstot and Peter Schwerin (producers), Alex Belcher (composer), Greg Baldi (cinematographer), Alex Rodríguez (editor)
PLOT: Having barely survived his explosive previous mission in Bangladesh, black ops mercenary Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is tasked with rescuing the abused family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison they are being held in…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Chris Hemsworth reteams with director (and former Avengers stunt coordinator) Sam Hargrave for the action-packed sequel to the Netflix smash hit
2) The first film set streaming records upon its debut in pandemic-era 2020, and this anticipated follow-up seeks to up the ante even further
3) Hemsworth’s Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo are also back in producer roles, with Joe also providing the screenplay
4) There are much larger stakes this time round, with Hemsworth’s hero charged with the protection of an entire family from the forceful hands of Georgian gangsters
5) Get ready for plenty more high-octane action set-pieces, as well as thrilling one-shot sequences said to blow the one from the first movie out of the water
Extraction 2 is streaming exclusively on Netflix from Friday 16th June 2023
Stan Lee (2023, dir. David Gelb)
CAST: Stan Lee
CREW: David Gelb (director, producer), Brian McGinn and Jason Sterman (producers), Michael Dean Parsons and Scott Michael Smith (composers), Ernesto Lomeli (cinematographer), Jamie Garland, James Long and Andrew McAllister (editors)
PLOT: A celebration of the life and legacy of the legendary Marvel comics writer, publisher and producer Stan Lee…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) The iconic Stan Lee is celebrated in this rich and loving new documentary, commissioned specially for the comic giant’s 100th birthday
2) Lee, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 95, is of course known for co-creating some of the most beloved superheroes of all time including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and many more
3) The feature, from filmmaker David Gelb, charts Lee’s rise in the ranks at Marvel, his collaboration with fellow artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and his continued involvement even after his official retirement in the 1990s
4) Expect plenty of call-backs to several of Lee’s infamous cameos across numerous Marvel movie adaptations, including the ones he made in every single film of Phases One to Three of the MCU
5) It’s a must-see for comic-book and superhero fans, especially those who may want to know a bit more about one of the most recognisable figures in entertainment
Stan Lee is streaming exclusively on Disney+ from Friday 16th June 2023
That’s about it for this week – thanks for joining us, and be sure to come back next week for a whole new set of movies to work up an appetite for!
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