Movie of the Week

• Wicked Little Letters

Cinemas

• Memory
• Perfect Days
• Out of Darkness
• Shoshana
• A Wolfpack Called Ernesto
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training
• American Star

Streaming/On-Demand

• Mea Culpa
• Red Right Hand
• Deliver Us

Re-Releases

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail

CAST: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins, Timothy Spall, Alisha Weir, Hugh Skinner, Richard Goulding, Jason Watkins, Krishni Patel

CREW: Thea Sharrock (director), Jonny Sweet (writer), Graham Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Peter Czernin, Ed Sinclair and Jo Wallett (producers), Isobel Waller-Bridge (composer), Ben Davis (cinematographer), Melanie Oliver (editor)

PLOT: In 1920s England, a series of vulgar and obscene letters begin arriving in the letterboxes of several neighbours within the seaside town of Littlehampton, including Edith Swan (Colman). Suspicion soon falls on boisterous young widow Rose Gooding (Buckley), who faces public scrutiny for her alleged involvement, but local police officer Gladys Moss (Vasan) is determined to find the real culprit…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• British properness is challenged to verbally obscene levels in this hilariously foul-mouthed historical comedy
• Based very loosely on a real-life scandal, director Thea Shaddock’s film explores the fragility of a Littlehampton community following the First World War with some rather inspired wordplay, inflated by Jonny Sweet’s lively script
• Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are just some of the actors swapping vulgar insults with each other, many of them scoring laughs aplenty from the earnest delivery by their performers
• Some of the language in this movie just needs to be heard (and seen) to be believed – just listen to a number of them in the trailer above for a mere taste!
• You’ll be laughing in the aisles – and maybe even learn a new swear word or two – as the wildly entertaining plot reaches a delightful conclusion

Wicked Little Letters is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard, Merritt Wever, Jessica Harper, Elsie Fisher, Brooke Timber, Josh Charles, Tom Hammond

CREW: Michel Franco (director, writer, producer, editor), Duncan Montgomery, Eréndira Núñez Larios and Alex Orlovsky (producers), Yves Cape (cinematographer), Óscar Figueroa (editor)

PLOT: Sylvia (Chastain) is a social worker and recovering alcoholic who, whilst attending a school reunion, is followed home by a man named Saul (Sarsgaard), who has early onset dementia. Soon, Sylvia begins spending time with Saul, and as their feelings for each other grow, the two of them are forced to confront their biggest traumas…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard (the latter of whom won the Best Actor trophy at last year’s Venice Film Festival) deliver some of their finest-ever work in filmmaker Michel Franco’s movingly understated drama
• The film deals with many hard-hitting topics such as childhood trauma and cognitive decline, which Franco and his more-than-capable actors treat with dignity and respect
• Using some atmospheric static shots and no non-diegetic soundtrack, the film relies on the powerful human emotions of its performers to convey its upsetting themes
• It plays around with memories of the past, particularly the ones that we’d prefer to keep buried underneath everything, and offers no easy answers when they are inevitably addressed
• With fantastic performances and steady, unshowy filmmaking, this is an emotional human drama that you will ironically struggle to forget

Memory is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Kōji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Yumi Asō, Sayuri Ishikawa, Tomokazu Miura, Min Tanaka

CREW: Wim Wenders (director, writer, producer), Takuma Takasaki (writer, producer), Koji Yanai (producer), Franz Lustig (cinematographer), Toni Froschhammer (editor)

PLOT: In Tokyo, Hirayama (Yakusho) is a toilet cleaner with a specific routine in his quiet and uneventful life, but over the course of a week he has a series of unexpected encounters that reveal more about his past…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Wim Wenders, the legendary filmmaker behind classics like Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas, is back with a moving new slice-of-life Japanese drama
• A co-production between Japan and Wenders’ native Germany, the film gives a gentle look at an intentionally uneventful week in the life of a Tokyo cleaner
• Said cleaner is played by Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho, who won the Best Actor prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival
• It is nominated for this year’s International Feature Film Oscar, officially representing Japan despite having a German filmmaker at the helm
• A quiet but no less profound celebration of the ordinary, this is a lovely film that you simply won’t be able to stop thinking about, especially with a soundtrack of classic rock ’n’ roll hits!

Perfect Days is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Safia Oakley-Green, Chuku Modu, Kit Young, Iola Evans, Luna Mwezi, Arno Luening, Rosebud Melarkey, Tyrell Mhlanga

CREW: Andrew Cumming (director), Ruth Greenberg (writer), Oliver Kassman (producer), Adam Janota Bzowski (composer), Ben Fordesman (cinematographer), Paulo Pandolpho (editor)

PLOT: In the Old Stone Age, a tribe of early humans searches for new land, but when they suspect that a malevolent being is hunting them down, the clan must confront their mysterious attacker…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Plunge all the way back to the Stone Age for a one-of-a-kind British survival horror
• It is spoken entirely in “Tola”, a Basque-inspired language that was invented exclusively for this film
• Debut director Andrew Cumming is already being hailed as a new voice in British horror, based on his transcendent work on this film (which was previously known as The Origin)
• Last year, the film scored five nominations at the British Independent Film Awards, with lead Safia Oakley-Green winning the award for Best Breakthrough Performance
• If ever you wanted to see life in England before its civilisation, this film should provide you with a terrifying answer

Out of Darkness is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Douglas Booth, Irina Starshenbaum, Harry Melling, Aury Alby, Ian Hart, Rony Herman, Yarden Lavi, Doron Kochavi

CREW: Michael Winterbottom (director, writer, producer), Laurence Coriat and Paul Viragh (writers), Massimo Di Rocco, Josh Hyams, Luigi Napoleone and Melissa Parmenter (producers), Giles Nuttgens (cinematographer), Marc Richardson (editor)

PLOT: In 1930s Tel Aviv, British police officers Thomas Wilkin (Booth) and Geoffrey Morton (Melling) hunt for Zionist militant and poet Avraham Stern (Alby), but Wilkin’s love for Shoshana Borochov (Starshenbaum), the daughter of a Labour Zionist founder, complicates things…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Michael Winterbottom’s latest film is a breath-taking and fascinating look at a tragic historical romance
• The filmmaker has been trying to get the film made for over ten years, and at one point the likes of Jim Sturgess, Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen were cast in major roles before it was shelved
• It explores life within the hostile world of 1930s Israel and Palestine, then under heavy British rule but with no less deadly violence and extremism
• In the midst of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militants, the film contains some frighteningly relevant themes that viewers will be shocked by
• If nothing else, it’s a well-researched and gripping political thriller that will keep you firmly on edge throughout

Shoshana is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Various

CREW: Everardo González (director, writer), Óscar Balderas and Daniela Rea (writers), Roberto Garza and Inna Payán (producers), Konk Reyes and Andrés Sánchez (composers), María Secco (cinematographer), Paloma López (editor)

PLOT: In Mexico, the lives of a young gang collectively known as “Ernesto” eventually collide with the violent and deadly world of local cartels…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Filmmaker Everardo González, known for the 2017 documentary Devil’s Freedom, presents a unique new vision of Mexican cartels, through the eyes of under-18 victims and killers
• González mounts cameras to the back of his subjects’ heads, ensuring that we follow them throughout their dark journey without completely revealing their identity
• Fact and fiction come together as the filmmaker takes inspiration from the real-life stories of “Ernesto” to tell a semi-fabricated story that is no less steeped in truth
• It shows how deeply rooted organised crime can be in Mexico, right down to the eye-opening origins of many firearms acquired throughout
• The subject matter is certainly harsh, but it makes the central themes all the more important to discover

A Wolfpack Called Ernesto is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST (ENGLISH VERSION): Zach Aguilar, Abby Trott, Aleks Le, Bryce Papenbrook, Zeno Robinson, Johnny Yong Bosch, Ray Chase, Griffin Burns, Erika Harlacher, Kira Buckland, Erik Scott Kimerer, Kaiji Tang, Crispin Freeman

CAST (JAPANESE VERSION): Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitô, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Takahiro Sakurai, Katsuyuki Konishi, Kengo Kawanishi, Saori Hayami, Kana Hanazawa, Kenichi Suzumura, Tomokazu Seki, Tomokazu Sugita

CREW: Haruo Sotozaki (director), Koyoharu Gotoge (writer), Yuma Takahashi (producer), Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina (composers), Yuichi Terao (cinematographer), Manabu Kamino (editor)

PLOT: Tanjiro Kamado (Aguilar/Hanae), a teenager who wishes to become a Demon Slayer, undergoes rigorous training in order to become a Hashira, the highest-ranking title among the Demon Slayer Corps…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• In anticipation of the long-awaited fourth season of the hit anime series, based on the incredibly popular manga of the same name, experience the beginning of a whole new story arc on the big screen
• The film covers the first episode of the Hashira Training Arc, shown for the very first time for viewers, as well as the climactic battle that concluded the Swordsmith Village Arc
• Characters both old and new are bound to pop up throughout, delighting ongoing fans (and confusing first-timers even more!)
• The battle sequences are filled with exceptional animation, which brings out the theatrical quality of this particular adaptation
• It’s an exciting new start for the series, before it eventually gets to the long-awaited final arc further down the line

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training is showing in cinemas from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Ian McShane, Nora Arnezeder, Adam Nagaitis, Andrés Gertrúdix, Oscar Coleman, Sabela Arán, Thomas Kretschmann, Fanny Ardant

CREW: Gonzalo López-Gallego (director, editor), Nacho Faerna (writer), Michael Elliott and Ian McShane (producers), Remate (composer), José David Montero (cinematographer)

PLOT: Wilson (McShane) is an aging hitman who, having grown tired of his violent life, heads to Fuerteventura for his final mission. Whilst passing time until his target eventually arrives, Wilson forms some unexpected connections with local townsfolk, including bartender Gloria (Arnezedar), but his tranquillity is interrupted once his duties are required…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This contemplative hitman thriller swaps action for human conflict, in increasingly unexpected ways
• Ian McShane completely disappears into the central role, and gives some of his finest work as an actor
• The John Wick star also produces the film, while Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego gives it some tender life
• It’s not short on hitman violence, though it’s significantly more downplayed here than in most other films of its type
• As a character piece, it undeniably hits its target more than it could ever be possible

American Star is showing in cinemas (and is available to rent/buy on digital platforms) from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Kelly Rowland, Trevante Rhodes, Sean Sagar, Nick Sagar, RonReaco Lee, Shannon Thornton, Angela Robinson, Kerry O’Malley, Connor Weil

CREW: Tyler Perry (director, writer, producer), Will Areu, Angi Bones and Kelly Rowland (producers), Amanda Delores Patricia Jones (composer), Cory Burmester (cinematographer), Larry Sexton (editor)

PLOT: Mia Harper (Rowland), a criminal defence attorney, agrees to defend Zyair Malloy (Rhodes), an enigmatic artist who’s been accused of murdering his girlfriend. However, when their relationship goes beyond the client-attorney boundaries, things take a dangerous turn…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Director, writer and producer Tyler Perry presents an all-new legal thriller that is both steamy and stressful
• Singer Kelly Rowland (also a producer on the film) shares sizzling on-screen chemistry with Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes
• Like Anatomy of a Fall before it, you’ll be guessing right up to the very end whether or not the accused party is truly innocent of the crime
• It’s got plenty of Perry’s signature filmmaking techniques, including the fact that it was shot almost entirely at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
• You’ll be enticed by the legal mystery, and even a bit turned on by the psychological back-and-forths between the two leads

Mea Culpa is streaming exclusively on Netflix from Friday 23 February 2024

CAST: Orlando Bloom, Andie MacDowell, Scott Haze, Garret Dillahunt, Mo McRae, Brian Geraghty, Chapel Oaks, Kenneth Miller, Nicholas Logan

CREW: Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms (directors), Jonathan Easley (writer), Mike Gabrawy, Basil Iwanyk, Zak Kristofek, Michelle Yang, Erica Lee, Ryan Donnell Smith and Jason Tamasco (producers), Mondo Boys (composers), Johnny Derango (cinematographer), Traton Lee (editor)

PLOT: In a small Appalachian town, Cash (Bloom) tries to live a peaceful life, taking care of his orphaned niece Savannah (Oaks) with his brother-in-law Finney (Haze). However, when Finney is revealed to be in debt to local crime boss Big Cat (MacDowell), Cash is forced to work once more for her in a series of crimes that become more and more dangerous…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Orlando Bloom goes gruffer than ever to play an indebted criminal in this dark and violent action-thriller
• The actor is joined by a number of thespians, including Andie MacDowell who easily slips into her most villainous role to date
• It comes from director brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms, who previously made the darkly comic Christmas thriller Fatman starring Mel Gibson as a different kind of Santa Claus
• With some brutal action at its disposal, you can expect it to get horrifically violent whenever it needs to
• This is a tense and entertaining ride that will have you wholly engrossed in the southern-fried criminal activity

Red Right Hand is streaming exclusively on Sky Cinema from Sunday 25 February 2024

CAST: Lee Roy Kunz, Maria Vera Ratti, Alexander Siddig, Jaune Kimmel, Thomas Kretschmann, Lena Barbara Luhse

CREW: Lee Roy Kunz (director, writer, producer), Cru Ennis (director, producer), Kane Kunz (writer, producer), Isaac Bauman (producer, cinematographer), Elina Litvinova (producer), Tóti Guðnason (composer), David Walsh Heinz (editor)

PLOT: Sister Yulia (Ratti), a nun at a remote convent in Russia, is pregnant with twin boys, which she claims to be an immaculate conception. In response, the Vatican sends Father Fox (Kunz) and Cardinal Russo (Siddig) to investigate, amid concerns that the twins fulfil a prophecy where one will become the Messiah, but the other will be the Antichrist…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This creepy religious horror explores the mythical prophecy of twin boys destined to unite or destroy the world
• Filmmaker Lee Roy Kunz also stars in the film as the priest send to investigate the unholy occurrence in freezing Russia
• There are some disturbing acts of violence that call into question who, or what, either one of these infant boys might turn out to be
• It puts forward some tough moral dilemmas that may challenge one’s faith in a higher power
• You’ll be scared to the bone by this film, to where you might never look at twin babies the same way again!

Deliver Us is available to rent/buy on digital platforms from Monday 19 February 2024

CAST: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, Bee Duffell, John Young, Rita Davies, Avril Stewart, Sally Kinghorn, Sandy Johnson

CREW: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones (directors, writers), Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin (writers), Mark Forstater and Michael White (producers), Terry Bedford (cinematographer), John Hackney (editor)

PLOT: In Medieval England, King Arthur (Chapman) and his various Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Lancelot (Cleese), Sir Bedevere (Jones), Sir Galahad (Palin) and Sir Robin (Idle), are tasked by God (also Chapman) to find the fabled Holy Grail, but run into various mishaps along the way…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The comedy classic by the legendary Monty Python troupe returns to cinemas for its 48-and-a-half-year anniversary
• It was the first original feature film for the comedy group, who shot the film on a very small budget (thanks to various investors said to have included Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Elton John) on-location in Scotland, under then first-time directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
• The film features some of the most quotable scenes and memorable characters in comedy history, from the Knights Who Say “Ni!” to the Black Knight to the infamous Killer Rabbit
• It is also the personal favourite comedy of Film Feeder’s very own Jack Martin, who lists it high among his top films of all time!
• Go and see it if you’re up for the silliest quest ever, and prepare to laugh from Camelot to Castle Aarrgh!

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is showing in cinemas from Wednesday 21 February 2024