Movie of the Week

• Paddington in Peru

Cinemas

• Red One
• Piece by Piece
• Bird
• The Problem with People
• No Other Land

Streaming/On-Demand

• Meet Me Next Christmas
• Winner
• Slingshot
• Turn Me On

Re-Releases

• Point Break

CAST: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Carla Tous, Imelda Staunton

CREW: Dougal Wilson (director), Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont (writers), Rosie Alison (producer), Dario Marianelli (composer), Erik Wilson (cinematographer), Úna Ní Dhonghaíle (editor)

PLOT: Paddington (Whishaw) travels with the Brown family to his old home in Peru, where they intend to visit his Aunt Lucy (Staunton) at the Home for Retired Bears. However, upon finding that Aunt Lucy has mysteriously vanished, Paddington sets out on a daring adventure to find her…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Everyone’s favourite marmalade-loving bear is back for an all-new cinematic journey that contains everything you love about the character
• Director Dougal Wilson takes over from Paul King (who was busy shooting Wonka) as he puts Paddington and his family into an all-new environment that’s far removed from the cosy London area
• Most of the human and voice cast is back (with Emily Mortimer filling in for Sally Hawkins), with new additions including screen favourites Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas
• Expect more hilarious slapstick than ever before as the clumsy bear stumbles into one perilous situation after another
• It’s got something for all members of the family, who will find themselves endlessly entertained by this delightful new entry

Paddington in Peru is showing in cinemas from Friday 8 November 2024

CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J.K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Reinaldo Faberlle, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Jenna Kanell

CREW: Jake Kasdan (director, producer), Chris Morgan (writer, producer), Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Melvin Mar (producers), Henry Jackman (composer), Dan Mindel (cinematographer), Steve Edwards, Mark Helfrich and Tara Timpone (editors)

PLOT: Callum Drift (Johnson) is the Head of Security at the North Pole, where he works for Santa Claus (Simmons). However, when Santa is kidnapped, Callum is forced to work with infamous bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Evans) to find him and save Christmas…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The holiday season is given a healthy helping of testosterone in this muscular festive action-comedy
• Dwayne Johnson reunites with his Jumanji director Jake Kasdan for an imaginative new look at traditional Christmas imagery, including all-new bulked-up versions of Santa and his elves
• From the snowy North Pole to more tropical locations, this really is a globe-trotting adventure that transcends what one would normally expect from the holidays
• This is the film that Johnson was reported to have allegedly caused a production headache, with frequent lateness that added an extra $50 million to its already hefty $200 million price tag
• Hopefully, the end results are fun enough to overlook that rumoured conflict, enough to where it could become a new festive classic

Red One is showing in cinemas from Wednesday 6 November 2024

CAST: Pharrell Williams, Morgan Neville, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Pusha T, Missy Elliott, Nigo, Tyler, the Creator

CREW: Morgan Neville (director, writer, producer), Oscar Vazquez, Aaron Wickenden and Jason Zeldes (writers, editors), Caitrin Rogers, Mimi Valdes, Joshua Wexler and Pharrell Williams (producers), Michael Andrews (composer)

PLOT: Music sensation Pharrell Williams recounts his life story to filmmaker Morgan Neville – in the form of LEGO animation…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Experience the unique life and career of Pharrell Williams in this similarly unique animated documentary
• Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville brings his subject’s world to life using intricate LEGO Movie-style animation
• Hear from many of Williams’ musical collaborators, including Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and others, as they recount their experiences with the musician
• The animated angle allows for some fantastical imagery to further explore the highs and lows of his chart-topping career
• You’ll be humming and tapping along to many of Williams’s hits as they’re repurposed for an emotional journey through his life and times

Piece by Piece is showing in cinemas from Friday 8 November 2024

CAST: Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Nykiya Adams, Jason Buda, Frankie Box, Jasmine Jobson, Joanne Matthews, James Nelson-Joyce, Sarah Beth Harber

CREW: Andrea Arnold (director, writer), Lee Groombridge, Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross (producers), Robbie Ryan (cinematographer), Joe Bini (editor)

PLOT: In northern Kent, 12-year-old Bailey (Adams) lives with her father Bug (Keoghan) and brother Hunter (Buda) in a squat, but when Bug proves to be an unreliable figure, Bailey ends up striking a bond with a mysterious man named Bird (Rogowski)…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Andrea Arnold, the filmmaker behind Fish Tank and American Honey, returns with her first narrative feature in nearly ten years
• The writer-director finds a kindred soul in young lead Nykiya Adams, who holds her own against Franz Rogowski and Barry Keoghan (who interestingly dropped out of next week’s Gladiator II to make this film)
• It takes a typically grungy look at life in a depleted area of an otherwise affluent county, a common trait across many of Arnold’s previous works
• The film competed for the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, alongside other hot titles like Anora, Emilia Pérez and The Seed of the Sacred Fig
• This is a strong reintroduction to Arnold’s social-realist filmmaking style that first put her on the map with her Oscar-winning short Wasp

Bird is showing in cinemas from Friday 8 November 2024

CAST: Paul Reiser, Colm Meaney, Jane Levy, Lucianne McEvoy, Des Keogh, Eimear Morrissey

CREW: Chris Cottam (director, producer), Paul Reiser (writer, producer), Wally Marzano-Lesnevich (writer), Max Brady (producer), Steven Argila (composer), Richard Kendrick and David Odd (cinematographers), Garteh McEwen (editor

PLOT: New York businessman Barry (Reiser) is contacted by his distant Irish cousin Ciáran (Meaney), who invites him to his homeland in the wake of his father’s death. Once there, the initial friendliness between the long-lost cousins is broken when Barry is unexpectedly bequeathed a large inheritance, which might just ignite a new family conflict…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Family tensions threaten to boil over in this hilarious comedy taking place on both sides of the Atlantic
• Character actor Paul Reiser co-writes the film, in addition to starring opposite Irish thespian Colm Meaney
• Reiser and Meaney share contentious chemistry in a similar vein to The Banshees of Inisherin
• You’ll feel uncomfortable as their relationship continuously takes unexpected turns toward something meaner
• If you’re up for some uneasy laughs, then this one has you more than covered!

The Problem with People is showing in cinemas from Friday 8 November 2024

CAST: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal

CREW: Rachel Szor (director, writer, cinematographer, editor), Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal (directors, writers, editors), Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning (producers), Julius Pollux Rothlaender (composer)

PLOT: Palestinian activist Basel Adra records the slow destruction of his homeland of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank at the hands of Israeli military, and forms an unexpected alliance with Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This powerful documentary exposes how destructive the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been for decades prior to the current escalation
• The film was put together by a small collective of activists from both Israel and Palestine, in an attempt to show the world just how troubling things truly are in that area
• It received rapturous acclaim following its debut at the Berlin Film Festival, where it won audience and jury awards in the Documentary section
• Some horrifying footage is captured of Israeli forces laying waste into people’s homes and ways of life, in moments that will have anyone with a soul feeling completely wrecked
• With the current conflict showing no signs of slowing down, this is an important reminder of how bad things truly are in this region of the world

No Other Land is showing in cinemas from Friday 8 November 2024

CAST: Christina Milian, Devale Ellis, Kofi Siriboe, Tymika Tafari, Kalen Allen, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, Matt Sallee

CREW: Rusty Cundieff (director), Molly Haldeman and Camilla Rubis (writers), Mark Roberts (producer), Dara Taylor (composer), Andrew Strahorn (cinematographer), Nadav Streett (editor)

PLOT: Layla (Milian), seeking a fairytale Christmas romance with the man of her dreams, desperately races across the city to get her hands on a sought-after ticket to a sold-out Christmas Eve concert…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Netflix’s festive line-up kicks off with this charming romantic-comedy that brings good tidings to you and your kin
• Christina Milian leads the fiery ensemble as a woman who will do anything to have her Christmas wish come true
• Look out for a special appearance from celebrated a cappella group Pentatonix, which plays a vital role in the film’s story
• The streets of Toronto fill in for New York (as it often tends to do in most movies) with plenty of cheery festive imagery around every corner
• It’s a bright and funny romantic escapade that will help put you firmly in the holiday mood

Meet Me Next Christmas is streaming exclusively on Netflix from Wednesday 6 November 2024

CAST: Emilia Jones, Kathryn Newton, Connie Britton, Zach Galifianakis, Danny Ramirez, Shannon Berry, Annelise Pollmann, Averie Peters

CREW: Susanna Fogel (director, writer, producer), Kerry Howley (writer), Scott Budnick, Julie Goldstein, Amanda Phillips, Shivani Rawat and Ameet Shukla (producers), Heather McIntosh (composer), Steve Yedlin (cinematographer), Joseph Krings (editor)

PLOT: Reality Winner (Jones), an idealist contractor for the NSA, uncovers evidence of foreign interference in the 2016 election, and subsequently decides to become a whistleblower, which ends up changing her life forever…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The story of unlikely government whistleblower Reality Winner is dramatized in this funny but also timely new feature
• Writer-director Susanna Fogel reunites with her Cat Person lead Emilia Jones, who brings warmth and energy to the central role
• A fine ensemble cast backs Jones up, including Abigail star Kathryn Newton, Zach Galifianakis and Top Gun: Maverick’s Danny Ramirez
• Of course, this isn’t the first film to reenact Winner’s escapades: her story was previously brought to the screen via Tina Satter’s outstanding docudrama Reality starring Sydney Sweeney
• As America prepares to vote this week, the film’s content is a stark reminder of what people are actively voting against

Winner is available to rent/buy on digital platforms from Monday 4 November 2024

CAST: Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Emily Beecham, Tomer Capone, David Morrissey, Mark Ebulué

CREW: Mikael Håfström (director), R. Scott Adams and Nathan C. Parker (writers), István Major, Richard Saperstein and Beau Turpin (producers), Steffen Thum (composer), Pär M. Ekberg (cinematographer), Rickard Krantz (editor)

PLOT: In the depths of space, the crew of a ship enroute to Saturn’s moon realises that their mission may be doomed due to compromised parts, causing the commanding officer, Captain Franks (Fishburne), to try and control his increasingly paranoid crew, including fellow astronaut John (Affleck)…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This intense and thoroughly unpredictable sci-fi thriller will blow your mind right out of this world
• Oscar-winner Casey Affleck leads a limited cast that also includes Laurence Fishburne and The Walking Dead alumni David Morrissey
• Swedish director Mikael Håfström, previously of action movies like Escape Plan and horror films like 1408, combines both genres for a thrilling, possibly even terrifying experience
• It contains twists that you genuinely won’t see coming, including an ending that will leave you in utter shock
• You’ll be left unsure of what’s real and what isn’t when you see how easy it can be to separate fantasy from reality in this film

Slingshot is available to rent/buy on digital platforms from Monday 4 November 2024

CAST: Bel Powley, Nick Robinson, Justin H. Min, D’Arcy Carden, Nesta Cooper, Griffin Newman

CREW: Michael Tyburski (director), Angela Bourassa (writer), Sean Bradley, Toby Nalbandian, Zareh Nalbandian and Gregory Schmidt (producers), Nate Heller (composer), Matt Mitchell (cinematographer), Matthew C. Hart (editor)

PLOT: In a future where human emotion has been suppressed thanks to a government-mandated pill, Joy (Powley) and William (Robinson) decide to stop taking it, opening them up to a wave of emotions, including love and passion…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Emotions rob us of who we truly are, as this quietly hopeful dystopian romantic-comedy sets out to prove
• Bel Powley and Nick Robinson are plentiful lovers in a world where such passion is heavily discouraged
• Director Michael Tyburski brings an intentional drab aesthetic to the neutral world created in Angela Bourassa’s script
• The dry humour and borderline absurd social commentary is reminiscent of the earlier films of Yorgos Lanthimos, particularly films like The Lobster and Dogtooth (though not quite as out-there)
• It lends hope to those unable to properly express themselves, especially at a time when all we want to do is feel down by everything going on in the world right now

Turn Me On is available to rent/buy on digital platforms from Monday 4 November 2024

CAST: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Lee Tergesen, Vincent Klyn, Chris Pedersen, Dave Olson, Anthony Kiedis, Galyn Gorg, Sydney Walsh, Anthony Mangano, Mike Genovese, Jack Kehler, Christopher Pettiet

CREW: Kathryn Bigelow (director), W. Peter Iliff (writer), Peter Abrams, Joseph Newton Cohen and Robert L. Levy (producers), Mark Isham (composer), Donald Peterman (cinematographer), Howard Smith (editor)

PLOT: Rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah (Reeves) infiltrates a gang of thrill-seeking surfers turned bank robbers, led by the charismatic Bodhi (Swayze) whom he develops a close complex friendship with…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Kathryn Bigelow’s adrenalin-fuelled action classic is back on the big screen as part of the BFI’s new season celebrating action cinema
• The film is best remembered for its series of wild and over-the-top stunt work, as well as some iconic performances from lead actors Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze
• Though critics were initially mixed on the film, it became a formidable box office hit and has since inspired a cult following
• Its plot of undercover cops infiltrating street gangs directly inspired the original Fast and the Furious film (as well as a 2015 remake, but the less said about that one, the better)
• All these years later, the film remains a fun and hugely entertaining action extravaganza that brings out some of the very best from the genre as a whole

Point Break is showing in cinemas from Friday 8 November 2024