Movie of the Week

• The Iron Claw

Cinemas

• Gassed Up
• The Settlers
• Occupied City
• Your Fat Friend
• The Jungle Bunch World Tour

Streaming/On-Demand

• Upgraded
• Suncoast
• The Bricklayer
• Race for Glory: Audi vs Lancia

Re-Releases

• It Happened One Night
• Ping Pong
• Dune
• Turning Red

CAST: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Stanley Simons, Holt McCallany, Lily James, Michael J. Harney, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Brady Pierce, Aaron Dean Eisenberg, Kevin Anton, Cazzey Louis Cereghino, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Ryan Nemeth, Scott Innes

CREW: Sean Durkin (director, writer, producer), Juliette Howell, Angus Lamont, Tessa Ross and Derrin Schlesinger (producers), Richard Reed Parry (composer), Mátyás Erdély (cinematographer), Matthew Hannam (editor)

PLOT: In the early 1980s, the Von Erich brothers – Kevin (Efron), Kerry (White), David (Dickinson) and Mike (Simons) – are a team of professional wrestlers who attempt to emerge from the shadow of their domineering father Fritz (McCallany), only for tragedy to befall the family…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The heart-breaking true story of the Von Erich wrestling dynasty is put on full display in filmmaker Sean Durkin’s powerful new sports drama
• Zac Efron gives the best performance of his career as professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich, alongside fellow players like Harris Dickinson, The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, Lily James and a sinister Holt McCallany
• Durkin has reportedly wanted to make a film about the Von Erich family for years, having grown up watching them perform and being personally saddened by their tragic circumstances
• The wrestling scenes themselves are shot with a true ferocity to them, and give your adrenalin a serious boost with how well they are performed
• With a powerful family drama at its heart and centre, this is a wrestling movie that you cannot afford to miss

The Iron Claw is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Stephen Odubola, Steve Toussaint, Mae Muller, Taz Skylar, Craige Middleburg, Jelena Gavrilovic, Mohammed Mansaray, Tobias Jowett, Tomi May, Rawdat Quadri, Ben Shafik, Tim Chipping, David Monteith, Harry Pinero, Yung Filly, Ms Banks

CREW: George Amponsah (director), Archie Maddocks and Taz Skylar (writers), Edward Caffrey, Stefan D’Bart, Rupert Preston, Hester Ruoff and Bart Ruspoli (producers), Henry Counsell (composer), Stefan Ciupek (cinematographer), Richard Ketteridge (editor)

PLOT: 20-year-old Ash (Odubola) is a member of a London moped gang which has turned to petty theft in order to make ends meet, with Ash attempting to support his struggling family. Soon, Ash and his friends are drawn into the web of an Albanian crime family, forcing him to choose between his close ones and his lavish lifestyle…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The British youth urban drama makes a roaring comeback with the high-profile release of this thrilling new crime saga
• Blue Story star Stephen Odubula leads an impressionable ensemble cast that also features One Piece star Taz Skylar, who co-wrote the script with Archie Maddocks
• It was a popular world premiere at last year’s BFI London Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature
• Some of the high-octane action was filmed using GoPro cameras attached to stunt performers’ helmets, adding a slightly more interactive experience for the audience
• With plenty of intensity to counteract its human drama, this is a thrilling selection for anyone pining for the glory days of films like Kidulthood and Shank

Gassed Up is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Camilo Arancibia, Mark Stanley, Benjamin Westfall, Alfredo Castro, Marcelo Alonso, Sam Spruell, Mishell Guaña, Adriana Stuven, Mariano Llinás, Agustín Rittano, Emily Orueta, Luis Machín

CREW: Felipe Gálvez Haberle (director, writer), Antonia Girardi and Mariano Llinás (writers), Stefano Centini, Benjamín Doménech, Santiago Gallelli, Thierry Lenouvel, Emily Morgan, Giancarlo Nasi and Matias Roveda (producers), Harry Allouche (composer), Simone D’Arcangelo (cinematographer), Matthieu Taponier (editor)

PLOT: In the late 19th century, three horsemen – Chilean mestizo Segundo (Arancibia), British soldier MacLennan (Stanley) and American mercenary Bill (Westfall) – embark on an expedition across the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, with a mission to secure the land and property of wealthy businessman José Menéndez (Castro). However, the three men slowly realise that their administrative expedition is a much deadlier hunt for the indigenous population of the archipelago…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The Western genre gets a gritty and bleak new makeover in this revisionist piece from filmmaker Felipe Gálvez Haberle
• Respective Chilean, British and American actors Camilo Arancibia, Mark Stanley and Benjamin Westfall form a central trio that’s filled to the brim with uneasy tension
• It covers the disgraceful historical genocide of the indigenous Selk’nam people in South America, in ways that are more horrifying than even Martin Scorsese’s grim depiction of Native murder in Killers of the Flower Moon
• After debuting at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film has gone on to score acclaim from critics and audiences at other festivals around the world, from London to Toronto
• This is a dark but essential slice of history that is told through one of the most romanticised film genres of all time

The Settlers is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Melanie Hyams

CREW: Steve McQueen (director, producer), Floor Onrust, Bianca Stigter and Anna Smith Tenser (producers), Oliver Coates (composer), Lennert Hillege (cinematographer), Xander Nijsten (editor)

PLOT: An excursion of the Nazis’ occupation of Amsterdam between 1940 and 1945, and how the past co-exists with the city’s modern discontent…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Oscar and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen presents a major new documentary showing how the past and the present collide to form an uncertain future
• With narration by Melanie Hyams, McQueen details the horrific Jewish persecution and acts of courage during Amsterdam’s occupation by the Nazis
• He then weaves it with more modern scenes of the city, where the pandemic and general frustration has given way to protest and a growing desire for change
• Both provide a beautifully haunting portrait of a city that is rich with history, as well as great potential for its future
• Oh, and make sure you bring something comfy to sit on: this clocks in at a whopping 4 hours and 6 minutes!

Occupied City is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Aubrey Gordon, Michael Hobbes

CREW: Jeanie Finlay (director, writer, producer, cinematographer), Tara Crème (composer), Stewart Copeland, Aubrey Gordon, Donal Mosher, Michael Palmieri and Lindsay Trapnell (cinematographers), Alice Powell (editor)

PLOT: The story of Aubrey Gordon, who became known for her anonymous blog where she explored society’s issues with fatness, and went on to publish a bestselling book where she seeks to change people’s views on larger body sizes…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This gentle but powerful documentary is a comforting look at how people of a larger body mass are just as human, if not more so, than those with more acceptable weights
• Award-winning filmmaker Jeanie Finlay charts the unlikely rise in popularity of blogger turned bestselling author Aubrey Gordon, better known as the blogger “Yrfatfriend”
• Gordon details the experiences that she has had throughout her life due to people’s misconceptions about her body size, and how difficult it is for anyone to change their habits
• Like Gordon’s successful book What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, the film hopes to change the paradigm when it comes to viewing people of different sizes
• As a fat person myself, I am very curious to see how sensitively this film portrays what it is to be larger built in a society that determines what is “correct” when it comes to health and body size

Your Fat Friend is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Gauthier Battou, Paul Borne, Philippe Bozo, Pascal Casanova, Frédéric Cerdal, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuel Curtil, Xavier Fagnon, Dawn Ford, Céline Montsarrat, Laurent Morteau, Léopoldine Serre

CREW: Laurent Bru, Yannick Moulin and Benoît Somville (directors), David Alaux and Jean-François Tosti (writers, producers) Eric Tosti (writer), Olivier Cussac (composer), Magali Batut, Hélène Blanchard and Jean-Christian Tassy (editors)

PLOT: After a mysterious pink foam covers their home, a group of jungle creatures band together on a race against time to find the antidote, which takes them all over the world…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This animated comedy is an opportunity to go on a bright and colourful adventure with a lovable set of animal characters
• It’s a continuation of the hit French children’s cartoon show, and a sequel to its 2017 feature-length spin-off
• The madcap plot transports the viewer to several fascinating locations all around the world
• Young kids can giggle plentily at all the silly animal antics, as well as marvel at the smooth animation
• Families can single this one out as a must-see during the upcoming half-term break!

The Jungle Bunch World Tour is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Camila Mendes, Archie Renaux, Marisa Tomei, Lena Olin, Anthony Head, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rachel Matthews, Andrew Schulz, Grégory Montel, Thomas Kretschmann

CREW: Carlson Young (director), Christine Lenig, Luke Spencer Roberts and Justin Matthews (writers), Bill Bindley, Mike Karz, Lena Roklin, Piers Tempest and Audrey Tommassini (producers), Isom Innis (composer), Mike Stern Sterzynski (cinematographer), Bruce Green (editor)

PLOT: Ana (Mendes) is an ambitious art intern who hopes to impress her demanding boss Claire (Tomei), but when she is upgraded to first class on a work trip, Ana is mistaken for Claire by handsome passenger Will (Renaux), setting off a white lie that at first brings romance and opportunity, until it threatens to spiral out of control…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• There are mishaps and misunderstandings aplenty in this charming new romantic-comedy
• Camila Mendes, a former star of the cult TV show Riverdale, sparkles on the screen as our hapless hero forced into a case of mistaken identity
• There are amusing supporting turns from Shadow and Bone star Archie Renaux, as well as Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei
• It’s a film that chronicles the trials and tribulations of balancing work, romance and following your dreams
• Ultimately, though, it’s got an irresistible warm heart at its centre to tide you over until Valentine’s Day next week

Upgraded is streaming exclusively on Prime Video from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Nico Parker, Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson, Ella Anderson, Daniella Taylor, Amarr, Ariel Martin, Cree Kawa, Pam Dougherty, Matt Walsh, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Scott MacArthur, Danielle Henchcliffe

CREW: Laura Chinn (director, writer), Kevin Chinoy, Oliver Obst, Jeremy Plager and Francesca Silvestri (producers), Este Haim and Christopher Stracey (composers), Bruce Francis Cole (cinematographer), Sara Shaw (editor)

PLOT: In the early 2000s, teenager Doris (Parker) cares for her terminally ill brother Max (Kawa) with her audacious mother Kristine (Linney). After her brother is moved into a hospice, Doris strikes up a friendship with Paul (Harrelson), an eccentric activist who is protesting a landmark medical case, and she learns how to be a teenager again after years of being a caregiver…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Straight from this year’s Sundance Film Festival comes this bright and wise coming-of-age dramady from writer-director Laura Chinn
• Chinn, previously the creator of short-lived but acclaimed sitcom Florida Girls, makes her feature filmmaking debut with a film based on her own teenage experiences
• Nico Parker won the Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance at Sundance for her lead turn in this film, where she holds her own against Oscar nominees Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson
• It is set during the final years of the controversial Terri Schiavo case of 2005, which saw numerous debates about the right to life come to a head, and provides an unsteady political context to this film
• An endearing and emotional coming-of-age story, this is bound to win your heart as well as your empathy for its embattled main character

Suncoast is streaming exclusively on Disney+ from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Aaron Eckhart, Nina Dobrev, Clifton Collins Jr., Tim Blake Nelson, Ilfenesh Hadera, Ori Pfeiffer

CREW: Renny Harlin (director), Matt Johnson and Hanna Weg (writers), Gerard Butler, Boaz Davidson, Jeffrey Greenstein, Avi Lerner, Yariv Lerner, Heidi Jo Markel, Trevor Short, Alan Siegel, Robert Van Norden, Les Welson and Jonathan Yunger (producers), Walter Mair (composer), Matti Eerikäinen (cinematographer), Iain Erskine (editor)

PLOT: After rogue insurgent Victor Radek (Collins Jr.) blackmails the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and framing the government, former operative Steve Vail (Eckhart) is drawn out of retirement to solve the issue, only for him to uncover a much larger international conspiracy in the process…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Action filmmaker Renny Harlin, known for films like Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2, is back in the fold with this intriguing action-thriller
• It is an adaptation of the 2010 novel by former FBI agent Paul Lindsay, who wrote it under the pseudonym Noah Boyd
• Aaron Eckhart fills the action-heavy lead role, which was originally meant for Gerard Butler before he dropped out (though he is still on-board as a producer)
• With its non-stop action beats, set to some gritty and stylish direction, this is a fun-filled ride for fans of the genre
• It’ll also prove to be the beginning of a big year for Harlin, who’s also got a trilogy of standalone sequels to The Strangers all set to come out over the next twelve months

The Bricklayer is streaming exclusively on Sky Cinema from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Daniel Brühl, Riccardo Scamarcio, Volker Bruch, Katie Clarkson-Hill, Esther Garrel, Rebecca Busi, Haley Bennett

CREW: Stefano Mordini (director, writer), Riccardo Scamarcio (writer, producer), Filippo Bologna (writer), Jeremy Thomas (producer), Luigi Martinucci (cinematographer), Massimo Fiocchi and Davide Minotti (editors)

PLOT: At the 1983 World Rally Championship, an intense rivalry develops between the Audi Quattro team, led by engineer Roland Gumpert (Brühl), and the Lancia Abarth team, which is headed by Cesare Fiorio (Scamarcio)…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• In the tradition of Ron Howard’s Rush, John Mangold’s Le Mans 66 (aka Ford vs. Ferrari), and most recently Michael Mann’s Ferrari, comes this all-new tale of real-life racing rivalries and the literal drive to succeed
• Speaking of Rush, that movie’s star Daniel Brühl also features in this film as Audi engineer Roland Gumpert
• Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio, who also co-wrote the script and produces, is the film’s other headlining performance as Lancia’s leading figure Cesare Fiorio
• From nifty rally race car designs to the gritty racing scenes themselves, you’ll practically feel your heart palpitating from all the excitement
• It’s one for car enthusiasts as well as anyone who enjoys themselves a good old-fashioned car racing movie

Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia is available to rent/buy on digital platforms from Monday 5 February 2024

CAST: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas, Alan Hale, Arthur Hoyt, Blanche Friderici, Charles C. Wilson

CREW: Frank Capra (director, producer), Robert Riskin (writer), Howard Jackson (composer), Joseph Walker (cinematographer), Gene Havlick (editor)

PLOT: Shortly after eloping with pilot and fortune-hunter King Westley (Thomas), spoiled heiress Ellie (Colbert) decides to run away from her wealthy father Alexander Andrews (Connolly) and catch a bus to New York, where she hopes to reunite with her husband. Along the way, she meets out-of-work reporter Peter (Gable), who offers to help Ellie find Westley in return for an exclusive story, but soon the two mismatched travellers begin to form a connection with one another…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• The screwball romantic-comedy classic, from director Frank Capra, returns to the big screen in celebration of its milestone 90th anniversary
• Originally released in 1934, just four months before the infamous Hays Code (a set of censorship guidelines for motion pictures made between the 30s and 60s) was enforced, it is seen as the last “pre-Code” romantic-comedy
• Columbia Pictures originally predicted their film would underperform, but the film ended up being a massive hit for the studio, and remained its biggest box office success until the late 1980s
• It is one of only three films to have won the Oscars’ “Big Five” – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay – with the other two being One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Silence of the Lambs
• Today, it is seen as a milestone for the romantic-comedy formula, as well as one of the greatest films ever made

It Happened One Night is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: David Yip, Lucy Sheen, Robert Lee, Lam Fung, Victor Kan, Barbara Yu Ling, Ric Young, Victoria Wicks, K.C. Leong, David Lyon, Jonathan Elsom, Juliet Hammond-Hill, Trevor Baxter, Bruce Boa, Vincent Wong, Philip Voon

CREW: Po-Chih Leong (director, writer), Jerry Liu (writer), Malcolm Craddock and Michael Guest (producers), Richard Harvey (composer), Nicholas D. Knowland (cinematographer), David Spiers (editor)

PLOT: After Chinese restauranteur Sam Wong (Leong) suddenly dies in London’s Chinatown district, British-born Chinese law clerk Elaine Choi (Sheen) is tasked with executing his will, and finds herself acting as a go-between for Wong’s various family members as they struggle to accept the demands of the will…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Experience the first true Chinese-British feature on the big screen for the first time in nearly four decades, just in time for the Year of the Dragon
• British-born Hong Kong filmmaker Po-Chih Leong brings plenty of style and wit to the darkly comic thriller
• It was the first film to have been shot in and around London’s Chinatown, which is located within the city’s West End district
• Despite being a landmark film in terms of Asian representation in British cinema, the film was quickly forgotten after its lukewarm reception at the Venice Film Festival
• Today, it holds up as a slick culture clash caper with poignant themes of family and tradition that more audiences should be aware of

Ping Pong is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, David Dastmalchian, Babs Olusanmokun, Golda Rosheuvel, Roger Yuan

CREW: Denis Villeneuve (director, writer, producer), Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts (writers), Cale Boyter, Joe Caracciolo Jr., Adam Goodman, Ildikó Kemény, Fuad Khalil, David Minkowski, Munir Nasser and Mary Parent (producers), Hans Zimmer (composer), Greig Fraser (cinematographer), Joe Walker (editor)

PLOT: In the far future, Duke Leto Atreides (Isaac) of the planet Caladan is chosen as the new steward of the harsh desert planet Arrakis, which is home to the universe’s most valuable substance known as “spice”. Leto’s son Paul (Chalamet) accompanies his father and his mother Lady Jessica (Ferguson) to Arrakis, where he begins having prophetic visions of a young native Fremen woman named Chani (Zendaya), and faces the wrath of the ruthless Baron Harkonnen (Skarsgård) who seeks to take over the planet…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• This is your chance to see on the big screen the first part of director Denis Villeneuve’s epic two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi novel, before the long-awaited second part arrives next month
• Timothée Chalamet leads a star-studded cast on a grand journey to the furthest reaches of time and space, which is beautifully realised in perhaps the most extensive cinematic world-building since the Lord of the Rings trilogy
• Villeneuve brings the striking desert landscapes of Arrakis, and other desolate planets, to stunning life via cinematography, editing and visual effects which all won Oscars
• Accompanying the mighty sci-fi storytelling is an all-encompassing score by the legendary Hans Zimmer, which also won an Oscar for its decisively epic nature
• It should provide you with a handy reminder before Dune Part Two comes along, though it’s also a mighty piece of sci-fi filmmaking on its own

Dune is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024

CAST: Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, James Hong, Addie Chandler, Sasha Roiz, Lily Sanfelippo, Lori Tan Chinn, Lillian Lim, Sherry Cola, Mia Tagano, Jordan Fisher, Finneas O’Connell, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo, Grayson Villanueva

CREW: Domee Shi (director, writer), Julia Cho (writer), Lindsey Collins (producer), Ludwig Göransson (composer), Mahyar Abousaeedi and Jonathan Pytko (cinematographers), Steve Bloom and Nicholas C. Smith (editors)

PLOT: In early 2000s Toronto, 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian Mei (Chiang) enjoys spending time with her friends and obsessing over boy band 4*Town, but she keeps her personal interests hidden from her strict and overprotective mother Ming (Oh). One morning, Mei finds herself transformed into a giant red panda, which she learns is part of a family curse, and can only be brought out by a state of heightened emotion, which Mei struggles to keep under wraps as she experiences the awkwardness of her pre-teen years…

FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:

• Pixar’s acclaimed pre-teen comedy comes to cinemas for the first time, after being sent to Disney+ during the COVID-19 pandemic
• It marked the feature debut of director Domee Shi, who had previously brought home an Oscar for her short film Bao
• There is plenty of fast-paced hilarity within its magical and heartfelt premise, which also explores Chinese heritage and tense mother-daughter relationships
• In addition to Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson providing the musical score, Billie Eilish and brother Finneas O’Connell wrote the hilariously naff boy band hits within the film
• Filled with energetic animation and poignant themes about early adolescence, this is a family comedy that deserves its shot on the big screen

Turning Red is showing in cinemas from Friday 9 February 2024