Hope everyone had a fun Coronation bank holiday weekend, because we’re jumping right back into the latest film releases this week, from the next chapter in a middle-aged comedy saga, to a damning new documentary about sexual politics in film, to a Jennifer Lopez action-thriller…
Movie of the Week
Cinemas
Streaming + On-Demand
MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023, dir. Bill Holderman)
CAST: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Andy García, Don Johnson, Craig T. Nelson, Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie, Vincent Riotta
CREW: Bill Holderman (director, writer, producer), Erin Simms (writer, producer), Tom Howe (composer), Andrew Dunn (cinematographer), Doc Crotzer (editor)
PLOT: Best friends Diane (Keaton), Vivian (Fonda), Sharon (Bergen) and Carol (Steenburgen) head to Italy for the fun girls trip that they never had, but things soon go off the rails when some shocking secrets are discovered…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Get ready for plenty more middle-aged fun, and some saucy new book titles, with this sequel to the hit 2018 romantic-comedy
2) Its leading quartet of screen legends Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen are back for some fresh shenanigans and light-hearted love
3) Director and co-writer Bill Holderman is also back, and this time he’s transplanting the action to the luscious and romantic streets of Italy
4) Its energetic whizzing from Rome to Venice will make anyone want to visit the gorgeous Italian cities for themselves
5) After the wacky hijinks of 80 for Brady (which also starred Jane Fonda), there’s still an active appetite for watching some of our finest actors let loose and have some fun in front of a camera, so this should give you what you’re hoping for!
Book Club: The Next Chapter is showing in cinemas from Friday 12th May 2023
WHAT’S SHOWING IN
CINEMAS THIS WEEK?
Love Again (2023, dir. James C. Strouse)
CAST: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, Céline Dion, Russell Tovey, Steve Oram, Omid Djalili, Sofia Barclay, Lydia West, Arinzé Kene, Celia Imrie, Nick Jonas
CREW: James C. Strouse (director, writer), Esther Hornstein, Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee (producers), Keegan DeWitt (composer), Andrew Dunn (cinematographer), Jesse Gordon (editor)
PLOT: Mira Ray (Chopra Jonas) attempts to deal with the loss of her fiancé by sending a series of romantic text messages to his old phone number. However, she doesn’t realise that the number has been assigned to the new phone of journalist Rob (Heughan), who becomes fascinated with the raw honesty of the messages and, with the help of global megastar Céline Dion (as herself), sets out to meet her in person…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Global music sensation Céline Dion makes her much-anticipated acting debut in this sweet romantic-comedy remake of the German film SMS für Dich
2) Dion plays herself in a major supporting role, while Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan play the star-crossed lovers that she helps put together
3) You can expect some of the singer’s classic songs to show up on the film’s soundtracks, as well as one or two brand-new tracks recorded exclusively for this film
4) There’s also a who’s who of “is that who I think it is?” supporting players including Russell Tovey, Omid Djalili, and even Chopra Jonas’s real-life husband Nick Jonas!
5) Between this and Book Club: The Next Chapter, it’s proving to be quite a romantic week at the movies, so be sure to take your loved ones (if any)!
Love Again is showing in cinemas from Wednesday 10th May 2023
The Eight Mountains (2022, dirs. Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch)
CAST: Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghi, Lupo Barbiero, Cristiano Sassella, Andrea Palma, Francesco Palombelli, Filippo Timi, Elena Lietti, Elisabetta Mazzullo, Surakshya Panta
CREW: Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch (directors, writers), Hans Everaert, Lorenzo Gangarossa, Mario Gianani and Louis Tisné (producers), Daniel Norgren (composer), Ruben Impens (cinematographer), Nico Leunen (editor)
PLOT: In a small village within the Italian Alps, a strong friendship blossoms between young boys Pietro (Barbiero), who comes from the city, and Bruno (Sassella), who has never been outside his village. As they grow older, Pietro (Palma) seeks greater opportunities while Bruno (Palombelli) remains loyal to his village, but as adults Pietro (Marinelli) and Bruno (Borghi) find their paths leading back to each other once again…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) This stunning Italian-language drama spans decades to show the raw power of lifelong friendships, from childhood to adulthood
2) Belgian co-directors and co-writers Felix van Groeningen (of the Oscar-nominated The Broken Circle Breakdown and Timothée Chalamet starrer Beautiful Boy) and Charlotte Vendermeersch (making her directing debut here) adapt the novel of the same name by author Paolo Cognetti
3) Italian actors Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi share a winning chemistry as the adult versions of our two main characters, as do their younger counterparts who play them at child and adolescent ages
4) It was awarded the Jury Prize (shared with Jerzy Skolimowski’s Oscar-nominated EO) at last year’s Cannes Film Festival
5) It’s a beautiful reminder of the universality of friendship, no matter where they may be in the world or in their own lives
The Eight Mountains is showing in cinemas from Friday 12th May 2023
Plan 75 (2022, dir. Chie Hayakawa)
CAST: Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura, Sutefanî Arianne, Yuumi Kawai, Takao Taka, Ohkata Hisako, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Yusaku Mori, Yoko Yano, Mari Nakayama
CREW: Chie Hayakawa (director, writer), Frédéric Corvez, Jason Gray, Eiko Mizuno Gray and Maéva Savinien (producers), Rémi Boubal (composer), Hideho Urata (cinematographer), Anne Klotz (editor)
PLOT: To address Japan’s aging population, the government approves a program known as Plan 75, which recommends that senior citizens over a certain age be euthanised. Three citizens – an elderly woman named Michi (Baisho), Plan 75 salesman Hiromu (Isomura), and Filipino labourer Maria (Arianne) – face a number of existential questions as a direct response…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Writer-director Chie Hayakawa’s dystopian drama is a tender examination of what the true cost of a human life is
2) It raises some deep and thoughtful questions about life and death, within an all-too believable socio-political context
3) The film was selected by Japan as its official entry for the International Feature Film Oscar, one year after the country won the award for Drive My Car
4) Japanese acting veteran Chieko Baisho brings a sombre energy to a lead role that may leave you in tears
5) It’s bound to ignite healthy discussion among audience members about the legitimacy and morality of old-age euthanasia
Plan 75 is showing in cinemas from Friday 12th May 2023 (and will be available to rent exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema)
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (2022, dir. Nina Menkes)
CAST: Nina Menkes, Rhiannon Aarons, Kathleen Antonia Tarr, Rosanna Arquette, Cody Jake Banks, Lara Dale, Julie Dash, Sandra de Castro Buffington, Maria Giese, May Hong HaDuong, Catherine Hardwicke, Eliza Hittman, Iyabo Kwayana, Laura Mulvey, Ita O’Brien, Freddy D. Ramsey Jr., Nancy Schreiber, Maya Montañez Smukler, Joey Soloway, Penelope Spheeris, Charlyne Yi, Amy Ziering
CREW: Nina Menkes (director, writer, producer), Dehanza Rogers (producer), Sharon Farber (composer), Shana Hagan (cinematographer), Cecily Rhett (editor)
PLOT: Filmmaker Nina Menkes presents a compelling and devastating look at how the visual language of cinema has been manipulated over the years to disempower and objectify women, and how it has led to commonplace misogyny and predatory behaviour in modern society…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Nina Menkes adapts her acclaimed talk Sex & Power: The Visual Language of Cinema into a shocking study of how cinema has enabled open discrimination against women
2) Menkes uses more than 175 clips from across film history, from the pioneering features of the late 1800s to present-day blockbusters, to show the long-lasting effects of on-screen objectification
3) Several interviewees, including Rosanna Arquette and Charlyne Yi, relay their past experiences with being objectified while their male counterparts remain the mere subject throughout
4) References are made to Laura Mulvey’s ground-breaking 1975 essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, which coined the term “male gaze” to determine how a female object is viewed by a male subject
5) It makes numerous thoughtful arguments about the very nature of cinema that could leave you never watching your favourite movies the same way ever again!
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power is showing in cinemas from Friday 12th May 2023
WHAT’S SHOWING
AT HOME
THIS WEEK
(STREAMING AND
ON-DEMAND)?
The Mother (2023, dir. Niki Caro)
CAST: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Omari Hardwick, Gael García Bernal, Paul Raci, Lucy Paez, Jesse Garcia, Yvonne Senat Jones
CREW: Niki Caro (director), Misha Green (writer, producer), Andrea Berloff and Peter Craig (writers), Marc Evans, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Roy Lee, Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina and Miri Yoon (producers), Ben Seresin (cinematographer), David Coulson (editor)
PLOT: After years of hiding in the Alaskan wilderness, a deadly assassin known as The Mother (Lopez) resurfaces to rescue her daughter (Paez) whom she was forced to leave behind, only to be targeted by a number of dangerous assailants…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) Jennifer Lopez slips back easily into action hero mode as she headlines the new Netflix action-thriller
2) Director Niki Caro, known for compelling female-led stories such as Whale Rider, North Country and Disney’s remake of Mulan, brings a grounded realism to the one she’s been tasked with executing here
3) Lopez (also a producer on the film) finds herself up against intimidating threats such as Joseph Fiennes (whose brother Ralph she once romanced in Maid in Manhattan) and Gael García Bernal
4) There is plenty of intense action and brutal fight sequences to satisfy the tastes of most action movie fans
5) We could be seeing plenty more of Lopez as a reliable action lead if this movie ends up doing well
The Mother is streaming exclusively on Netflix from Friday 12th May 2023
Crater (2023, dir. Kyle Patrick Alvarez)
CAST: Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Mckenna Grace, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong, Thomas Boyce, Scott Mescudi
CREW: Kyle Patrick Alvarez (director), John J. Griffin (writer), Dan Cohen, Dan Levine and Shawn Levy (producers), Jas Shelton (cinematographer), James W. Harrison III (editor)
PLOT: In the distant future, Caleb (Russell-Bailey) is a young boy who is raised by his father (Mescudi) on a lunar mining colony with his three best friends Dylan (Barratt), Borney (Hong) and Marcus (Boyce). However, when his father suddenly dies, and he is due to be permanently relocated to another planet, he sets out with his friends, along with new Earth arrival Addison (Grace), to discover the secrets of a mysterious crater…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) There’s plenty of space-set fun to be had in this coming-of-age sci-fi tale with a lunar twist
2) Young actors Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Mckenna Grace, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong and Thomas Boyce make for a wonderful team that you can endlessly root for
3) Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez, best known for the disturbing psychological thriller The Stanford Prison Experiment and several episodes of the hit Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, ventures into much lighter family-friendly fare for the first time
4) It is produced by Shawn Levy, who has led several projects from Stranger Things to Free Guy to all sorts of success, so you can count on him doing the same with this film
5) From heart-warming friendships to heart-breaking loss, there is a strong heart amidst all the space-set action and suspense
Crater is streaming exclusively on Disney+ from Friday 12th May 2023
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023, dir. Davis Guggenheim)
CAST: Michael J. Fox, Tracy Pollan, Andrew Barber, Susan Bressman, David Diamond, Annabelle Fox, Aquinnah Fox, Sam Fox, Schuyler Fox, Hannah Galway, Danny Irizarry, Allison Klause, Brandon Mindel, Siobhan Murphy, Ryan Order, Bradley Peters
CREW: Davis Guggenheim (director, producer), Will Cohen, Jonathan King and Annetta Marion (producers), John Powell (composer), Julia Liu, C. Kim Miles and Clair Popkin (cinematographers), Michael Harte (editor)
PLOT: Michael J. Fox, the Canadian actor who became a Hollywood legend thanks to films like Back to the Future and Teen Wolf, but was forced to retire following an early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, recounts his life story and his triumphs throughout his professional and personal lives…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) The beloved movie icon Michael J. Fox is front and centre of this loving new biographical documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim
2) The film uses a combination of documentary-style interviews, archive footage, and dramatic re-enactments to show Fox’s rise through, and tragic departure from, public life
3) Members of Fox’s family, including his children and wife Tracy Pollan, appear throughout the film to offer their unique thoughts on the impact their father/husband has made
4) Fox retains his charming sense of humour all throughout, ensuring that audiences don’t get a downbeat portrayal of early-onset Parkinson’s
5) From his iconic movie roles to his philanthropist efforts, all aspects of Michael J. Fox’s life and career are celebrated in deeply moving fashion
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ from Friday 12th May 2023
Dead Shot (2023, dirs. Charles Guard and Thomas Guard)
CAST: Colin Morgan, Aml Ameen, Felicity Jones, Mark Strong, Sophia Brown, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Máiréad Tyers, Steve WallRory Grant
CREW: Charles Guard and Thomas Guard (directors, writers), Ronan Bennett (writer), Rebecca L. Brown, Chris Coen, Brian Coffey and Thorsten Schumacher (producers), Max de Wardener (composer), Mattias Rudh (cinematographer), Ted Guard (editor)
PLOT: In the 1970s, retired Irish paramilitary Michael (Morgan) witnesses the fatal shooting of his pregnant wife at the hands of SAS officer Tempest (Ameen). Eager for revenge, Michael takes to the streets of London to hunt down Tempest and those protecting him…
FIVE REASONS TO BE EXCITED:
1) British-Irish tensions run high in this gripping historical thriller that explores the real cost of revenge
2) Colin Morgan is on ferocious form as the vengeful Irish fugitive, while Aml Ameen brings sympathy and complexity to his instigating officer
3) There are also solid supporting roles for Mark Strong and Oscar-nominee Felicity Jones, playing characters who may not be as trustworthy as the casting makes them out to be
4) Director siblings Charles and Thomas Guard – known simply as The Guard Brothers – return to feature filmmaking after their 2009 horror The Uninvited
5) The streets of Glasgow – also recently used in films like The Batman and Tetris – provide chilling exteriors for a paranoia-fuelled 1970s London, where most of the action takes place
Dead Shot is streaming exclusively on Sky Cinema from Friday 12th May 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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