Here’s the latest instalment of our new fortnightly feature, where we hand-pick a selection of films showing at our only cinema, Vue Altrincham.
Film fan Mark Rocks takes you through them…
For full showing times and to secure your tickets, visit: https://www.myvue.com/cinema/altrincham
Out This Week
A Cure For Wellness (18)
Despite making his visionary film-making style very present in mainstream cinema from the very get-go, director Gore Verbinski has come a long way since his Mouse Hunt debut. After dabbling with evil TV spirits, cartoon chameleons and easily the most successful franchise based on a theme park ride yet, Verbinski is back with the bold, bizarre thriller A Cure For Wellness.
A lot more Shutter Island than Treasure Island, this psychological trip is led by Dane DeHaan playing an ambitious executive tasked with retrieving his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious ‘wellness centre’, isolated in the Swiss Alps. Upon his arrival, he suspects the spa’s treatments might not be all too relaxing and just as he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, he is diagnosed with the same illness that keeps all the guests longing for the cure.
Blending old school horror influences with an unsettling level of tension, A Cure For Wellness may be a decent remedy for boredom next week, albeit probably not your nightmares.
Out next week
Logan (15)
It’s easy to be fatigued with superhero movies at this point. The same old tired origins, the mindless explosive set pieces and the same conclusive villain-opens-a-portal-in-the-sky ending. However, after a whopping EIGHT appearances as the adamantium-clad anti-hero, Hugh Jackman and 20th Century Fox are hoping to try something a bit different with a more personal, more human and much more adult version of X-Man Wolverine, in Logan.
Set in an aging world where mutants aren’t as powerful as they once were, Logan follows an older Wolverine, whose healing powers are slowly failing. Just as his mutant powers are faded, he learns of young Laura, a mutant with incredibly similar powers and abilities to himself. In order to protect from the evil forces hunting her down, he must team up with an elderly Professor Xavier to do everything he can to keep her safe.
Fox are once again attempting a much more violent spin on their heroes following last year’s Deadpool and looking at the praise Logan is currently getting, this could be the best X-Men film yet.
Last Chance to See
T2 Trainspotting (18)
Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie are back over 20 years and this week is your last chance to catch up with them! Danny Boyle’s sequel to the 1996 Trainspotting revisits the gang, as Spud returns to Edinburgh for the first time since the events of the first film. Unsurprisingly, some are happier to see him than others as long overdue conflicts rage on and old friendships are rekindled.
Visually imaginative and emotionally impactful, T2 Trainspotting is rare proof that sometimes sequels to beloved classics can actually work.
Family Favourite
Sing (U)
I’m not sure the children of the world will ever stop being targeted by tales of animals speaking English and wearing clothes. Should we blame Walt Disney for this? I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure Snow White’s furry friends have a lot to answer for when it comes to heart-warming tales of animals that go above and beyond the usual “scurrying away from humans” behaviour people were accustomed to.
But I digress. ‘Sing’, from Illumination Entertainment, is about an adorable little koala called Buster Moon (because what else would he be called?), who wants to save the theatre he owns from being closed. And what else could any self-respecting koala do in such a situation except hold a singing competition? Nothing, that’s what.
This movie has some real heavy-hitters voicing the characters, including Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, and Matthew McConaughey. But to be honest, no child is going to want to see this movie because they want to hear how John C. Reilly injects humanity into a sheep character called Eddie Noodleman. Bottom line, this movie is funny, it’s got some amazing music from the likes of Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande, and is heart-warming to boot. Fun for kids and not likely to make any adults strain their eyes from excessive rolling – what more do you need in a kids movie?
Coming Soon
Beauty and the Beast (PG)
Disney’s recent trend of remaking their most popular animations as live action epics is showing no signs of stopping (unsurprisingly; The Jungle Book has made more than $950million worldwide), and the latest sure-fire hit out of the wagon is 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast.
By this stage we should all be aware of the story of Belle, the small town girl who seeks more from her provincial life, but just in case, I’ll bring you up to speed. A handsome prince is turned into a hideous beast unless he gets that all-conquering fairy tale antidote – true love’s kiss. Said beast then locks an old man in his home as punishment for trespassing. In order to save said old man’s life, his selfless daughter (the aforementioned Belle) sacrifices herself in his place. Frosty relations between Belle and the Beast, until they begin to realise they have more in common than they thought. Celine Dion song plays.
Already front-loaded with some major star power, with Emma Watson as Belle and Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, this looks set to be more of a reimagining than a straight-up remake. Emma Watson has already claimed that she made sure the original movie’s feminist undertones have been amped up to make it relevant to today’s audiences, which is undoubtedly a smart move – Disney princesses have long been held up as bad examples of role models, so it makes sense for Belle, the most independent of all the princesses, and her story to benefit from this forward-thinking stance.
It’s bound to ignite a million think-pieces across the internet, but I think the best way to view this will be as a straightforward romantic epic. Now, sing it with me – “Tale as old as time…”
For full showing times and to secure your tickets, visit: https://www.myvue.com/cinema/altrincham
