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
Going In Style (12A)
In what seems like a never-ending spiel of OA-Pictures releases as of late, it’s fairly obvious that Hollywood royalty really dislike the idea of retiring. Whether it’s the action heroes of yesteryear clinging to explosive geri-action flicks like The Expendables to ‘old people do the wackiest things’ type comedies, the icons of the silver screen definitely enjoy working long after they go grey.
With Going In Style, Scrubs-alumni/indie darling Zac Braff tries his hand at directing three of the best older actors currently still in the game today – Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine in, oddly enough, a tale about never retiring.
Despite a lifetime on the straight and narrow, lifelong pals Willie, Joe and Al have a later-life crisis as their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. In order to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three spice up things by embarking on a daring revenge-heist against the very bank which ran away with their life savings. Think Ocean’s Eleven meets Fisherman’s Friend…
A reinvention of the classic 1979 comedy of the same name, Going In Style, at the end of the day is just a couple of old friends having a great time together, complete with giggles and gasps. The film looks alright as well.
Out next week
The Fate of the Furious (12A)
Of all the franchises from the past decade or two to become a billion dollar series, who would have guessed it would have been the Vin Diesel-led Fast & The Furious. Originally starting out as still the best remake of Point Break we’ve had, long gone are the simple street-racing days of the first film as the ‘family’ are now verified superhero secret agents, bound to burn rubber and beat the bad guys.
The Fate of the Furious is number eight for the gang, as friends become enemies as a mysterious female cyber hacker (Charlize Theron) sways the loyalty of Dominic Toretto against his closest allies. To even the odds, old enemies must become allies as previous movie villain Jason Statham must join them to stop the cyber-criminal from hatching her insane plan and discover why Toretto betrayed them in the first.
These films are now so ludicrous that they actually star the actor Ludacris, but there’s no arguing their creative in their madness, delivering jaw-dropping action set pieces which make your run-of-the-mill blockbuster look dull in comparison. With tanks, prison brawls and even a nuclear submarine, it looks as it this is going to be just as fast and just as furious as previous instalments.
Last Chance to See
Get Out (15)
Original horror is having something of a resurgence in recent years, with Don’t Breathe and Lights Out becoming some of the highest grossing movies of last year, while It Follows and The Witch have carried the torch for critically acclaimed horror. But 2017’s first big horror movie, Get Out, manages to pull off that rare trick of being popular with critics and audiences alike – and believe me, it’s worth the hype.
The premise of Get Out is deceptively simple but no less relevant in today’s climate: photographer Chris is getting ready to spend his weekend meeting girlfriend Rose’s wealthy parents at their upstate home. The only question he has before going is whether or not Rose’s parents know that he’s black. After being reassured that it won’t be a problem, the couple makes their way to Rose’s home, to be greeted by her incredibly liberal parents and their friends.
This might seem like an incredibly scant synopsis for a movie that’s been billed as horror’s saving light, but trust me, the less you know about Get Out, the more you’ll enjoy it. Needless to say, Chris’s weekend ends up being far less peaceful than he’d hoped – and as he descends deeper into the mystery surrounding Rose’s mother and father, you’ll feel your grip tighten on your cinema seat… It’s not the most terrifying movie you’ll ever see, but you will struggle to find another horror movie made with this much attention to detail and passion. Don’t miss this movie.
Family Favourite
Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience (U)
Peppa and her myriad farm animal friends have been a bona-fide phenomenon for more than a decade. In many ways I’m surprised it’s taken this courageous little pig so long to make her way to the big screen, as most popular children’s TV characters are thrown into cinematic adventures if there’s even a chance of making money from it. But to Peppa’s credit, this feels like less of a cash-in than other films of this sort.
Split into nine different episodes, Peppa and her pals make their way around London on a big red bus. She even somehow manages to wrangle a guided tour by the Queen herself (which I guess is the sort of thing you can organise when you’re the biggest name in toddler entertainment since Barney).
If your child knows and loves Peppa Pig, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce them to the cinema – My First Cinema Experience has been designed to make the cinema a fun and safe place for younger children. There are nursey rhyme sing-a-longs, games, and dance routines built into the movie, so it’s like a trip to the movies and a day out all rolled into one. I’d recommend this one to any Peppa Pig enthusiasts (I know you’re out there).
Coming Soon
Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) (12A)
After watching Suicide Squad at a midnight screening in August of last year, I left the cinema with a number of thoughts roaming around my head. “Did I really just watch that?” “Was the editor of this movie hired by Marvel in a genius bit of secret agent sabotage?” “Cara Delevigne… why?” But my main thought was “Judging by that, Guardians of the Galaxy was anything but a fluke.”
Might seem odd, but both movies share a very basic DNA; lesser-known misfit comic book characters banding together despite their differences to save a planet. But where Suicide Squad stumbled over larger-than-life characters (and a borderline offensively dumb script), Guardians managed to turn Star Lord, Rocket, Groot and Gamora into the coolest bunch of heroes you’d never heard of (they’re like the All Saints to the Avengers’ Spice Girls). They’re all back for another round at saving the world, with more attention being paid to Star Lord’s history, including his elusive father who was mentioned but never seen in the first instalment.
It was heart-warming to see the first Guardians go from the riskiest Marvel property to one of their most successful releases to date (earning more than £750 million at the box office), and with James Gunn back at the helm for Vol. 2, I’m hoping this sequel is a case of building upon the hilarious and strange world we were introduced to in 2014.
For full showing times and to secure your tickets, visit: https://www.myvue.com/cinema/altrincham
