Empire High Wycombe

• 2017
• US
• 1h 51min
• 18

• Directed by: Michael Cuesta
• Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch, Shiva Negar

Mitch Rapp (O’Brien) is an orphan whose fiancée is murdered by terrorists; he’s then recruited as a CIA killer. The first in a planned franchise manages to make one of the freshest political thrillers in years, with inventive production design, strong set pieces and a great supporting cast (Keaton, Lathan, Suchet, Kitsch).

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• 2017
• Sweden/Denmark/Finland
• 1h 40min

• Directed by: Janus Metz
• Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård, David Bamber

Spot-on performances from Shia LaBeouf and Sverrir Gudnason power this story of a classic sporting rivalry. Flashbacks to pushy parents in the case of McEnroe, and unsupportive ones with Borg are relied on a bit too heavily, as are the usual sports movie clichés, but the match itself is suspenseful and exhilarating to watch, even though we know the outcome.

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• 2017
• 1h 45min
• PG

• Directed by: Jonathan Teplitzky
• Written by: Alex von Tunzelmann
• Cast: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery

The story of how Churchill (Cox) was vehemently opposed to the Normandy landings of 1944. Intelligent, sometimes moving drama with an exceptional cast (especially Purefoy as a touching George VI) but not notably cinematic, stringing together a series of confrontations with shots of Churchill being driven from one place to another.

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• 2017
• 1h 46min
• 12A

• Directed by: Christopher Nolan
• Written by: Christopher Nolan
• Cast: Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Harry Styles

Survival story set during the battle of Dunkirk in WWII. The younger cast members acquit themselves admirably, including pop star Harry Styles; and, in its uncomfortable depiction of frightened men looking to save their own skin, this is far from straightforwardly patriotic fare. As he delivers non-stop visual audacity, once again Nolan shows himself to be a master of pure cinema.

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From one of the world’s largest art collections comes the remarkable story of Canaletto and the city he shared with millions through his art.

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• 2017
• US
• 2h 15min
• 15

• Directed by: Andrés Muschietti
• Cast: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer

A group of kids discovers that their town is haunted by an evil shape-shifting clown (Skarsgård). Well-crafted and properly creepy, with a sinister turn from Skarsgård as the dribbling Pennywise and Lillis superb as the gang’s only female member, it lays down solid groundwork for the planned second instalment.

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• 2017
• France
• 1h 37min
• U

• Directed by: David Alaux
• Cast: Paul Borne, Philippe Bozo, Pascal Casanova

Maurice (Bozo) is a penguin who’s been raised by Natacha, a tigress (Darah). He leads his own team of crime-fighting creatures against evil koala Igor (Darbois) and his baboons. Lush animation and a brisk, unpretentious story make for a cheap but cheerful rumble in the jungle for pre-teens.

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• 2017
• UK

• Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
• Written by: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
• Cast: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong

After the Kingsman HQ is destroyed, street kid-turned-superspy Eggsy (Egerton) and gadget man Merlin (Strong) team up with their US equivalents to defeat drug baroness Poppy (Moore). Vaughan and Goldman turn up the preposterous comic book shenanigans at the expense of charm and basic plausibility, but fans will like it.

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• 2017
• US
• 1h 55min
• 18

• Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
• Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris

The wife (Lawrence) of a poet (Bardem) live in a vast house in the middle of nowhere, until their life is interrupted by a surgeon (Harris), his wife (Pfeiffer) and their violent sons. Lawrence is astonishing, but other than that it’s an infuriating exercise in noisy style over substance.

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• 2017
• UK/US
• 1h 51min
• PG

• Directed by: Stephen Frears
• Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Gambon

When Queen Victoria (Dench) is introduced to a young man from India, Abdul Karim (Fazal), she is charmed when he prostrates himself and kisses her foot: unlikely cross-cultural friendship and Urdu lessons duly ensue. Fazal and Dench are excellent and there’s a surprisingly effective political subtext.

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• 1974
• US
• 1h 48min
• 15

• Directed by: Mel Brooks
• Written by: Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder
• Cast: Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, Gene Hackman

A splendidly accurate James Whale pastiche choc-full of memorable one-liners and crazee situations. Brooks' most affectionate and consistently humorous film.

• 80%
• 93%

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