Showcase Bristol Cinema De Lux

• 2019
• US
• 2h 8min
• PG

• Directed by: Guy Ritchie
• Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Numan Acar, Billy Magnussen, Alan Tudyk, Frank Welker

Disney’s live-action version of 1992’s Aladdin features a fun, fast-talking and scene-stealing Smith and terrific work from Massoud and Scott as Aladdin and Jasmine, but against that there’s some weird VFX, odd directorial choices and a well-intentioned but clunky female empowerment number. Enjoyable and entertaining nevertheless.

• 74%
• 53%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 46min
• 15

• Directed by: Gary Dauberman
• Cast: Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Wilson and Farmiga) find themselves once again menaced by devil doll Annabelle. Dauberman knows how to build tension and makes a few efficient jump-scares, but there’s no depth to the story and apart from excellent performances it’s a straightforward terrorise-the-teens picture.

• 63%
• 53%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 33min

• Directed by: Todd Douglas Miller

Documentary marking the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing with never-before-seen footage and newly discovered audio recordings. The rockets are spankingly new and exciting, and it’s a piece of gleaming history showing the youth, hope and enthusiasm of the time.

• 83%
• 88%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 43min

• Directed by: Jim Jarmusch
• Cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Sara Driver, RZA, Carol Kane, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits

Jarmusch’s homage to the zombie movie makes the humans criminally dumb and apathetic and the zombies thirsty for coffee, wi-fi and candy. Swinton works her usual magic as a Scottish samurai mortician, Sevigny excels as a dangerously empathetic cop and if it’s insufficiently scathing about the penal system, the silly humour carries it along.

• 60%
• 53%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 58min
• PG

• Directed by: Jon Favreau
• Cast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones

Live action remake of the beloved Disney animation.

• 52%
• 57%

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• 2019
• US

• Directed by: F. Gary Gray
• Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Les Twins, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson

Molly (T. Thompson) is a wannabe MIB agent who’s given a chance by Agent O (E. Thompson) and teamed up with golden boy Agent H (Hemsworth). It’s not so much that it’s bad, more that the franchise wasn’t much to begin with: here, a CGI-heavy story relies far too much on Hemsworth’s insouciant charm. A high-budget non-event.

• 57%
• 38%

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• 2019
• US / Sweden
• 2h 20min
• 18

• Directed by: Ari Aster
• Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Archie Madekwe, Ellora Torchia, Will Poulter

Dani (Pugh) is a fragile American girl dating fellow student Christian (Reynor) who, after tragically losing family members, travels to Sweden with Christian and his friends to visit a commune. Slow-burn horror which simmers rather than explodes, but Pugh and Reynor give full-blooded turns and it’s transfixing.

• 77%
• 73%

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Live broadcast of National Theatre's play about the rise and fall of the Lehman Brothers and their role in the 2008 financial crisis, directed by Sam Mendes and starring Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles.

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• 2019
• UK / USA
• 2h 20min

• Directed by: Ron Howard

A celebration of the life and times of the beloved opera singer who sold over 100 million records.

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• 2019
• Belgium
• 1h 25min
• PG

• Directed by: Vincent Kesteloot, Ben Stassen
• Cast: Jack Whitehall, Julie Walters, Sheridan Smith, Ray Winstone, Matt Lucas, Tom Courtenay

Rex (Whitehall) is a corgi living in Buckingham Palace until Donald Trump (Culshaw) and his oversexed dog Mitzi (Hadland) arrive. Poorly judged Belgian animated feature with lame gags normalising sexual assault and bizarre underworld stereotypes and drug-based humour. Kids are unlikely to take offence but adults may feel that explaining the jokes aren’t worth the bother.

• 47%

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• 2019
• US
• 2h 9min
• 12A

• Directed by: Jon Watts
• Cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal

After the events of Endgame, Peter Parker (Holland) is dealing with the loss of his mentor when he and his schoolmates find themselves fighting the Elementals. An enjoyable mix of storming special effects and road trip silliness which manages to work in the believable development in the relationship between Peter and MJ (Zendaya). It returns the fun to the Marvel canon.

• 80%
• 69%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 33min
• 15

• Directed by: Michael Dowse
• Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Dave Bautista, Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino, Karen Gillan

Vic (Bautista) is a detective grieving for his partner Sara (Gillan) while trying to catch her killer; in the course of this, he makes Uber driver Stu (Nanjani) his unwitting accomplice. There’s no spark between the leads, Nanjiani’s material is weak and the female roles are very poor. Floundering and not funny enough.

• 61%
• 42%

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• 2018
• USA
• 1h 32min
• 15

• Directed by: Jim Cummings
• Cast: Kendal Farr, Jim Cummings, Nican Robinson

Jim Arnaud (Cummings) is a cop struggling with grief after his mother’s death, who’s also dealing with a messy divorce and custody battle. Cummings’ debut feature as writer-director-star is a raw and excruciatingly funny portrait of masculinity and parenthood, as Jim tries to provide a life for his daughter (Farr). Remarkable.

• 71%
• 79%

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• 2019
• US
• 1h 40min
• U

• Directed by: Josh Cooley
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Joan Cusack, Blake Clark, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Jodi Benson, Michael Keaton, Jeff Pidgeon, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, Jeff Garlin, Laurie Metcalf, Lori Alan

Woody (Tom Hanks) joins new owner Bonnie at kindergarten where he finds a new purpose in protecting her improvised toy Forky (Hale). Pixar manages to further the story with fine new characters and a satisfyingly teary conclusion, for a fine last chapter in the saga.

• 83%
• 84%

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• 2019
• UK
• 1h 52min
• 12A

• Directed by: Danny Boyle
• Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon

Singer-songwriter Jack (Patel) is knocked unconscious when a bus hits his bike, and he wakes up in a world where the Beatles are unknown. There’s some fine comedy (including from Sheeran, playing himself) but it gets less surefooted; Patel can’t stop Jack from being rather morose and it’s neither a classic Curtis rom-com nor as infectiously euphoric as Boyle’s best work.

• 70%
• 56%

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