Showcase Bristol Cinema De Lux

• 2017
• US
• 123 min
• 15

• Directed by: Ridley Scott
• Written by: Michael Green
• Cast: Michael Fassbender, Demián Bichir, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz, Carmen Ejogo, Callie Hernandez

The spaceship Covenant ends up on an unknown planet littered with little egg things, which can’t be good. The latest in the franchise is basically an excuse for Scott’s fantastic visuals and a series of more or less ingenious variations on grisly death, although some will enjoy the spectacle of Fassbender kissing himself.

• 71%
• 64%

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• 2017
• UK/US
• 113 min
• 15

• Directed by: Edgar Wright
• Written by: Edgar Wright
• Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx

• 87%
• 81%

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• 2017
• US
• 116 min
• 15

• Directed by: Seth Gordon
• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfenesh Hadera

Mitch (Johnson) is a devoted life-saver who reluctantly recruits Matt (Efron), a disgraced champion who’s only doing it as a kind of community service. Plenty of good jokes, but minor characters almost drowning doesn’t make for good cinema, and the relentless formulaism makes it long outstay its welcome.

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• 2017
• 105 min
• 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
• USA
• 101 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Marc Webb
• Cast: Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan

Frank (Evans) has been looking after his mathematically gifted niece Mary (Grace) ever since his sister committed suicide, but then his mother stakes a claim on the girl. Movie-of-the-week stuff about one man’s journey for personal redemption, emotionally overwrought and schmaltzy.

• 78%
• 60%

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• 2017
• US
• 137 min
• 12A

• Directed by: James Gunn
• Written by: James Gunn
• Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Glenn Close, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Kurt Russell

The gang are back, with a rollicking plot involving stolen batteries and Ego (Russell) who may or may not be the long-lost dad of Peter Quill (Pratt). It’s very CGI-heavy, sometimes tiringly so, but the humour still charms and the finale picks it up after a sluggish second act.

• 82%
• 67%

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• 2017
• UK
• 102 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Joel Hopkins
• Written by: Robert Festinger
• Cast: Diane Keaton, James Norton, Brendan Gleeson

Emily (Keaton) is an American widow living in Hampstead who falls for the grumpy Donald (Gleeson), who lives in a shack on Hampstead Heath. Twee later-life rom-com with Ketaon in pure ditz mode; her and Gleeson’s chemistry is appealing, but there are no surprises.

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• 2016
• Japan
• 128 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Sunao Katabuchi

Set in Hiroshima during World War II, a young woman struggles to feed her family due to rationing and lack of supplies.

• 83%

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• 2017
• US
• 110 min
• 15

• Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
• Cast: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Russell Crowe

US soldier Nick Morton (Cruise) is collecting artefacts in the Middle East when he accidentally releases the murderous, mummified Ahmanet (Boutella). Boutella’s much the best thing in this first of Universal’s monster movie revamp series, Dark Universe. Based on this turgid and not at all scary effort, more like Dull Universe.

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• 2017
• UK/US
• 106 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Roger Michell
• Cast: Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Holliday Grainger

A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. Weisz is a fine choice for the eponymous enigma, while Claflin is superb as her heedless admirer Philip but the film feels desperately abbreviated.

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• 2016
• Israel/USA
• 117 min
• 15

• Directed by: Joseph Cedar
• Cast: Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Sheen

Norman Oppenheimer (Gere) is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse. It is one of Gere's best performances to date. While Norman is consistently fascinating to watch, the story is extremely dry and the flow of repetitive conversation eventually becomes exhausting.

• 65%
• 78%

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• 2017
• US
• 129 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
• Cast: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom

Captain Jack (Depp) and friends are on a mission to obtain the trident of Poseidon before ghoulish Captain Salazar (Bardem) can get his hands on it. A partial return to form for the franchise, with Bardem vigorous as Jack’s nemesis and a winning performance from Scodelario as an astronomer. It’s all too crowded but it manages to stay afloat.

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• 2017

World-famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann makes his role debut as Otello in Verdi's passionate retelling of Shakespeare's great tragedy of jealousy, deception and murder.

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• 2017
• US
• 148 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Michael Bay
• Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Laura Haddock, Anthony Hopkins

It turns out that the Transformers shape human history, as Oxford lecturer Viviane (Haddock), butch inventor Cade (Wahlberg) and an English Earl (Hopkins) charge about from action sequence to action sequence. Wahlberg and Haddock have zero chemistry and it’s a deadening pile-up of CGI carnage, grating quips and joyless pummelling.

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• 2017
• 98 min
• 15

• Directed by: Michael Apted
• Cast: Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, Michael Douglas, John Malkovich

Alice (Rapace) is a CIA agent in London who begins to suspect that she is being set up.

• 61%

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• 2017
• US
• 133 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Patty Jenkins
• Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright

Diana (Gadot) is a princess of the Amazons, who rescues WW1 pilot / secret agent interest Steve (Pine) and resolves to end the war. Stylish and exciting, with a top cast, touches of real humour and tragedy, and spiffing action sequences, anchored by a strong and highly likeable performance from Gadot.

• 
• 88%

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