The Strand Arts Centre

• 2017
• US
• 1h 42min
• U

• Directed by: Brian Fee
• Cast: Armie Hammer, Nathan Fillion, Owen Wilson, Kerry Washington

Lightning (Wilson) is challenged by new car on the block, Jackson Storm (Hammer). The least interesting Pixar franchise rumbles on in a rudimentary cash-grab which is basically a training montage in search of a story, and Randy Newman’s score can’t save it from being a dull lunge for the finish line.

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• 2000
• UK
• 1h 25min
• U

• Directed by: Peter Lord, Nick Park
• Written by: Peter Lord, Nick Park, Margaret French
• Cast: Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Jane Horrocks, Miranda Richardson

For its first feature Aardman studios has re-written the WWII POW experience as an Orwellian satire, albeit with laughs. So, Stalag 17 becomes a battery farm and the camp commandant farmer Tweedy's domineering wife, while in the hutches, Ginger rallies her fellow hens to fly their coop. Though the characters aren't as established as Wallace and Gromit and the feature length running time slows the action. For Aardman this is very half baked.

• 70%
• 88%
• 97%

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• 2017
• US
• 1h 30min
• U

• Directed by: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
• Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Steve Coogan, Julie Andrews, Jenny Slate, Pierre Coffin

Gru (Carell) and new wife and fellow agent Lucy (Wiig) are ensconced with their adorable adopted daughters when supervillain Balthazar Bratt (Parker) decides to take revenge on Hollywood for neglecting him. It’s all a bit familiar but it skilfully balances kid and adult appeal with its madcap approach and embarrassment of mischievous energy.

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• 2017
• US
• 2h 23min
• 15

• Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
• Cast: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith, Will Poulter

In Detroit, 1967, during city-wide rioting, armed police descend on the Algiers Motel and subject innocent partygoers to a vicious all-night interrogation. Bald, confrontational, uncomfortable filmmaking which uses an impressive ensemble (Boyega, Poulter, Mitchell, Mackie) to bring home the force of state-sanctioned hatred and racism.

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• 2017
• US
• 1h 26min
• PG

• Directed by: Tony Leondis
• Cast: T. J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Jake T. Austin, Christina Aguilera, Sofia Vergara, Patrick Stewart

Gene (Miller) is a ‘meh’ emoji living in Textopolis who can’t help displaying mixed emotions. Targeted for deletion, he goes on the run with perky Hi-5 (Corden) and hacker Jailbreak (Faris). A combination of product placement, ingratiating voice work and barrel-scraping studio desperation, it’s a witless and blandly generic journey of self-discovery.

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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 headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, they embark on a journey and discover an allied spy organisation in the US. The two secret organisations join together to defeat the enemy.

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• 1939
• US
• 2h 10min
• PG

• Directed by: Frank Capra
• Cast: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Harry Carey, Claude Rains

An ordinary man (Stewart) gets elected to the Senate and is expected to fall to the whims of his backers, until conscience enters the equation. Archetypal Stewart, archetypal Capra. One of western cinema's most optimistic masterpieces.

• 82%
• 83%

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• 2017
• Canada/US/South Korea
• 1h 31min
• PG

• Directed by: Cal Brunker
• Cast: Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph

In this inexplicable sequel to the underwhelming 2014 original, Surly Squirrel (Arnett) teams up with idealistic Andie (Heigl) and Precious (Rudolph) to save their park from the Mayor (Moynihan). The characters are unappealing and the script relies on uninspired action and flat non-jokes. At least there’s no ‘Gangnam Style’ this time.

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• 1998
• Canada/Italy/USA/UK/Austria
• 2h 10min
• 15

• Directed by: François Girard
• Cast: Carlo Cecchi, Jean-Luc Bideau, Christoph Koncz

Drama about the titular violin at a modern day auction and exploring his history over several centuries and numerous owners.

• 77%
• 57%
• 74%

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• 1993
• France
• 1h 40min
• 15

• Directed by: Krzysztof Kieślowski
• Written by: Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Agnieszka Holland, Edward Zebrowski
• Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Régent, Emmanuelle Riva, Florence Pernel, Guillaume De Tonquédec

A young woman tries to isolate herself from friends and any notion of affection following the death of her composer husband and child in a car crash, but she cannot escape from the fragments of his unfinished composition, in which she played a major part. An expressive and symbolic film that is also emotionally satisfying. Binoche's award-winning performance, in a film of profound beauty, is the best of her career.

• 80%
• 85%
• 100%

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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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