The Cineworlds
Some Harry Potter reruns. Some Matrix reruns. A new Resident Evil called Welcome to Raccoon City. A live event-cinema thing featuring the pomaded poltroon Andre Rieu, my late mum’s favourite. Another event=cinema thing featuring Gorillaz, probably aimed at a slightly different audience. Also, something about Monsta X, apparently a K-Pop band. And The Nutcracker live from the ROH. And Sword Art Online: Progressive – Aria, which is a game-based anime.
House of Gucci is still on. Tony Palmer went to see it. He knows Ridley Scott quite well, but told me it’s ‘a mess’ and that only Lady Gaga emerges with any real credit.
The big new arrival, on Friday, is Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. I hated the trailer, but apparently I’m in a minority of one. Nothing new there. I just don’t like Spielberg. Warning: it’s 156 minutes long.
Cineworld Gloucester is much the same, but with a Polish feature: Dziewczyny Z Dubaju (pictured), which looks quite racy. It’s about the recruitment of Polish girls for escort work in Dubai. Director: Maria Sadowska. There’s also a Bollywood, which I mentioned last week.
The Tivoli
The Tivoli has all last week’s stuff, plus something called C’mon, C’mon. This has Joaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist making a long road trip with his nephew, a little boy wise beyond his years, played by Woody Norman. It is in black and white, with lots of shots recalling the French New Wave and New Deal photography, and seems thoughtful and tender, with naturalistic dialogue and gentle pacing. The trailer runs over Claire de Lune in a string arrangement, so it got me straight away. I so hope I am not disappointed. Directed by Mike Mills, whose last film was 20th Century Women (2016), a nice ensemble piece with Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig.
On Friday, West Side Story arrives, but 156 minutes on a sofa doesn’t appeal to me. Not vertical, anyway.
The Sherborne
Spencer, Eternals and Ron’s Gone Wrong during the week. On Friday, another chance to see Mothering Sunday (I would say, don’t) plus Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, which I still haven’t seen, despite my sad mission to see every film ever made about journalism.
The Guildhall
Ah, lots of chances to see Céline Sciamma’s new film, Petite Maman. And as a special bonus, there’s a six-minute archive film about Gloucester, called Dockyards, Demos and New Directions, allegedly ‘curated’ by locals with the help of a film charity called Compass Presents. It also has Cry Macho, Dear Evan Hansen, Mothering Sunday and Dune, plus the live events of André Rieu (special prize for anyone who can pronounce his surname: French people not included) and The Nutcracker, both mentioned above. I’ve put the links here, because I think the Guildhall needs your support. Treat your Mum.
The Roses
The Roses still clings to the leaky raft represented by Spencer, No Time to Die and House of Gucci, but it does have one new film this week. Quant is not a thriller about a rogue City of London number-cruncher (too many of those) but a documentary portrait of the 1960s fashion designer of that name. Sadie Frost, who in her day job is the former wife of Jude Law and a fixture in the Mail Online, has directed this biopic of Mary Quant, famous for popularising (and naming) the mini-dress, along with geometrically patterned tights, skinny-rib sweaters and bright-coloured PVC raincoats. The V&A put on a big show about her last year. ‘I think the point of clothes, for women, should be that you’re noticed,’ she once said, and as a man I can only concur. The film includes interviews with all sorts of pundits, but, interestingly, nothing from Quant, who is still alive.