Films around Cheltonistan, from 9/7/22

The Roses To Infinity and beyond, or as least as far as Tewkesbury, comes Lightyear, directed by Angus MacLane, the so-called definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear. Also showing is Between Two Worlds, directed by Emmanuel Carrère and starring, as seems mandatory for most French films released here, Juliette Binoche. She plays a writer who… [continues]

Freeview films from 14 May 2022

World Cinema Sunday (15/5)  01:00   BBC2  Piranhas (2019). Drama based on La Paranza dei Bambini (literally ’The Trawler of Children’), written by Roberto Saviano (Gomorrah) and directed by Claudio Giovannesi, about a group of teenage boys in Naples, beginning to make their way in the world of organised crime. Did well at the 69th Berlin… [continues]

Freeview films from 23 April 2022

World Cinema Saturday (23/4) 01:35   Film4    The Guilty (2018). This Danish thriller, directed by debutant Gustav Möller, is basically a one-hander. Jakob Cedergren plays Asger, a Copenhagen police officer handling emergency calls while he awaits trial for shooting dead a 19-year-old man. He takes a call from a woman named Iben (Jessica Dinnage) who appears to… [continues]

Freeview films from 9 April 2022

World Cinema  Sunday (10/4)       22:30    BBC4     Yuli (2018) .This is billed as a biopic of the Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, but as a film it is much more than that. It is directed by the renowned Spanish actress, writer and director Iciar Bollain, and co-written, with Acosta himself, by Paul Laverty, long-time screenwriter for… [continues]

Freeview films from 19 March 2022

World Cinema Saturday (19/3)        22:00   BBC4       Burning (2018). Mesmerising mystery-thriller from South Korean director Lee Chang-dong. A struggling young man meets a mysterious woman he used to know. She asks him to look after her cat, then introduces him to a richer rival with a dangerous preoccupation. A 148-minute dreamscape,… [continues]

Freeview films 22/1/22 (a palindrome) to 27/1/22

World Cinema Sunday (23/1)         01:25    BBC2                     Personal Shopper (2016)  A powerful supernatural thriller by Olivier Assayas, the second film he has directed featuring Kristen Stewart, who plays Maureen, the personal shopper of the title, working for Kyra, an aloof and demanding supermodel… [continues]

Films around Cheltenham from 11/12/21

The Cineworlds New from Friday: Clifford:The Big Red Dog (2021), children’s live/action, with John Cleese, whose most prominent appearances these days seem to be on Twitter; and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the latest in the endless franchise. This time Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is exposed as the sticky-fingered superhero and Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has… [continues]

Films around Cheltenham from 4/12/21

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… [continues]

Films around Cheltenham from 27/11/21

The Cineworlds A lot of very familiar stuff at the Cineworlds this week: The House of Gucci, Encanto, King Richard, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Eternals, etc, etc. There are a couple of ‘Unlimited’ exclusive screenings of Boxing Day, which is a post-Christmas mid-Atlantic romcom with a largely black cast, directed by Ami Ameen, whose trans-Atlantic acting and… [continues]