Feel like a Ken Loach drama? Another round with Katniss Everdeen? A bit of Michel Gondry quirk? Some opera or a play perhaps? A Reese Witherspooon-lead drama maybe?
There’s something for everyone in cinemas this week. What will you be watching?
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Opening today:
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JIMMY’S HALL……FILM OF THE WEEK
UK, Ireland, France | 109 minutes | Drama, Biography
Director: Ken Loach (The Angel’s Share, The Wind that Shakes the Barley)
Cast: Barry Ward, Simone Kirby, Andrew Scott, Jim Norton, Brían F. O’Byrne
Ireland 1932, hot-headed political activist Jimmy Gralton returns home and opens a dance hall for the local youth. But not all the townsfolk are as open to having free-thinking youth running around as Jimmy.
I was lucky enough to see this at Cannes. Very accessible Ken Loach and a damn fine watch.
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
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IS THE MAN WHO IS TALL HAPPY?
USA | 89 minutes | Drama, Animation
Director: Michel Gondry (Mood Indigo, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Cast: Michel Gondry, Noam Chomsky
Quirky French filmmaker Michel Gondry reconstructs a series of interviews with linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky using hand-drawn animation.
For hardcore Gondry fans only I suspect.
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LIFE OF CRIME
USA | 99 minutes | Action, Comedy
Director: Daniel Schechter (The Big Bad Swim)
Cast: Mos Def, John Hawkes, Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins, Isla Fisher, Will Forte, Kevin Cannon, Mark Boone Junior
A prequel to Tarantino’s Jackie Brown in which a kidnapped property developer’s wife joins forces with her captors after she discovers her husband doesn’t want her back.
Don’t know much about this. The trailer’s not flash but the eclectic cast makes it intriguing.
Distributor: Madman
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METOPERA: LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
USA | 200 minutes | Opera, Live Performance
Conductor: James Levine
Cast: Ildar Abdrazakov, Marlis Petersen, Peter Mattei, Marina Poplavskaya, Isabel Leonard
The first opera from The Met’s 2014-15 season sees an all-new production of Mozart’s masterpiece.
Opera fans rejoice!
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NT LIVE: SKYLIGHT
UK | 180 minutes | Drama, Live Performance
Director: Stephen Dladry (The Audience)
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Bill Nighy
A school teacher and a widowed restaurateur rekindle their past relationship, with rather unpleasant results.
Mulligan and Nighy make this a “must watch”.
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THE GOOD LIE
Kenya, India, USA | 110 minutes | Drama
Director: Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar It’s Not Me, I Swear!)
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Kuoth Wiel, Sarah Baker, Corey Stoll, Thad Luckinbill, Maria Howell, Sharon Conley, Kaitlyn Ervin, Mike Pniewski
A brash employment agency counselor touches the lives of Sudanese refugees who have resettled in Kansas.
Looks solid. Witherspoon is always a good watch.
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
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THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1
USA | 123 minutes | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Director: Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Water for Elephants, I Am Legend)
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Natalie Dormer, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Julianne Moore, Lily Rabe, Evan Ross, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci
The first part of the final Hunger Games chapter sees Katniss free from the games and (reluctantly) leading the rebellion – to a beat of a Lorde track.
Wasn’t a huge fan of the first two films but this looks like a step up – although likely to leave everyone hanging, ahead for the final installment.
Distributor: Roadshow
