We can rejoice this week as there are no new horror films on the agenda.
I’m not a fan and we have been inundated recently. This week has a popular children’s sequel and a hugely anticipated drama from Martin Scorsese.
Plus, don’t forget Taylor Swift’s world domination continues with her residency at your local cinema for the next few weeks.
- For booking details, visit wtwcinemas.co.uk
New Releases
Trolls Band Together
The third animated instalment of the hugely popular family franchise of Trolls is hitting for half term with Trolls Band Together.
After spending the last two films faffing around and will they won’t they Poppy and Branch are officially a couple. Which helps throw the plot direction straight into the action. Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past.
He was once part of her favourite boy-band phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd, John Dory, Spruce and Clay. BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a young Troll. Not only did the band break up but the family went separate ways leaving Branch to fend for himself.
The ‘blood is thicker than water’ saying is tested when BroZone former member Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains—Velvet and Veneer. Leading Branch to make a big decision as to whether he should rescue is estranged brother.
Life imitating art in this cartoon as Branch is voiced by Justin Timberlake former lead singer of Nsync and many a young viewer are probably unaware of his past. But they will be more familiar after this film as the band are back together after 22 years and performing a track for this movie.
Killers of the Flower Moon
The latest offering from esteemed director Martin Scorsese.
The film has been receiving rave reviews since its premiere in Cannes and it looks to be a hugely powerful emotional rollercoaster even for Scorsese. The director is re-united with two of his most regular collaborators, his sixth outing with Leonardo Di Caprio and tenth joint project with Robert De Niro.
In the 1920s large oil reserves are discovered in the Osage county in Oklahoma. The territory belonging to the Osage people, a native American group sound becomes highly valuable and much sought after. A series of deaths and disappearances in the region soon leads to a federal investigation and there are plenty of nasty twists and turns on the way for FBI investigator Tom White to unravel.
With good and bad citizens in Osage this is a tale of greed and corruption that is deeply shocking. An amazingly powerful piece with superb acting across the board, Leo will be in the running to pick up a second Academy Award after this film. It’s going to be quite a scrap next spring with Oppenheimer set to the lead the way and I expect this film to be in contention too.
Alongside the aforementioned regular stars, the film also features Jesse Plemons as Tom White the BOI officer which would become the FBI, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow also star.
Silver Screen
The Prince of Egypt: The Musical
Will be showing on Thursday, October 19 and Sunday, October 22.
The film is based on the classic DreamWorks animation and features Stephen Schwartz’s original, critically acclaimed soundtrack including his Academy Award-winning song ‘When You Believe’ and choreography from Sean Cheesman.
This epic production with an original London cast and orchestra of more than 60 artists tells an inspiring tale of resilience and hope. Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past.
One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever. Filmed live at the Dominion Theatre in London, this spectacular stage show comes to cinemas for the first time.
Pat’s Film Club
Re-Animator
Cult 1980s horror The Re-animator will be paying at The Plaza for Pat’s Film Club as part of Halloween weekend.
A medical campus enlists a new student with a chequered past. Fresh from disastrous experiments abroad, Herbert West starts to focus on bringing dead tissue back to life, he starts off small gradually increasing until his campus has an undead problem. Showing at The Plaza on Saturday, October 29.
More family friendly spooking treats are on at various venues with the 30th anniversary of Hocus Pocus being celebrated back on the big screen. In the town of Salem, a spooky Halloween is nothing different, the town has its own haunted house where the evil witches the Sanderson sisters used to reside.
Accidentally bringing them back from their eternal slumber is Max who must team up with friends and monsters and a magical cat to ensure the Sanderson sisters are returned to the other side. Fun family horror showing at various dates and times over the Half Term into Halloween week.
Silver Screen
Silver screen returns after Half Term, more news next week but November 2 is a date to mark in your calendar.
It will be a welcome return for the popular morning programme after a summer break. There is not an age barrier for the Silver Screen but we do aim the films to entertain an older market.
We have been screening these for a few years now and I have had a quick look over some of the busiest showings Victoria and Abdul in October 2017 was a hit, Murder on the Orient Express in November of that year was one of the busiest and bodes well if we can secure a Haunting in Venice Silver Screen.
On the flip side I did notice the Magnificent Seven remake in 2016 did not fare well, so maybe avoid westerns!
This Week’s Quiz
Quiz topic will feature five Scorsese Di Caprio Collab movies and five De Niro and Scorsese collaborations
Question 1
De Niro played the cult figure of Travis Bickle in which 1976 movie?
Question 2
Di Caprio was Oscar nominated for which role in 2004 movie The Aviator?
Question 3
One of the finest gangster movies Goodfellas starred which actor as Henry Hill?
Question 4
Which British acting great played Dr. Cawley in thriller Shutter Island?
Question 5
Which film did De Niro win the Academy Award for Best Actor?
A) Mean Streets.
B) Raging Bull.
C) The King of Comedy.
Question 6
One of Di Caprio’s finest is The Wolf of Wall Street, can you name who co-starred as Donnie Azoff and Naomi Lapaglia?
Question 7
Who starred alongside De Niro as Ginger McKenna and Nicky Santoro in the 1995 movie Casino?
Question 8
The 2006 movie The Departed features an all-star cast but who played Colin, Dignam and Costello?
Question 9
In the 1991 remake of Cape Fear who played Sam, Leigh and Danielle Bowden?
Question 10
In Gangs of New York, who played Priest Vallon, Jenny Everdean, Walter ‘Monk’ McGinn, Boss Tweed and Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting?
Answers
- Bickle is the antihero from Taxi Driver.
- Entrepreneur Howard Hughes was the chief character in The Aviator. An interesting but a long watch.
- The late Ray Liotta excelled in the lead role.
- The multi-talented Sir Ben Kingsley was the Dr behind the mysterious island on Shutter Island. Well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.
- B) Raging Bull, the black and white boxing biography won De Niro his second Academy Award.
- Jonah Hill was Donnie and Margot Robbie as Naomi on arguably her breakthrough role.
- Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci starred in Casino. Technically good but not a film I’m a big fan of.
- Matt Damon was Colin, Mark Wahlberg played Dignam and Jack Nicholson starred as Costello.
- Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis were the respective members of the Bowden family.
- Liam Neeson was Vallon, Cameron Diaz plays Jenny, Brendan Gleeson as Monk, Jim Broadbent as corrupt politician Boss Tweed with Daniel Day-Lewis in exemplary form as Bill the Butcher, winning a Bafta for his superbly villainous role. The British academy does love a bad guy in the supporting role Christoph Waltz for Inglorious, Heath Ledger as the Joker and unfortunately, he didn’t win but Hugh Grant in Paddington 2 was nominated, it would have been amazing if he did win for that performance.