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Films

Our Next Film: Call Me By Your Name

Thursday, 8 November 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, Italy / France, 132 minutes, (15) subtitles
Director – Lua Guadagnino

In 1980s Italy, a romance blossoms between a seventeen year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – Call Me By Your Name
Rotten Tomatoes – Call Me By Your Name

Films

Our Next Film: A Prayer Before Dawn

Thursday, 25 October 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, France/UK, 116 minutes, (18)
Director – Jean-Stephane Sauvaire

Based on the true story of Billy, a heroin addict, sentenced to 3 years in a Thai prison. Unable to speak the language he struggles to survive and build relationships in a new and overwhelming reality.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – A Prayer Before Dawn
Rotten Tomatoes – A Prayer Before Dawn

Films

Our Next Film: In the Fade (Aus Dem Nichts)

Wednesday, 17 October 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, Germany/France, 106 minutes, (18) subtitles
Director – Faith Akin

Diane Kruger gives an astonishing, Cannes Best Actress award-winning performance in this riveting thriller. A politically charged tale of grief and violence in Germany. Following the murder of her husband and child by Neo Nazis a Hamburg woman seeks revenge in a desperate fight for justice.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – In The Fade
Rotten Tomatoes – In The Fade

Films

Our Next Film: The Breadwinner

Tuesday, 2 October 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, Ireland/Canada/Luxembourg, 93 minutes, (12A)
Director – Nora Twomey

Pavana is a headstrong 11 year old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan. She is forced to disguise herself as a boy in order to support her family. A beautiful animation employing a mix of 2D with painted environments and digital paper cut-out segments to weave together a world of conflict and oppressions, showing the strength of girls and the power of stories to sustain hope through dark times.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – The Breadwinner
Rotten Tomatoes – The Breadwinner

Films

Our Next Film: Beast

Wednesday, 19 September 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, UK, 107 minutes, (15)
Director – Michael Pearce

A troubled woman living in an isolated community finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a secretive outsider suspected of a series of brutal murders.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – Beast
Rotten Tomatoes – Beast

AUDIENCE REACTION:

Well much to talk about after the film last night and always interesting when there are a range of scores.

Who was the BEAST ?

  • Excellent 13
  • Very Good 10
  • Good 5
  • Average 1
  • Poor 1

Giving an overall scoring of 77.5%

COMMENTS:

  • Disturbing!!
  • More questions than answers.  Good indeed!
  • Seen it all before.  Clichéd.  Usual stereotypes.  Lots of signposting music.  Done before, but better
  • Must get a land rover
  • Thinking, thinking, thinking is all I shall do about this film
  • A bit gruesome for me, but still enjoyed it.  Coundn’t identify the killer.  Beautiful piano music
  • Suspense, psychological thriller.  Well directed and acted.  Throughout the film kept you guessing ‘who done it?’
  • Very watchable.  Pretty good story
  • Tense!  Upsetting!  Great acting and setting
  • Intriguing but I didn’t like the underlying violence
  • Intense film.  Lots of unanswered questions

Films

Our Next Film: Nothing Like a Dame

Tuesday, 11 September 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2018, UK, 84 minutes, (12A)
Director – Roger Michel

Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith take a trip down memory lane and share stories from their 50 year friendship. Cut together with diligently researched archive material from four remarkable careers the result is a hugely enjoyable and celebratory documentary.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – Nothing Like A Dame
Rotten Tomatoes – Nothing Like A Dame

AUDIENCE REACTION:

Scoring as follows

  • Excellent 15
  • Very good 10
  • Good 6

With overall rating of 82%

COMMENTS:

  • Dames being down to earth was very entertaining.  Good unscripted fun
  • Best film of the season
  • Witty comments from four icons of film and television
  • Seen once on TV but delighted to see it again
  • Entertaining – love all 4 dames – Judy and Maggie being my favourites.  I did laugh with them.  Good to see old films with them in.  Liked The Stones as background music – rather apt
  • Fun!
  • Life enhancing
  • Nostalgic and insightful look at four lives – rather brave of them to all to have revealed so much about themselves

Films

Our Last Film Of The Season: You Were Never Really Here

Wednesday, 20 June 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, UK/USA, 89 minutes, (15)
Director – Lynne Ramsey

Joaquim Phoenix plays a traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living.  When a job spins out of control, Joe’s nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – You Were Never Really Here
Rotten Tomatoes – You Were Never Really Here

AUDIENCE REACTION:

A mixed response to the last film of the season

  • Excellent  6
  • Very Good 7
  • Good 6
  • Average 4
  • Poor 2
  • Off the scale 1

Giving an overall rating of 58.7%

COMMENTS:

  • Clichéd and over produced drivel
  • The plot was a bit think, but very clever management of atmosphere and character.  A reminder of how brutal life can be
  • Great film – really enjoy Ramsey’s attention to small details and themes – plus great soundtrack
  • Kind of like ‘Taxi Driver’ meets ‘The Shining’ –  most engrossing and one to revisit ……
  • Psycho babble
  • I saw it through – intriguing but confusing plot at times,  please don’t choose such a violent film again it was well done but not enjoyable.
  • Bit gory – soundtrack brilliant
  • Joaquin Phoenix is always watchable!
  • The film tried very hard but was too disturbing and pretentious in the depiction of violence.  The main character was a bit too devoid of emotion
  • Bewildered – bit too violent for my taste but liked music
  • Painful to watch at times but I liked the possibility of redemption at the end

Films

Our Next Film: Loveless (Nelyubov)

Tuesday, 5 June 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, Russia/France, 127 minutes, (15)
Director – Andrei Zvyagntsev

A couple going through a divorce must team up to find their son who has disappeared during one of their bitter arguments. Eerie thriller of hypnotic, mysterious intensity from Leviathan director

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – Loveless
Rotten Tomatoes – Loveless

AUDIENCE REACTION:

  • Excellent 7
  • Very good 8
  • Good 2

Giving an overall score of 82%

COMMENTS:

  • Great sound mix
  • Bleak
  • Very harrowing and hard hitting.  Quite difficult to watch in parts.  Haunting
  • Terrific music – start to end.  Dark and depressing.  Accurate but too cold for me to enjoy

Films

Our Next Film: Lady Bird

Wednesday, 23 May 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2017, USA, 93 minutes, (15)
Director – Greta Gerwig

A Californian nurse maintains a turbulent bond with her teenage daughter – loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated – just like her. A feel good film filled with tenderness and wit.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – Lady Bird
Rotten Tomatoes – Lady Bird

AUDIENCE REACTION:4

  • Excellent 29
  • Very Good 8
  • Good 7
  • Average 2

Giving an overall score of 84.78%

COMMENTS:

  • Loved the humour, reality, mix of funny and poignant – enjoyed
  • Really good film of joy, tears and life
  • Thank you  I really needed this film – I’m a mother!
  • Some of the dialect wasn’t clear – not as good as I was expecting
  • Well paced, thoughtful and nostalgic – loved that the complexity of all the characters was allowed to emerge
  • Beautifully observed relationship of teenagers
  • Very funny moments throughout.  Resonated well with the story line
  • Gorgeous film, stunning writing.  Gave me tons of my own ideas

Films

Our Next Film: In Between (Bar Bahar)

Tuesday, 8 May 2018, 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm

2016, Israel / France, 103 minutes, (15)
Director – Maysaloun Hamoud

Three Palestinian women attempt to balance faith and tradition with their modern lives while living in the heart of Tel Aviv. a light yet nuanced approach to dramatizing complex, timely themes, further enriched by outstanding cinematography and powerful performances.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – In Between
Rotten Tomatoes – In Between

AUDIENCE REACTION:

N/A

COMMENTS:

N/A

Audience Response

Audience Reaction: The Nile Hilton Incident

AUDIENCE REACTION:

The Nile Hilton Incident was very well received scoring

  • 19 Excellent
  • 10 Very Good
  • 2 Good

With an overall scoring of 88.7%

COMMENTS:

  • Real portrayal of corruption
  • Superb.  Great thriller but also a fascinating social document.  The best film of the season
  • Such a bleak portrayal of a man trapped in a corrupt system.  Compelling thriller
  • Good thriller.  Interesting politics
  • Very compelling.  Kept one gripped to the end
  • Corruption with a capital ‘C’ – very believable characters living in moral mayhem – moody music provided good support