Green Book

In 1962, Tony “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), a tough bouncer, is looking for work when his nightclub closes. He takes a job as driver for the African-American classical pianist Dr Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) for a concert tour into the Deep South states. Although not enthused at working for a black man, Tony accepts the job. They begin their trek armed with The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide for safe travel through America’s racial segregation. Together, the snobbishly erudite pianist and the crudely practical bouncer can barely get along because of their clashing attitudes to life and different ideals. However, as the disparate pair witness and endure America’s appalling injustices on the road, they gain a newfound respect for each other’s talents. In doing so, they nurture a friendship and understanding that would change both their lives. Winner of 3 Oscars and 1 BAFTA

• Director: Peter Farrelly
• Certificate: 12A
• Running time: 2hrs 10mins
• View more film information at IMDB here

Shoplifters

A Palme d’Or winning drama about a Japanese family of crooks. From the director of Like Father, Like Son and Our Little Sister. The ensuing drama is a complex, subtle, mysterious film that builds to an extra-ordinary surprise ending. A Japanese couple stuck with inadequate incomes take to shoplifting to make ends meet. However, the unusual routine is about to change from matter-of-fact to something more dramatic. After a routine shoplifting spree they are going home when they spot a hungry little girl and before long the family has expanded to six, as they open their doors to this beleaguered young girl. As the Director comments, my films are complicated because life is never simple. The film ends with a twist worthy of psychological suspense noir.

• Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
• Certificate: 15
• Running time: 2hrs 1 min
• View more film information at IMDB here

Isle of Dogs

As a nasty, extremely virulent canine flu ravages the technologically-advanced metropolis of Megasaki, the unscrupulous and corrupt mayor, Kobayashi, banishes all dogs to Trash Island. The first dog to be exiled there is Spots, the beloved four-legged companion of Kobayashi’s twelve-year-old ward and orphaned nephew, Atari. The boy summons up the courage to set off alone on his very own odyssey, a dangerous rescue mission. However, to reunite with his best friend, the boy will need the precious help of a marauding pack of five alpha dogs, not least to fend off a rescue team accompanied by a robot dog that Kobayashi sent to retrieve Atari. Voiced by a host of famous voices, the director and writers are largely the same team as in “Moonrise Kingdom” which we screened in 2014.

• Director: Wes Anderson
• Certificate: PG
• Running time: 1hr 41mins
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The Gulity

Copenhagen cop Asger (Jakob Cedergren), working in an emergency call centre while awaiting a disciplinary hearing, receives a call from a frightened woman named Iben (Jessica Dinnage), who has been abducted by her ex-husband (Johan Olsen), but the call from within his car becomes disconnected. The consequent action never leaves the confines of the call centre. Acting on instinct, Asger takes matters into his own hands, hoping that success will bolster his case at the disciplinary hearing, but with disconcerting consequences. By refusing to follow protocol, the macho maverick complicates the already delicate predicament of the desperate woman who has taken the risk of calling the police while being abducted by a man with a record of violence

• Director: Gustav Moller
• Certificate: 15
• Running time: 1hr 25mins
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Can You Ever Forgive Me

Melissa McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, best selling celebrity biographer, and cat lover, who made her living in the 70’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn and Estee Lauder. When Lee is unable to get published after falling out of step with the marketplace, she turns her skills to deception, abetted by loyal friend Jack (Richard E Grant. McCarthy and Grant enjoy a natural comedy chemistry which is a joy to watch. The director is less interested in the machinations of Israel’s scheme but more the psychology behind it, giving us a touchingly understated portrait of self loathing and loneliness. Nominated for two Golden Globes.

• Director: Mariella Heller
• Certificate: 15
• Running time: 1hr 46mins
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Cold War

In the ruins of post-war Poland, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Zula (Joanna Kulig) fall deeply, obsessively and destructively in love. As performing musicians forced to play into the Soviet propaganda machine, they dream of escaping to the creative freedom of the West. But one day, as they spot their chance to make a break for Paris, both make a split decision that will mark their lives forever. As the years march on in the wake of that moment, Wiktor and Zula watch the world changing around them, always struggling to find their moment in time. Winner of the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival 2018, Pawlikowski melds the personal with the political to exquisite effect.

• Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
• Certificate: 15
• Running time: 1 hr 29mins
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Leave No Trace

Will (Ben Foster), an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD, and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) have lived off the grid for years in the forests of Portland, Oregon. When their idyllic life is shattered, both are put into social services. After clashing with their new surroundings, Will and Tom set off on a harrowing journey back to their wild homeland. The film script is adapted by the director and Anne Rosellini. It is based on the novel My Abandonment by Peter Rock.

• Director: Debra Granik
• Certificate: 12
• Running time: 1hr 49mins
• View more film information at IMDB here

Fisherman’s Friends

A fast-living, cynical London music executive Danny (Daniel Mays) heads to a remote Cornish village on a stag weekend where he’s pranked by his boss (Noel Clarke) into trying to sign a group of shanty singing fishermen led by Jim (James Purefoy). He becomes the ultimate ‘fish out of water’ as he struggles to gain the respect or enthusiasm of the unlikely boy band and their families including Alwyn (Tuppence Middleton) who value friendship and community over fame and fortune. As he’s drawn deeper into the traditional way of life he’s forced to re-evaluate his own integrity and to question what success really means. Cast includes David Johns from “I, Daniel Blake

• Director: Chris Foggin
• Certificate: 12A
• Running time: 1hr 52 mins
• View more film information at IMDB here

Return to Cuba

After 18 years living in Italy, the Cuban Barbara Ramos returns to live in her homeland. In the town of Santa Clara, she discovers through the projects of family and friends what has changed in Cuba but also what has not and will likely never change. Shot over a period of three years – the time it took Barbara to build her dream house – RETURN TO CUBA chronicles her life in the wake of Raul Castro’s liberal reforms and reconciliation with the United States of America. A light-hearted yet energetic movie positively demonstrating that finding happiness is possible in today’s Cub

• Director: David Fabrega
• Certificate: NC
• Running time: 1hr 18mins
• View more film information at IMDB here

If Beale Street Could Talk

Set in early-1970s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk is a timeless and moving love story of both a couple’s unbreakable bond and the African-American family’s empowering embrace, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers. Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her fiancé Fonny since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit. The filmmaker poetically crosses time frames to show how love and humanity endure.

• Director: Barry Jenkins
• Certificate: 15
• Running time: 1hr 59mins
• View more film information at IMDB here