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C O M I N G S O O N to the UK... | O N T H E H O R I Z O N can’t hardly wait... |
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22 Nov:
 FROZEN II  
HARRIET
THEM THAT FOLLOW
I LOST MY BODY (Fr)
JUDY & PUNCH
GREENER GRASS
KILL BEN LYK
INTO THE MIRROR
PERMISSION (Irn)
DEPECHE MODE: SPIRITS IN THE FOREST
THE DARK RED
ADONIS (Chn)29 Nov:
ATLANTICS (Sen)
KNIVES OUT* THE NIGHTINGALE
THE TWO POPES6 Dec: * BUDDIES 
HONEY BOY
ORDINARY LOVE13 Dec:
PINK WALL* SONS OF DENMARK (Den)
THE KINGMAKER20 Dec: * ROMEO & JULIET: BEYOND WORDS 27 Dec: * LITTLE WOMEN Jan-May:
JOJO RABBIT
IN THE LINE OF DUTY* A HIDDEN LIFE * THE HOST * BOMBSHELL
FEEDBACK
JUST MERCY
A SERIAL KILLER'S GUIDE TO LIFE
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
THE LIGHTHOUSE
PARASITE (Kor)
FIRST LOVE (Jpn)
END OF THE CENTURY (Arg)
GREED
LITTLE JOE
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (Fr)
AND THEN WE DANCED (Geo)
BACURAU (Br)
REAL
EMA (Chl)
DEERSKIN (Fr)
DON'T LOOK DOWN (Fr)
MONSOONC O M I N G U P . . .
N O U K R E L E A S E D A T E . . .
SHADOWS FILM FEST |
OPHELIA 
dir Claire McCarthy; with Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, Tom Felton, George MacKay, Daisy Head, Sebastian De Souza, Dominic Mafham, Anna Rust 19/UKrelease US 28.Jun.19, UK 22.Nov.19 Yet another big-name British film without a British release date, this looks like a clever reworking of Shakespeare's Hamlet through a new perspective. There's no expectation that this is as clever as Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, but the cast is intriguing enough to make the film worth a look. Reviews on the US release have been ok (not raves), which may explain the lack of anticipation over here. But we still want to see it.
21 BRIDGES 
dir Brian Kirk; with Chadwick Boseman, Sienna Miller, JK Simmons, Taylor Kitsch, Stephan James, Keith David, Victoria Cartagena, Toby Hemingway 19/USrelease US/UK 22.Nov.19 The premise for this film looks somewhat run-of-the-mill: a cop rooting out corruption on the force while Manhattan is on lock-down, with all 21 bridges closed. Most of Irish director Kirk's experience comes from TV, so it will be interesting to see what kinds of cinematic touches he brings here. But the real reason this looks intriguing is its cast: the always engaging Boseman, plus Miller, Simmons, Kitsch and James - a remarkably eclectic bunch with the potential to surprise us..
CHARLIE'S ANGELS 
dir Elizabeth Banks; with Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Sam Claflin, Elizabeth Banks, Patrick Stewart, Noah Centineo, Jonathan Tucker, Djimon Hounsou 19/USrelease US 15.Nov.19, UK 29.Nov.19 This is one of those odd projects that doesn't quite make sense on paper - a rebooted movie franchise based on a rather misogynistic 45-year-old TV series. Not exactly relevant on the cultural front. Although with Elizabeth Banks in charge, here's hopes that (1) it will be funny and (2) it will flip the female perspective on its head, as it badly needs to do. The trailer looks more than a little ridiculous, which is the right direction to go.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER 
dir JJ Abrams; with Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Lupita Nyong'o, Kelly Marie Tran, Keri Russell, Richard E Grant 19/UKrelease US/UK 20.Dec.19 One of the most anticipated sequels in history, culminating a 42-year saga. So it's a shame that JJ Abrams threw out the plot George Lucas developed for this final trilogy back in the late 1970s. Instead, he basically remade Episode IV with the entertaining The Force Awakens, then Rian Johnson did something hugely inventive with The Last Jedi and fan grumbling scared Disney into handing the last episode back to safe-hands Abrams. All of which is worrying. But this is still going to be a great movie, and no one will want to miss it. Certainly not this founding member of the Official Star Wars Fan Club.
CATS 
dir Tom Hooper; with Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Francesca Hayward, Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Ray Winstone, Jason Derulo 19/UKrelease US/UK 20.Dec.19 After this trailer freaked us all out, a certain level of curiosity has set in. Can a movie sustain this bizarrely imaginative universe on-screen over the course of a feature-length story? How long will it take before we stop feeling a little queasy about all of these naked, furry actors? Frankly, the source musical is deeply odd as well, which is why it has taken some 40 years to make it to the screen. It's unclear whether this bold approach will succeed, but I definitely want to see it.
FANTASY ISLAND 
dir Jeff Wadlow; with Michael Pena, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Jimmy O Yang, Austin Stowell, Ryan Hansen, Michael Rooker, Kim Coates, Portia Doubleday 20/USrelease US/UK 14.Feb.20 To put it kindly, Jeff Wadlow perhaps doesn't have the shiniest directing resume in Hollywood (Truth or Dare, Kick Ass 2). But the idea for this movie looks witty and original - taking the iconically silly 1970s anthology show and revealing it as the supernatural horror it always was. The cast is sharp enough to make this worth a look, even if the trailer seems to give away far too much about the premise and plot. But the bigger question is: where's Tattoo?
THE INVISIBLE MAN 
dir Leigh Whannell; with Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Amali Golden, Sam Smith, Benedict Hardie 20/USrelease US/UK 28.Feb.20 When this new adaptation of the classic HG Wells novel was first announced, it didn't quite make sense that Moss was the star. Now the trailer reveals this as a freak-out horror movie, and it looks properly nasty. It's a great idea to tell this story from this perspective, because it will be a lot more intense on a variety of levels. Whannell isn't known for bringing much emotional resonance to his films, but if he gets that right here, this could be a new classic.
FRANKIE 
dir Ira Sachs; with Isabelle Huppert, Marisa Tomei, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Jeremie Renier, Sennia Nanua, Pascal Greggory, Vinette Robinson 19/USrelease US 25.Oct.19, UK 20.Mar.20 The trailer for this drama is a little oddly put together, which leaves the film feeling a little out of reach. But with a cast like this, it's impossible to ignore. Huppert is simply magnificent in everything, and it will be intriguing to see her mix with the likes of Tomei and Kinnear. Gleeson and Renier are a bit more to her style, both also worth seeing in anything they do. And Ira Sachs has made a series of stunning dramas leading up to this one. Alas, the UK release has been pushed back to next spring.
Also on my want-to-see list... 
Autumn:
JEXI
LUCY IN THE SKY
JAY & SILENT BOB REBOOT
Winter: RICHARD JEWELL
COLOR OUT OF SPACE
DOLITTLE
WENDY
Spring/Summer: MULAN
ONWARD
ANTLERS
PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY
SOUL
JUNGLE CRUISE
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
No UK release date: THE DEATH OF DICK LONG
WHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE
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Release dates: British film release schedules are much more fluid than American ones, so please be patient as I try to keep up with UK distributors. I'm working to keep this list up-to-date as they keep trying to outfox me. I'm sure it's personal. Embargoes: Britain's Film Distributors Association asks us to hold reviews until the week of release, and some distributors are even more restrictive. Normally, once the film is shown to a paying audience, either on release or at a festival, the full review can appear on the site. © 2019 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK | ||
• 21 BRIDGES. DANIEL ISN'T REAL. MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN. WAVES. DARK WATERS.
