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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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27 Feb
 THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
FOCUS
THE BOY NEXT DOOR
IT FOLLOWS
CATCH ME DADDY
HINTERLAND
BACKSTREET BOYS: SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF
THE LAST STRAIGHT MAN (dvd)
GLOBAL WARMING (shorts)6 Mar
APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR* DREAMCATCHER * LIFE OF RILEY (Fr) 
STILL ALICE13 Mar * X+Y * KISSING DARKNESS (dvd) 20 Mar
MOMMY* THE VOICES * THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA (Jpn) 27 Mar * DIOR AND I (Fr) * THE FACE OF AN ANGEL * THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD 
* ROBOT OVERLORDS
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER
WILD TALES (Arg)Apr-Aug * BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT * MAN UP * A LITTLE CHAOS
THE SALVATION* THE FALLING * JAUJA (Arg) * A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTANCE (Swe) 
FORCE MAJEURE (Swe)
NEXT TO HER (Isr)* THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN
QUEEN & COUNTRY* THE NEW GIRLFRIEND (Fr)
ROSEWATER
TIMBUKTU (Mrt)* THE TRIBE * THE LOOK OF SILENCE * 3 HEARTS (Fr) C 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 |
CHAPPIE 
dir Neill Blomkamp; with Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Dev Patel, Miranda Frigon, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Yo-Landi Visser, Ninja; Sony 15/SArelease US/UK 6.Mar.15 Blomkamp is back with yet another tale mixing current politics with technical/sci-fi elements (see District 9 and Elysium). This one's about an intelligent robot (a mocap performance from Copley) that's kidnapped and must create a new family with his captors. It's a complex idea with the potential to be both smart and entertaining. And the trailer looks great - an intriguing tone that mixes lighter and darker elements. 
KILL THE MESSENGER 
dir Michael Cuesta; with Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosemarie DeWitt, Paz Vega, Barry Pepper, Tim Blake Nelson, Michael Kenneth Williams, Oliver Platt, Andy Garcia, Michael Sheen, Ray Liotta; Focus 14/USrelease US 10.Oct.14, UK 6.Mar.15 Based on an astonishing true story, this is about the journalist who uncovered the fact that the US government was dealing drugs in Central America, then importing them to the USA to fund an illegal war. And when he reported the story, the government painted him as the villain. Cuesta is good at getting to the personal core of a story, which bodes well for this kind of drama, as long as it doesn't get distracted by action set-pieces.
CINDERELLA 
dir Kenneth Branagh; scr Chris Weitz; with Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Richard Madden, Hayley Atwell, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Stellan Skarsgard, Nonso Anozie, Derek Jacobi, Ben Chaplin; Disney 15/UKrelease US 13.Mar.15, UK 27.Mar.15 Disney continues to revisit its back catalog in this Maleficent-style live-action revamp of another animated classic. Thankfully, this film has a more robust writing-directing team in Weitz and Branagh, so perhaps it will be a bit more coherent and enjoyable, rather than inverting the story completely and wallowing in overwrought violence. But of course the real draw here is the chance to watch duelling divas Blanchett and Bonham Carter.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 
dir-scr Joss Whedon; with Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen; Marvel 15/UKrelease UK 24.Apr.15, US 1.May.15 Marvel's increasingly enormous movie universe will get another rapid expansion with this sequel to the franchise-merging blockbuster. This is a rather important movie for Marvel, as it follows the formula-breaking Guardians of the Galaxy, which hinted that these movies didn't need to all be the same destroy-everything nonsense. So will Whedon take a new approach to this big reunion movie? Even if it's more of the same tired chaos, it'll be a massive hit.
PITCH PERFECT 2 
dir Elizabeth Banks; scr Kay Cannon; with Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hailee Steinfeld, Skylar Astin, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, Katey Sagal, Adam DeVine, Ben Platt; Universal 15/USrelease US/UK 15.May.15 Yes, the sleeper hit has spawned a sequel. With the entire cast back, as well as writer Cannon, hopes are rather high for this one. And it will be interesting to see Banks' work as a director on this one. The story looks rather accelerated, sequel-style, giving the a cappella competition even bigger stakes. The question is whether the cast and crew can maintain the character-based comedy that made the first film such a classic comedy.
TRUE STORY 
dir Rupert Goold; with Jonah Hill, James Franco, Felicity Jones, Ethan Suplee, Gretchen Mol, Robert John Burke, Betty Gilpin, Maria Dizzia, Genevieve Angelson; Regency 15/USrelease US 10.Apr.15, UK 5.Jun.15 After its premiere at Cannes, this film has been gathering interest due to its, yes, true-story plot about a man (Franco) on the FBI's most-wanted list who lived in hiding under the assumed identity of an unknowing journalist (Hill). The trailer makes this story look especially fascinating, while the one question is first-time British filmmaker Goold, whose only previous credits are two TV episodes. Whatever, it's definitely unmissable.
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA 
dir Ron Howard; with Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, Charlotte Riley, Brendan Gleeson, Paul Anderson, Michelle Fairley, Tom Holland, Jordi Molla, Joseph Mawle, Jamie Sives; Warner 15/USrelease US/UK Dec.15 This is Howard's first big Hollywood movie since reinvigorating his work with the British drama Rush, so it will be interesting to see if he's finally learned to trust the audience and stop making everything so obvious. Meanwhile, this looks like a seriously beefy story, with a manly cast (plus a few token females) and a big seafaring story based on the true events that inspired the novel Moby Dick. If anything, it'll have amazing effects. Thor vs whale! Although the release has now been moved back nine months to December.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS 
dir JJ Abrams; with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Daisy Ridley, Max von Sydow, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Warwick Davis, Andy Serkis; Disney 15/UKrelease US/UK 15.Dec.15 Honestly, the internet nearly exploded when the first trailer was released for Episode VII, set 30 years after the events of 1983's Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It's a proper teaser, with just glimpses of cool stuff for fanboys to obsess over, and not even a fleeting view of returning icons Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. The plot is still a secret, although there are plenty of leaks. And JJ Abrams seems to have recaptured the loose visual tone of the first trilogy. Waiting for the December release will feel endless.
Also on my want-to-see list... 
Winter: SONG ONE
Spring: DANNY COLLINS
INSURGENT
PLAYING IT COOL
TOMORROWLAND
WHILE WE'RE YOUNG
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
Summer: INSIDE OUT
JURASSIC WORLD
FANTASTIC FOUR
PAN
Autumn: THE WALK
No UK release date: GOOD PEOPLE
IN OUR NATURE
THE LAST OF ROBIN HOOD
JIMMY P.
KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM
VERY GOOD GIRLS
WORDS AND PICTURES
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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. © 2015 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK | ||
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