Category: Films

Stars: Annette Benson, Brian Aherne, Donald Calthrop, Wally Patch

Winsome damsel-in-distress on screen and diva off screen, Mae (Benson) has tired of square-jawed co-star and husband Julian (Aherne), preferring debonair Andy (Calthrop), known to the public as a Chaplinesque clown. At first a hilarious, biting movie industry satire, Shooting Stars takes a darker turn when Mae schemes to escape her personal and professional crisis. 

This recently restored gem is surely one of the best-directed films in early British cinema – Asquith crafted wonderful visual humour, lush romance, urgent action and a truly poignant final scene with exquisite framing and lighting.

Not so much a Review, more a discussion of late 20s film at the London Film Festival: ‘review’

While there is (no longer) an official Trailer, BFI has put this clip on YouTube: ‘extract’

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Tuesday 24 May 2016
Starts at 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn

Saul is a sonderkommando in Auschwitz, forced to assist in the disposal of the exterminated. When he recognises a boy who he takes to be his son, he tries to find a rabbi to give the body a proper Jewish burial.

The fluid camerawork truly portrays the horror and despair of the death camps. This brilliant debut feature from Hungarian director Nemes won the Grand Prix at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

More a discussion than a Review from the Guardian (the video link is to the Trailer for ‘Night Will Fall, last year’s HMD presentation at the David Lean): review

The official trailer is buried in this post-Oscars essay from the Independent: discussion & trailer

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Tuesday 31 May 2016
Starts at 2:30PM and 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Helena Bereen, Richard Buick, Felicity McKee, Shane McCaffrey

Belfast is not just a place, but also reimagined as a 10,000-year-old woman in a psycho-geographical journey that challenges our perceptions about this complex city. Cousins – born in the city himself – challenges us to see beauty in the unexpected as we follow the motherly Belfast, who surveys the history, streets and people with compassion but not judgement. 

This uplifting and thought-provoking study is set to a beautiful score by another Belfast native, David Holmes. 

Review and discussion (Variety): here and

Trailer (via YouTube): here

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Thursday 26 May 2016
Starts at 2:30PM and 7:30PM (The 2:30pm screening is subtitled for people with a hearing loss).
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose

Three sisters live together in an old house in a beautiful coastal town. When their long-absent father dies, their teenage, orphaned half-sister comes to live with them. Different in personalities, but sharing a strong bond, they begin a new life of joyful discovery, despite the shadows of their family history. 

Boasting four superb performances and an abundance of traditional Japanese cuisine, this sensitive, poetic and heartening tale of love and family ties is an utterly absorbing pleasure from start to finish. 

Highly recommended to anyone who was moved by Brooklyn’s gentle, thoughtful drama.

Review (Guardian), including a link to the Official ‘teaser’ Trailer: review &Trailer   (spot the typos – this IS the Grauniad!)

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Thursday 19 May 2016
From 2:30PM and 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts, Diane Kruger, Paul Hamy

Schoenaerts is at his brooding best as Vincent, a French special forces veteran recruited for private security work, protecting a secretive billionaire’s wife (Kruger) and son. The superb editing, sound design and electronic score bring us inside Vincent’s restless, hypervigilant state of mind – but is he merely paranoid, or are his charges in grave danger? 

Tense and occasionally explosive, Disorder is one of the best and smartest thrillers since Drive.

Review (Guardian), including a link to the Official UK Trailer: Disorder review/Trailer

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Tuesday 17 May 2016
Starts at 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Richard Gere, Ben Vereen, Jena Malone, Steve Buscemi

Evicted from his ex’s apartment, George (Gere) is out of options and finds himself sleeping rough in the New York winter. While trying to reconnect with his daughter, he struggles to navigate the bureaucracy assigning services to those in need. 

Moverman skilfully shows both how isolated the homeless can be in the modern city and the comfort offered by human kindness, while Gere excels as a deeply troubled yet often charming man striving to retain his dignity. 

“A haunting piece of urban poetry… confirms Moverman as a socially conscious filmmaker of rare conviction and authority” (Variety).

Review (Guardian), including a link to the Official UK Trailer: Review + trailer

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Thursday 12 May 2016
Starts at 2:30PM and 7:30pm
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

This is a Babes In Arms screening.

Bringing a baby is not compulsory but we cannot guarantee a quiet auditorium during this screening!

Stars: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson

This ode to classic Hollywood cinema stars Brolin as Eddie Mannix, a film studio executive and problem solver, who faces his greatest challenge when dim-witted movie star Baird Whitlock (Clooney) is kidnapped while in costume for a swords-and-sandals epic. As well as being tasked with finding Whitlock, his latest assignments include a disgruntled director (Fiennes), a beautiful swimmer (Johansson) and a handsome dancer (Tatum). 

Hail, Caesar! boasts magnificent 1950s-style visuals  and a plethora of comedic talent, with Alden Ehrenreich’s singing cowboy taking the cake!

While some critics don’t seem to rate it, this Guardian Review likes the film AND links to the official trailer: review & trailer link

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Thursday 12 May 2016
Starts at 11:00AM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

 

Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss

Set in an alternate 1970s, J. G. Ballard’s novel depicts the gradual descent into savagery of the occupants of a new tower block, as the building shuts down around them. As adapted by fast-rising British director Wheatley (Sightseers, A Field in England) and screenwriter Amy Jump – with a score by Clint Mansell, and an Abba cover by Portishead – this is a gripping spectacle, where humour and violence go hand in hand.

Recommended equally for admirers of Ballard’s writing, Wheatley’s films, and Tom Hiddleston!

Review (Independent), including a link to … well, given the 70s sci-fi setting, it’s a Trailer Jim, but not as we know it: Review / trailer

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Tuesday 10 May 2016
Starts at 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid

Based on CBS producer Mary Mapes’s memoir, Truth explores the witch-hunt that engulfed the US TV station after they broadcast a revelation about President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War years. Mapes (Blanchett), her investigation team, and veteran presenter Dan Rather (Redford) are accused of sloppy journalism and worse by rival stations, the right-wing press and the blogosphere. 

“Blanchett is terrific as Mapes” (The Observer).

Review (Telegraph), including a link to the Trailer: Review / trailer

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Thursday 5 May 2016 11:00AM and 7:30PM Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny, Dar Salim, Søren Malling

Claus Pedersen (Asbæk) is the commander of a Danish military unit, stationed in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban. Meanwhile, back in Denmark, his wife Maria (Novotny) battles with parenthood, caring for her three children alone. Claus’s actions in the warzone take a greater toll on his family when a routine mission goes very wrong and innocents lose their lives – his leadership is questioned and he is forced to stand trial. 

With rich characters and a riveting plot, A War is a refreshing combination of frontline thriller and courtroom drama.

Review (Guardian), including a link to the Official UK Trailer: A War review/Trailer

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Tuesday 3 May 2016
Starts at 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00