Category: Films

Stars: Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Theodór Júlíusson, Charlotte Bøving

Gummi and Kiddi are brothers, neighbours and rivals, farming sheep in a remote Icelandic valley. They haven’t spoken in 40 years, communicating only through a sheepdog messenger, but must cope with radically changed times when scrapie is found in Gummi’s flock. With its “intensity and deadpan humour”, this tragicomedy, set on the very edge of human civilisation, is a “wonderfully idiosyncratic and moving Cain and Abel-style saga”” (The Independent).

While the address is theguardian.com, this review incorporating a link to the trailer is actually from The Observer: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/07/rams-observer-film-review

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Thursday 21 April 2016
Starts at 2:30PM and 7:30PM
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Click on times above to book relevant tickets.

Stars: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan 

Motivational speaker Michael (voiced by Thewlis) struggles so much to connect with other people that they’ve all started to sound the same (Noonan), until he meets Lisa (Leigh) and forges a connection. Can these two insecure souls form a lasting relationship? And how do you tell a story like this through the medium of stop-motion animation? 

Expertly, it seems, as this is another innovative gem from Kaufman, writer of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine…, 

“Anomalisa has more heart, soul and pathos than 99.9 per cent of live-action movies” (Empire Magazine).

This Guardian link is a comprehensive resource on the film, gving you review, interview with the Director and trailer all in one click: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/10/anomalisa-review-charlie-kaufman-puppet-masterpiece-about-the-human-condition

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Tuesday 19 April 2016
Starts at 7:30PM Click on time to book tickets.
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

Stars: Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, Kay Walsh, John Howard Davies

Presented on 35mm. 

Marking 25 years since David Lean’s death, his biographer Kevin Brownlow joins us to introduce a favourite Lean film. This adaptation expertly retells Dickens’ enormous novel in little under two hours, and gave Lean another box office hit after the huge success of Great Expectations. In Lean’s hands, the tale of a young boy’s progress from the workhouse to London’s criminal underworld is, “A superb piece of motion picture art… One of the finest screen translations of a literary classic ever made” (New York Times).

Strange to say, internet links to contemporary reviews of a film which premiered 68 years ago are hard to come by….. 

But here are links to:

   John Hurt reminiscing on how the film influenced him – http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/09/oliver-twist-john-hurt

   The BFI page on the film (may take a long time to load) – http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b2089e7

   and (courtesy of a mega-film-buff on Youtube), the 1948 trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulKAAJWVFDc

David Lean Cinema, Croydon on Saturday 16 April 2016
Starts at 2:30PM Click on time to book tickets.
Ticket Price: £6.50 – £8.00

 

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