Showing Films Worth Seeing...

Glorious 39 (12A)

The veracity of a possible alternative history of Britain in the Second Wold War has always attracted dogged commentators. Churchill’s eventual triumph against the appeasers, as against Hitler, was never universally expected or hailed. In this thriller, set in the year before the war, Poliakoff explores these themes. His is a conspiratorial world which involves the political elite, the royal family, the media and the civil service – where Nazi-philes and appeasers mix freely. The stakes are high and Poliakoff concentrates on one highly-placed family governed by Bill Nighy’s inscrutable patriarchal figure. But this is Romola Garai’s film. It is as if the world has to be seen through her eyes. She as the eldest (though adopted) sibling, uncovers secret recordings of the anti-appeasement movement and becomes trapped by her knowledge…. For Poliakoff it is a ‘what if’ moment – and indeed when you walk back down West Street, look into the windows and wonder – what if?

Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Cast: Romela Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, David Tennant, Christopher Lee, Jeremy Northam, Jenny Agutter

129 mins, UK

Stahl season

Bright Star (12A)

There are films, usually simple films, which engage with a depth and power that is disproportionate to their bones. This film, based on the last creative years of Keats’ life, is one such. Jane Campion captures the fragile yet deep relationship that developed between him and Fanny Brawn, his neighbour’s daughter. … [more]

A Serious Man (15)

1960s west coast America. A film infused with the ratty and humorous portrayal of Jewish lives spinning apart. It’s a portrayal drawn from the Coen brothers’ own adolescence. It is a look at suffering – in the words of the Jefferson Airplane soundtrack – of ‘when the truth is found to be lies and all hope within you dies’ … what then? … [more]

Glorious 39 (12A)

The veracity of a possible alternative history of Britain in the Second Wold War has always attracted dogged commentators. Churchill’s eventual triumph against the appeasers, as against Hitler, was never universally expected or hailed. … [more]

Avatar (12A)

As the camera sweeps over Pandora, the lush and green world of the Na’vi, Jake (played by Sam Worthington) wakes up in a hospital to find that his brother, who had been prepared for a secret mission to Pandora, has died. Jake is offered his brother’s place. He accepts and so begins a film that deals with issues of energy crisis, war, truth, love, native rights. … [more]

It’s Complicated (15)

And it is complicated, but extremely funny. This is Meryl Streep (Jane), in great form, playing the other woman to her former husband – Alec Baldwin, now married to Lake Bell. A comedy about memory and desire. And among the middle-aged! Streep and Baldwin seem to have had a great relationship both out of and in bed. … [more]

Nowhere Boy (15)

John Lennon’s childhood...... A spirited teenager, curious, sharp and funny, growing up in the shattered city of Liverpool. Two extraordinary sisters tussle for his love – … [more]

Vier Minuten (15)

In a German prison Jenny, a teenage girl, incarcerated for murder and filled with both hatreds and a great talent for the piano, is befriended by an aged pianist. Having discovered the girl’s terrible secret and her dreams, she decides to piano competition. … [more]