Manchester Theatre News & Reviews
This Week's Best Movie Releases & £5 Off Cinema Tickets
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Below, we've rounded up the 9 best films currently screening in Manchester cinemas together with the 16 best releases new to the streaming services this week (Updated 2 Jan 2025):
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1 ~ NICKEL BOYS.
★★★★★ A shatteringly powerful movie about abuse, this adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer prizewinning novel is told completely through point-of-view shots of its two protagonists. It deserves Oscar attention. ~ The Times.
★★★★★ This adaptation of Whitehead’s novel about two young friends trapped by institutional abuse is told with piercing beauty by RaMell Ross. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ An artistically daring masterpiece. ~ The Independent.
★★★★★ Nickel Boys is a triumph. Its unique approach brings a new dimension to its source material, while amplifying the emotional resonance between the present and a horrifying past. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ The defining American film of the 2020s. There are about a dozen of the best shots I have ever seen in a movie. ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★★ ~ Time Out.
★★★★ ~ The Telegraph.
2 ~ ANORA.
★★★★★ Gorgeous, deranged - and one of the films of the year - the director of The Florida Project delivers an unpredictable rags to riches tale about a young stripper. ~ The i.
★★★★★ Sean Baker’s screwball Cinderella tale vaults him towards greatness. ~ The Observer.
★★★★★ The most entertaining chronicler of contemporary degeneracy has miraculously resurrected the screwball comedy. ~ The Irish Times.
★★★★★ His story of a Russian oligarch’s son who falls for a sex worker is a Coen Brothers-style black comedy and deservedly won the Palme d’Or this year. ~ The Times.
★★★★★ Energy fizzes through Baker’s anti-Cinderella story in which Mikey Madison is an Oscar shoo-in with her bristlingly real performance as a strip-club dancer. ~ Financial Times.
★★★★★ Madison makes a name for herself in this mouthy, moving story of stripper meets oligarch – and it's a laugh a minute. ~ Evening Standard.
★★★★★ ‘Pretty Woman’ with a vodka hangover? Sean Baker’s darkly funny sex-work screwball is a blast. ~ Time Out.
★★★★★ ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ ~ The Telegraph.
★★★★ ~ The Independent.
★★★★ ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★ ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ ~ Empire.
★★★★ ~ BBC.
3 ~ SPIRITED AWAY.
★★★★★ This definitive animation remains an audacious viewing experience. ~ The Times.
★★★★★ With none of the sentimentality of Disney nor the computerised sheen of Pixar, this traditional animé even blows the brilliant Finding Nemo out of the water. It's epic story is more imaginative, rousing and luscious than anything American animation has produced since the halcyon days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. ~ BBC.
★★★★★ A beautifully drawn and wonderfully composed work of art - really, no other description will do - which takes us on a rocket-fuelled flight of fancy. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ Despite a dip midway through, this is a captivating fantasy that sets a new benchmark for animation. ~ Empire.
★★★★ ~ The Independent.
★★★★ ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ ~ Total Film.
4 ~ THE WILD ROBOT.
★★★★ An artificially intelligent robot learns to adapt to the natural world in this inspired animation. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ The most moving animation in decades. Recent studio animation hardly lacks technological dazzle, but it’s hard to recall a time when the state-of-the-art felt this much like art. ~ The Telegraph.
★★★★★ This superb family film could become a classic. Lupita Nyong’o and Pedro Pascal star in what is the best feature cartoon from a major studio in years. ~ Irish Times.
★★★★ ~ The Financial Times.
★★★★ ~ The Independent.
★★★★ ~ The Observer.
★★★★ ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ ~ The Times.
★★★★ ~ Empire.
5 ~ A REAL PAIN.
★★★★★ Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, his story about two cousins on a Jewish tour to Poland is perfectly weighted between bleak and warm, poignant and irreverent. ~ The Times.
★★★★ Jesse Eisenberg writes, directs and stars in a film that manages to be ruefully perceptive and laugh-out-loud funny, often at the same time. ~ The Telegraph.
6 ~ BETTER MAN.
★★★★★ Even more than with The Greatest Showman, director Michael Gracey has created a fun, bombastic, brilliant choreographed and totally enthralling film. ~ Time Out.
★★★★ "This Robbie Williams chimpanzee biopic is a bananas gamble that pays off." ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★ ~ The Observer.
★★★★ ~ Irish Times.
★★★★ ~ Empire.
7 ~ CONCLAVE.
★★★★ A papal thriller that treads on eggshells, Conclave is one of the year’s most deftly balanced films. Pulpy and pensive in equal measure. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ Ralph Fiennes gives one of the performances of the year as a cardinal assailed on all sides in Edward Berger’s elegant adaptation of Robert Harris’s Vatican bestseller. ~ The Observer.
★★★★★ Berger’s account of cardinals battling to be the new Pope is a thrilling succession story, and the Oscar-worthy astonishing Ralph Fiennes is simply hypnotic. ~ Evening Standard.
★★★★ A high-camp gripper, like the world’s most serious Carry On film. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ ~ Financial Times.
★★★★ ~ The Irish Times.
★★★★ ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ ~ The Times.
★★★★ ~ Time Out.
★★★★ ~ The i.
8 ~ NOSFERATU.
★★★★★ An earthy, erotic masterwork, Robert Eggers realises a lifelong dream in reimagining the tale of Count Orlok, with spellbinding results. ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★★ One of the most profoundly frightening horror films in years, a magnificent Lily-Rose Depp is the convulsing, hysteric target of Bill Skarsgård’s vampire, in this star-studded adaptation co-starring Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin and Willem Dafoe. ~ The Independent.
★★★★ A vampire film with 'so much to sink your teeth into. ~ BBC.
★★★★ ~ The Observer.
9 ~ HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES.
★★★★ "A Thai charmer that is touching and funny. See it before the inevitable Hollywood remake." ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★ "Grounded in quotidian details and dry humour, Pat Boonnitipat's film is a persuasively measured weepie - and all the more moving for it." ~ Radio Times.
ALSO SCREENING:
★★★✭ Heretic.
★★★✭ Wicked.
★★★✭ The Order.
★★★✭ Transformers One.
★★★✭ Gladiator II.
★★★✭ We Live in Time.
★★★✭ Queer.
★★★ Moana 2.
★★★ Mufasa: The Lion King.
★★★ 2073.
★★✭ Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
It's Raining Men (still to be reviewed).
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NEW TO STREAMING:
(Updated 3 Jan 2025):
AMAZON PRIME ~ HIS GIRL FRIDAY
★★★★★ A fast talking screwball delight that remains the finest example of its genre. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ One is tempted to throw away any semblance of persuasion and simply demand that you see this movie. ~ Time Out.
★★★★★ This brilliant reworking of the classic newspaper play The Front Page from director Howard Hawks is the fastest-talking comedy in the history of Hollywood and the perfect vehicle for Cary Grant - never better - and Rosalind Russell - never tougher. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ It's doubtful that one could find a movie as fast-paced as Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday, and next-to-impossible to find a film of the period more laced with sexual electricity. ~ AllMovie.
★★★★★ ~ Total Film.
AMAZON PRIME ~ 12 ANGRY MEN (1957 Version)
1958 BAFTA Winner: Best Foreign Actor (Henry Fonda).
★★★★★ Based on a television play by Reginald Rose about a lone juror holding out for a not guilty verdict with the remaining 11 ready to convict, this marvellous movie has become part of life's currency: there's no courtroom in the world where 12 Angry Men is not either invoked or recalled. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ Startlingly moving and powerful for a one-room, wordy drama. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ What really transforms the piece from a rather talky demonstration that a man is innocent until proven guilty, is the consistently taut, sweltering atmosphere, created largely by Boris Kaufman's excellent camerawork. The result, however devoid of action, is a strangely realistic thriller. ~ Time Out.
AMAZON PRIME ~ RED RIVER
1949 Oscar Nominee: Best Writing (Lost to The Search) + Best Editing.
★★★★★ This western is quite simply one of the finest achievements of American cinema. Adapting Borden Chase's novel, producer/director Howard Hawks has created a rich masterpiece that repays frequent viewings. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ Beautifully directed with a lovely visual lyricism, this film packs a western punch with perfect performances and a fine script. ~ Empire.
ITV X & AMAZON PRIME ~ IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
1947 Oscar Nominee: Best Film (Lost to The Best Years of Our Lives) + Best Actor (James Stewart) + Best Director (Frank Capra) + Best Sound + Best Editing.
★★★★★ And so Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life comes back to UK cinemas for the umpteenth Christmas runout. A crisis in housing, a racist ruling class and a struggle against a hideous ego-plutocrat who names everything after himself – this 1946 classic still resonates. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ This masterpiece from Capra is a film with much more to it than festive feel-good sentimentality and still has a lot to say about community spirit. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ This is the all-time great, curl-up-on-the-sofa-with-a-cup-of-tea movie. Not only is it beautifully photographed, but it also contains enough emotional strength to hold your attention for all of its two-hour running time. ~ Total Film.
★★★★★ It’s a Wonderful Life is the closest thing to a postwar American Dickens. This is considered by many to be one of the finest films ever made. ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★★ The movie is in fact a dark, disturbing look at small-town American life between the two world wars, rife with class envy and fears of modernity, and featuring a before-its-time portrayal of George Bailey (James Stewart)'s middle-aged sense of failure that seems more appropriate for an American film of the Seventies. ~ AllMovie.
★★★★★ ~ Sky Cinema.
★★★★★ ~ Time Out.
★★★★★ ~ Empire.
★★★★★ ~ BBC.
ITV X, AMAZON PRIME & DISNEY+ ~ L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
1998 Oscar Winner: Best Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger) + Best Screenplay.
★★★★★ Acted to perfection with more twists than you can shake a stick at. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ Director Curtis Hanson's elegant film is faithful to James Ellroy's multi-layered and labyrinthine book, requiring some concentration to keep up with the subtle plot twists and coded dialogue. Every performance is a gem, from Kevin Spacey's arch louche to Kim Basinger's soulful but sassy turn as a call-girl who looks like Veronica Lake. Such themes of police autonomy and the cult of celebrity have never been more relevant in today's troubled times. ~ BBC.
★★★★★ Unfortunately, it was released in a year when James Cameron's Titanic hoovered up most of the awards on offer. Nevertheless, Hansen's superb adaptation remains a signature piece of 90s American cinema. ~ Radio Times.
FREEVEE & AMAZON PRIME ~ THE USUAL SUSPECTS
1996 Oscar Winner: Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Spacey) + Best Screenplay.
★★★★★ The Usual Suspects not only came out of nowhere to become one of the definitive films of the 90s, but it started filming before "Pulp Fiction" - a movie whose success many initially thought it was trying to cash in on. ~ BBC.
★★★★★ An extraordinary piece of filmmaking, this is that infrequent treat, a film that borders on the genius. As duplicity follows duplicity, and second, third and even fourth viewings leave one even more perplexed as to what's exactly what, and moreover who the hell is Keyser Soze. Compelling and entertaining... this bears repeat viewings even after you know the perfect twist. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ It's a film that demands to be watched again and again - this is good old-fashioned pulp fiction told in the slickest 1990s style. ~ Radio Times.
BBC iPLAYER ~ WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
1958 Oscar Nominee: Best Picture (Lost to The Bridge on the River Kwai) + Best Actor (Charles Laughton) + Best Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester) + Best Director (Billy Wilder) + Best Sound + Best Editing.
★★★★★ The definitive courtroom thriller, with two genuinely startling final-reel twists (they occur in the same scene). No spoilers here, obviously, but keep an eye on Marlene Dietrich. She was never better than she is here. ~ The Times.
★★★★✭ Reworking Agatha Christie's stage play, based on Christie's own short story, Witness for the Prosecution is multi-faceted director Billy Wilder's stab at the courtroom genre. ~ All Movie.
★★★★★ The whole plot is an intricate, slightly leaky bag of tricks, with a trademark "surprise" ending. But to conceal the cracks, Wilder throws up a variety of smokescreens and provides the broadest stage imaginable for Charles Laughton's barrister - a performance of epic extravagance, invention and downright hamminess. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ ~ Empire.
BBC iPLAYER & AMAZON PRIME ~ WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
1990 Oscar Nominee: Best Screenplay (Lost to Dead Poets Society).
★★★★★ Quite possibly the greatest romantic comedy since Some Like It Hot. ~ The Times.
★★★★★ It’s the 1989 gem which re-invented the metropolitan romantic comedy, taking it from writers like Woody Allen and Neil Simon and melding it with the more modern concept of the “relationship” comedy, something with more emotional literacy. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ The fake-orgasm-in-a-deli set piece propelled Meg Ryan into stratospheric stardom, but there are numerous other pleasures to be found in Nora Ephron's Oscar-nominated screenplay and Rob Reiner's astute direction. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ ~ Total Film.
★★★★★ ~ Empire.
★★★★ ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★ ~ BBC.
ITV X ~ AIRPLANE!
1981 BAFTA Nominee: Best Screenplay (Lost to Being There).
★★★★★ The funniest movie ever made? ~ Time Out.
★★★★★ This is the first and still the best of Zucker, Zucker and Abrahams's wonderful movie send-ups. There's hardly a second that passes without an assault by a wickedly accurate spoof, cringe-inducing pun or inspired sight gag, and the years have not diminished the film's dumb appeal. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ The satirical disaster film is bursting with good sight gags and crackling dialogue and a fine role for the late Leslie Nielsen. ~ The Telegraph.
★★★★★ Surely as good as modern comedy gets? and don't call me Shirley. ~ Empire.
★★★★ ~ BBC.
FREEVEE & AMAZON PRIME ~ THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962 version)
1963 Oscar Nominee: Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury) + Best Editing.
★★★★★ Director John Frankenheimer's masterpiece of Cold War paranoia was withdrawn from circulation in the wake of the death of JFK, its assassination plot a chilling mirror to contemporary events. More than [63] years on, it has lost none of its ability to thrill and provoke. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ It raises the same red flags today as it did in the early 1960s, when its story of political intrigue and assassination became all too relevant following the death of JFK, causing the film’s abrupt disappearance from screens. It remains a nightmarish tale of high-level subterfuge, mental manipulation and the futility of one man’s rebellion against an ingrained social system. ~ Time Out.
★★★★ ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ ~ Empire.
★★★★ ~ BBC.
BBC iPLAYER ~ LA LA LAND.
2017 Oscar Winner: Best Actress (Emma Stone) + Best Director (Damien Chazelle) + Best Cinematography + Best Original Score (Justin Hurwitz) + Best Song (City of Stars) + Best Production Design.
★★★★★ If ever there was a film to banish the blues, it's La La Land. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling lay on the charm in Damien Chazelle’s magical love letter to the golden age of Hollywood. ~ The Observer.
★★★★★ The director of Whiplash delivers a musical romance that rushes from first love to heartache via showtunes, love songs and free jazz. Propelled by charming performances from its leads, it’s a sweet-natured drama that’s full of bounce. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ ~ The Telegraph.
★★★★★ ~ The Times.
★★★★★ ~ Empire.
★★★★★ ~ BBC.
★★★★ ~ Evening Standard.
★★★★ ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★ ~ Financial Times.
★★★★ ~ Irish Times.
★★★★ ~ Time Out.
BBC iPLAYER & DISNEY+ ~ MARY POPPINS
1965 Oscar Winner: Best Actress (Julie Andrews) + Best Original Score (Richard & Robert Sherman) + Best Song (Chim Chim Cher-ee) + Best Special Effects + Best Editing.
★★★★★ Brilliant, entrancing, exhausting, and with thermonuclear showtunes from Richard and Robert Sherman, Disney’s hybrid live-action/animation classic from 1964 is now rereleased on home entertainment platforms for its 60th anniversary. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ The stage version is packing them in down the West End, Mary Poppins is finally dusting off its heritage as TV schedule filler and reminding audiences why it's one of Disney's greats. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ This is easily the best of Disney's experiments in combining animation and live action, and one of the studio's best-loved films. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ The film exerts a formidable charm and is technically very accomplished. In a magical sequence, Mary, Bert, and the children wander through an animated landscape filled with cartoon deer, rabbits, and even penguins. ~ BBC.
★★★★✭ There are a number of unforgettable song-and-dance sequences that stand the test of time, and the tale's overall subversiveness is distinctly appealing. ~ AllMovie.
★★★★ ~ The Telegraph.
AMAZON PRIME ~ THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
1961 Oscar Nominee: Best Music (Elmer Bernstein).
★★★★ Boldly drawing on Akira Kurosawa's revered masterpiece "The Seven Samurai", director John Sturges found in the traditional Western the perfect vessel for Kurosawa's honourable warrior codes, outlaw versus drifter themes, and suitably tense action set-pieces. Thus, "The Magnificent Seven" emerges as not only ludicrously enjoyable entertainment but also a superior and thoughtful character study. ~ BBC.
★★★★★ The use of Panavision landscape photography is glorious to behold, Eli Wallach is a suitably slimy villain and the action sequences are tremendously exciting. There's also one of the greatest musical themes ever written for a movie in an altogether fine brass-led score by composer Elmer Bernstein. If you've never seen it, don't miss. And if you have, enjoy again a visit south of the border with some old and trusty amigos. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ An instant classic of a score and at least three of the seven turning themselves into overnight icons, this isn't quite Kurosawa, but it's a damn fine stab at it. ~ Empire.
BBC iPLAYER & AMAZON PRIME ~ PADDINGTON 2
2018 BAFTA Nominee: Best British Film (Lost to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) + Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Grant) + Best Screenplay.
★★★★★ The sequel to the big-hearted film debut of the small bear from darkest Peru is a full-on charm offensive of a movie. ~ The Observer.
★★★★★ As sequels go, you can only really describe this as The Godfather II of quasi-animated family caper films. ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★★ The film not only manages to be a superior sequel, but also one of the best family movies you're likely to see. Paddington 2 is irresistibly good fun and the perfect choice for kids and adults alike. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★★ ~ Evening Standard.
★★★★★ ~ Empire.
★★★★★ ~ RTE.
★★★★★ ~ Time Out.
★★★★ ~ The Independent.
★★★★ ~ Financial Times.
★★★★ ~ The Telegraph.
★★★★ ~ The Scotsman.
★★★★ ~ Sunday Times.
★★★★ ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ ~ Irish Times.
★★★★ ~ The Times.
★★★★ ~ Total Film.
★★★★ ~ The i.
BBC iPLAYER & AMAZON PRIME ~ WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
2006 Oscar Winner: Best Animation.
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a lot of fun and, in a likable way, very British. It's full of warmth, kindness and decent feeling. ~ The Observer.
★★★★★ It's a lovely family film packed with cheeky gags and buoyant fun, like the best-ever Bumper Holiday edition of the Beano, with the merest hint of Viz. The script, co-written by Nick Park with Steve Box, Bob Baker and Mark Burton, is a model of high-IQ comedy writing, and every scene and every frame is crafted with flair. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ The directors have got their feature-length story, and (relief all round) it's a belter. When you hear that four people have worked on a script you can usually expect a dog's dinner. Not here. The Curse of The Were-Rabbit seamlessly combines the familiarity of the Wallace and Gromit dynamic with a plot of headlong excitement, mined with multitudinous quirks of detail and some wondrously silly surprises. ~ The Independent.
★★★★★ Where the shorts were inspired by the gentle wit of Ealing comedy, Were-Rabbit owes a greater debt to Hammer horror. The movie pastiches come thick and fast, leavened with groansome puns and surprisingly saucy double entendres. ~ BBC.
★★★★★ We know we shouldn't, but in the spirit of Aardman's gleefully self-aware corniness: "Cracking film, Gromit!". ~ Empire.
★★★★ ~ The Telegraph.
★★★★ ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ ~ Total Film.
BBC iPLAYER & DISNEY+ ~ THE SOUND OF MUSIC
1966 Oscar Winner: Best Picture + Best Director (Robert Wise) + Best Music (Irwin Kostal) + Best Sound + Best Editing.
★★★★★ No Christmas Day would be complete without spending the afternoon falling asleep in front of this film. ~ Empire.
★★★★★ No one – apart from its star Christopher Plummer – is immune to the evergreen charms of the blockbuster musical about seven singing children and their nanny Julie Andrews. The hills are still alive with joyous energy. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★★ Telling the true story of the Von Trapp family's flight from the Nazis in wartime Austria, Rodgers & Hammerstein's evergreen classic thrums along to some of the most hummable tunes ever written. ~ Sky Cinema.
★★★★★ Faithfully adapting the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit while opening it up for the screen, director Robert Wise made the most of the story's Austrian settings by shooting in pristine color on location in and around Salzburg. ~ AllMovie.
★★★★★ For those who have never seen it, do. For those who love it, no persuasion is needed - it's as fresh and as magical as Andrews's smile. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ ~ BBC.
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