Red Tails (12A)

The skies are filled with action in TV director Anthony Hemingway's first feature film Red Tails.

A self-funded George Lucas project, Hemingway has worked with him to make this true event in history a modern exhilarating ride.


In a time where African American people were viewed with extreme discrimination, four black Tuskegee pilots, members of the 332nd fighter squadron - Easy (Nat Parker), Lightening (David Oyelowo), Junior (Tristan Wilds), Joker (Elijah Kelley) and Smokey (Ne-Yo), led by Major Emmanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr) - took their battle of discrimination to the skies and won.

During the film we live their every fight and witness the courage of these unsung heroes in the midst of the second world war in the skies above Italy. Red Tails says "chocks away!" as we re-live an era that celebrates man's camaraderie and airborne excellence, with a mix of exhilarating dog-fights and tender romances, which brings George Lucas's vision to life in a heart pounding battle above the sky that is not to be missed!

*The dog fights are thrilling and the aerial cinematography is breath-taking* ABC News

 *The flashy action and innate inspirational elements that make the impact. But there's so much more to this story* The Hollywood Reporter

Check out the trailer below for Red Tails below:

 

Red Tails (12A) is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Saturday 28th July at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 30th July at 2pm and 7.45pm

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World interview

Lorene Scafaria's directorial debut Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World, sees a wonderfully assembled cast headed by the hilarious Steve Carell and stunning Keira Knightley.

Surprisingly moving and frequently hilarious, the unlikely partnership that forms between Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley) sees them embark together on their own journeys before the world ends.


Click here to catch Sonia Zadurian's exclusive interview with the multi-talented Lorene Scafaria as she discusses the transition from writer to director and explains what true events triggered the plot.


Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Saturday 4th August at 10.45am and 7.45pm and Monday 6th August at 2pm and 7.45pm.

Bolt interview

Brought to you by directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard of Disney's other successes such as Chicken Little, Mulan and Lilo and Stitch, Bolt is a film not to be missed.

The main characters of Bolt and his young owner Penny are voiced by the stars John Travolta and Miley Cyrus.

Hollywood animal star Bolt has a life filled with adventure, danger and intrigue until the cameras stop rolling. Accidentally shipped from his Hollywood studios Bolt begins his adventure through the real world to be reunited with his owner Penny. Aided by a stray cat Mittens and Rhino the hamster, this film will have you in stitches all the way.

Click here to read an interview with director Chris Williams as he talks about becoming the director of Bolt and the influences behind the design of the superhero dog.


Bolt is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Friday 10th August at 10.45am and 3pm and Saturday 11th August at 3pm.

Good news! Two of Mark Kermode's favourite films of the year are showing here over the next week! Catch A Royal Affair Wednesday 18th & Thursday 19th, and The Angels' Share from Friday 20th - Monday 23rd!


Have a listen to what Mark has to say about the films HERE

Fast Girls Interview

With the Olympics only weeks away, Regan Hall's film Fast Girls is set to channel your Olympic spirit.

From the Producer of The Iron Lady and Adulthood comes a British film for all the family, which has a fresh and fun feel that will have everyone wanting to be a sports star. 

Click here for an on-set interview with Director Regan Hall, cast member Lorraine Burroughs and Producer Damian Jones. They talk about everything from their interest in sport to their expectations for the film to Sky's Francesca Steele.

Fast Girls is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on Tuesday 31 July at 2pm and 7.45pm, Wednesday 1st August at 7.45pm and Thursday 2 August at 7.45pm

The Angels' Share (15)

The Angels' Share is coming to our screen this week.  It is the new film from director Ken Loach and Screenwriter Paul Laverty who have worked together on a number of films before now all of which have been criticality acclaimed.


Having just escaped a prison sentence, Robbie and a group of fellow young offenders are taken on a day trip to a whiskey distillery in the hope it will expand their cultural horizons. In stark contrast, they decide instead to stage a robbery, the proceeds of which Robbie plans to use to provide for his young family. What follows is a bittersweet comedy caper from acclaimed director Ken Loach, which is being hailed as the Scottish equivalent of The Full Monty, only with considerably more kilts.

Like previous films Ken Loach explores a realism which is seen in a his previous films.  Although tough topics are addressed the film approaches them in a pleasant manner.

warm, funny and good-natured 
good cast who work with a great script
Scottish dialect is lovely and warming - it is not difficult to understand at all!
unknown actors which is something we see often with Ken Loach
politics do underlay this film but it is not over-the-top and makes a nice watch for all audiences
feel-good due to the characters
Ken Loach's understated comedy uncasks a taste of something real for our times

the film has a dramatic climax which does have a little taste of implausibility indulges the audiences but the realism of this films wins out for audience members

*An amiable comedy about young Glaswegian roughnecks discovering the world of whisky, "The Angels' Share" finds helmer Ken Loach and long-term screenwriting partner Paul Laverty in better, breezier form than their rebarbative prior effort* Variety 

* Loach and Laverty are speaking with an engaging dramatic voice* The Guardian

Watch the trailer below:

The Angels' Share is screening: Friday 20th 7:45pm, Saturday 20th 10:45 am and 7:45pm, Monday 23rd at 2pm and 7:45pm.

Free Men (12A)

Set in German occupied Paris during WW2 Tahar Rahim steals the show in Ismaël Ferroukhi new tension driven film Free Men.

Offering a fresh feel to the true realities of France's darker years under German leadership, Free Men offers tension as it exposes the importance of trust and secrecy in the midst of uncertain times.

It's 1942 in heavily occupied Paris; Younes (Rahim) is a young Algerian immigrant working as a black-marketeer selling goods.
Arrested by French police he can avoid jail by becoming an informer, spying on a local mosque suspected of harbouring Jews and issuing false papers identifying them as Muslims.


After befriending several Jews and realising the consequences of his actions he rebels against the authorities and offers to help the Mosque in protecting the Jewish people. Younes is now becoming more of a freedom fighter than a freedom taker as he is sucked deeper into the resistant movement.

On par with his performance in A Prophet, Tahar Rahim’s portrayal of a black-market dealer turned freedom fighter, is played with a cool and compelling, yet unassuming, charm that stands out from the film. Director Ismael Ferroukhi also teases out noteworthy performances in the other leading cast from Michael Lonsdale (Of Gods and Men), who dominates the supporting role as the head of the Mosque Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit, to Mahmud Shalaby’s ambiguous and seductive performance as bar singer Salim Halali.

*Intelligently executed, with a typically fine performance from Michael Lonsdale*

Total Film

*An eye-opener! An absorbing drama that engages both the heart and the mind*

Screen Daily

Watch the trailer for Free Men here:

Officially selected throughout 2011 for an array of high-profile film festivals including Toronto and Cannes, it's a film not to be missed!

Free Men is showing at Gloucester Guildhall on: Tuesday 24th July at 2pm and 7.45pm, Wednesday 25th July at 7.45pm and Thursday 26th July at 7.45pm

Enjoy great family cinema over the summer!

From the end of July and right through the month of August we'll be hosting family film screenings every Friday and Saturday afternoon, with an additional morning screening on Fridays for those who have little ones who nap in the afternoon. And you might be surprised by what’s on the bill! There is, of course, a nod to the season’s new releases with Ice Age 4: Continental Drift and Top Cat - The Movie, but the addition of Thunderbirds Are Go from 1966, featuring the original marionette puppets, may well appeal as much to the dads as it will to the children (and those seeking a bit of uninterrupted nostalgia will undoubtedly appreciate the evening screening of the film). The much-loved Disney classic The Lion King also makes an appearance, and the quintet is completed by the somewhat underrated Bolt. At the bargain price of £3 for under 16s and the option of tea & cake for just £1 for the grown-ups with a Screen Tea ticket, a trip to The Cinema at Gloucester Guildhall is one summer holiday activity that won’t break the bank.

Thunderbirds Are Go - review

We're screening Thunderbirds Are Go as our first family film in August.  To get you as excited as we are, we thought we'd share with you a brilliant review of the film which originally came to our screens in 1966.  Read the review HERE.

FILM CLUB REVIEW: Moonrise Kingdom by Simon Barton

From the first, immaculately designed and composed frame of Moonrise Kingdom, the viewer is immersed in the stylised, enclosed world of Wes Anderson. It's a world of autumnal hues and retro interiors, of youthful passions and middle-aged regrets.

The story is set in 1965 on the fictional New England island of New Penzance and follows the adventures of two 12-year old runaways. Sam is a rogue Khaki Scout and Suzy is a dreamer, obsessed with childrens' fantasy novels. Both labelled as "problem" children by parents and institutions who don't understand them, the couple run away to follow an old Native American trail and lose themselves in the wilderness, with police, parents, Scouts and Social Services all in pursuit ... three days before a violent storm is due to hit the island.

Moonrise Kingdom is deadpan but warm, sentimental but savage, a film which makes much of the contrast between the naive, romantic children and the world-weary and frustrated adults. The stellar cast includes Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton  -  all superb and often hilarious as well-meaning but ineffectual parents and guardians, struggling to find the missing children and to find some meaning in their own, humdrum lives. Willis in particular is excellent as the lonely, not-too-bright small-town cop who is trapped in a hopeless affair with Suzy's mum (McDormand) and sees his chance at redemption through the orphaned Sam. The children's performances are subtle and truthful, Suzy (Kara Hayward) alternating between sweet and seething, and Sam (Jared Gilman) being just the right side of blank in his wide-eyed search for love and freedom.

Visually the film is gorgeous, Anderson leading us through the island's rivers, forests, lighthouses and bays with a painterly eye for detail. Wide-angle shots show the characters almost embedded in the landscapes, covered over by curtains of Autumn leaves or glowing under blood-red sunsets. When the storm hits in the last reel, nature turns against the characters, battering them with floods and winds, trapping them in tents and churches until the young lovers make their final escape...

Moonrise Kingdom is a quirky, funny and wise film, leaving us with the message that love will prevail, regardless of how many lightning bolts or legalities are thrown at us.

Read more from Simon Barton at http://glasswalking-stick.blogspot.co.uk/