Odeon: June 21, 22, 23, 24
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
In our darkest hour, when our leaders have fallen, a hero will rise. After the crew of the Enterprise finds an unstoppable force of terror from within its own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. ‘Into Darkness is a sleek, thrilling epic that’s also a triumphantly witty popcorn morality play. It’s everything you could want in a Star Trek movie’ (Entertainment Weekly). ‘Markedly grander in scale, although never at the expense of its richly human (and half-human) characters, “Into Darkness” may not boldly go where no “Trek” adventure has gone before, but getting there is such a well-crafted, immensely pleasurable ride that it would be positively Vulcan to nitpick’ (Variety).’ ‘You wind up feeling doubly bullied—first by the brutal enormity of the set pieces, and then by the emotional arm-twisting of the downtimes’ (The New Yorker).
Odeon: June 25, 26, 27, July 2, 3, 4
ONLY GOD FORGIVES
Time to Meet the Devil. Ryan Gosling again stars in a Nicolas Winding Refn revenge drama, this time set in the drug-dealing criminal underworld of Bangkok. It’s a family affair, and the boxing club he manages is only a front. Palme d’Or nomination. ‘Only God Forgives will, understandably, have people running for the exits, and running for the hills. It is very violent, but Winding Refn’s bizarre infernal creation, an entire created world of fear, really is gripping. Every scene, every frame, is executed with pure formal brilliance’ (The Guardian). ‘The collision of violent spasms and art-film ennui leave the viewer’s brain bloody but unfilled’ (Time). ‘The wallpaper emotes more than Ryan Gosling does in Only God Forgives, an exercise in supreme style and minimal substance’ (Variety).
Odeon: June 25
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
Sadly dated now and far from the masterpiece it was originally proclaimed to be, Kubrick’s controversial film (banned for 30 years in Britain by the director himself) still packs a punch and is essential big-screen viewing. ‘Kubrick’s film exploited the current debate on the validity of aversion therapy in the context of a working lad’s freedom to choose violence as his form of self-expression. A sexless, inhuman film, whose power derives from a ruthless subordination of its content to the demands of telling a good story. A glossy, action-packed ritual which is fun to watch but superficial to think about’ (Time Out). ‘While it would be easy, and less challenging, to dismiss it all as a piece of hammy agitprop theatre, the issues of free will and the moral imperative of the individual will come hammering on your consciousness years after viewing. The vision of politicians prepared to place political expediency over personal principle still rings true, and Malcolm McDowell is successful in making Alex simultaneously charismatic and repellent. At times emotionally shattering, at times harrowing, at times disappointing, A Clockwork Orange is a microcosm of Kubrick’s work—consistently interesting but never consistently great’ (Total Film).
Odeon: June 28, 29, 30, July 1
MAN OF STEEL
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind. Zack Snyder’s Clark Kent/Superman story. ‘It aches for more depth and warmth and humour, but this is spectacular sci-fi—huge, operatic, melodramatic, impressive. It feels the right Superman origin story for our era, and teases what would be a welcome new superfranchise’ (Empire). ‘A bracing attempt to bring the legend back into contention that successfully separates itself from other Super-movies but misses some of their warmth and charm. But given the craft and class, this could be the start of something special’ (Total Film). ‘The humorless tone and relentlessly noisy (visually and sonically) aesthetics leave much to be desired’ (Variety).
Odeon: July 5, 6, 7
WORLD WAR Z
A United Nations employee travels the world in an attempt to stop a zombie pandemic that is crushing armies and toppling governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. ‘Choosing quantity over quality, intensity over tension and big-screen thrills over low-fi shocks—this is probably what the zombie apocalypse will actually look like’ (Total Film). ‘While some of World War Z is rotten, the whole stands as a punchy, if conventional action thriller’ (The Guardian). ‘Brad Pitt delivers a capable performance in an immersive apocalyptic spectacle’ (Hollywood Reporter). ‘What we get is a collection of moderately violent action set-pieces untroubled by humour or broader coherence’ (Daily Telegraph).
Odeon: July 9
CITIZEN KANE
Recently deposed after 60 years from its top slot as the greatest movie ever made, Orson Welles’s masterpiece is probably the most talked-about and written-about movie of all time. It’s difficult for modern audiences to appreciate its genius, its breathtaking inventiveness and its innovation, since what it revolutionised in cinema has become commonplace. All the more reason to see it on a big screen and be awed. ‘All we can say, in conclusion, is that you shouldn’t miss this film. It is cynical, ironic, sometimes oppressive and as realistic as a slap. But it has more vitality than fifteen other films we could name’ (New York Times).
