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WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL   
MUFASA: THE LION KING
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3
THE BRUTALIST
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (Fr)27 Dec: 
BABYGIRL
BETTER MAN
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
NOSFERATU
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3*
WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL
VERMIGLIO (It)3 Jan:
LADY LIKE
NICKEL BOYS
NOSFERATU
WE LIVE IN TIME
WHO I AM NOT10 Jan:
BABYGIRL
THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE (Den)
HARD TRUTHS
MARIA 
A REAL PAIN 17 Jan:
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
PADDINGTON IN PERU 24 Jan:
THE BRUTALIST
SEPTEMBER 531 Jan:
HARD TRUTHS
SATURDAY NIGHT14 Feb:
DESIRE LINES
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL28 Feb:
THE LAST SHOWGIRLRELEASE DATE TBC . . .
C O M I N G U P . . .
UNRELEASED FESTIVAL FILMS . . . 
• FrightFest:
7 KEYS. THE DAEMON.
THE DEAD THING. DERELICT.
FRIGHT. LADYBUG.
SCARLET BLUE. TRAUMATIKA.• Annecy: ROCK BOTTOM. THE BIRTH OF KITARO: THE MYSTERY OF GEGEGE. • Flare: ALIGNED. BALDIGA: UNLOCKED HEART. CALLS FROM MOSCOW. COMMITMENT TO LIFE. DESIRE LINES. DON'T EVER STOP. PINE CONE. TOLL. UNSPOKEN. WE FORGOT TO BREAK UP. WHAT A FEELING. SHADOWS FILM FEST |
HERE
dir Robert Zemeckis; with Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Michelle Dockery, Kelly Reilly, Paul Bettany, Ophelia Lovibond, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Jonathan Aris
24/USrelease US 1.Nov.24, UK 17.Jan.25 Based on a graphic novel, this film is a 30-year reunion for Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis, writer Eric Roth and stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. As a multi-generational drama about family connections, we can expect Zemeckis' usual boundary-pushing special effects here, with Hanks and Wright ageing up and down. Although the generic title doesn't bode well, the talent does. Let's hope they can keep the heartwarming sentiment in check. (Alas, reviews on the US release weren't great.) PRESENCE
dir Steven Soderbergh; with Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, West Mulholland, Lucas Papaelias, Eddy Maday, Natalie Woolams-Torres 24/USrelease US/UK 24.Jan.25 Steven Soderbergh continues to experiment with new genres and filmmaking approaches, and this looks like a properly nasty horror thriller with a script by David Koepp and a lean 85-minute running time. A refreshingly offbeat cast will help make the film even more involving, as it circles around a group of people dealing with crippling paranoia in an isolated location. Indeed, word after its premiere screening at Sundance has been very strong, calling it an intense slow burn. STAR TREK: SECTION 31
dir Olatunde Osunsanmi; with Michelle Yeoh, Sam Richardson, Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Humberly Gonzalez, Robert Kazinsky, Miku Martineau, Avaah Blackwell 25/USrelease US/UK 24.Jan.25 A spin-off continuation from the series Star Trek: Discovery, this film is notable because it's centred on Michelle Yeoh's Philippa Georgiou, a seriously great character who easily deserves a feature-length adventure all her own. In this one, she'll be facing up to her past crimes while joining a secret government group that's tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets. Much of the series team is involved in this movie, which will premiere on streaming. But I'm hoping there's a big-screen press screening. BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY
dir Michael Morris; with Renee Zellweger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, Shirley Henderson 25/UKrelease US/UK 14.Feb.25 Another nine years later, Bridget is back for a fourth romantic escapade, once again based on a Helen Fielding novel (she's also once again among the screenwriters). This is only director Michael Morris' second feature, after To Leslie and an eclectic range of TV shows, so hopefully he will bring a fresh tone to the film. And adding Leo Woodall, Emma Thompson and Chiwetel Ejiofor to the ensemble should also add a kick. CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD
dir Julius Onah; with Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Rosa Salazar, Liv Tyler, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez, Takehiro Hira 25/USrelease US/UK 14.Feb.25 Full disclosure: I am not actually looking forward to this. But I will want to see it to find out whether Marvel has learned anything from its bruising box office results over the past few years. After sacrificing coherent characters and stories, and decent effects work, to the dumbed-down demands of focus groups and studio execs, the Avengers saga has become an unwieldy mess. So hopefully this film will restore some focus. It'll also be great to see Anthony Mackie in the title role, and arthouse director Julius Onah is a cool choice as director. Let's hope he can resist studio pressure. CLEANER
dir Martin Campbell; with Daisy Ridley, Clive Owen, Taz Skylar, Flavia Watson, Ray Fearon, Rufus Jones, Lee Boardman, Richard Hope 24/UKrelease US/UK 21.Feb.25 This looks like a potential guilty pleasure, a throw-back thriller about a company gala in Europe's tallest skyscraper, The Shard in London, that is attacked by extremists who are fighting violently amongst themselves. Expect the topical issues to be fairly generic as the focus will be on Die Hard-style action anchored by Daisy Ridley's window cleaner, who of course has a military past and comes to the rescue. And without the article "the", that title has a witty twist. MICKEY 17
dir Bong Joon Ho; with Robert Pattinson, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Thomas Turgoose, Angus Imrie, Patsy Ferran 25/UKrelease UK/US 18.Apr.25 It's been five years since Bong Joon Ho took the world by storm, and won every award going, for Parasite. And now he has teamed up with Warner Bros for this big-scale action comedy about an expendable worker who is sent to colonise a distant planet. The cast is terrific, and it's bound to look amazing through Bong's distinctly inventive eyes. The only concern is whether the studio lets his imagination run with it. Because they seem to be worried, as evidenced by the fact that the release date was pushed back to January, bypassing awards contention, then into April. HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA - CHAPTER II
dir Kevin Costner; with Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Abbey Lee, Luke Wilson, Dale Dickey, Georgia MacPhail 24/USrelease US/UK tbc After his enjoyable three-hour prologue ended on an extended montage of scenes to come, we're hoping for dramatic resolution to the various plot strands Kevin Costner left dangling. Chapter 2 looks just as spectacular visually, with its expansive settings and colourful ensemble, including a promising glimpse of a sneering Giovanni Ribisi. Word out of Venice was only OK on this one. And Costner is working on two further chapters. But there's no word yet on a release for this one. Also on my want-to-see list... 
Winter: CARRY-ON
THE END
THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT
YOU'RE CORDIALLY INVITED
THE GORGE
THE MONKEY
Spring/Summer 2025: SNOW WHITE
SINNERS
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING
THUNDERBOLTS
28 YEARS LATER
BALLERINA
F1
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Release dates: British film release schedules are much more fluid than American ones, so please be patient as I try to keep up with UK distributors. I'm working to keep this list up-to-date as they keep trying to outfox me. I'm sure it's personal. Embargoes: Britain's Film Distributors Association asks us to hold reviews until the week of release, and some distributors are even more restrictive. Normally, once the film is shown to a paying audience, either on release or at a festival, the full review can appear on the site. © 2024 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall HOME | REVIEWS | NEWS | FESTIVAL | AWARDS | Q&A | ABOUT | TALKBACK | ||
• HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES. 2073. HERE.
THE TASTE OF MANGO. HEAVIER TRIP. BAM.
THE END. LOVE LIES. THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT. SUGARCANE.
GEY AWAY. WILLIAM TELL. STAR TREK: SECTION 31. WOLF MAN.