There does seem to be a little confusion at the moment with release dates.

We have a romantic tale and a fun comedy with romantic undertones released this week when they would have been well suited for a February and Valentines release. 

With the spate of horror’s hitting cinemas recently that would themselves have suited an October and Halloween season better, there is certainly some interesting release scheduling. 

However, there is an all-star sequel to enjoy this week, upcoming Event Cinema details and the latest Silver Screen news.

l For booking details, visit wtwcinemas.co.uk

New Releases

Book Club: The Next Chapter

A good comedy is what we all need and this sequel to the popular 2018 film is a welcome boost. 

A small group of ladies form a book club and discuss their lives and loves. Bonding around the book Fifty Shades led the four of them to evaluate their love lives with varying results. 

This time the ladies are on location as the highly anticipated sequel follows our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls’ trip, they never had, using the upcoming nuptials of one of the gang to get away and have a fun Hen party to enjoy Italian culture and food. But the Italian dream descends into chaos as things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that the ladies will never forget. 

A brilliant cast delivering a superb comedy a really entertaining film and with the luscious location and good humour this is as good an uplift as Mamma Mia.

Love Again

A romantic comedy drama starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan.  

Dealing with the loss of her fiancé, Mira Ray sends a series of romantic texts to his old mobile phone number as a cathartic exercise, not realizing the number was reassigned to someone else. A journalist, Rob is captivated by the honesty in the beautifully confessional texts. 

When he’s assigned to write a profile of megastar Celine Dion (playing herself), he enlists her help in figuring out how to meet Mira in person and try to win her heart. With the queen of the powerful romantic ballad on board then the course of true love should be plain sailing (Apologies for the nautical puns, I couldn’t resist).

Event Cinema

Best of Enemies 

National Theatre Live is showing Best of Enemies on May 18.

David Harewood (Homeland) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) play feuding political rivals in James Graham’s multiple award-winning new drama.

In 1968 America, as two men fight to become the next president, all eyes are on the battle between two others: the cunningly conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and the unruly liberal Gore Vidal.

During a new nightly television format, they debate the moral landscape of a shattered nation. As beliefs are challenged and slurs slung, a new frontier in American politics is opening and television news is about to be transformed forever.

Jeremy Herrin directs this blistering political thriller, filmed live in London’s West End.

Eric Clapton: Across 24 Nights 

Selected venues will broadcast Eric Clapton: Across 24 Nights on May 17.

In 1990 and in 1991 Eric Clapton played 24 nights at the Royal Albert Hall performing with different line-ups and sets featuring Blues, Rock, and a full Orchestra. The performances have become legendary to Eric Clapton fans. 

Over thirty years later this film, edited from the original footage and completely remastered in Dolby Surround Sound, captures for the first time the definitive performances across all the sets over both years. The film features 17 hits from across his repertoires showing Clapton at his most exhilarating, collaborating with top musicians.

Silver Screen

Allelujah

The Silver Screen tomorrow is showing the Alan Bennett comedy drama Allelujah.

Set in a geriatric ward within a small hospital, when news of its closure begins to reach the community, the hospital invites a local news crew to document their planning of a concert in honour of the hospital’s most celebrated nurse. But there might be something more threatening to the hospital itself, more deadly than the politicians ready to shut down the place at a moment’s notice. 

The Silver Screen seats are £4.30 each and this includes a hot drink and a biscuit.

Cinema Memories

This week’s cinema memories are associated to the recent release of Guardians of the Galaxy and past Marvel glories.

It took me back to the start of the resurgence of the Comic Book movie with the release of Iron Man. I remember watching the film at The Plaza Truro in 2008 and I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was released around the same time as The Dark Knight. 

Now the Nolan Batman sequel is probably rightly considered a superior film and I do rate it, however I enjoyed Iron Man much more as I felt that Nolan went far too dark especially for a 12a certificate film and it was pretty menacing and some extremely violent scenes. Iron Man was fun, fresh and very witty and little did we know what it was about to spawn. 

Over the years the franchise has expanded and evolved and introduced many new characters and continues to do so but I do sadly feel that the series has peaked and the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame double header were undoubtedly the pinnacle of the franchise. These Avengers movies were huge and even delivered the ‘Midnight Screenings’ in the current movie internet age, spoilers are there for all to find. 

The best way to avoid this is to see the film as soon as possible, five minutes past midnight on the release date was deemed the best chance to eradicate spoilers. Personally, I am not a fan but that is purely because it means getting home at 3.00am, but I did enjoy the excitement and buzz around the release and the novelty of the odd start time. 

One of the films we also had a car manufacturer set up outside with the Tony Stark Iron Man inspired version of the Hyundai on display. It is always enjoyable to have a novelty or something different to accompany a big film, whether it is a car, a model of the Titanic or a reluctant employee dressed up as a minion, there is a variety of ways to make the cinema going experience even more fun.

This Week’s Quiz

Book club actors are the topic for this week.

Question 1

Richard Dreyfuss starred as Hooper in which 1975 blockbuster? 

Question 2

Diane Keaton has been nominated numerous times but only has one Academy Award, but which 1978 film did she win the Best Actress award for?

Question 3

Mary Steenburgen features in the 2015 film A Walk in the Woods which is adapted from which authors travels?

Question 4

Candice Bergen starred as Kathy Morningside in which 2000 comedy?

Question 5

Craig T. Nelson is probably best known for voicing which Pixar animated character?

A) Wall-E                     

B) Sully                   

C) Mr Incredible

Question 6

Don Johnson stars in the detective story Knives Out but which two No Time To Die stars also feature as Benoit Blanc and Marta Cabrera?

Question 7

Andy Garcia starred in crime drama The Untouchables but who appeared as Eliot Ness and who won the best Supporting Oscar for his role as Jim Malone?

Question 8

Jane Fonda headed up the cast in the 1980 comedy 9 to 5, but who starred alongside her as Violet Newstead and Doralee Rhodes?

Question 9

Andy Garcia and Diane Keaton starred together in The Godfather Part III but can you name the director and his daughter who had a starring role as Mary Corleone in this third part of the gangster saga?

Question 10

Alicia Silverstone featured in the much-maligned Batman & Robin, but can you name the two actors to play the titular characters, plus bonus points for also naming who played the villain’s Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy?