Check out what's showing at cinemas across the region this month...
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE CERT PG (140 mins) Released Fri 2 June With the voices of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K Thompson
Everybody’s favourite wall-crawling web-slinger makes a welcome return in another animated tale. And if it’s even half as good as its 2018 predecessor, Into The Spider-Verse, it’s going to be one hell of a film.
This one finds Spidey battling to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from the evil-doings of The Spot - a supervillain with the ability to open interdimensional portals via which he travels long distances and commits crimes.
A third film in the series, Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, is slated for release in spring of next year.
TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS CERT tbc
Released Fri 9 June With the voices of Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, John DiMaggio Directed by Steven Caple Jr
Having eagerly anticipated this film for more than four years, Transformers’ hugely committed fans will no doubt be beyond ecstatic to see their favourites finally return to the cinema screen.
Following on from the highly successful Bumblebee movie of 2018, Rise Of The Beasts is the seventh installment in a series which kickstarted in 2007 and has been gathering pace ever since.
Inspired, of course, by Hasbro’s Transformers toy line, the films feature a traditional story of good versus evil, as the heroic Autobots battle against the evil Decepticons.
GREATEST DAYS CERT 12a (112 mins)
Released Fri 16 June Starring Aisling Bea, Alice Lowe, Amaka Okafor, Jayde Adams, Marc Wootton, Lara McDonnell Directed by Coky Giedroyc
Despite being executive-produced by Take That and featuring their music, Greatest Days isn’t a film about Gary Barlow and co. It’s actually a story about the fans, the power music can have over people, and - as writer Tim Firth says - how music ‘makes time travellers of us all’.
For five teenage girls, their favourite boyband and the music they play are everything. Twenty-five years later, the quintet attempt to rekindle their friendship with a trip to a concert by the band they loved so dearly as teenagers. But none of the ladies’ lives have turned out quite the way they were expecting...
The film is based on the hit musical of the same name, which was originally titled The Band.
THE FLASH CERT 12a (144 mins)
Released Fri 16 June Starring Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Shannon, Michael Keaton, Temuera Morrison, Sasha Calle Directed by Andy Muschietti
This first film about The Flash (a superfast superhero who’s been around since the 1930s) is also the 13th movie in the DC Extended Universe.
And the comic-book giants will certainly be hoping this latest release is no slouch when it comes to the serious box-office business of putting bums on seats.
Broadly speaking, DC has struggled to make the same cinematic impact as its traditional rivals, Marvel, but The Flash has impressive form when it comes to successfully accessing a significant audience - the same-named television series ran for a total of nine seasons.
The film sees Flash travelling back in time to prevent his mother’s murder - an action that leaves him trapped in an alternate reality threatened with annihilation by the seriously unpleasant General Zod.
If ever a superhero needed to move fast...
ASTEROID CITY CERT 12a (105 mins)
Released Fri 23 June Starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton Directed by Wes Anderson
Director Wes Anderson’s fertile imagination is firing on all cylinders in this eagerly anticipated sci-fi rom-com.
A star-studded story about stargazers, the film is set in a fictional desert town in 1955, where students and parents come together for an annual junior stargazer/space cadet convention. Rest, recreation, scholarly competition and an appreciation of ‘the clear skies above’ all feature on the convention’s agenda. But thanks to a series of profoundly affecting ‘unspecified events’, not everything goes according to plan...
NO HARD FEELINGS CERT tbc
Released Fri 23 June Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Morales, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti Directed by Gene Stupnitsky
Jennifer Lawrence produces as well as stars in this coming-of-age sex comedy, taking the lead role of Maddie, an Uber driver facing bankruptcy when her car is repossessed. Needing to sort out her life fast, she finds herself taking on an unusual job - working for a couple who want her to help their introverted son enjoy the pleasures of adult life by ‘dating his brains out’. In exchange for making a man of him, she will receive a Buick Regal. Maddie’s expecting the gig to be a walk in the park, but much to her surprise she soon discovers that the painfully awkward Percy is no sure thing...
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY CERT tbc (142 mins)
Released Fri 30 June Starring Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas Directed by James Mangold
Age has not withered him...
Or at least that’s what Harrison Ford fans will be hoping is the case as he returns, in his 81st year, to the role of whip-wielding action-adventurer Indiana Jones.
This is the fifth Indy film, with Harrison declaring that it will also be his final outing in the role. As such, he’ll no doubt be hoping to make a fond farewell with all guns blazing.
With a solid supporting cast giving it their all, and an imaginative storyline that brings together NASA and Nazis, there’s plenty of reason to think this latest entry in the franchise will be a summer blockbuster well worth catching.
Check out what's showing at cinemas across the region this month...
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE CERT PG (140 mins)
Released Fri 2 June
With the voices of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K Thompson
Everybody’s favourite wall-crawling web-slinger makes a welcome return in another animated tale. And if it’s even half as good as its 2018 predecessor, Into The Spider-Verse, it’s going to be one hell of a film.
This one finds Spidey battling to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from the evil-doings of The Spot - a supervillain with the ability to open interdimensional portals via which he travels long distances and commits crimes.
A third film in the series, Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, is slated for release in spring of next year.
TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS CERT tbc
Released Fri 9 June
With the voices of Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, John DiMaggio
Directed by Steven Caple Jr
Having eagerly anticipated this film for more than four years, Transformers’ hugely committed fans will no doubt be beyond ecstatic to see their favourites finally return to the cinema screen.
Following on from the highly successful Bumblebee movie of 2018, Rise Of The Beasts is the seventh installment in a series which kickstarted in 2007 and has been gathering pace ever since.
Inspired, of course, by Hasbro’s Transformers toy line, the films feature a traditional story of good versus evil, as the heroic Autobots battle against the evil Decepticons.
GREATEST DAYS CERT 12a (112 mins)
Released Fri 16 June
Starring Aisling Bea, Alice Lowe, Amaka Okafor, Jayde Adams, Marc Wootton, Lara McDonnell
Directed by Coky Giedroyc
Despite being executive-produced by Take That and featuring their music, Greatest Days isn’t a film about Gary Barlow and co. It’s actually a story about the fans, the power music can have over people, and - as writer Tim Firth says - how music ‘makes time travellers of us all’.
For five teenage girls, their favourite boyband and the music they play are everything. Twenty-five years later, the quintet attempt to rekindle their friendship with a trip to a concert by the band they loved so dearly as teenagers. But none of the ladies’ lives have turned out quite the way they were expecting...
The film is based on the hit musical of the same name, which was originally titled The Band.
THE FLASH CERT 12a (144 mins)
Released Fri 16 June
Starring Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Shannon, Michael Keaton, Temuera Morrison, Sasha Calle
Directed by Andy Muschietti
This first film about The Flash (a superfast superhero who’s been around since the 1930s) is also the 13th movie in the DC Extended Universe.
And the comic-book giants will certainly be hoping this latest release is no slouch when it comes to the serious box-office business of putting bums on seats.
Broadly speaking, DC has struggled to make the same cinematic impact as its traditional rivals, Marvel, but The Flash has impressive form when it comes to successfully accessing a significant audience - the same-named television series ran for a total of nine seasons.
The film sees Flash travelling back in time to prevent his mother’s murder - an action that leaves him trapped in an alternate reality threatened with annihilation by the seriously unpleasant General Zod.
If ever a superhero needed to move fast...
ASTEROID CITY CERT 12a (105 mins)
Released Fri 23 June
Starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton
Directed by Wes Anderson
Director Wes Anderson’s fertile imagination is firing on all cylinders in this eagerly anticipated sci-fi rom-com.
A star-studded story about stargazers, the film is set in a fictional desert town in 1955, where students and parents come together for an annual junior stargazer/space cadet convention. Rest, recreation, scholarly competition and an appreciation of ‘the clear skies above’ all feature on the convention’s agenda. But thanks to a series of profoundly affecting ‘unspecified events’, not everything goes according to plan...
NO HARD FEELINGS CERT tbc
Released Fri 23 June
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Morales, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti
Directed by Gene Stupnitsky
Jennifer Lawrence produces as well as stars in this coming-of-age sex comedy, taking the lead role of Maddie, an Uber driver facing bankruptcy when her car is repossessed. Needing to sort out her life fast, she finds herself taking on an unusual job - working for a couple who want her to help their introverted son enjoy the pleasures of adult life by ‘dating his brains out’. In exchange for making a man of him, she will receive a Buick Regal. Maddie’s expecting the gig to be a walk in the park, but much to her surprise she soon discovers that the painfully awkward Percy is no sure thing...
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY CERT tbc (142 mins)
Released Fri 30 June
Starring Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas
Directed by James Mangold
Age has not withered him...
Or at least that’s what Harrison Ford fans will be hoping is the case as he returns, in his 81st year, to the role of whip-wielding action-adventurer Indiana Jones.
This is the fifth Indy film, with Harrison declaring that it will also be his final outing in the role. As such, he’ll no doubt be hoping to make a fond farewell with all guns blazing.
With a solid supporting cast giving it their all, and an imaginative storyline that brings together NASA and Nazis, there’s plenty of reason to think this latest entry in the franchise will be a summer blockbuster well worth catching.