Film October (2 pages).qxp_Layout 1 20/09/2019 18:43 Page 4
Film highlights released in October...
Film
The Addams Family CERT PG (105 mins)
With the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Bette Midler, Allison Janney Directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan (USA)
Charles Addams' ghoulish clan has been around since 1938 when they first appeared in a comic strip in The New Yorker magazine. Since then, they were immortalised in the 1964-66 TV series and then three films. This version, in which the Addamses move to New Jersey and confront the 21st century, is the first computer-animated edition. In 3D. Released Fri 25 October
CRITIC’S CHOICE
The Peanut Butter Falcon CERT tbc (117 mins)
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Zack Gottsagen, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Thomas Haden Church Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz (USA)
Black And Blue CERT 15 (101 mins)
Starring Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp, Frank Grillo Directed by Deon Taylor (USA)
Alicia West (Naomie Harris) is a black woman in a blue uniform. But, being a rookie, she is also green, so that when she films the murder of a drug dealer by her partner, she tries to do the right thing in a world that is anything but black and white….
Films featuring Down’s syndrome characters are few and far between, particularly in American cinema. Yet Zack Gottsagen is such a forceful presence that the scriptwriters Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz built an entire film around his talents. He plays Zack, a deserted 20-year-old who is housed at a North Carolina retirement home because nobody knows what to do with him. He’s a bit of a troublemaker, whose practical jokes are lapped up by the home’s aged residents, but his dreams of becoming a
wrestling star seem impractical. However, he escapes the home and sets off to find his wrestling hero, the Salt Water Redneck. Wearing nothing but a pair of Y-fronts, he hides out in the boat of a local fisherman, Tyler (LaBeouf), an anti-social loner with issues of his own… The title is unlikely to attract a huge following, nor the central character of a pot-bellied lad with Down’s syndrome, but it’s a strikingly original tale which has the good sense not to push its agenda down the viewer’s throat. Displaying a novelistic feel, with overtones of Mark Twain, the film is an entertaining adventure that manages to be both wildly offbeat and deeply affecting. Released Fri 18 October
Released Fri 25 October
By The Grace Of God CERT 15 (138 mins)
Starring Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Éric Caravaca, Bernard Verley Directed by François Ozon (France/Belgium)
Three men link up to try to expose the priest who abused them as children. Based on true events, the French film won the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin film festival. Released Fri 25 October
The Last Black Man In San Francisco CERT tbc (121 mins) Starring Jimmie Falls, Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Rob Morgan, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock Directed by Joe Talbot (USA)
Playing a character partly based on himself, Jimmie Falls is a man who is trying to reclaim the home in which he grew up... The film marks the directorial debut of Jimmie’s childhood friend Joe Talbot and its development budget was raised through Kickstarter. Released Fri 25 October
Doctor Sleep CERT tbc Starring Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis, Carl Lumbly, Bruce Greenwood, Jacob Tremblay Directed by Mike Flanagan (USA)
It had to happen. Thirty-nine years after the chilling events that unfolded in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, this sequel sees poor Danny Torrance now a grown man, played by Ewan McGregor. With his psychic powers still intact, Danny is struggling with alcoholism when he meets a teenage girl (Curran) with her own extrasensory gift, known as the 'shine'. Released Thurs 31 October whatsonlive.co.uk 41