DARKEST HOUR (PG)

Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas

125 mins. UK 2017. Dir: Joe Wright

During the early days of WWII the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler or fight for his ideals: the liberty and freedom of a nation. As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe, with a sceptical king and unprepared public, Churchill must work through his darkest hour, rally a nation and attempt to change the course of world history.

VICTORIA & ABDUL (PG)

Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard

110 mins. UK/USA 2017.  Dir: Stephen Frears

Abdul arrives from India to participate in Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.  The two forge an unlikely friendship that her staff try to destroy.  As their friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes, joyfully reclaiming her humanity.

Repeat screening by popular request - some patrons missed it last December because of stormy weather!

DOWNSIZING (M)

Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Hong Chau

135 mins. USA 2017. Dir: Alexander Payne When scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall as a solution to overpopulation, Paul and his wife Audrey decide to abandon their stressed lives in order to become small and move to a new downsized community called Leisureland - a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.

ALLIED (M)

Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard

124 mins. UK/USA 2016.  Dir: Robert Zemeckis

Max Vatan and Marianne Beausejour are WWII operatives who never reveal their true identities. After falling in love during a risky mission, they hope to leave all that double-dealing behind them and start new lives. Instead, suspicion and danger envelop their marriage as they become pitted against each other, with global consequences.

I, TONYA (MA15+)

Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney

119 mins. USA 2017. Dir: Craig Gillespie

Competitive ice skater, Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Her future in the sport is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband conspires to injure Nancy Kerrigan, a fellow Olympic hopeful and forces her from the Championships, resulting in negative consequences for Tonya.

BEATRIZ AT DINNER (M)

Salma Hayek, Chloë Sevigny, John Lithgow

83 mins. USA/Canada 2017. Dir: Miguel Arteta

Beatriz is a Los Angeles massage therapist and holistic healer who drives to the seaside mansion of her client Cathy. When her old car breaks down, she accepts a dinner invitation from Cathy, resulting in a war of words with Doug, a dinner guest who is a ruthless estate mogul who cares more about money than people.

FINDING YOUR FEET (M)

Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie, Timothy Spall

111 mins. UK 2018. Dir: Richard Loncraine

When ‘Lady’ Sandra Abbot discovers that her husband of forty years is having an affair she seeks refuge with her estranged Bohemian sister Bif in London. Sandra is a fish out of water, but when Bif drags her along to a community dance class, step by step, Sandra finds the courage to reinvent herself.

WONDER WHEEL (PG)

Jim Belushi, Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake

101 mins. USA 2017.  Dir: Woody Allen

This most colourful production is the latest, and probably the last, release from filmmaker Woody Allen. The story centres around Ginny, a frustrated one-time actress and three characters. Their complex lives intertwine amid the hustle and bustle of the Coney Island amusement park in the 1950s, with complications to follow.

SWEET COUNTRY (MA15+)

Hamilton Morris, Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Matt Day

115 mins. Australia 2017. Dir: Warwick Thornton

An Australian Western set on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920s. Justice itself is put on trial when an aged Aboriginal farm hand shoots a white man in self defence and goes on the run. In response the police are called to hunt him down. Screening at Swanpool Cinema for National Sorry Day 2018.

MARY MAGDALENE (M)

Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor

120 mins. USA/UK/Australia 2018. Dir: Garth Davis

This biblical biopic tells the story of Mary, a young woman in search of a new way of living. Constricted by the hierarchies of the day, Mary defies her conservative family to join a new social movement led by the charismatic Jesus of Nazareth. She soon finds a place within the movement, on a journey that will lead to Jerusalem.

FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (M)

Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters

105 mins. UK/USA 2017. Dir: Paul McGuigan

Based on Peter Turner’s memoir, the film follows the playful but passionate relationship between Turner and the eccentric Academy Award actress Gloria Grahame in 1978 Liverpool. What starts as a vibrant affair turns into a deeper relationship. Their passion and lust for life is tested to the limits by events beyond their control.

HAPPY END (M)

Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant

107 mins. Fr/Ger/Austria 2017.  Dir: Michael Haneke

A well-off French family who live in a bourgeois bubble in Northern France, are oblivious to the human misery unfolding in the migrant camps around the port town of Calais, close to their home. The story is more about the human condition than family, in an age of obsessive, digital   self-regard and increasing social immobility.

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY (M)

Lily James, Michiel Huisman, Jessica Brown Findlay

123 mins. UK 2018. Dir: Mike Newell

A writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island at the end of World War II. The author decides to write a book about their experiences during the war. The book is told by way of letters and is a beautiful story of love, friendship and sadness of friends lost.

EARLY MAN (PG)

Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams

89 mins. UK 2018. Dir: Nick Park

A plucky cave man named Dug, his sidekick Hognob and the rest of their tribe face a grave threat to their simple existence. Lord Nooth plans to take over their land and transform it into a giant mine, forcing Dug and his clan to dig for precious metals. They must unite their people to defeat the mighty enemy - the Bronze Age.

THE SQUARE (MA15+)

Dominic West, Elisabeth Moss, Claes Bang

150 mins. Sweden/Ger/Fr/Den 2017. Dir: Ruben Oestlund

Christian is a prestigious Stockholm museum’s chief art curator. He finds himself in both a personal and professional crisis, as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit called ‘The Square’ which reminds passers-by of their role as responsible human beings. But as Christian discovers, it is sometimes difficult to live up to your ideals.

FORCE MAJEURE (M)

Kristofer Hivju, Johannes Bah Kuhnke

118 mins.  Sweden 2014.  Dir: Ruben Oestlund

This wickedly funny and precisely observed psychodrama tells the story of a model Swedish family – handsome business man Tomas, willowy Ebba and their two blond pre-teen children – on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. The sun is shining and the slopes are spectacular but an avalanche turns everything upside down.

THE DEATH OF STALIN (MA15+)

Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Jeffrey Tambor

107 mins. UK/Fr 2017. Dir: Armando Iannucci

When tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin dies in 1953, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. The contenders include the wily Nikita Khrushchev and Lavrentiy Beria - the sadistic, secret police chief. As they jostle for positions, the question is: ‘Who is running the government?’

FACES PLACES (G)

89 mins. France 2017. Dir. & Stars: Agnes Varda, JR

When Agnes and JR met in 2015 they immediately wanted to work together to shoot a film in rural France. Through chance encounters and prepared projects, they reach out to others, listening, photographing , and sometimes putting people on posters. Throughout the shoot Agnes and JR’s friendship develops as they tease each other and laugh about their differences.

PHANTOM THREAD (M)

Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville

130 mins. USA 2017. Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson

In 1954 London, renowned fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock creates dresses for members of high society. His charisma and genius are matched by his obsessive controlling personality, only to be disrupted by Alma, who becomes his muse and lover. He is haunted by the death of his mother and stitches messages into dress linings.

DARKEST HOUR (PG)

Lily James, Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn.

125 mins. UK 2017. Dir: Joe Wright

Newly elected British Prime Minister Winston Churchill must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler or fight for liberty and freedom eight months into World War II.  With a sceptical king, an unprepared public and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must endure his darkest hour and rally the nation.