THE BIG SCREEN
THE LOST CITY OF Z (15)
British artillery officer Colonel Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) has been “rather unfortunate in his choice of ancestors”. Sir George Goldie (Ian McDiarmid), president of the Royal Geographical Society, offers Percy a chance at redemption by mapping uncharted territory in Bolivia with the help of local tribesmen. Percy accepts and abandons his wife Nina (Sienna Miller) to venture into the unknown with aide-de-camp Corporal Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson). Their son Jack (Tom Holland) is born is his father’s absence and Percy returns home with a strong conviction that he has stumbled upon proof of a lost civilisation – which he calls Z – that will astound the academic elite.
LIFE (15)
Russian commander Katerina Golovkin (Olga Dihovichnaya) leads this six-strong international team of the Mars Pilgrim 7 Mission. Her colleagues include chief medical officer Dr David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), exobiologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), mission specialist Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds), systems engineer Sho Kendo (Hiroyuki Sanada) and quarantine expert Dr Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One soil sample from Mars contains a singlecelled lifeform – affectionately christened Calvin – which responds to stimulation by glucose. Life is a formulaic, yet entertaining, battle for survival that slaughters cast one by one as Calvin demonstrates he is smarter than the average xenomorph.
POWER RANGERS (12A)
Diabolical sorceress Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) was once the Green Ranger, but she betrayed her friends and has been frozen in time for 65 million years in her quest to locate the powerful Zeo Crystal. In order to protect the universe from a newly reanimated Rita, the next generation of Power Rangers must come forth. A ragtag group of spunky, authority-flouting teenagers are chosen to wear the costumes of the Red, Pink, Blue, Yellow and Black Ranger. Guided by their holographic mentor Zordon (Bryan Cranston) and his robotic assistant Alpha 5 (voiced by Bill Hader), the Power Rangers hone their abilities as they prepare for intergalactic war in between finishing class assignments and chores.
ANOTHER MOTHER’S SON (12A)
Abandoned by Winston Churchill, Jersey becomes a prison under the control of the Third Reich. British citizens who were not born on the island are despatched to Germany, while prisoners of war arrive by the boat load to build a hulking concrete wall to repel allied counter attacks. Grocery store proprietor Louisa Gould (Jenny Seagrove) doles out rations to neighbours and family. A Russian POW called Feodor (Julian Kostov) escapes and seeks refuge under Louisa’s roof. One of her sons, Ralph, has recently been killed in action and the grief-stricken mother tearfully welcomes Feodor as a surrogate, christening her guest Bill. Louisa cannot bear to cast out the POW and she teaches him English in the hope he can avoid suspicion. Another Mother’s Son has flecks of humour and tugs heartstrings.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (PG)
STRONG-willed bookworm Belle (Emma Watson) continues to rebuff the amorous advances of preening Gaston (Luke Evans). Before Gaston can find out, Belle trades places with her inventor father Maurice (Kevin Kline) as eternal prisoner of an accursed Beast (Dan Stevens) in his crumbling stronghold. Distinguished by stunning production design, this Beauty And The Beast doesn’t quite scale the dizzy heights of its animated predecessor, but comes delightfully close.