ALSO SHOWING
OVERLORD (18) ★★★★★
DIRECTOR Julius Avery gleefully rewrites history in the excessively gory horror thriller Overlord, which unfolds on the eve of the Normandy landings.
The Allies are poised to send in boats laden with troops to the beaches of France but first they must destroy a German radio tower, which has been erected on the roof of a church on the outskirts of occupied Normandy.
Explosives expert Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) will lead the daredevil mission.
“If you keep worrying about dead bodies, you’re going to be one,” he growls at privates Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Rosenfeld (Dominic Applewhite, pictured with Adepo), Chase (Iain De Caestecker), Grady (Jacob Anderson), and Tibbet (John Magano).
After a parachute drop from hell, the men head towards a village surrounding the church, where they are aided by kind local Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier).
Corporal Ford and his men learn that the Germans, led by sadistic officer Wafner (Pilou Asbaek), are fashioning super-soldiers, who could change the course of the conflict. The scope of the mission must expand to neutralise this horrific threat but time is of the essence because the Normandy landings must proceed on schedule.
PREVIEW: THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD (15)
OSCAR-WINNING director Peter Jackson combines footage from the Imperial War Museums’ extensive archive and interviews with servicemen who fought in the First World War, which was the first time that the horrors of conflict could be caught on camera.
These images have been colourised and converted using the latest production techniques to offer modern audiences an unprecedented and detailed glimpse at life on the battlefields.
As part of the BBC’s coverage of the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the film will also be broadcast on BBC2 on Sunday at 9.30pm.
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS (PG) ★★★★★
CHRISTMAS comes but once a year and, thankfully, so too does a grand folly like this lavishly staged adventure.
Clara (Mackenzie Foy, ) looks forward to another Christmas with her godfather Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman). Following a length of twine in the garden of Drosselmeyer’s estate, Clara finds herself at the snow-laden gateway to four magical realms.
Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley, pictured with Foy), Snow Realm King (Richard E Grant) and Flower Realm King (Eugenio Derbez) preside over three of the kingdoms in harmony but the fourth is the domain of Mother Ginger (Dame Helen Mirren).
She’s declared war on her neighbours and is marshalling an army to seal their downfall. Clara pledges her support to overthrow Mother Ginger and heads into battle flanked by handsome soldier Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight).