ALSO SHOWING
MIDSOMMAR (18) ★★★★ ★
WRITER-DIRECTOR Ari Aster’s eagerly anticipated follow-up to last year’s supernatural horror Hereditary, conjures terror in broad daylight in a similar manner to The Wicker Man.
Christian ( Jack Reynor) is preparing to break up with clingy girlfriend Dani (Florence Pugh, pictured) when she suffers devastating tragedy.
Rather than twist the knife, Christian decides to delay the inevitable and he invites Dani to join him and pals Josh (William Jackson Harper), Mark (Will Poulter) and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) on a trip to Sweden to attend a midsummer festival.
The Americans arrive with a sense of trepidation and are immediately charmed by the rituals and customs of their European hosts.
As the sun beats down on festivities, Dani and co witness moments of shocking and horrifying madness that will test their devotion to each other.
PREVIEW: ANNA (15)
AFTER the crushing disappointing of sci-fi adventure Valerian And The
City Of A Thousand Planets, French writer-director Luc Besson returns to familiar territory – female-fronted action thrillers – with this bone-crushing caper.
Anna (Russian supermodel Sasha Luss, pictured) contemplates taking her own life rather than endure more domestic abuse behind closed doors.
She is recruited by KGB handler Olga (Dame Helen Mirren) to join the ranks of the Russian security agency. Anna agrees to undergo intensive training then serve her KGB masters for five years in return for a new life free from violence.
KGB commander Vassiliev (Eric Godon) reneges on this deal and Anna is forced to continue her covert work or face the dire repercussions of disobedience.
She goes undercover as a fashion model and CIA agent Leonard Miller (Cillian Murphy) blows her cover. The Americans recruit Anna to work for them and command her to return to Russia to assassinate Vassiliev.
When Olga discovers the double-cross, she encourages her prized asset to complete the mission so she benefits from Vassiliev’s demise.
YESTERDAY (12A) ★★★ ★★
SINCE Four Weddings And A
Funeral in 1994, scriptwriter Richard
Curtis has been a taste of honey with beautifully judged romantic comedies of amour fou across the class divide.
Yesterday, directed by Danny Boyle, should continue that winning streak, casting Himesh Patel (pictured) and Lily James as best friends, whose paths diverge after a nasty bout of pop culture amnesia ripples across the universe, erasing all memory of The Beatles.
There are a couple of gorgeous, heart-tugging scenes that did genuinely please, please me, however, something is missing that should make audiences want to feverishly twist and shout from the rooftops about Boyle’s magical mystery tour.