Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ★★★☆☆
Directed by Wes Ball. Starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, William H Macy. 12A cert, gen release, 144 min
Some centuries after the conclusion of War for the Planet of the Apes, a young chimpanzee (Teague) sets off on a quest following an assault on his community. He and his companions ultimately end up — via a shore that recalls the end of the 1968 original — at a slave colony ruled by a mouthy, tyrannical gorilla named Proximus Caesar. Humans seem to have reverted to the primal. A lot better than we had a right to expect. It’s more of a linear romp. It is almost a family film. Nothing wrong with that. This franchise has (hairy) legs. Full review DC
Much Ado About Dying ★★★★☆
Directed by Simon Chambers. Featuring David Newlyn Gale. Limited release, 84 min
Remarkable Irish-produced documentary on the director’s now-late uncle: an awkward, confused but undeniably courageous former actor called David Newlyn Gale. This is often a difficult film to watch. The subject’s physical frailty is palpable and his resistance to even the least intrusive advice is infuriating. The atmosphere of fug, filth and peril in Uncle David’s London home is suffocating. But Chambers selects the footage cunningly to always allow whispers of charm to filter through the stubbornness. Few will emerge without mourning an exasperating new friend. A hard watch, but necessary. Full review DC
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Big Banana Feet ★★★★☆
Directed by Murray Grigor and Paddy Higson. Featuring Billy Connolly. 12A cert, gen release, 77 min
“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there,” wrote LP Hartley. The past depicted in Big Banana Feet, a fly-on-the-wall chronicle of Billy Connolly’s 1973 tour of Ireland, is a distant planet. Connolly arrives in Dublin in the weeks after the Miami Showband murders. He is escorted from the airport by promotor Jim Aitken to a hotel room previously occupied by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. This fascinating, newly restored documentary was believed lost until archivist Douglas Weir spotted a 16mm print on eBay. It’s a fine tribute to a fearless comedian. Full review TB
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger ★★★★★
Directed by David Hinton. Featuring Martin Scorsese, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger. Limited release, 131 min
Martin Scorsese takes centre-stage in this wonderful chronicle of two hugely influential filmmakers. The fast-talking verve of A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) and My Voyage to Italy (1999) has given way to something quieter and more contemplative as Scorsese carefully relates how MichaelPowell, who trained under Rex Ingram, teamed up with Hungarian emigre Emeric Pressburger to create some of cinema’s most remarkable flights of fancy. The romance of the duo’s transportive storytelling and indelible images is matched by Scorsese’s rhapsodical memories. TB
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