Film

Six of the best films to see at the cinema this weekend

New this week: Mamma Mia!, Summer 1993, Boom for Real

Meryl before she was mamma: Lily James in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Donald Clarke
Tara Brady
Fri Jul 20 2018 - 06:00

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN ★★★
Directed by Ol Parker. Starring Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Cher, Colin Firth, Andy García, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Meryl Streep. PG cert, general release, 114 min
The follow-up to the Abba smash alternates between the aftermath of the first film and flashbacks to the three romances that caused the famous paternal confusion. Here We Go Again is actually superior in almost every way. The new cast members are amusing. The film-makers just about get way with unearthing a few less well-known Abba songs. Crucially, the direction is more than competent. Sunnier than a lifetime of holidays, James is a real standout as the younger version of Streep. Full review/trailer DC

SUMMER 1993/ESTIU 1993 ★★★★
Directed by Carla Simón. Starring Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cusí, David Verdaguer, Fermí Reixach, Montse Sanz, Isabel Rocatti, Berta Pipó, Etna Campillo. Club, limited release, 98 min

Poignant, beautifully made study of a young girl who, after her mother dies of Aids, moves to the Catalonian countryside with her squabbling relatives. There are hints of idyll in Simón's autobiographical debut – particularly for those who grew up somewhere less sunny than Catalonia – but Summer 1993 is, at its core, a sad, potentially tragic tale of emotional survival. It meanders. It ends almost randomly. But the truth of its emotions sticks in the mind. DC

BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT ★★★★
Directed by Sara Driver. Featuring Luc Sante, Lee Quiñones, James Nares, Jim Jarmusch, Patricia Field, Fab 5 Freddy, Sur Rodney, Alexis Adler, Michael Holman, Jennifer Jazz, Glenn O'Brien. Club, Triskel, Cork, 79 min

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The official trailer for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel to 2008 film Mamma Mia!. Video: Universal Pictures

In the three decades since he died at 27 from a heroin overdose, Jean-Michel Basquiat has inspired many documentaries and films, including Julian Schnabel's 1996 biopic. None have been nearly as fond of the late American artist as the kind-hearted Boom for Real. Driver's film, her first in 23 years, is lovingly assembled from old home movies, scribbled notes, murals, photographs and extraordinary archive footage. Full review TB

THE INCREDIBLES 2 ★★★★
Directed by Brad Bird. Voices of Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L Jackson, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Brad Bird, Bill Wise. PG cert, general release, 125 min

Terrific sequel to Pixar's superhero saga finds Bob Parr, the sometime Mr Incredible, left at home with young Violet (who turns invisible), younger Dash (who moves speedily) and baby Jack-Jack (who does a lot of things). Meanwhile, Helen Parr is drawn into a scheme to rehabilitate the superhero reputation. The animation is glossier than ever. The design is so gorgeous you yearn to wear it home. It is, however, the jokes that really stand out. Excellent family entertainment. Full review/trailer DC

FIRST REFORMED ★★★★
Directed by Paul Schrader. Starring Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles. 15A cert, limited release, 113 min

Schrader examined the work of Yasujir Ozu, Robert Bresson and Carl Theodore Dreyer in a 1972 book under the heading Transcendental Style. The meditative First Reformed, Schrader's 21st film as a director, is as transcendental as anything he has ever made. Reworking the malady of Bresson's Diary of a Country Priest and the plot of Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light, First Reformed concerns the Rev Toller (a mournful Hawke) and the widow of an environmental activist (Seyfried). Full review TB

LOST & FOUND ★★★
Directed by Liam O Mochain. Starring Norma Sheahan, Liam Carney, Aoibhin Garrihy, Anthony Morris, Seamus Hughes, Liam O Mochain. 12A cert, limited release, 92 min

An older man begs for train fare to Dublin. Daniel's cranky employer Paudge keeps refurbishing his unpopular pub. A marriage proposal at an airport goes hideously wrong. On her deathbed, Daniel's grandmother recalls the kindertransport, sending him off to Poland for an unlikely treasure hunt. Bridezilla Sile is determined to keep her booking at a wedding venue, even though she no longer has a willing groom. Writer-director O Mochain maintains a whimsical tone throughout. Full review TB