Cinema hits the spot this autumn
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Despite our reservations about the approaching cold season, there’s one positive to the winter months – the opportunity to spend cosy evenings watching new movies in the cinema, snuggled up to our friends or partner.
This autumn the one film you’ll definitely want to catch is the surprise hit of the year, French feel-good movie Untouchable (2012). Charting the unlikely friendship between a rich quadriplegic and a young Senegal-born ex-convict, the uplifting feature has already won awards at many international film festivals, including the French equivalent of an Oscar for breakout star Omar Sy. Francois Cluzet plays Philippe, a millionaire widower who lives in a palatial Parisian apartment who employs Omar Sy (playing Driss) as his live-in carer. Despite their different backgrounds, Philippe finds Driss’s streetwise irreverence and honesty engaging and an unlikely cross-cultural relationship begins between the pair. Based on a true story,Untouchable has become one of the biggest French-language hits of all time, topping box office charts around the world to make a staggering $366 million.
This autumn also sees the release of the latest Woody Allen project, To Rome with Love (2012). As the title suggests, the movie sees quintessential New Yorker Allen taking to the streets of Rome to explore the character of the interwoven cast of characters looking for love. Alec Baldwin plays architect John who, while on a visit to Rome, encounters a young man named Jack, played by Jesse Eisenberg, on the street where he used to live. Before long, Jack is falling for Monica (Ellen Page), the sexually adventurous best friend of John's wife Sally (Greta Gerwig). Elsewhere in the Eternal City, grumpy retired opera director Jerry – a cameo casting by Allen himself – encounters a singing mortician who could revive his career. Boring Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), meanwhile, wakes one morning to find he's the most famous man in Rome, trailed by TV crews. A misunderstanding leads to timid newlywed Antonio (Allesandro Tiberi) passing off hooker Anna (Penelope Cruz) as his wife. The NY Times has described it as late-period Woody Allen, which probably means that it's corny and self-reflecting, but there is something comfortable, almost nostalgic about Woody Allen movies which many of us find hard to resist.
Smart cinema-goers opt for loyalty programmes where they can get reduced ticket prices. For instance, when you register free online with Cineworld, you’ll get 10% off cinema tickets when you book them online – savings that could add up to a tidy sum if you go to the cinema often. Cineworld will also send you regular newsletters which keep you up to date with the latest releases and enter your details into exclusive competitions and offers. You can register at www.cineworld.co.uk and also watch previews of the above films at the site.
Subscribe to read full newspaper »
Send to a friend
Please complete the following form to inform a friend about this page.
