80 FOR BRADY
Fri 3 Feb
Four best friends are living life to the fullest when they take a trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play in (potentially) the last big game of his life. It gathers probably the finest female-led cast in cinema history. Lily Tomlin (The West Wing, Tea with Mussolini), Jane Fonda (Barefoot in the Park, On Golden Pond) team-up after their brilliant outings in 9 To 5 and Grace And Frankie, along with Rita Moreno (Oz, West Side Story) and Sally Field (Norma Rae, Dispatches from Elsewhere).
Without spoiling too much, this Superbowl was historic. And alongside the epic game is a true story of passion, adventure and not letting age define you.
KNOCK AT THE CABIN
Fri 3 Feb
M. Night Shyamalan returns with an unsettling psychological horror which will sit with you for ages. Based on the 2018 novel The Cabin At The End Of The World by Paul G. Tremblay, it stars Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Luther, The Personal History of David Copperfield), Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Mad About You), and Rupert Grint (Harry Potter).
We meet a family of three vacationing out in the wilderness. Their peace is broken by four strangers, who purport to have been receiving visions of an impending apocalypse – which can only be averted if one of the family is sacrificed.
SHE IS LOVE
Fri 3 Feb
When Patricia arrives at a country hotel in Cornwall, she encounters her ex-husband Idris who manages the place with his girlfriend Louise. Things are immediately awkward, and the former couple reconnect over a long, messy night – revisiting the past and embracing new beginnings.
BIFA nominated filmmaker Jamie Adams presents us with an intense and involving romantic drama, which stars Haley Bennett (Cyrano, The Girl On The Train & The Magnificent Seven) and BAFTA nominated and BIFA award winner Sam Riley (Control, Free Fire, On The Road). It was shot with an improvisational style, evolving from an initial idea he and the actors develop a ‘scriptment’ and the story is shaped during filming.
BLUE JEAN
Fri 10 Feb
It’s 1988, and a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality. Writer/director Georgia Oakley makes her feature debut with this stunning, convention defying drama.
It’s set at a time when the government passed a law stereotyping lesbians and gays as paedophiles who recruit children for their ‘deviant’ lifestyles. Female PE teachers are prime targets fo homophobic accusations, and Jean is forced to lead a double life. During the week she’s a respected member of staff – on the weekend she slips anonymously into Newcastle’s burgeoning gay scene. But when everything is under threat, she must go to extreme lengths to maintain her job… and her sanity.
MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE
Fri 10 Feb
Channing Tatum smashes out a million stomach crunches and squeezes into his G-string for one last outing of everyone’s favourite exotic dancer. Salma Hayek jumps into the well-oiled action as a wealthy socialite, alongside Caitlin Gerard (The Social Network, The Last Ship), Ayub Khan Din (Sammy And Rosie Get Laid, East Is East) and Gavin Spokes (House Of The Dragon, The Ipcress File).
Mike Lane takes to the stage again, after a bad business deal leaves him broke. Hoping for one last hurrah, he gets an offer he can’t refuse. But is there an agenda behind the scenes? With everything on the line, he finds himself trying to whip a new roster of talent into shape.
OF AN AGE
Fri 10 Feb
Set in the summer of 1999, Of An Age sees a 17-year-old amateur dancer’s life suddenly flooded with confusion and passion as he develops an overwhelming crush on the brother of his ballroom partner. Written and directed by Goran Stolevski (You Won’t Be Alone), this spellbinding drama stars Elias Anton (Sunflower, Neighbours), Thom Green (Dance Academy, Home and Away) and Hattie Hook (Savage River, Ten Pound Poms).
This establishes Stolevski’s reputation as one of Australia’s hottest new directors. A frenetic story of repression and overwhelming desire, it gracefully manages to avoid tired tropes or crass humour, offering instead a beautifully-composed coming of age romance to soften the sternest of hearts. Seek it out.
COCAINE BEAR
Fri 24 Feb
A 500-pound black bear goes on a coke-fuelled rampage. If that doesn’t get you excited, you’re either a well-balanced individual or you don’t like cinema. Partly based on a true story (the real bear quickly died after swallowing 34 kg of lost drugs), Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2, Charlie’s Angels) directs this robust action comedy. It stars Keri Russell (The Americans, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), O’Shea Jackson, Jr (Straight Outta Compton, Obi-Wan Kenobi), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) and Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project).
A drug smuggler’s plane crashes in the woods and an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens search for it – not realising who has got there first.
JESUS REVOLUTION
Fri 24 Feb
Young Greg Laurie is searching for all the right things in all the wrong places: until he meets Lonnie Frisbeea; charismatic hippie-street-preacher. Together with Pastor Chuck Smith, they open the doors of a languishing church to an unexpected revival of radical and newfound love, leading to what TIME Magazine dubbed a ‘Jesus Revolution’.
Written by Jon Ewin and Jon Gunn, and directed by Erwin and Brent McCorkle, this compelling drama brings together Joel Courtne (Super 8, The Kissing Booth), Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen), Anna Grace Barlow (Supernatural, The Goldbergs) and Kelsey Grammar to chart the fascinating story of the Evangalical movement in 70s California – which changed American society forever.
