Get your popcorn ready!
It’s doesn’t matter what your tastes run to – upcoming cinemas releases have all kinds of films in the offing and you’ll be happily relaxing into your cinema chair or firing up your favourite streaming platforms over and over again as we head into the end of the year.
Want some mystery? We can do that! A buoyantly affecting musical about inclusion and friendship? Yes! And a searing look at race in America? Also doable.
It’s a feast for the heart, mind and soul and these seven films are just the tip of a vast and very exciting iceberg which is encouraged to entertain you and get you thinking …
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
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In the follow up to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is put on the case to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the first of two sequels, is once again both written and directed by acclaimed American filmmaker Rian Johnson, director of the films Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and Knives Out previously. (courtesy First Showing)
After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival this month, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will screen in select cinemas before premiering on Netflix on 23 December.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
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Based on the NY Times best-selling novel, bookstore owner A.J. Fikry’s (Kunal Nayyar) life is not turning out as he expected as he struggles both emotionally and financially. After his wife’s tragic death, he feels lost and left behind in the rapidly evolving world of today. As he tries to keep his store afloat, he begins to drink his sorrows away ultimately hitting rock bottom when his most prized possession, a series of Edgar Allen Poe poems, are stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, the unexpected arrival gives Fikry a new lease on life, and love, that are greater than he ever imagined. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is directed by filmmaker Hans Canosa, director of the films Alma Mater, Conversations with Other Women, and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac previously. The script is by Gabrielle Zevin, based on Zevin’s own novel of the same name. (courtesy First Showing)
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry opens in USA on 7 October, international dates TBA.
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A beautifully crafted story of forbidden love and changing social conventions, My Policeman follows three young people – policeman Tom (Harry Styles), teacher Marion (Emma Corrin), and museum curator Patrick (David Dawson)– as they embark on an emotional journey in 1950s Britain. Flashing forward to the 1990s, Tom (Linus Roache), Marion (Gina McKee), and Patrick (Rupert Everett) are still reeling with longing and regret, but now they have one last chance to repair the damage of the past. My Policeman is directed by acclaimed British theater director Michael Grandage, director of the film Genius previously, plus lots of theater work including King Lear and Red. The screenplay is written by Ron Nyswaner; based on the book of the same name by Bethan Roberts. Produced by Greg Berlanti, Philip Herd, Cora Palfrey, Robbie Rogers, Sarah Schechter. (courtesy First Showing)
My Policeman opens in select US cinemas on 21 October and streams via Prime Video from 4 November.
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Based on the best-selling novel Tim Winton, Blueback is a timely tale about the ocean, a beautiful marine creature, and a young girl’s power to change the world. The story centers on a young woman who befriends a wild blue groper while diving, and becomes a passionate activist for protecting the ecosystem of Australia’s coral reefs from destruction. Blueback is both written and directed by acclaimed Australian filmmaker Robert Connolly, director of the movies The Bank, Three Dollars, Balibo, Underground: The Julian Assange Story, Paper Planes, and The Dry previously. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Tim Winton. Produced by Robert Connolly, James Grandison, and Liz Kearney. (courtesy First Showing)
After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival this month, Blueback opens on 1 January in Australia with international dates TBA.
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When the Primm family (Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley) moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school & new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle – a singing crocodile (Shawn Mendes) who loves baths, caviar and great music-living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps (Brett Gelman), the Primm’s must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner, Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem), to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is co-directed by filmmakers Will Speck & Josh Gordon, both directors of the films Blades of Glory, The Switch, and Office Christmas Party previously, as well as the Cavemen and Hit-Monkey TV series. The screenplay is written by Will Davies; based on the book series by Bernard Waber. Songs written by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman), with Ari Afsar, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Mark Sonnenblick, and Joriah Kwamé. (courtesy First Showing)
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile opens in USA on 7 October and Australia on 26 December.
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
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How do you find lasting love in today’s world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. For Zoe’s childhood friend and neighbour Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents’ example and opt for an arranged (or “assisted”) marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his hopeful journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from this profoundly different approach to finding true love. What’s Love Got to Do with It? is directed by Pakistani-British filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, director of the films Masoom, Mr. India, Bandit Queen, Elizabeth, The Four Feathers, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Why? – The Musical previously. The screenplay is written by Jemima Khan. (courtesy First Showing)
After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival this month, What’s Love Got to Do with It? premieres in Australia on 26 January 2023 and UK on 27 January 2023.
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Set against the backdrop of a country on the cusp of ominous sociopolitical change, Armageddon Time follows Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), a sixth grader who dreams of becoming an artist. At the same time that Paul builds a friendship with classmate Johnny (Jaylin Webb), who’s mercilessly targeted by their racist teacher, he finds himself increasingly at odds with his parents (Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway), for whom financial success and assimilation are key to the family’s Jewish-American identity. Paul feels on firmest ground with his kind grandfather (a marvelous Anthony Hopkins), whose life experiences have granted him a weathered compassion. Armageddon Time is a very personal story both written and directed by acclaimed American filmmaker James Gray, director of the films Little Odessa, The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, and Ad Astra previously. (courtesy First Showing)
Armageddon Time premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year and will have a limited release in USA on 28 October 2022 (followed by wider released on 11 November), Australia on 3 November and UK on 18 November.