Mar 19th
The Shape of Water* (15) 
(Vue Romford)   

(US 2017)                                   

A mute cleaner falls in love with a rare amphibian who is wanted by both the Americans and the Russians in the Space Race.
A touching fable lovingly set in 1950s Cold War America is slightly marred by naive and cliched scripting, as well as some unnecessary excesses of sex and violence. Not the best of Del Toro (his Spanish language fantasies are still superior), but sentimental enough with English speaking audiences to win him accolades.

Written by: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor.
Producers: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale.
Director: Guillermo del Toro.
Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones (as the amphibian).
Photography:Dan Laustsen.
Music: Alexandre Desplat.

Mar 17th
Early Man**  (PG)   
(Vue Scunthorpe) 

(GB 2017)                                         

Stone Age survivors of an asteroid challenge their superior Bronze Age colonists at their descendants' ancient beautiful game to win back their valley.
Deftly humorous animated spoof harking back to Chicken Run, although not quite of that vintage. The football jokes are a little too knowing and take precedence over the caveman setting, but animation-wise the boys are back to old form.

Written by: Mark Burton, James Higginson, Nick Park.
Producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Nick Park, Carla Shelley.
Director: Nick Park.
Voices of: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Timothy Spall, Maisie Williams, Miriam Margolyes, Rob Brydon, Johnny Vegas, and others.
Music: Harry Gregson Williams, Tom Howe.

Mar 14th   
Wings***    

(US 1927)                                                   

A volunteer ambulance driver vies for the affections of a pilot who is in love with his rival's beau.
Thrillingly staged WWI airborne drama, the usual love triangle stuff (or in this case a menage-a-quartre), with innovative photography that looks modern even today, including original use of giant screens for projection of the flying scenes. As a prestige production it cannot be faulted, and wond the first Academy Award for Best Picture.

Written by: Hope Loring, Louis D. Lighton.
Producer: B.P. Schulberg (and others).
Director: William Welman.
Starring: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard  Arlen, Jobyna Ralston, Gary Cooper, El Brendel, Julia Swayne Gordon, Henry B. Walthall, Hedda Hopper.
Photography: Harry Perry.

Musical Accompaniment: Gaylord Carter (on organ).

+ 2012 restoration including sound effects and tinted gunshots

Mar 10th 
Wonder Wheel** (12A)   
(Phoenix East Finchley)         

(US 2017)                                   

In 1950s Coney Island, a Carousel worker's daughter unexpectedly arrives on the run from gangsters, to an equally dysfunctional set up with her unfaithful ex-actress stepmother and her pyromaniac son.
Average Allen melodrama, still more than palatable by modern standards with strong performances. Lacking some of Woody's trademark wit, with his usual amoral characters going through a typical soap opera-style scenario, set against the beautiful nostalgia for Coney Island.

Written and Directed by: Woody Allen.
Producers: Letty Aronson, Edward Walson, Erika Aronson.
Starring: Kate Winslet, James Belushi, Juno Temple, Justin Timberlake.
Photography: Vittorio Storaro.
Music: Various.

Mar 7th  
Sink the Bismarck!**        

(GB 1960)                                         

The Admiralty desperately hunts down the German battleship Bismarck before it breaks through into the North Atlantic.
Talky but mostly compelling war-room set drama with a conscientious looking star; less effective when taken outside at sea where some of the widescreen photography clashes with the grainy original battle footage. Its style presages the soon-to-come James Bond films, with lots of good British characters doing their bit.

Written by: Edmund H. North, from the book by C.S. Forrester.
Producer: John Brabourne.
Director: Lewis Gilbert.
Starring: Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Karel Stepanek, Carl Mohner, Geoffrey Keen, Laurence Naismith, Jack Watling, Michael Hordern, Michael Goodliffe, Maurice Denham, John Stride, Edward R. Murrow.
Photography: Christopher Challis.
Music: Clifton Parker.

Mar 3rd   
Phantom Thread* (15)     
(Ipswich Film Theatre)

(US 2017)                               

A 1950s London fashion designer treats his muses like his garments, but eventually meets his match.
Unconventional romantic drama with echoes of Rebecca and some of Hitchcock's (and others') more fetishistic work. The characters are pretentious, but the style of the film is very engaging.

w,d: Paul Thomas Anderson
s: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville, Gina McKee, Brian Gleeson, Julia Davis