Making a trip to the cinema can require a lot of courage. The queuing, the talking, the use of phones, the smell, sometimes just the smell, so it's worth making sure that the entire experience is worth the effort.
With a new old month ahead of us, and an intimidating amount of films to choose from, we have your five visits to the cinema all planned out. Thank us and buy us obscene amounts of popcorn later. Make sure it's salt please. We're not animals.
Interstellar
Managing to build a Spielbergian level of excitement around his new sci-fi blockbuster (no mere coincidence since the man himself was originally attached to direct), Christopher Nolan has ensured that Interstellar is easily the month's most buzzed about new movie. Comeback kid Matthew McConaughey takes the lead in an epic adventure about a daring mission into space in a bid to save the future of mankind. It's epic, IMAX-worthy stuff and don't let the butt-numbing 169 minute length turn you off, it's packed to the brim with enough ideas, action and, most surprisingly, emotion, to keep you gripped.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 71%
Released: November 7
The Skeleton Twins
Ever since she broke out from simply being one of SNL's funniest comedians to being the Oscar-nominated writer and star of the excellently awkward Bridesmaids, Kristen Wiig has eschewed obvious roles and clung to the shadows. Admittedly, it's not paid off that well so far (Girl Most Likely anyone?) but this darkly comic drama, which impressed festival audiences at Sundance this year, finally gives her the follow-up film she deserves. She stars alongside fellow SNL alum Bill Hader as twins fighting suicidal tendencies. Funny and, yes, sad in equal measures.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
Released: November 7
The Drop
If not for a final chance of paying respects to the acting colossus that was James Gandolfini, making his last cinematic appearance here, The Drop is worth watching for Tom Hardy alone. He excels, frankly, starring as the doe-eyed Brooklyn barman who reluctantly launders money for the mob alongside his employer and cousin (Gandolfini) - it’s a ‘drop bar’, you see, hence the title, and why in the wake of a robbery on the premises, it isn’t long before a bloody trail emerges around the pair. And be sure to appreciate the nuanced performance of John Ortiz, too, playing the savvy police detective on the scent of something big. The most engrossing part of the film hinges on one exquisite line which he delivers with aplomb. It’s a line for the ages.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
Released: November 14
The Imitation Game
Once more for Benedict Cumberbatch, the game is afoot. Only this time it’s The Imitation Game, concerning the inspiring true-life tale of cryptologist Alan Turing who cracked the Nazi enigma code to all but defeat Hitler during WW2. And if the Weinstein logo flashing up before the opening credits doesn’t alert you to its Oscar credentials, Cumberbatch’s near faultless performance, bringing the tortured genius back to life with a real verve, should do the trick. A rousing, poignant and at times heart-wrenching watch (mild spoiler - chemically castrated for being a homosexual, Turing died long before he government finally revealed his wartime heroics), it’s a deftly handled affair.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 84%
Released: November 14
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
At this stage, you're either in or you're out and given the ginormous box office totals of the previous two films (£972 million between them), chances are you're probably as excited as we are for the third chapter of dystopian chaos. Easily rising above all other YA adaptations, the franchise has an ace in the form of Jennifer Lawrence who is arguably the most consistent actress in Hollywood at the moment. This time, we're moving past the games to focus on the impending war in the districts and why, yet again, it's up to Katniss to rally the people. Expect the darkest entry yet.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: No reviews yet
Released: November 21
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