With the Avengers saga having finally entered its Endgame and Game of Thrones about to do the same, there’s plenty for fans of big-budget media to get excited about. That’s not the only cinematic fare on offer, though, as both the Edinburgh Filmhouse and the Glasgow Film Theatre are treating us to a bumper banquet of new releases this May. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the highlights, while visiting the sites above will reveal the full programme for each.
Dome Karukowski / USA / 2019 / 112 mins
Long before the forging of the One Ring, a different kind of fellowship was created. This biopic sees Nicholas Hoult play legendary writer J R R Tolkien in his youth as he finds companionship and inspiration among fellow outcasts at school, set against the backdrop of WWI. Despite the Tolkien family publicly distancing themselves from the project, this promises to be an illuminating spotlight on the writer’s backstory.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 3 May
@ GFT from Fri 24 May
Jonah Hill / USA / 2018 / 85 mins
Jonah Hill’s directorial debut is a nostalgic love letter to the 90s. 13-year-old protagonist Stevie spends an eventful summer bouncing between the difficulties of a home life where he is terrorised by his bigger brother and the exuberance of a social life among “cool” new skateboard friends. Both bitingly funny and grittily realistic, it’s an ode to an age where half-pipes and baggy jeans were the be-all and end-all.
@ Filmhouse from Tue 7 May
Brady Corbet / USA / 2018 / 115 mins
Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman features as popstar Celeste in this fictional biopic. The film’s trailer and publicity images suggest references to Lady Gaga, the rise of social media stars, and the madness of America’s gun violence. Portman’s on-screen power alone is enough to make this film an exciting prospect, while its exploration of heavy themes add substance to the star quality.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 10 May
@ GFT from Fri 3 May
Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra / Colombia / 2018 / 126 mins
Oscar-nominated director Ciro Guerra comes again with this lavish and moving exploration into the origins of the Colombian drug trade. The film is set fifty years in the past, when marijuana still held dominance over other narcotics and cocaine had not yet enjoyed its rise to success. Beautiful, gripping and grim, this epic film places Colombia’s drugs problems in context, all the while tipping its hat to classics of the gangster genre.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 17 May
@ GFT from Fri 17 May
Jonathan Levine / USA / 2019 / 120 mins
Free-spirited journalist Fred (Seth Rogen) has very little in common with high-powered politician Charlotte (Charlize Theron), bar the fact that she babysat him a lifetime ago. After a chance reconnection, Charlotte hires Fred to serve as her speechwriter in her upcoming push for the US Presidential Election, leading to all kinds of mismatched shenanigans and clumsy hijinks. Firmly set in (but self-aware of) the canon of Rogen’s bungling endearment.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 17 May
Benedikt Erlingsson / Iceland, France, Ukraine / 2018 / 101 mins
Happy and upbeat choir conductor Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) is living a double life. On the one hand, she seems content in her role and keen to start a new family through adoption; on the other, she’s waging a private war against those she deems guilty of ruining the Earth’s environment. Known only in the media as “The Woman on the Mountainside”, Halla cuts a Joan of Arc-figure who must now balance the two sides of her character in this fierce and funny comedy-thriller.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 24 May
@ GFT from Fri 3 May