Check out what's showing at cinemas across the region...

THE DRAMA CERT 15 (106 mins)
Released Fri 3 April
Starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Hailey Gates, Zoë Winters  
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli

At the time of writing, The Drama’s producers are keeping their cards pretty close to their chest when it comes to their film’s storyline... The official synopsis is short and sweet: A happily engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.

That ‘unexpected turn’ is a disclosure of some kind by Zendaya’s character, Emma. Film fans have been busy online speculating about its nature. Theories include that she’s maybe transgender or possibly a psychopath; or that she’d once planned a school shooting but didn’t go through with it. 

Publicity for the film has been interesting, with the producers posting an official RSVP for the couple’s wedding. They’ve also taken the step of uploading a wedding website - charlieandemmaforever.com - which explains how the pair met, features a helpful FAQ section about their forthcoming wedding, and even includes some handy information about ‘things to do in Boston’ while you’re in town for the big day.  
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are two of Hollywood’s hottest properties right now, so it’s fair to assume that The Drama is set to do some serious business at the box office. 

​THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE CERT PG (98 mins)
Released Wed 1 April
With the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Benny Safdie, Brie Larson
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic

This second Super Mario Bros cinematic outing has been inspired by the 2007 space-themed Nintendo Wii game Super Mario Galaxy and its 2010 sequel.

And if the success of the first Super Mario Bros film, in 2023, is anything to go by, Galaxy Movie is set for a spectacular payday at the box office - the previous release earned a staggering $1.36billion worldwide. 
Having last time out helped to save the Mushroom Kingdom from dragon-turtle arch-nemesis Bowser, lead characters Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad now head into space and find themselves in conflict with Bowser’s son. Guardians Of The Galaxy and Jurassic World star Chris Pratt returns to voice Mario.  

FUZE CERT 15 (98 mins)
Released Fri 3 April
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Naveed Khan
Directed by David Mackenzie

Fresh from a modest critical success (but box-office bomb-out) with Relay - a clever riff on the paranoid thrillers of the 1970s - Scottish director David Mackenzie turns his attention to the heist-movie genre. 
When London construction workers discover an unexploded World War Two bomb - leading to thousands of local residents being forced to evacuate for fear of its detonation - a team of military experts led by Major Will Tranter (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are sent in to bring the situation under control. In the prevailing chaos, a band of ne’er-do-wells set about the business of pulling off an elaborate precision heist. But not everything is quite as it seems... 

FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER CERT 12a (110 mins)
Released Fri 10 April
Starring Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps
Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Veteran indie director Jim Jarmusch makes a welcome return with a movie that won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. 

Presented in the form of a triptych, Father Mother Sister Brother focuses on the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parents, and one another. 

“I was trying to accumulate things that would build to something without you noticing,” Jarmusch told Indiewire, in talking about the film. “So that the third story, it would reach a kind of emotional - not a dramatically emotional thing - but reach a kind of emotional moment.”
Reviews have generally been favourable.

YOU, ME & TUSCANY CERT 12a (104 mins)
Released Fri 10 April
Starring Regé-Jean Page, Halle Bailey, Marco Calvani, Aziza Scott, Isabella Ferrari, Stefania Casinij
Directed by Kat Coiro

One little lie, one large Italian villa, and two people getting lost in the sauce of love. That’s the line with which the producers of You, Me & Tuscany are aiming to tempt romantic- comedy lovers to check out their movie. 

Halle Bailey stars as Anna, a young woman down on her luck - until, that is, she has a chance encounter with Matteo, a handsome Italian who happens to have a villa sitting empty in Tuscany. Inspired to jet off to Italy, Anna’s plan to crash at Matteo’s villa, without permission, falls apart when his mother unexpectedly shows up at the house. In a panic, Anna allows her to believe that she is Matteo’s fiancée... 

Her little lie becomes a big problem, though, when Matteo’s cousin Michael shows up, and Anna discovers that the heat between them may ignite a fire that will transform her life...

REBUILDING CERT tbc (96 mins)
Released Fri 17 April
Starring Josh O’Connor, Meghann Fahy, Amy Madigan, Lily LaTorre, Kali Reis, Zeilyanna Martinez
Directed by Max Walker-Silverman

A ruminative and moving exploration of resilience and human connection in the wake of loss, Rebuilding follows the fortunes of the downtrodden Dusty, a divorced father whose ranch has burned down in a wildfire. Now living in a trailer community on a government-run campsite - and finding solace with his neighbours, who have also lost everything - he quietly sets about the task of reassembling his life, gradually reconnecting with his former wife and estranged daughter...
Released in the US pre-Christmas, Rebuilding has met with a broadly positive response from the critics, with Josh O’Connor’s performance as Dusty being widely praised. 

THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN CERT tbc (152 mins)
Released Fri 17 April
Starring Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, Will Keen, Jeffrey Wright 
Directed by Olivier Assayas

For a certain generation of cinemagoers, Jude Law will always be the heartthrob star of movies like The Holiday and Alfie. So if you’re among those who best remember him that way, it might be a little tricky to imagine him not only playing Vladimir Putin but by all accounts being pretty impressive at it. Law’s performance garnered plenty of critical acclaim when The Wizard Of The Kremlin showed at the Venice Film Festival -  which is more than can be said for the actual movie itself. Indeed, reaction was so lukewarm that its producers subsequently struggled to secure US distribution, the film’s bacon eventually being saved by Vertical Entertainment. Still, if you want positive proof that Jude has plenty more to offer than a pretty face, check it out. Telling the story of Putin’s rise to power, it runs for 150 minutes and also stars Paul Dano, who, like Jude, emerges from proceedings with his reputation intact.

MICHAEL CERT tbc (130 mins)
Released Wed 22 April
Starring Jaafar Jackson, Juliano Valdi, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Kendrick Sampson
Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Jaafar Jackson takes on the role of his late superstar uncle in this biographical drama, widely believed to be the first of two movies recounting the singer’s life and career. 

The film is being produced by Graham King, whose previous projects include Bohemian Rhapsody. 
“Michael’s life was complicated,” King told Variety. “As a filmmaker, I look to humanise but not sanitise, present the most compelling, unbiased story I can capture in a single feature film, and let the audience decide how they feel after watching it.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the controversies that swirl around the Michael Jackson story, not everybody is of the opinion that the movie is unsanitised - including Jackson’s own daughter, Paris. Taking to her Instagram Stories to comment on both the film and Hollywood biopics in general, she wrote: “The narrative is being controlled, and there’s a lot of inaccuracy, and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies. At the end of the day, that doesn’t really fly with me. I don’t really like dishonesty. I spoke up. I wasn’t heard. I f*cked off. That’s it. Y’all are gonna like the f*cking movie. So just go watch it. Go enjoy it. Do whatever. Leave me out of it.”