In the wake of Marvel’s Doctor Strange and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we’re starting to see Oscar season warm up with two films opening this week that are wriggling on the fish hook in front of the Academy. We’ve also got Billy Bob Thornton being crude and drunk for our Christmas amusement, the director of Drive dividing audiences once again, and even Frodo returns to a cinema.
Here’s what’s playing in Kiwi cinemas this week…
The Big Releases
Allied | Find Movie Times Near You
Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) teams up with screenwriter Steven Knight (Locke) for this war drama starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
Bad Santa 2 | Find Movie Times Near You
Foul-mouthed alcoholic mall-Santa Billy Bob Thornton returns after Terry Zwigoff’s hilarious 2003 black comedy.
The Founder | Find Movie Times Near You
Michael Keaton (Birdman) leads this true story drama as Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois who made McDonald’s a global phenomenon.
Trolls | Advance Screenings This Weekend
DreamWorks’ animated family flick is playing all around the country this weekend. And why not dance to that catchy JT song and win yourself a year of movies?
The Small Releases
The Neon Demon | Find Movie Times Near You
Elle Fanning leads this modeling thriller from filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives) as an aspiring model who moves to Los Angeles where her youth, vitality, and naivety make her the target of others in the industry.
Sky On Fire | Find Movie Times (Auckland Only)
Vital stem cell research runs the risk of falling into the wrong hands in this Chinese crime thriller from Ringo Lam.
Dear Zindagi | Find Movie Times Near You
Indian romantic drama starring Alia Bhatt as an aspiring filmmaker navigating relationships while relying on the help of her therapist.
Classics & One-Offs
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 8.00pm, Friday 25th Nov. @ Event Newmarket (AK)
Peter Jackson made a pretty OK movie back in 2001. He then made two more.
A Nightmare on Elm Street | 8.30pm, Friday 25th Nov. @ Deluxe Cinemas (CHCH)
Wes Craven’s classic 1984 horror about a repulsive, flame-ravaged figure with razor-sharp appendages who suddenly appears in the dreams of four Los Angeles teenagers.
The Last Ocean | 8.30pm, Wednesday 30th Nov. @ Matakana Cinemas (AKLD)
Before he made Christchurch repair doco The Art of Recovery, Kiwi filmmaker Peter Young headed this conservationist case against the relentless fishing in the Antarctic Ross Sea.
