This week, in cinemas: Ange and Brad keep it in the family with By The Sea, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler keep it in the (fictional) family with Sisters; and Lily Tomlin keeps it in the (dysfunctional multigenerational) family in Grandma.
By The Sea
★★☆☆☆
What it’s about: For her third directorial effort – a romantic period drama set in France – Angelina Jolie Pitt has scored something of a casting coup. Not only has she managed to cast Brad Pitt in the lead, she was able to get Angelina Jolie Pitt, too. A stroke of luck that they were both available.
What we thought: “lacks any real spark”.
Sisters
What it’s about: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler: SNL alumni, comedy superstars, bezzie mates, three-time Golden Globe hosts, memoir-writers – and now fictional sisters. In this latest collaboration, the pair party like it’s still 1999, with one last hurrah in their family home. Expect cameos from the likes of Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Bobby Moynihan - and John Cena, this year's most unlikely breakout comedy star.
What we thought: Our review for Sisters is still under embargo, and will appear on the site soon.
Grandma
★★★★☆
What it’s about: Lily Tomlin’s first lead role in nearly 20 years is a stunning return to form. She plays the titular Granny, a matriarch prone to violence, cursing, and all-round cantankerousness, as she roams around town in search of abortion money for her granddaughter. A gently funny Sundance hit.
What we thought: “easily Paul Weitz’ best film since About A Boy, and may be even tighter and smarter than that”.
Hector
★★★☆☆
What it’s about: Peter Mullan (the subject of an Empire karaoke tradition – all explained in this week’s Empire Podcast) stars as a homeless pensioner who hitchhikes his way from Glasgow to London for a shelter at Christmas. More heartwarming and less bleak than you might expect from that synopsis.
What we thought: “Mullan’s exceptional; the film warm, unfussy and moving.”