S NRELEEW ASEH S RI
CANDYMAN
IN I EMAS CIN
In Cinemas : Aug 27th Director : Nia DaCosta Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Dare You Say His Name? The iconic 90’s horror is back with ‘Get Out’ director Jordan Peele on writing duty. Yahya AbdulMateen II plays Anthony McCoy, a character we met as a baby in the original film, who learns about the tragically horrific nature behind the Candyman story.
THE COURIER
FREE GUY
In Cinemas : Aug 13th Director : Dominic Cooke Cast : Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan, Jessie Buckley Benedict Cumberbatch & Irish actress Jessie Buckley star in ‘The Courier’, the true story of British businessman Greville Wynne, who was recruited by American spies to smuggle information on the KGB and ended up involved in one of the greatest international conflicts in history.
In Cinemas : Aug 13th Director : Shawn Levy Cast : Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi Ryan Reynolds plays Guy, a normal man who spends his entire existence blissfully unaware that he’s actually a nonplayer character in an open world video game.
S NRELEEW ASEH RIS
IN I EMAS CIN
REMINISCENCE In Cinemas : Aug 18th Director : Lisa Joy Cast : Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Daniel Wu
BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL In Cinemas : Aug 6th Director : Chris Baugh Cast : Jack Rowan, John Lynch, Louisa Harland, Nigel O'Neill This comedy horror from Northern Ireland film-makers Chris Baugh & Brendan Mullen, sees a crew of road workers in a small Irish village disturb the resting place of an ancient vampire called Abhartach, forcing them to deal with the horror it unleashes.
Set in the near future, where Miami has flooded due to rising water levels, ‘Westworld' cocreator Lisa Joy’s debut film stars Hugh Jackman as a private investigator, who is able to use memory technology invented for the war to help people access memories, or to help them relive happier times.
OUR LADIES
In Cinemas : Aug 27th Director : Michael Caton-Jones Cast : Tallulah Greive 'Our Ladies' is a British comingof-age film, based on the Alan Warner book 'The Sopranos' (a title that couldn't be used for obvious reasons). It follows a group of Catholic school girls at a choir competition, who are more interested in partying than singing.
I Y L ON
E N I NC
M
G U A AS
3 1 T US
S NRELEEW ASEH RIS
IN I EMAS CIN
REDEMPTION OF A ROGUE In Cinemas : Aug 27th Director : Philip Doherty Cast : Aisling O’Mara, Kieran Roche, Kevin McGahern
PEOPLE JUST DO NOTHING: BIG IN JAPAN In Cinemas : Aug 18th Director : Jack Clough Cast : Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, Asim Chaudhry
A spin-off of the hilarious TV series 'People Just Do Nothing' sees the original cast fly to Japan when they discover that one of their tracks has been used on a popular game show.
This multi award-winning Irish comedy follows Jimmy, played by Cavan native Aaron Monaghan, on his road to salvation. After returning to his hometown to visit his ailing father and seek redemption, Jimmy embarks on a sacrificial and outlandish journey to rid himself of his guilt and shame from the past.
JUNGLE CRUISE
Release Date : Out Now Director : Jaume Collet-Serra Cast : Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jesse Plemons Intrepid adventurer Lily (Emily Blunt) is searching for a flower with mystical healing properties that only exists in the Amazon jungle. She enlists jungle guide Frank (Dwayne Johnson) to guide her through the dangerous waters.
RYAN JODIE LIL REL REYNOLDS COMER HOWERY
UTKARSH AMBUDKAR
JOE KEERY
AND
TAIKA WAITITI
LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO BE A BACKGROUND CHARACTER
IN CINEMAS AUGUST 13 WHERE AVAILABLE
20thCenturyIE 20thCenturyUK PROPERTY OF 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS. PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY. SALE, DUPLICATION OR OTHER TRANSFER OF THIS MATERIAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
#FREEGUY
SPIRIT UNTAMED
In Cinemas : Out Now! Director : Elaine Bogan Cast : Isabela Merced, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mckenna Grace Dreamworks animation brings us an epic new family adventure for Spirit and his family of wild horses. When Lucky Prescott moves from the city to a small frontier town her life changes forever when she befriends the infamous wild mustang.
WILD FIRE
ABOUT THIS ISSUE
Your copy of Movies Plus magazine is printed using a safe, environmentally friendly, water based varnish that protects from up to 99.99% known bacteria, viruses and germs, including the Corona Virus family. For more information visit printprotection.ie
READ MORE ONLINE
In Cinemas : Sept 3rd Director : Cathy Brady Cast : Nora-Jane Noone, Nika McGuigan Nominated for six IFTA awards, 'Wild Fire' is the story of two close sisters, who are torn apart over the mystery of their mother’s death.
MOVIES.IE Some release dates may change, keep an eye on Movies.ie website for the latest movie news, trailers, interviews & features.
KURUPTING CINEMAS AUGust 18 KURUPTMOVIE.IE
BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NOVEL BY JOJO MOYES FELICITY
JONES
CALLUM
TURNER
JOE
ALWYN
NABHAAN
RIZWAN
SHAILENE
AND WOODLEY
“GORGEOUS...DELIRIOUSLY ROMANTIC”
★★★★ HEAT
“A GLAMOROUS ADAPTATION THAT’S SURE TO BECOME A CLASSIC” RED
ONLY IN CINEMAS - FROM AUGUST 6
THE BRIGHT SIDE Interview with director Ruth Meehan
Inspired by Anne Gildea’s best-selling book 'I’ve Got Cancer, What’s Your Excuse'? THE BRIGHT SIDE is a new dramedy about the healing power of love, laughter & friendship. The film is inspired by Anne Gildea's book ‘I've Got Cancer, What's Your Excuse? and your own experience of loss. How did the two come together? As I was reading Anne’s book I was struck by the honesty of Anne's account of her experience and the irreverence. I was laughing at stuff that you're thinking; how can I be laughing at this? My sister, who I'd lost, had a quirky, funny, black sense of humour. I felt like it was something she would love, so it connected me to her in a funny way... Anne admitted that she had been in a dark place when she got her cancer diagnosis. Wow, I just thought: a character who has lost the will to live and then receives the news that they are sick. It is complex - people do want to live and yet, at the same time, can be in a very dark place. It was
an enormous creative challenge because the main character does not want to be here, and so every obstacle that you can think of is put in her way. I contacted Jean and said maybe we could develop a story around this idea of a standup comedian who doesn't want to be here who gets a cancer diagnosis. The three of us, Anne, Jean, and I created the other characters in the story, but we did lean heavily on the material in the book. Kate is a complex character to play. How did you know Gemma-Leah Devereux was up for the task? We took a year to find her. The character I envisaged was older than Gemma-Leah is, and I saw her as a blonde, but when I saw her tape, I knew she was the right ac-
tor. I never doubted for a moment after that. She brought the character to life in a different form, and all that mattered to me was that the character had power behind her versatility. I have an intuitive style of working, and I follow my gut. I hadn't seen Gemma-Leah in anything before, I'd never directed a feature film, she hadn't been the lead in anything. We were carrying a load in terms of how wrong that can go. We knew what the stakes were, but we had a level of trust. We decided to go for it 100%. We knew if it went horribly wrong that we would have given 100%, so we'd go down blazing. It is a female story, driven by these amazing female characters and then we have three female writers working on it. How important do you think it is that female filmmakers tell films like this? I think it's vital. I'm delighted to see that we have three films, Irish films, with central female characters and made by women coming out soon. We have our film, Cathy Brady's Wildfire, Herself, and Deadly Cuts. It's interesting because there is a feminine perspective that can be equally expressed by men and a masculine perspective that women can equally express. It's almost like, you share your perspective with the world. The audience can get a sense of getting a better menu of perspectives. If there are women behind the camera, behind the storytelling, there are more comprehensive options of how we look at things, not to say one is better or worse, just to say that that's enriching as far as I'm concerned for everyone. It's poverty for us if there's not a rich spread of diversity. I am talking across the board
IN MAS E CIN
G AU0th 2
- colour, race, gender. The greater the diversity of perspectives, the richer we all are. What do you want audiences to take from the film? It has power for me. I can feel it in my solar plexus. I don't need people to have the same experience that I have, but I would like them to have an experience. I want them to absorb it, to engage with it. I feel it is life-affirming, but it may be devastating to some people at times. I hope people feel that it mirrors our ability to engage with pain and control it. I wouldn't try to prescribe any experience, but I hope that if there is an emotional truth in the film that will be received by whoever is watching, it is engaging and fulfilling in some way. Interview by Cara O'Doherty
INTERVIEW With Augustine Frizzell What made you take on the adaption of Last Letter from your Lover? I was looking for something that just felt cozy and comfortable and reminiscent of some of my favorite comfort movies. I read the script & I was in tears. It was so beautiful and so heartbreaking. I learned who author Jojo Moyes was, I had never read any of her books before and I read this book, and it was just so beautiful. I had a personal connection, my husband and I courted via letters. We started writing on-
line as friends. That grew into sending handwritten letters and care packages and on CDs. His way with words drew me to him, and he is so poetic. I fell in love like that, so I thought it was like a version of our love story. This is essentially two films in one – we have the past with Shailene's character and the present with Felicity’s. What where the logistics of filming? We shot all Shailene’s stuff in Morocco,
which doubles for the French Riviera. We shot all that first, and then we came back to London where we did all Felicity's stuff. We had one or two days of overlap because, for instance for the newsroom, we reuse the same location. We shot the modern stuff there first and then, did a complete overhaul and turned it into 1965, a newsroom with smoke and the old typewriters, it was brilliant. It was an interesting
THE LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER Based on the best selling novel by Jojo Moyes, ‘The Last Letter From Your Lover’ is an ambitious film that intertwines two stories, over two different time periods. When a journalist finds a trove of love letters from the 1960s, she finds herself trying to solve the mystery of a secret affair. We caught up with director Augustine Frizzell to talk about the challenges of filming two different love stories set over two different decades. way of going about a film shoot but I loved it because I always like making movies and making two movies in one was such a bonus. How did you create the gorgeous 1960s aesthetic? It was a lot of research and very collaborative with my production designer, James Merifield. He came in and interviewed, and all his pictures were like what I had in my look book. He instantly got what I was going for, and it was same with Anna, the costume designer. She
came in and had a lot of great thoughts about how to approach it. I have a lot of movie references that I loved. There's the one movie called ‘Last Year at Marienbad’ where all the costumes are designed by Chanel, and I really want to do something like that. The soundtrack is a fabulous mix of recognizable 1960s & lesser-known songs, did you curate the songs? They were all my picks. When I read
the scripts, the first thing I ever do is put together a playlist. A lot of the songs that were on that playlist ended up making it into the movie. I just spent countless hours combing through and finding the songs that just felt right for the scenes. It's so specific, you can go through 100 songs and any one of them might work, but might not feel exactly right. It was a lot of work digging on Spotify and getting into these deep holes
critique actors help them find the scene. I can help them find their way into the material. I know to talk and work with actors.
IN MAS E CIN
G U A 6th
searching, listening, and trying to discover something new. I did have this amazing music supervisor who tracked down these crazy obscure recording artists. There is a bit of music that plays just after Anthony reads a letter from Jennifer, & I really wanted it. It's not a song, just music. Finding that musician was super hard, and my music supervisor was reaching out on Facebook and writing these crazy emails. It was quite a collaborative effort.
You are an actor as well as a director. Did your two sides ever argue about what was best for a scene? I'm not a good actor. I love doing that because it was so terrifying and thrilling. I have horrific stage fright. I took acting classes to try & get over my stage fright and found this love for the thrill of it. I utilize things that I learned in acting class to better approach actors & hope that all my training and all the years that I spend watching my teachers
JoJo Moyes last book to film adaptation, ‘Me Before You’, was a huge success. Do you feel the weight of that success? I think it is good to have that pushing you and making sure that you're doing your best job. I feel like I have that anyway, like anytime you're approaching any material you want it to be the best it can be because, credits roll, and my name is the first one that pops up. I needed to do everything I can to make sure that this turns out well, but I think everyone on board, Felicity, Shailene, all the guys, we all had the same goal of making something that we were passionate about and really loved. We weren't trying to satisfy people, but we just wanted to make the best work that we all could. Interview by Cara O'Doherty
IN
CINEMAS 27 TH AUGUST
One of Ireland’s brightest new acting talents Niamh Algar has already worked with A-list directors like Ridley Scott, Shane Meadows and Guy Ritchie. This month she appears in ‘Censor’, a psychological horror about a film censor who links a disturbing video nasty to her sister's mysterious disappearance. Censor is an absolutely terrifying film with such a fascinating concept, and part of a dark history of cinema that I didn't know about until I actually saw this film… That was like me, I didn't know about this part of history until I got sent the script and then went down a rabbit hole of research. So, my education into the video nasty worlds was through this project. You worked with an actual censor who had worked during that time, what was that like? Obviously, there was a serious amount of sexism towards women and a lot of these films were incredibly exploitive, and the way in which women were being portrayed and treated. I can only imagine that it's an incredibly difficult situation to be in at that time, but also in it as a woman in a man's world. She’s not only dealing with her own her own personal struggles, but also the struggles of having her voice heard in a very male dominated industry.
R O S N E C
vulnerable, and where you choose to show that vulnerability, and it's fascinating as an actor because it has to be truthful, but it also, you can't show her vulnerability in places where you wouldn't expect. She's so buttoned up and reserved and held together and that there's these milestones and particular events within the story. One particular event is when she sees ‘Don’t Go Into the Church’ for the first time and how this is the catalyst of what unravels her. It is so fun to Your character is fascinating, play a character that is depicting both strong & vulnerable at the something like psychological distorsame time. What was it like figur- tion, especially with a female that ing out that duality? we haven't seen done before and Yeah, it's incredible to play somehow you could present that to an one who is guarded, but yet audience. And for me that is, it was
INTERVIEW WITH IRISH
ACTRESS
NIAMH ALGAR all challenging, but also, I feel so, so rewarded, like, so much of my job is just researching a character. And I got to do so much research leading up to this. I imagine that a lot of it was highly informative and interesting, especially for that time period? You know, for her, it's childhood trauma and how that manifests into adolescence and how Enid is dealing with who she truly is. And if you were to keep on picking away at your surface, what lies beneath? Is it something that you are going to be able to handle? Or is it something scarier than what you've ever imagined and what I love so much about this film is that it's seeped in this atmosphere of the Earth and something that we shouldn't see.
You've been a part of several productions like ‘Vikings’ & ‘Raised By Wolves’ that are quite gory & tense. How was this experience? Because there's some, some innovative and inventive gore in this film. I see the behind the scenes and I know it's not real and there was so much fun involved in the movies within the movies, Prano created our own video nasties, a lot of the stuff that you see is from video analyses, IN MAS this was such an E enjoyable expeCIN rience. Interview by Graham Day
G AU0th 2
In Cinemas 6th August
THE
E D I C I U S SQUAD
‘The Suicide Squad’ from the horribly beautiful mind of director James Gunn, features a collection of the most degenerate delinquents in the DC comics line-up including Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), King Shark (Sylvester Stallone) & everyone’s favourite psycho, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). We were lucky enough to attend a recent press conference with almost the entire Squad in attendance and it turned out to be as wild & zany as the movie - even with a cast that big the attention focused closely on one cast member… John Cena and a certain part of his body, that was showcased a lot in the film. Idris Elba called it “ John’s tighty whitey scene”, Cena took the opportunity to thank director James Gunn for using a filter to enhance his anatomy, “My demands were to keep the costume and I wanted him to use a filter on my d**k and he did both.” Not many filmmakers have the freedom to go so wacky or take such huge risks on big budget
comic-book adaptations, but for Gunn it was one of the appeals of making the movie. “I really did feel a huge responsibility to people to do it the best I could, because I was being given so much freedom, I felt the responsibility to take risks. Making movies at this level, it does seem like big movies are the ones people are going to see in theatres, and if movies don’t continue to take risks, and change and try new things then people will not want to come to the theatres. If it’s the same boring structure every time, people are going to get bored. I felt grateful, I felt a sense of magic, I felt a sense of purpose and a sense of almost destiny the whole time we were making the movie.”
IN MAS E CIN
! W O
N
Gunn previously directed Marvel’s ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ movies, so has a history of taking obscure comic book characters and turning them into household names, but with 100’s of DC villains to choose from he explains how he went about choosing characters to join the new Suicide Squad. “I selected them all in very different ways, I knew there were some past stories I needed to tell and there were some characters like Harley who I wanted to put in the movie and Boomer and these characters that I liked a lot and a lot of good actors that played them. Then there were other characters like Polka-Dot man and I really wanted to use a character who was thought of as a lame supervillain. I literally put into Google who is the dumbest super villain of all time, and Polka-Dot man always came up near the top. Being able to take a character like that and then give him heart was fun for me, I love Rats, so Ratcatcher was an easy one.
I wrote Bloodsport for Idris Elba, I wanted to work with him; I wanted Idris to star in this movie. So it wasn’t a matter so much of who the character was, it was let’s find a character who is obscure who can build his own cinematic creations for Idris. So every character was different.” One of the zaniest new characters introduced in the film is King Shark, voiced by Sylvester Stallone. “I’m a big fan of seafood, so I was offered this and thought oh well, how do I pass it. I would have preferred to play a grouper but I’ll take what I can get,” revealed Stallone about playing the larger than life CGI shark. “I like that he is on a high protein diet, I think he’s more intelligible than I am. He has less of a slur. We bonded instantly…. I owe you one James, the next Rambo you are the first victim.” Words : Graham Day
THE LOW-DOWN ON
SHANG CHI
IN MAS E CIN
PT E S 3rd
SHANG CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS The 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 'Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings' stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organisation. A master of not only Kung Fu but all manner of martial arts and weapon disciplines, Shang-Chi fought his way through the 1970s in Marvel’s hugely popular comic book.
THE TEN RINGS
Abomination
The Ten Rings were introduced in 'Iron Man', the very first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, back in 2008. The Ten Rings were the group responsible for Tony Stark’s capture in the desert. They also returned in ‘Iron Man 2’ to aid Mickey Rourke’s character Ivan Vanko.
The latest ‘Shang-Chi’ trailer revealed the surprise return of Abomination to Marvel films. It has been 13 years since we last saw the iconic, larger than life villain in 2008’s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ with Edward Norton playing the role of Bruce Banner/Hulk.
¾
Shang-Chi’s origins began when Marvel tried to licence a comic adaptation of the hit 70’s TV series ‘Kung Fu’ starring David Carradine. Sadly Marvel failed to secure the rights, so they went with Plan B, making their own Kung Fu superhero instead.
73
Shang-Chi first appeared in 1973 in issue 15 of the “Special Marvel Edition” comic. Due to the character's instant success the comic’s title changed from issue 17 to “The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu”.
12
In the comics Shang-Chi’s father was originally Dr. Fu Manchu, a fictional villain licensed by Marvel, who featured in many other formats since 1912, including TV, books & cinema. This controversial character was played on screen by many actors over the years, including Nicolas Cage & Christopher Lee.
LEE MEETS LEE
SHONG CHEE ONLINE HERO
During the 1980s, Marvel legend Stan Lee met with actor Brandon Lee, (no relation!) to discuss a potential film or TV series based on Shang-Chi. Brandon's father, martial arts star Bruce Lee, was the visual inspiration when drawing Shang-Chi in the 70s. Earlier this year, ‘Shang Chi’ star Simu Liu took to Twitter to school us on how to properly pronounce his character’s name. It doesn’t rhyme with the ’Shang’ of Shanghai as you may assume, instead its pronounced “SHONG-Chee.” So on September 3rd when you're buying your ticket at the cinema, you’ll know what to ask for!
Simu Liu campaigned online to play the role of Shang-Chi, long before a film was even announced. In 2014 the actor tweeted “Hey, Marvel. Great job with Captain America and Thor. Now how about an Asian-American hero? ” Then four years later, when Marvel finally announced a ShangChi movie, he continued “Okay, Marvel. Shall we talk or what? Six months later Simu was officially cast in the role!
WHERE AVAILABLE
WHERE AVAILABLE
now now €
€
“THIS YEAR’S GET OUT” UNILAD