Welcome to your latest essential round-up of the week's new releases. Out now in Cineworld: all-star fantasy adventures, gripping sci-fi road movies and lots more. Find out what's on and when.
The Huntsman: Winter's War
What's the story? Rival queens wage spectacular war in an action-packed Snow White prequel with Chris Hemsworth.
Long before that encounter with Snow White, Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is indisputably the most beautiful of them all. But the magic mirror reveals that her sister, Queen Freya (Emily Blunt), is to bear a child who will become even more attractive. This leads to a terrible betrayal that unleashes Freya's incredible powers.
With her heart hardened, she retreats to a stunning ice palace to raise an army of warriors. But two of her best fighters – Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain) – disobey her command never to fall in love.
Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, who created the amazing visual effects for Snow White and the Huntsman, and shot on location in the UK, this thrilling prequel pits the evil monarchs against one another in an incredible showdown of rival magic.
Click here to book your tickets for The Huntsman: Winter's War.
Midnight Special
What's the story? A father discovers his young son possesses extraordinary powers in this dazzling sci-fi adventure.
Roy (Michael Shannon) deeply loves his son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) – but Alton has a secret that soon puts both of them in danger.
The child has remarkable abilities that reach beyond human understanding, and soon Roy must go on the run from a dangerous religious sect headed up by Calvin Meyer (Sam Shephard). Scientist Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) is also in pursuit, believing the boy to be a dangerous weapon.
Fortunately, both father and son have staunch allies in the form of accomplice Lucas (Joel Edgerton) and the former's ex-wife Sarah (Kirsten Dunst). A thrilling adventure gets underway as the group attempt to get Alton to a safe haven.
Having drawn wide-eyed comparisons to the early movies of Steven Spielberg, this emotional and engrossing sci-fi movie is the latest striking work from indie darling Jeff Nichols, director of the acclaimed Mud and Take Shelter.
Click here to book your tickets for Midnight Special.
Hardcore Henry
What's the story? A man must rescue his wife from a band of mercenaries in this unique first-person action movie.
In this highly original movie, we see everything from the point of view of Henry, a soldier resurrected from the brink of death who remembers nothing about his old life.
Awoken by his wife (Haley Bennett) he soon finds himself being shot at before his wife is kidnapped. Held hostage by a group of mercenaries headed up by a warlord by the name of Akan (Danila Kozlovsky), Henry must fight to get her back.
This unique movie headlines Chappie star Sharlto Copley and is written and directed by newcomer Ilya Naishuller. The entire movie is shot as if it were a first-person-shooter game, making it one of the most immersive films ever made. You've never seen anything like Hardcore Henry.
Click here to book your tickets for Hardcore Henry.
The Man Who Knew Infinity (limited release)
What's the story? Dev Patel leads an all-star cast in the amazing true story of brilliant mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Born in Madras to poor, devoutly religious parents, Srinavasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) is a self-taught mathematics genius. His obsession brings ridicule and rejection from his peers, but the 25-year-old's life changes in 1913 when he writes to eminent Cambridge mathematician G.H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons).
The eccentric and somewhat curmudgeonly Hardy recognises the originality of this young man's insights and overcomes the racial prejudice and scepticism of his colleagues to bring Ramanujan to Trinity College to develop his ideas. This accessible, expertly constructed biopic reveals the unlikely friendship at the heart of a revolution in the way scientists understand and explain the world.
Dev Patel gets his best role since Slumdog Millionaire as the extraordinary prodigy, while Jeremy Irons is on superb form as his mentor. The outstanding supporting cast includes Stephen Fry, Toby Jones and Jeremy Northam.
Clic here to book your tickets.
Dheepan (limited)
What's the story? A powerful, award-winning drama about a former Tamil warrior making a new life with a fake family in France.
At the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, Tamil Tiger fighter Dheepan (Jesuthasan Antonythasan) helps to burn his comrades' bodies and disposes of his military fatigues. In a refugee camp, a young woman named Yalini (Kalieaswari Srinivasan) is searching for an orphaned child. She eventually finds a little girl named Illayaal (Claudine Vinasithamby). Together, these three strangers pose as a family to make a new home in Europe. But on arrival in France, they face a new set of challenges, from scratching a marginal living to dealing with the drug gangs who rule their rundown housing estate.
Jacques Audiard, French director of A Prophet and Rust and Bone, won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes last year for this moving, occasionally startling drama about a pretend family who slowly bond after exchanging one war zone for another. In Tamil, French and English with English subtitles.
Book your tickets for Dheepan.
The Passing (limited)
What's the story? Young lovers are rescued by a mysterious man with a secret in this atmospheric Welsh-language chiller.
Sara (Annes Elwy) and Iwan (Dyfan Dwyfor) are driving through the remote mountains of Wales when their car crashes into a ravine. Awkward loner Stanley (Mark Lewis Jones), who's lived an isolated life in this beautiful yet forbidding landscape for 50 years, drags the unconscious young couple from the wreckage.
As they recuperate back at his ramshackle farm, Iwan swiftly becomes suspicious of their saviour. Sara has an altogether different reaction. She begins to see Stanley as a vulnerable innocent and his farm as the idyllic Eden they've been seeking.
Gareth Bryn's confident feature debut reunites some of the talent behind the hit TV series Hinterland for a haunting, slow-burning drama that yields its secrets sparingly. It's inspired in part by the controversial real-life flooding of the Welsh village of Capel Celyn to create a reservoir.
Book your tickets for The Passing.
The Last Man on the Moon and Q&A
What's the story? The 1960s was an extraordinary time for the United States.
Unburdened by post-war reparations, Americans were preoccupied with other developments like NASA, the game-changing space programme that put Neil Armstrong on the moon.
Yet it was astronauts like Eugene Cernan who paved the uneven, perilous path to lunar exploration. A test pilot who lived to court danger, he was recruited along with 14 other men in a secretive process that saw them become the closest of friends and adversaries. In this intensely competitive environment, Cernan was one of only three men who was sent twice to the moon, with his second trip also being NASA's final lunar mission.
As he looks back at what he loved and lost during the eight years in Houston, an incomparably eventful life emerges into view. Director Mark Craig crafts a quietly epic biography that combines the rare insight of the surviving former astronauts with archival footage and otherworldly moonscapes.
Click here to book your tickets.
Theri (Tamil)
What's the story? Tamil star Vijay pulls off three stylish avatars in Atlee's emotional action movie.
Renowned for his recent multiple roles in the likes of Kaththi and Puli, Tamil star Vijay is set to delight his legions of fans with three separate characters in Theri. One role casts him as an ideal, doting father. In another, he plays a police officer.
This is director Atlee's follow-up to his award-winning 2013 debut feature, Raja Rani. He's been keen to keep plot details under wraps, but has said that the storyline explores the existence of evil. Adding glamour to the impressive ensemble cast are two leading ladies.
Appearing in only the first 30 minutes of the film, Samantha plays a doctor. Amy Jackson is cast as a schoolteacher. There's also an utterly charming performance by actress Meena's daughter Nainika, who plays the daughter of one of Vijay's characters. The music is by G. V. Prakash Kumar.
Thozha (Tamil)
What's the story? A wealthy disabled man forms an unlikely bond with an ex-convict in this moving Tamil drama.
Vikram Aditya (Akkineni Nagarjuna) is a quadriplegic multi-millionaire businessman who needs a new live-in caregiver. Together with his assistant Keerthi (Tamannaah), he interviews candidates. He's looking for someone who will add excitement to his dull and lonely life. But they all seem rather boring.
Then former jailbird Seenu (Karthi) walks in. He doesn't want the job, but just needs a signature to prove that he was interviewed and rejected so he can continue to receive benefits. Vikram takes an unexpected shine to Seenu and he's employed on a trial basis. It's not long before a warm friendship begins to develop between the blunt, under-privileged young man and his super-rich employer.
Shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, this powerfully emotional drama is an official remake of the acclaimed French blockbuster Untouchable. Music is by multiple award-winning Gopi Sunder.
Click here to book for Thozha.
Saka: The Martyrs of Nankana Sahib (Punjabi)
What's the story? A moving, epic true-life Punjabi historical tale of faith and courage.
In the early 20th century, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib is managed by the Mahant Narayan Das. But the Sikh community becomes increasingly concerned that the Mahant has become corrupted by money. Dissolute and wicked, he has been using the gurdwara premises for immoral activities.
On February 20, 1921, a peaceful protest is staged to demand the return of the gurdwara to the Sikh community. The Mahant responds by brutally massacring the protesters, with the support of the British.
Renowned for his balanced and respectful films about Sikh history such as Rise of the Khalsa and Martyrs, director Jagmeet Singh Samundri now turns his attention to this shocking incident. The drama explores how Nankana Sahib was finally freed from the clutches of Mahant Narayan Das. An impressive set of Nankana Sahib was constructed at Nihalgarh village near Phagwara especially for the shoot.
Click here to book your tickets.
Kali (Malayalam)
What's the story? Dulquer Salmaan stars as a man prone to violent rage in this visceral Malayalam thriller.
Siddharth (Dulquer Salmaan) and Anjali (Sai Pallavi) meet in college and soon fall in love. Against the wishes of their parents, the young couple get married and start a life together. Siddharth has an unfortunate habit of rubbing people up the wrong way, leading to outbursts of uncontrollable anger.
Anjali believes she can change his ways. But finally, she finds she can deal with his intense fury no longer and decides to move out. Siddharth offers to drive her home to Masinagudi. But along they way, he has a tussle with a lorry driver (Chemban Vinod Jose) that has terrifying consequences.
Director Sameer Thahir and star Dulquer Salmaan team up for a second time after the 2013 road movie hit Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi for this stylish thriller that builds a palpable sense of dread.
Click here to book your tickets.
Bolshoi Ballet 2015/16: Don Quixote (Sunday 10th April, 4pm)
What's the story? The Bolshoi Ballet presents their delightful staging of Cervantes' timeless story.
Eccentric hero Don Quixote has filled his head with stories about knights and chivalry. He's accompanied by his loyal squire Sancho Panza on a journey to make his name and also to discover his perfect woman. On their adventures, Don Quixote runs across the beautiful Kitri, an innkeeper's daughter, and becomes convinced that she is the woman he has been searching for.
Don Quixote is one of the most famous and influential stories in all of literature, and now the Bolshoi Ballet's staging of Cervantes' classic tale is broadcast in Cineworld live from Moscow. Alexei Fadeyechev's dazzling staging brings fresh life to this timeless tale, with Leon Minkus' thrilling score working in conjunction with Sergei Barkhin's imaginative sets and costumes based on 1903 sketches by Vasily Diyachkov. This is an unmissable treat for all fans of the ballet.
Book your tickets for Don Quixote.
Exhibition On Screen: Painting the Modern Garden – Monet to Matisse (Tuesday 12th April, 6.45pm)
What's the story?A fascinating look at how the humble garden has inspired our greatest artists.
Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Matisse... These are just three of the artistic masters who drew inspiration from the power of the garden. These great artists, along with many other famous names, feature in an innovative and extensive exhibition from The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Royal Academy, London.
Starting with the esteemed Monet and proceeding to examine the influence of the garden on his contemporaries, this enlightening exhibition is guided by fellow artists, gardeners and curators, taking audiences on a fascinating tour through expressive motifs, abstract colour, decorative design and utopian ideas.
This remarkable collection of Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and avant-garde artists of the early 20th century reveals the rise of the modern garden in popular culture and the public's enduring fascination with gardens today. Put simply: this is an unmissable treat for both fans of art and gardening.
Click here to book your tickets.
Which of the week's new releases will you be watching? Tweet us your choices @Cineworld.
