A-List celluloid: Films to watch over the next week

Ah, Christmas week. The week where studios release nothing because they're all terrified that people are too busy panic-buying to go and see the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, so cinemas showcase some classics. Alas.

However, let it not be said that I did not try. There is a new release on Boxing Day that looks good, plus some re-showings of classic films in cinemas over the coming weekend that aren't “It's A Wonderful Life” (alright, that's being re-shown too, but I refuse to write about it, so there).

47 Ronin (starring Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Samada)

Keanu Reeves' action output is always reliably entertaining, with the Matrix and Point Break being just two example. This looks interesting though, a fantastical retelling of the real life forty seven Ronin – a troup of 18 century samurai out to avenge their master's murderer. Keanu Reeves plays an outcast who's dragged back in to help them. Personally, they missed a tricked by not casting him as Ted Logan on another wacky time-travelling adventure, but I suppose things just don't go right for me sometimes. It's Samurais, it's action, it's Keanu Reeves' wooden face. What more could you want?

Release Date: Boxing Day at Vue Cinema http://www.myvue.com

Die Hard (starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman)

Do we even need to tell you why you absolutely have to see this film in the cinema? It's DIE HARD. Scream! - as John McClane swears a lot. Stifle! - your laughter as Alan Rickman chews the scenery into paper mache. Ooh! - as yet more explosions and gunfire distract you. Die Hard is the Christmas film for people who say they don't do Christmas. Get to your cinema and watch it.

Available At Vue Cinema from Friday 20 - yippie-ki-yay, [NO: Editor] http://www.myvue.com

Scrooged (starring Bill Murray, Karen Allen):

An (at-the-time) modern retelling of the famous Dickens tale – can you guess which one from the title? - this 1988 comedy replaces the miserly Scrooge with the equally miserly yuppie Frank Cross, played by Bill Murray. Considering the source material, I don't think I need to tell you what happens next. Blah blah ghosts blah blah error of ways blah blah “God bless us, every one”. It's a fun romp though, and a nice little modernisation of a story that so many adaptations keep jarringly faithful to. And hey, Bill Murray, he's always good for a laugh.

Available from December 19 at Eden Court Cinema https://www.eden-court.co.uk

FOR A FULL LIST OF UPCOMING FILMS, FEEL FREE TO SEARCH OUR EXTENSIVE LISTINGS...

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