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Cinema/DVD Release DVD Release


HOT TUB TIME The Cazalets


THE highly-acclaimed BBC drama series The Cazalets, starring great British act- ing talents Hugh Bonneville (Downtown Abbey) and Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral), comes to DVD for the first time since its on- screen release in 2001 courtesy of Second Sight. Based on the best-selling nov-


els by Elizabeth Jane Howard, this compelling saga delves into family life during the turmoil of war. The all-star cast also includes Stephen Dillane (Game Of Thrones), Lesley Manville (Maleficent) and Joanna Page (Gavin And Stacey). The Cazalets follows the lives of a large, privileged family transformed by the outbreak of World War II. As storm clouds gather over Eu- rope, the family’s three genera- tions retreat to their country estatewhere the trials and trib- ulations of life play out against the backdrop of war. Births, Deaths, marriages, secrets and intrigue test their stoic British restraint and re- silience, as the country and family are fractured by horrors of the escalating conflict. This BBC adaptation is a poignant portrayal of one family’s life during wartime Britain.


MACHINE 2 (15) SINCE the first film, child- hood pals Lou (Rob Cord- dry), Adam (John Cusack) and Nick (Craig Robinson) have exploited the mystical whirlpool for personal gain. Lou has amassed a fortune of 2.3 billion US dollars as frontman of rock band Mot- ley Lou and inventor of the search engine Lougle. Adam courted celebrity with his novel Jacuzzi Timelord then retreated from the limelight (Cusack doesn’t appear), while Nick has become a chart-topping singer-song- writer by plagiarising songs that haven’t been composed yet. The flimsy plot kicks into pedestrian first gear at Lou’s annual party where the boorish host torments his son Jacob (Clark Duke) and assorted guests. A crash of thunder causes a brief power outage and someone uses the cover of darkness to shoot off Lou’s man- hood. Nick and Jacob drag the wounded billionaire to the hot tub, add a vial of nitrotrinadium to power the device and prepare to travel back to before the ill- fated shindig. Their prime suspects for the shooting include Lou’s enraged wife Kelly (Collette Wolfe), dis- gruntled childhood friend Gary Winkle (Jason Jones) and Lougle employee Brad (Kumail Nanjiani). Unex- pectedly, the trio slingshot forwards in time to March 26, 2025, where they join forces with Adam’s goofy son (Adam Scott) to unravel the mystery. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is a lumbering litany of toilet humour in- cluding a generous spray of bodily fluids. Rating: Nought stars


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CINEMAWORLD


the odd couple. The Duff is a heartfelt and frequently hi- larious traipse through teen- age angst, anchored by a lu- minous central performance from Whitman. Rating: Four stars


THE DUFF: Skyler Samuels, Bianca A. Santos and Mae Whitman star WOMANINGOLD


(12A) AT THE turn of the 20th cen- tury, industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer (Henry Good- man) commissions artist Gustav Klimt to paint his wife Adele (Antje Traue), who dies a few years later. The glitter- ing canvas hangs in the fam- ily apartment in Vienna until Nazis invade and seize works of art as well as precious trinkets. Ferdinand leaves the country before the border shutdown, but his brother Gustav (Allan Corduner), his wife Therese (Nina Kunzen- dorf), their daughter Maria (Tatiana Maslany) and her opera singer husband Fritz (Max Irons) are not so fortu- nate. Maria and Fritz orches- trate a daring escape, leaving behind loved ones to a grim fate, while the iconic painting hangs in the Belvedere Gal- lery in the Austrian capital. In 1998, Maria (now played


Powerful story is retold on screen


TESTAMENT of Youth, the in- credible true story of a young woman’s memoir of the First World War will be showing at The Riverfront from Monday, April 13 to Wednesday, April 15. A powerful coming-of-age story based on Vera Brittain’s beloved book, which tells of the strug- gle of her generation, the story begins in the Edwardian spring of 1914 with Vera, a feisty young woman, determined to sit exams in Oxford. Inspired by her brother Edward and his friends, particu- larly Roland Leighton, a poet who has set his sights for Oxford too, Vera’s dreams are robbed from her as the First World War breaks out and the men in her life are en- listed for war. Vera gives up on her dream of writing and becomes a nurse aid-


ing soldiers while swapping let- ters and poems with Roland. Anyone who has read the mem-


oir will know that the next four years for Vera are full of consol- ing lies, empty words and the deaths of loved ones that she held dear to her. She is the voice of a lost genera-


tion, with an extraordinary spirit showing the consequences for women in the First World War. Directed by James Kent, Testa-


ment of Youth is bursting with intelligent performances as well as being beautifully shot, provid- ing an audience with a traumatic, bitter and utterly heart-breaking drama that tastefully commemo- rates the FirstWorldWar, starring Alicia Vikander, Emily Watson and Taron Egerton. Call 01633 656757 for tickets.


by Helen Mirren) attempts to reclaim the canvas, aided by idealistic lawyer Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds). Inspired by Maria’s resolve, Randol risks his job at a top California law firmto pursue the case, which everyone, in- cluding senior partner Sher- man (Charles Dance), tells him is unwinnable. Austrian investigative reporter Huber- tus Czernin (Daniel Bruhl) pledges support but warns Maria and Randol to expect defeat. Woman In Gold deftly moves back and forth be- tween the two timelines to establish Maria’s tragic past and her claim on the paint- ing.


Rating: Three stars


THEDUFF (12A) BIANCA (Mae Whitman) at- tends parties with her best friends Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca A Santos), oblivious to the fact that she is


the D.U.F.F. – Designated Ugly Fat Friend – of her close-knit social circle. When her next- door neighbour, hunky ath- lete Wesley (Robbie Amell), who is dating the school’s queen bee Madison (Bella Thorne), opens Bianca’s eyes to the upsetting truth, she resolves to transform from an ugly duckling in order to land a date with her dream beau, Toby (Nick Eversman). Bianca recruits Wesley to pol- ish her rough edges and in return, she improves his aca- demic grades so he can secure a sports scholarship. With en- couragement from her sassy mother (Allison Janney), Bianca realises that even the most beautiful girls at school are someone’s D.U.F.F. and she shouldn’t be defined by a cruel label. Meanwhile, Madi- son grows jealous of Bianca’s friendship with Wesley and dispatches her acolyte Cait- lyn (Rebecca Weil) to spy on


JOHNWICK (15) HITMAN John Wick (Keanu Reeves) holsters his weapons for good to marry his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan). Shortly after terminal ill- ness upends the fairy tale, John receives a present from his wife: an adorable beagle puppy called Daisy and a note which reads: “I have found my peace, now find yours.” The assassin comes to terms with his loss through his bond with the animal. One night, Russian playboy Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his underlings (Omer Barnea, Toby Leonard Moore) break into John’s home, beat him to a pulp and kill Daisy. This act of senseless brutality fuels John’s lust for revenge and he hunts down Iosef, ignor- ing the fact that his target is the son of powerful mob boss Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist). John dismisses Vig- go’s pleas for leniency so the kingpin puts a two million US dollar bounty on the hitman’s head, piquing the interest of rival killers Marcus (Willem Dafoe) and Ms Perkins (Adri- anne Palicki). Meanwhile, John takes up lodgings at a hotel called the Continental, which caters for assassins and won’t allowmurder on its premises. John Wick recog- nises its strength and plays to them with wry humour. Rating: Three stars


Cinema


TestamentofYouth (12A)


Monday13, Tuesday 14 April, 7.45pm & Wednesday15April 1pm &7.45pm


2hrs 9mins


21 7.45pm, Wednesday 22 April1pm &7.45pm


£5.50, reductions £5.00


or book four films in one booking and see them all forjust£16!


Join the cinema emaillistand receiveregular updatesabout The RiverfrontCinema by signing up at:


www.newport.gov.uk/ theriverfront


FILM: Testament of Youth


Book NoW: 01633 656757


Monday 20,Tuesday


Whiplash(15) 1hrs 37 mins


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