Hello, and welcome to the Geeky Brummie Film Roundup! Each week we run through the biggest new cinema releases and why you should be excited for them. This week: posh people, ramblers, rockers and demons…
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these movies yet so all of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Downton Abbey is one of those massive British institutions that has, for the most part, passed me by entirely. As you’re probably already aware, it’s a period drama set during the early 20th century, centred on the titular stately home and the wealthy family that runs it, as well as their less wealthy servants. The series itself ran from 2010 to 2015, and this is actually the third film it has spawned after 2019’s Downton Abbey and 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era. As the title would suggest, this is intended to bring the saga to a close.
The Grand Finale sees Mary (Michelle Dockery) face a public scandal when her divorce hits the papers, leaving the rest of the Crawleys to deal with social disgrace and consider passing the Abbey on to the next generation. The usual cast are back, including Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, Laura Carmichael and Jim Carter, plus some bigger names like Dominic West and Paul Giamatti. Given the profile of the show and the need to stick the landing, expect some lavish sets and costumes which will no doubt look stunning on the big screen.
I don’t think I need to sell you too much on this one – fans of the series will no doubt love this, and will want to see how it ends. If you haven’t watched the series then a lot of the film will probably be lost on you, but it looks like the story is self-contained enough that you’d get the gist.
- Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale on IMDB
- Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale on Rotten Tomatoes
The Long Walk
Based on the 1979 novel by Stephen King (published under his pen name Richard Bachman), The Long Walk is set in a dystopian America where a group of teenagers take part in the titular perambulation – an annual contest where the last man walking wins a big cash prize. The catch is that they must maintain a speed of above 3mph – if they drop below that they get a warning, and after the third warning they get shot. In other words: it’s Speed, but on foot…
Some of the cast taking on the afternoon stroll from Hell include Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus) and Ben Wang (Karate Kid: Legends). There’s also Mark Hamill as the Major – the military leader running the show – and Judy Greer as the mother of Hoffman’s protagonist Raymond Garraty. Behind the camera is Francis Lawrence – best known for directing the Hunger Games films, so no stranger to a dystopian teen drama.
This looks tense and intense, with the slow desperate trudge gradually taking its toll on the boys physically, mentally and emotionally over the course of the film’s near two hour runtime. Stephen King adaptations are famously either brilliant or terrible, and this does not look terrible – at the time of writing it has 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. It should be well worth a walk to the cinema.
- The Long Walk on IMDB
- The Long Walk on Rotten Tomatoes
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Four decades after the classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) are back to prove that this series goes all the way to II. Once again directed by Rob Reiner, both on screen (as documentarian Marti DiBergi) and off, The End Continues follows the band as they are roped into doing a reunion gig when An Evening With Stormy Daniels is cancelled at the last minute.
The original film is a true comedy classic, and there are promising signs that this will do it justice. The fact that the original cast are returning is a great start, but there are some solid musical cameos appearing in the trailer too including Questlove (refusing to step in as the band’s drummer for fear of his life), Elton John and Paul McCartney. Also joining the cast are Chris Addison and Kerry Godliman as studio execs trying to help resuscitate the band’s image in the least helpful way possible. Clearly, Spinal Tap themselves won’t have as much energy as they used to, so expect some musings on the effect of old age on the rock’n’roll lifestyle and the challenges of staying relevant in a young man’s game.
Whether you’re a fan of the original or just want to catch a comedy that balances quotable lines with heartfelt nostalgia for the golden years of classic metal, this should be a wonderfully entertaining time.
- Spinal Tap II on IMDB
- Spinal Tap II on Rotten Tomatoes
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle
This is the second film this week based on a TV show, although it couldn’t be more different from Downton Abbey. Demon Slayer is a hugely popular anime series, following Tanjiro Kamado – a boy who starts hunting demons after his sister is turned into one. It has (so far) run for four seasons from 2019 to 2024, and spawned several movies including Mugen Train, To The Swordsmith Village and To The Hashira Village. Mugen Train in particular was a phenomenal success – it was the highest grossing film in 2020, and despite coming out during the pandemic when many cinemas were shut, remains the highest grossing Japanese film of all time, the highest grossing anime of all time and the highest grossing R-rated animated film of all time.
Infinity Castle is the first of an intended new trilogy telling the Infinity Castle story arc from the manga that the anime is based on, and is already following closely on Mugen Train’s heels with over $300 million in box office takings even before it’s hit the western markets. The plot here sees Tanjiro and his demon hunting colleagues transported to the Infinity Castle – the stronghold of the demons – to face off against some powerful enemies. Expect some thrilling action scenes and trippy animation.
This is of course a must-see for fans of the anime show, and newcomers to the franchise will likely enjoy it too. And if you’re busy this weekend, why not come and see it at the MAC as part of Birmingham Anime Film Festival on Wednesday 1 October?
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle on IMDB
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
Amble to the cinema to see The Long Walk.
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
Trailer of the week
A new film starring Mads Mikkelsen is always an exciting prospect, and Dust Bunny is a particularly intriguing one. Mikkelsen plays a hitman who is hired by a little girl to kill the monster under her bed that took her parents. But were they killed by literal monsters, or figurative ones? The trailer contains enough flights of fantasy to suggest that it could be either. With Sigourney Weaver and David Dastmalchian also in the cast, these questions may or may not be answered when the film hits cinemas in December…
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