Die Hard
Although it's more than half a year until Christmas, you can get in the mood with one of the best holiday action classics, Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis. The sequels have never come close to matching the taut thrills of the first film of the franchise. When her wife is taken as a hostage by terrorists who plan to steal 600 million dollars locked in the high-tech safe of the Nakatomi Corporation tower, New York cop John McLane decides to fight back and wipe out the bad guys. The first Die Hard is, without a doubt, still one of the best action films of all time: a witty hero, kick-ass action scenes, and of course an excellent bad guy. Yippee-ki-yay, thrill-seekers!
Where to watch:Original audio (English) with Hungarian subtitles at Corvin Cinema. For screening times go to Port or Corvin Cinema's website.
Cousin Angelica
Carlos Saura did not study under Buñuel for nothing. By the 1970s, he was already a world-renowned director, and although recognition brought him a certain degree of protection, his 1974 film Cousin Angelica stirred up a huge storm in Spain. The scandal had already broken at the Cannes Film Festival, where masked youths broke in and stole the two rolls of film. The Spanish conservative press were rife with reports of foreign conspiracies to besmirch the honour of Spain. Yet despite this, Saura's hero does little more than reminisce on his childhood at the start of the Spanish Civil War - as if a stitch in time has sucked him back into a city and family in the grip of this dramatic period.
Where to watch:April 13, 7pm at Palace Of Arts. Original audio (Spanish), Hungarian subtitles.
More to be read at MüPa's homepage.
Duel
An alternative Jaws where the great white shark is replaced with a huge, rusted tanker truck – that pretty much summarises Steven Spielberg's debut film, Duel. Dennis Weaver (David Mann) is driving down a deserted Southern California highway when he passes the aforementioned truck. The driver of the truck feels like Weaver is challenging him to a duel and starts to aggressively pursue the poor salesman along narrow stretches of road with steep cliffs on one side. A nail-biting thriller with outstanding cinematography and fantastic sound. Make sure you put your seatbelt on before the film starts!
April 22, 6pm at Puskin Art Cinema. Original audio (English), Hungarian subtitles.
Scarface
If there is a cult classic gangster film it is, without a doubt, director Brian de Palma's and star actor Al Pacino's ultra-violent, stylised, haunting, garishly ghoulish drama, Scarface. The director deconstructs the American Dream into a $1000 nightmare, centred around the rise and fall of Tony Montana, an exiled Cuban criminal who becomes the leader of Florida's crime chain. De Palma's urban shocker does not lack graphic violence but it's the memorable dialogues, John A. Alonzo's cinematography and Al Pacino's stellar performance that make this film so powerful even after 30 years.
April 23, 6pm at Puskin Art Cinema. Original audio (English), Hungarian subtitles.
The New Girlfriend
Francois Ozon's humorous psychological drama The New Girlfriend stars Anais Demoustier as Claire, a young woman whose closest friend since childhood, Lea, passes away leaving behind a husband, David (Romain Duris) and a newborn baby. One day she drops by David's house unexpectedly, and finds him dressed in his dead wife's clothes and feeding their baby with a bottle. He explains that Lea was well aware of his predilection, and eventually, so relieved that he has someone to share his secret with, David and Claire create a female persona for him named Virginia. As David begins to identify more strongly as Virginia, this leads to confusing and conflicting feelings in Claire, and causes a rift between Claire and her husband (Raphael Personnaz).
Original audio (French), Hungarian subtitles at the following cinemas: Művész Art Cinema, Puskin Art Cinema and Toldi Cinema.
For screening times go to Port or Cinema City.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
After the first film, founders of the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) and Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel), start to think about expansion and soon they find the perfect place: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel! But things start to get more complicated after the purchase... What's good about the sequel to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is that everybody knows his/her role. Like the first film, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel isn't too soapy or dramatic, has enough funny scenes to keep you smiling until the credits start to roll and all the older actors like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, yet again deliver a delightful performance. If you liked the first one, chances are you'll like this film too.
Original audio (English), Hungarian subtitles at the following cinemas: Allee, Aréna, Westend, MOM Park, Mammut and Campona.
For screening times go to Port or Cinema City.
Insurgent
The second part of The Divergent series, Insurgent raises the stakes for Tris (Shailene Woodley) as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. She and Four (Theo James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Kate Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. It's a race against time to find out the truth. Although Insurgent is a bit like a B-category version of The Hungar Games, by adding more depth and character development, this film has certainly evolved.
Original audio (English), Hungarian subtitles at the following cinemas:
Aréna, Westend, MOM Park.
For screening times go to Port or Cinema City.
La escopeta nacional
Anyone who caught Luis García Berlanga's previous film in the series, The Executioner, will not be surprised to discover that La escopeta nacional ("The National Shotgun" in English) is an unrelentingly grotesque yet utterly surreal work of art. The film is the first in a vitriolic "national" trilogy to be later followed by The National Heritage and National III. The films explore the legitimacy of the Franco dictatorship that came to an end in 1975, and also whether the era really did come to a close given that the state of mind that accepts and recognises dictatorship does not change from one day to the next. Against this background, Luis García Berlanga attempts to reveal the many ways in which power, aristocracy, the church and 'business as usual' are interconnected.
April 27, 7pm at Palace Of Arts. Original audio (Spanish), Hungarian subtitles.
More to be read at MüPa's homepage.
The Duke Of Burgundy
"Stylish, sensual, and smart The Duke of Burgundy proves that erotic cinema can have genuine substance,” says Rotten Tomatoes, just one of the film review sites saying that the film lives up to expectations. A sensual, dark melodrama, which is more about the romantic than the sexual relationship, it delves into the process and thoughts behind bending ourselves to make one person happy.
Pre-premiere screenings as part of the 22nd Titanic International Film Festival. Then in cinemas, although the list of cinemas screening it are not yet confirmed. Check Port regularly. Original audio (English), Hungarian subtitles.Fast & Furious 7
What do we expect from the Fast & Furious franchise? Over-the-top thrills, souped-up cars, stripped-down story, outlandish stunts and in the end, a bit of emotion. We get all these things from the latest offering too, this time directed by James Wan. In the seventh instalment of the series, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) seeks revenge for the death of his brother (which took place in the previous film). This means that the others in the crew, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O' Conner (Paul Walker), are in for one more race too – but this time, their life is at stake. Making the film's ending even more emotional is that actor Paul Walker himself died in a car accident in 2013, and the film makes a touching tribute to this, which is well-worth seeing.
Original audio (English), Hungarian subtitles at the following cinemas:
Aréna, MOM Park. For screening times go to Port (the special screenings are marked with 'ER') or Cinema City.
