Christmas has come early for Unlimited members: we've got not one but two exciting preview screenings this December. If you haven't yet joined Unlimited and are getting serious FOMO, scroll to the end of this post and sign up to start capitalising on all the Unlimited goodness.
Godzilla Minus One (previewing on December 11th)
The 37th Godzilla movie returns the classic Kaiju franchise to its roots. It's the 33rd movie to be produced by the original Godzilla studio Toho and focuses on post-war Japan's recovery from the horrifying impact of the atomic bomb. However, Japanese citizens soon discover they have other things to worry about when the gargantuan Godzilla emerges from the atomic wreckage to cause havoc.
Godzilla Minus One was released in Japan to celebrate the Godzilla franchise's 70th anniversary. It's since been acclaimed as one of the finest films in the decades-long series, with Matt Schley of The Japan Times stating it "evokes the original film more than any Godzilla film since the ’50s". The movie is directed by the renowned filmmaker and special effects artist Takashi Yamazaki whose biggest hits include Space Battleship Yamato (2010) and The Great War of Archimedes (2019).
Yamazaki is steeped in the history of the franchise and has revealed that his biggest influence is Shusuke Kaneko's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001). Long-standing Godzilla fans are sure to get a kick out of such deep cuts and the cast is populated with a host of talented young Japanese stars including Ryunosuke Kamiki, the voice behind many Studio Ghibli productions, and Minami Hamabe (Shin Kamen Rider).
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One Life (previewing on December 17th)
Anthony Hopkins is being lined up for his third Oscar for this stirring and powerful World War II drama that's based on true events. Hopkins portrays Nicholas Winton, the British humanitarian who helped evacuate Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. Winton's daring achievement was dubbed the 'kindertransport' but he never sought attention for his achievements. Instead, he kept it under wraps until, many decades later, Winton's story was brought to wider public attention on Esther Rantzen's TV show That's Life.
With Hopkins playing the older Winton, Johnny Flynn plays the character's younger iteration and there's an all-star supporting cast of familiar British faces including Jonathan Pryce (who starred with Hopkins in The Two Popes) and Harry Potter's Helena Bonham Carter. Hopkins' ability to portray quiet dignity and selflessness has generated unanimous acclaim: The Independent's Hamish McBain describes it as "Hopkins' best film", adding, "This is a superb performance: one in which Hopkins, as Nicholas Winton, imbues every frame he is in with warmth and wit and sadness and charming British eccentricity. He switches effortlessly between moments of genuine, laugh-out-loud levity (including a wonderful use of ‘twit’ when describing a newspaper editor) and what are by far the most moving scenes in any film this year.
"Honestly, anyone who doesn’t blub their way through the entire last half an hour should be checked for a pulse on the way out."
Want to treat yourselves to all the latest preview screenings? Join Cineworld Unlimited: it pays for itself in less than two visits per month and brings with it lots of other exciting benefits.
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