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Home , Baby Driver, Baz Luhrmann, Casey Affleck, Christopher Nolan, Damien Chazelle, Edgar Wright

Gatwick’s Definitive Guide to In-flight Movies

CURATED BY RENOWNED FILM CRITIC We’ve teamed up with renowned film critic Mark Kermode to hand pick the best flicks showing on your next long- haul flight. With hundreds of in-flight movies available, we’ve taken the pain out of choosing what to watch with this handy guide. Whether you’re looking for action, romance or comedy, Mark’s got the lowdown on exactly what you should watch as you take to the skies.

Mark Kermode is a film critic, author and musician. He broadcasts on BBC Radio and Television, and is chief film critic for newspaper. He has written several books on film- criticism and cinema, including It’s Only a Movie and Hatchet Job. He plays double-bass in The Dodge , a skiffle band who provide live musical accompaniment to silent films.

“Watching movies is one of the great pleasures of flying. What better to catch up on the latest releases or to revisit an old favourite? Even long-haul journeys can fly by if you pick the right film. And as everyone knows, there’s something about being on a plane that can amplify the emotional impact of a film – provoking unexpected laughter or tears. So, sit back and let transport you to another world – and before you know it, you’ll be arriving at your destination.” – Mark Kermode FILMS TO KEEP YOU AWAKE...

Whether you’re travelling back in time zones or are just too excited about your holiday to sleep, check out my selection of films that are guaranteed to keep you alert and awake. From nail-biting thrillers to psychological mysteries and action- packed adventures, these flicks will help you keep your seat in the upright position.

THE ACCOUNTANT AMERICAN SNIPER MY COUSIN RACHEL The title sounds unbelievably boring, Adapted from the autobiography of The mercurial keeps but this thriller is actually Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who racked audiences on their toes with her a pacey action-adventure packed with up more than 160 confirmed kills as fabulously ambiguous portrait of the punch-ups, shoot-outs and fanciful a marksman in , ’s titular widow. Adapted from Daphne twists aplenty. The combination of bleak drama returns to ’s Du Maurier’s slippery 1951 novel number-crunching and bone-cracking thorny themes of guns and retribution (first filmed in 1952, with Olivia de may not always gel, but director Gavin in tensely cinematic fashion. It’s Havilland in the lead), Roger Michell’s O’Connor moves things along swiftly disturbing viewing, delivered in saucily subversive dark romance enough to cover over the cracks. Eastwood’s trademark stripped-back blends old-fashioned costumed Certificate: 12 style. intrigue with lustily modern thrills. Certificate: 15 Certificate: 12 THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN A terrific performance by Emily Blunt keeps this adaptation of Paula director Director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Hawkins’ best-seller on the right puts the pedal to the metal in this Gadot breathe new life into the DC track. She is excellent as the alcoholic rip-roaring car-chase movie with Comics character, turning her into a Rachel who glimpses something a musical twist. is the commanding screen who sinister behind a picturesque façade getaway driver who orchestrates can beat the boys at the box-office. of blissful homes and gardens. Some his life to carefully chosen playlists. From her hidden island home of fans of the novel objected to the Think An American in meets Themyscira to the battlefields of location change (from London to The French Connection, or Walter WWI, Diana is a force of nature New York) but Blunt never puts a foot Hill’s as remade by Baz - sharp, strong, and resolutely wrong. Luhrmann. Thrillingly cinematic stuff! unshackled. Certificate: 12 Certificate: 15 Certificate: 12

BLACK SWAN KONG: SKULL ISLAND won a well-deserved Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts made reprises the role of Best Actress Oscar for her role in this his name with the indie-treat The in the third instalment of deliriously overcooked ballet-based Kings of Summer, and somehow ’s ‘Dark Knight’ psychodrama from director Darren manages to leave his quirky stamp trilogy – an exhilarating conclusion Aronofsky. Influences range from on this blockbuster behemoth. Riffs to this monolithic screen reinvention Argento’s to Powell and from Apocalypse Now and nods to of the comic-book (anti)hero. Special Pressburger’s The Red Shoes via Cannibal Holocaust litter the screen plaudits to Wally Cronenberg’s The Fly. It’s a whirling as a helicopter squadron Pfister for whom solid storytelling dervish of a movie which will leave crosses paths with the giant ape. always lies at the heart of true your head in a spin – in a good way! Certificate: 12 spectacle. Certificate: 15 Certificate: 12

INCEPTION The story may be all about sleep, but Christopher Nolan’s brilliant fantasy will keep you wide awake as dream warriors venture into the mind of their prey. Combining the action of a Bond movie with the intricate mind-games of Memento, this is essentially ‘On Her Majesty’s Psychiatric Service’ – a superb combination of spectacle, and suspense. Certificate: 12 FILMS TO HELP YOU RELAX...

For many travellers, a long-haul flight is a chance to unwind – to escape from the down-to-earth stresses of everyday life. Whether it’s the reassurance of a popcorn blockbuster or the comforting laughter of a reliable comedy, here are some films to help you switch off, sit back and enjoy the flight.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND AVATAR BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WHERE TO FIND THEM Variously dubbed ‘Smurfahontas’ or The show-stopping songs which The much-loved Harry Potter series ‘FernGully In Space’ by sniffy critics made Disney’s 1991 animation such may have come to an end, but you (like me!), ’s sci-fi epic a treat are joyfully reprised in this can rest easy in the knowledge that is a strange blend of the stunning live-action . Watson is there’s more where that came from. and the silly. Yet there’s no denying Belle to ’ Beast, while the Series regular helms the crowd-pleasing power of this majestic excels as JK Rowling’s script with reassuring spectacular adventure, which became Mrs Potts. The cartoon may remain confidence. is an one of the biggest selling movies of a high water-mark, but ’s eccentrically engaging lead, while the all time. Thankfully on the plane, you movie has won over a new generation likes of , Ezra Miller don’t have to worry about 3D specs! of young fans. and Carmen Ejogo add supporting Certificate: 12 Certificate: PG heft. Certificate: 12 AUSTIN POWERS IN GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY GOLDMEMBER VOL 2 If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This third Put aside any worries about this Could any film live up to the glowing instalment in the spy-spoof series sequel to the surprise 2014 fantasy five-stars reviews heaped upon offers up the usual cocktail of retro hit falling short of the mark. Director ’s whirlwind 21st naffness and fnar-fnar gags, with Mike may not have topped century musical? Delightfully, the Myers playing Austin Powers, Dr Evil, the original, but he’s remained true answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ Forget Fat B*stard, and the titular Dutch to its anarchic pop-punk spirit. Kurt your cares as the director of Whiplash super-villain. “Smoke and a pancake? Russell has a ball as the intergalactic transports you to a swoon-filled world Pipe and a crepe? Bong and a blintz? egotist who makes ’s Peter of music and romance. Guaranteed to No? Then there is no pleasing you!” Quill seem positively humble. put a smile on your face and a spring Certificate: 12 Certificate: 12 in your step. Certificate: 12 BAYWATCH Few things are more reliably relaxing fans who cringed their than watching banana-coloured way through the abominable Dirty This gem may minions make madcap slapstick Grandpa can heave a huge sigh of be typically tightly wound and mayhem. From the opening titles relief; this spoof TV spin-off may be choreographed to within an inch of to the closing credits, they work no masterpiece, but it’s a lot more fun its life (the ghosts of Lubitsch and their gobbledegook magic, taking than anyone had a right to expect. Hitchcock loom large), but it is also your mind off all forms of stress and Dwayne Johnson picks up the baton the director’s funniest and most anxiety. Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig from , cementing elegantly bittersweet film in years. and provide the big name his reputation as everyone’s favourite is in roaring form as M voices, but co-director and babbler- wrestler-turned-actor. Gustav, charismatic concierge of the in-chief Pierre Coffin is the real hero. Certificate: 15 titular establishment. Certificate: U Certificate: 15

MAN OF STEEL The makes this super-hero origins movie look like an intense study of (in)human frailty – always the most intriguing aspect of the story. But don’t worry – having teased out some those darker themes, this abandons gripping subtlety for soporific action, which may well put your brain into sleep mode. Certificate: 12 FILMS TO TUG AT THE HEARTSTRINGS...

One of the great guilty pleasures of watching an in-flight movie is surrendering to the heightened emotions engendered by air travel. From cockle-warming family films to stirring prison-dramas, moving sci-fi fantasies and tear-jerking melodramas, here are the movies that may leave a little something in your eye.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: EDWARD SCISSORHANDS picked up a Best Actor RODRICK RULES ’s timeless fairytale of a Oscar for his portrayal of a broken The first three ‘Wimpy Kid’ movies goth-haired outsider shunned by man struggling to pick up the pieces (of which this is the second) were a ‘normal’ people can be read as a of his life in the wake of tragedy. delight, faithfully transferring the quasi-autobiographical fable – a fact Writer-director childish charms of Jeff Kinney’s which makes it all the more moving. (who also earned an Academy books to the screen, and reminding has never been better, Award) fulfils the promise of You us of the joys of the well-made ‘family the pathos of his performance Can Count on Me and Margaret with film’. Watch this with a smile - and enhanced by Danny Elfman’s spine- this heart-wrenching tale of loss and then weep at how rubbish the recent tingling score. redemption. fourth instalment turned out to be! Certificate: 12 Certificate: 15 Certificate: U THEIR FINEST ARRIVAL Christopher Nolan’s may Rarely has science-fiction wielded may be best known have set the pulse racing, but the kind of emotional punch packed as a horror writer, but this prison Lone Scherfig’s low-key wartime by ’s superb first- drama (adapted by dramedy (from Lissa Evans’ book) contact flick, brilliantly adapted from King’s story ‘Rita Hayworth is an altogether more sentimental, from Ted Chiang’s ‘Story of Your and Shawshank Redemption’) is nostalgic affair. Gemma Arterton is Life’. Adams is fabulous as the widely recognised as one of the in winning form as the linguist wrestling with the spectre most life-affirming, spirit-lifting penning morale-boosting tales of bereavement whose life is turned movies ever made. Honey-voiced of British pluck for the Ministry of upside down as she learns an is our inmate Information. language. narrator, whose belief that ‘hope is Certificate: 12 Certificate: 12 a dangerous thing’ is challenged by ’ stoical Andy Dufresne. LOGAN JOY Certificate: 15 A melancholy character-study The story of a woman who invents masquerading as an ultra-violent the ‘miracle mop’ hardly sounds like a super-hero movie, this is unlike any recipe for emotional highs and lows. F Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece first X-Men flick you’ve seen before. Hugh Yet , reteaming hit the screen in 1926 as a black- Jackman is terrifically moving as the with Silver Linings Playbook/ and-white with Warner washed-up Wolverine, caring for the American Hustle director David Baxter in the lead. Since then, the ailing Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). O. Russell, makes you care more likes of Alan Ladd, There will be blood, but there will about the changing fortunes of a and now Leonardo DiCaprio have also be tears. self-wringing floor-cleaner than you played the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. Certificate: 15 would have ever thought possible. ’s frenetic film adds a Really. modern twist, but the story remains Certificate: 12 immutable and irresistible. Certificate: 12 TITANIC In cinemas, James Cameron’s multiple Oscar-winner left me cold. But having sat next to someone on a long-haul flight who cried through this disaster weepie, I am painfully aware of its tear-jerking powers. and Leonardo DiCaprio are the star-crossed lovers, but it’s a scenery-chewing Billy Zane who has the measure of Cameron’s over-ripe melodrama. Certificate: 12