Silence (dir: Martin Scorsese, 2016, cert 15)
A new Scorsese film is always cause for celebration, but when it’s a three hour biblical epic based on one of the greatest and most thoughtful books of the twentieth century it’s time to really stand up and take notice. The book in question; Silence, written by Shūsaku Endō, has been adapted for the screen before by Masahiro Shinoda in 1971 and we humbly suggest you seek this incredible work out too. Scorsese’s vision is a technological masterpiece of sumptuous cinema but it can at times feel as if the audience have been forgotten and it certainly drags in places. However, the almost Kurtzian quest to find Liam Neeson’s apostate priest Ferreira is a beguiling spectacle that will live long in the memory. Be warned, there is some excruciating on screen violence.
Mon 13 Feb to Thu 16 Feb various times at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham

I, Daniel Blake (dir: Ken Loach, 2016, cert 15)
Loach is angry and so will you be after viewing the tribulations of the titular Daniel as he strives to negotiate the bureaucratic behemoth of state welfare. No sitting on the fence here and the message is certainly hammered home but when the rhetoric of the right wing press is likewise hammered into popular consciousness maybe it’s the only way. An important antidote to the vile class stereotyping so beloved of the Daily Mail and its ilk and the most relevant film you will have seen in the last 12 months. You have been told.
Mon 13 Feb 2.30pm, 6pm Thu 16 Feb 8.30pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £6.95 – £9.50 ticketing

South Pacific (dir: Joshua Logan, 1958, cert U)
For Valentine’s day the mac is laying on something very special. Two dinner date films for you and that significant other in your life. First up is a matinee screening of South Pacific followed by afternoon tea. Delightful. Three hours of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s finest musical, sandwiches, scones and a pot of tea. Keep talkin’ happy talk indeed, this event is £32 for two plus admission fee for the film.
Tue 14 Feb 1pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH £8 + £32 for meal for two option macbirmingham

When Harry Met Sally (dir: Rob Reiner, 1989, cert 15)
The second part of the mac’s Valentine’s double header is a screening of the ultimate romcom When Harry Met Sally complemented by a three course meal including anti-pasti style sharer, an Assiette of desserts and tea or coffee with macaroons. To set the appropriate romantic note for your meal there will be live piano accompaniment from local musician Piera. This event will cost £50 for two which includes admission to the film. We’ll have what you’re having.
Tue 14 Feb 8.45pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH £8 or £50 for two meal option (includes entry to film) macbirmingham

Dirty Dancing (dir: Emile Ardolino, 1987, cert 12A)
The Mockingbird has their own Valentine’s dinner date film evening with the ultimate chick flick, Dirty Dancing. Silly, cheesy, corny, some might say ridiculous. Yes it’s all those things, but whilst that litany of faults would sink most films in Dirty Dancing they inexplicably mix to generate a feel good movie like no other. 26 year old Jennifer Grey plays 17 year old ‘Baby’ and 34 year old Patric Swayze is the youthful and mysterious dance teacher Johnny Castle. Inappropriate? Nah course not. Every girl in the world wants to holiday at Kellerman’s resort in The Catskill Mountains. Roger Ebert may have called the film ‘idiotic’ but that hasn’t stopped it grossing over 200 million dollars world wide. For £29pp you can enjoy the film and a two course meal with a glass of prosecco.
Tue 14 Feb 4pm, 6.45pm, 8.45pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £4.95 or £29pp for meal option (includes entry to film) mockingbird

Moonlight (dir: Barry Jenkins, 2017, cert 15)
A heavyweight Oscar contender with 8 nominations, Barry Jenkins universally acclaimed drama is a powerhouse film of identity and sexuality that resonates with a heavy piquancy in these intolerant times. The ensemble cast is nothing short of astonishing with Trevante Rhodes’ performance as a gay black man adrift in an unaccepting culture being the highlight. The film swerves the sickly sentimentality that could dull its power and instead focuses unerringly on the fraught and fragile existence that living a lie begets. Moonlight is only Jenkins’ second feature and his first in 8 years, he is an exceptional and challenging talent. Moving and essential cinema.
Wed 15 Feb 8.30pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £9.50 ticketing

My Bloody Valentine (dir: George Mihalka, 1981, cert 15)
If Valentine’s week has been nothing more than a painful trudge through a mountain of saccharine slush then come and join Harry Warden aka The Miner as he engages in some imaginatively murderous hi-jinks in this Canadian entry into the eighties slasher genre. No Cupid’s arrow here just Harry’s very sharp pick. He warned them not to restart the St. Valentine’s Dance again and what do they do? It may have been twenty years since the last one but The Miner is still angry. Ten kills later, of which our favourite is impalement by shower head with pick axe to the eye a close second, and Harry’s revenge is complete. As an added bonus the documentary Tax Shelter Terrors that explores Canadian cult film will also be screened.
Fri 17 Feb 8.30pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £5 ticketing

Arrival (dir: Denis Villeneuve, 2016, cert 12A)
That rarest of things a grown up sci-fi film that nurtures and encourages thought and imagination, with a compelling narrative and intelligently implemented CGI effects. In short, a film that respects its audience. What if the future of humanity rested on the interpretation of a word or phrase? A fascinating examination of language, speech and ideas. Amy Adams is exceptional as linguist Louise Banks and her non-nomination for an Academy Award is astonishing. Be warned your head, mind and probably whole consciousness may be spinning by the end. The version being screened contains eight minutes of bonus footage.
Fri 17 Feb to Tue 21 Feb various times at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £6.95 to £9.50 ticketing

Goonies (Dir. Richard Donner 1985 Cert. 12)
Is it possible to ever tire of Chunk doing the truffle shuffle? I doubt it. Rollicking high jinks in one of the greatest teen adventure yarns ever filmed. Expect a nostalgia overload and the urge to go rummaging for treasure maps in the attic to overwhelm you.
Sat 18 Feb 1.30pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (dir: John Hughes, 1986, 12A)
John Hughes was the king of eighties comedy and in the wish fulfillment of Ferris Bueller, played by Matthew Broderick, struck a nerve with college kids everywhere looking to bunk off and have fun. Throughout Broderick breaks the fourth wall, our favourite movie conceit, to chat conspiratorially with the audience and offer advice on truancy. Who wouldn’t want to lie to their head teacher if it meant driving around Chicago in a Ferrari Spyder sightseeing. Engaging, innocent (was the eighties really so fresh faced and cute?) and sweet.
Sun 19 Feb 1.30pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham

La Grande Illusion (dir: Jean Renoir, 1937, cert U)
On the eve of the world plunging headlong into another world war Jean Renoir released this anti-war classic, which was immediately banned in Germany and Italy with Joseph Goebbels declaring it as ‘cinematic public enemy number one’.  As recommendations go they don’t come any better. Jean Gabin excels as world weary aviator Maréchal, shot down and struggling towards an uncertain future as was the world itself. An exquisite and vital piece of cinema whose clinical stare into the rancorous pit of creeping fascism sadly still resonates today. Part of The Cinematic Time Machine season.
Sun 19 Feb 12pm at The Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 theelectric