Regal Cinema Melton: Film guide February 4 to 11 - Melton Times

The Lady in the Van (12A) Maggie Smith reprises the role she played in Alan Bennett’s hit stage play as the elderly Miss Shepherd, a lady who occupied a decrepit Bedford van parked in Bennett’s Camden Town driveway for some 15 years. Having directed the play, Nicholas Hytner (The Crucible, The Madness Of King George) now helms Bennett’s screen adaptation to delightful, multilayered effect. Miss Shepherd is no slave to personal hygiene or polite diplomacy. Smith’s wonderful take on this cantankerous English eccentric is well matched by Alex Jennings, who plays Bennett as he becomes Miss Shepherd’s somewhat bemused benefactor and astringent observer. Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour and James Corden (star of Bennett’s The History Boys) also add considerably to this joyous, socially contemplative comedy drama. Today at 8.45pm, Friday at 6pm and Sunday at 7.45pm.

The Danish Girl (15) Following his Oscars triumph, Eddie Redmayne turns in another extraordinary performance in a story based on real events. With the encouragement of his artist wife Gerda (Vikander, Testament Of Youth), Einar Wegener (Redmayne) began a groundbreaking process of gender transition in the 1930s to become Lili Elbe. Friday at 8.30pm, Saturday at 5.30pm, Sunday at 5pm, Mondayand Wednesday at 8.45pm, Tuesday at 2pm and 5pm, and Thursday at 6pm.

The Good Dinosaur (PG) In an ancient alternative universe we meet a young Apatosaurus called Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). He befriends Spot (Jack Bright), a lonely cave-dwelling tot. The pair overcome adversity as they travel through the wild and mysterious landscape. Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 2.30pm.

In The Heart Of The Sea (15) This spectacular tale depicts the thrilling real-life events that inspired Moby-Dick. It follows the crew of the Essex, a whaling ship from Nantucket that was sunk by a vengeful whale in 1820. In their desperate search for safety, the crew must brave storms, starvation and panic. Saturday at 8.15pm and Monday and Wednesday at 6pm.

Bridge Of Spies (12A) Steven Spielberg’s gripping latest tells the story of Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan (Hanks). He must negotiate the release of Francis Gary Powers (Austen Stowell, Whiplash), the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane shot down over Russia in 1960. Donovan’s task involves organising the release of Powers, who is languishing in the notorious Lubyanka prison, in exchange for his own client, the British-born agent Rudolf Abel (Rylance), who was imprisoned in Atlanta three years earlier and charged with being part of a New York-based KGB spy ring. The tense negotiations build to a dramatic encounter on Berlin’s famous Glienicke Bridge. Tuesday at 7.45pm and Thursday at 8.45pm.