Film Talk: Pixar power with Elio and the return of the zombie nation with 28 Years Later
It doesn’t get much more polarizing than a wholesome Pixar flick vs a zombie gore-fest slay-a-thon.

But this of course is the most delectably delicious thing about cinema, and, of course, doing this particular job.
Variety is indeed the spice of life, and this week’s releases capture its zest with perfection.
In our top spot we have Disney Pixar’s latest veritable heartstring plucker, Elio. For their newest effort, said animation gods have decided to treat us to a charming tale of an a little lad who becomes an unlikely figure on the intergalactic political scene, landing himself a gig as Earth’s ambassador to alien worlds.
Personally, if we ever are to make genuine contact with extraterrestrial life, I couldn’t think of a better or more endearing spokesperson for humanity than an 11-year-old child. Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina, this one is utilising the dulcet tones of Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña and Jameela Jamil to pack in the family-fun lovers this weekend.
But does it tick all of the usual and necessary Disney Pixar stardust-sprinkled boxes?
At the other end of the scale, expert scaremonger and British institution Danny Boyle is back to bring us the third instalment in the 28 Days Later franchise.
The original (which graced the silver screen way back in 2002) was an absolute masterpiece – terrifying in the extreme from start to finish, and an almost Mia Wallace-sized shot of adrenaline. Confessions of a critic – 28 Days Later scared the pants off me (who knew zombies could run?), and had the same effect on audiences around the globe. Will new entry, 28 Years Later, (exec produced by original star Cillian Murphy) have the same infectious bite with the horror-fan community?
As the summer roles on and the heat is up, there is plenty of cinematic entertainment for all those who crave the dark and air-conditioned cool of their local multiplex.
Here’s a rundown of this week’s big ‘uns...
ELIO (UK PG/ROI G, 98 mins) ***
Released: June 20 (UK & Ireland)

Pixar Animation Studios shoots for the stars with an out-of-this-world adventure that suggests if you want to find your place in the universe, don’t be afraid to look far from planet Earth.
Alien-obsessed boy Elio Solis (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) has never felt like he fits in and the youngster yearns to be abducted by extra-terrestrials.
Orphaned at a young age, Elio is raised by his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana), who has put her dreams of becoming an astronaut on hold to care for her nephew.
She works as an orbital analyst at Montez Air Force Base, monitoring space debris, and dismisses suggestions of alien life.
Elio’s outlandish wish comes true and he is transported to an interplanetary paradise called the Communiverse where intelligent life from various galaxies congregate to share knowledge and ideas.
As Earth’s self-anointed leader, Elio faces the ultimate test of courage and diplomacy when he is elected to defuse an intergalactic crisis involving Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett).
The tyrant’s young son, Glordon (Remy Edgerly), holds the key to defusing an otherworldly stand-off.
28 YEARS LATER (UK 15/ROI 16, 115 mins) ***
Released: June 20 (UK & Ireland)

Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland reunite for a grisly third chapter of the horror franchise comprising 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.
Almost three decades have passed since the Rage Virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory and infected the globe.
Quarantine is enforced for survivors so they can live in close proximity to flesh-hungry zombies.
Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife Isla (Jodie Comer) and their young son Spike (Alfie Williams) live on Holy Island off the north-east coast of England.
The insular community is connected to the mainland by a heavily-defended causeway, which can only be accessed at low tide, providing ideal geographical protection from the infected.
Jamie and Spike are compelled to leave the island to fulfil a necessary mission and they quickly realise that life on the mainland is a brutal battle for survival.
Faced with hordes of ravenous predators, father and son cross paths with humanist Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and cult leader Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell).
THE LAST JOURNEY (UK PG/ROI PG, 95 mins) ***
Released: June 20 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)
A son hopes to coax his ageing father back to life by recreating a road trip from the past in a heartwarming Swedish documentary co-directed by Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson.
Swedish TV presenter Filip is concerned about his 80-year-old father Lars, who is stuck in a rut and lacking his usual lust for life.
Filip decides to recreate the family’s fondly remembered summer holidays by driving Lars to the south of France in an orange Renault 4, the same model owned by the Hammars all those years ago.
Filip’s best friend and fellow presenter Fredrik helps document the well-intentioned Mediterranean odyssey.
With Filip’s mother back home in Sweden, the three men journey south to recreate cherished memories from Lars’s past.
RED PATH (UK 15/ROI 15A TBC, 101 mins) ***
Released: June 20 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)
Tunisian playwright Lofti Achour makes his feature film directorial debut with a harrowing drama based on actual events.
In November 2015, 14-year-old shepherd Ashraf (Ali Helali) and older cousin Nizar (Yassine Samouni) are herding goats on Mghila Mountain.
It’s a perilous route with the potential of landmines but the boys are blissfully blinkered to the harsh realities that lurk on the slopes.
A jihadist group attacks the teenagers, beheads Nizar and tells the younger boy to take the head of the deceased back to his family as a macabre warning.
Driven to the brink of madness by his ordeal, Ashraf is abandoned in his hour of need by the authorities and community elders.
HOLLOWAY (UK 12A/ROI 12A, 86 mins) ***
Released: June 20 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)
First opened in the 1850s, HMP Prison Holloway was one of the largest facilities for female inmates in western Europe.
Suffragettes were famously incarcerated at Holloway and the prison was home to Ruth Ellis, Myra Hindley and Rose West before its closure in 2016.
Six former inmates, who now run charities and are activists for social change, agree to return to the abandoned prison to share their experience of life behind bars.
Aliyah Ali, Mandy Ogunmokun, Sarah Cassidy, Lady Unchained, Gerrah and Tamar Mujanay take part in a carefully managed five-day workshop in the prison’s former mixed faith prayer room.
The sextet unpack their trauma, illuminate the failures of the prison system and celebrate the healing power of sisterly solidarity.
Cameras capture these emotionally vulnerable interactions in a life-affirming feature-length documentary co-directed by Daisy-May Hudson and Sophie Compton.
HIDDEN (CACHE) (UK 15/ROI 16, 118 mins) ***
Released: June 20 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)
A rerelease of Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke’s acclaimed 2005 psychological thriller as part of the ongoing major survey of his work entitled Complicit: A Michael Haneke Retrospective.
TV personality Georges (Daniel Auteuil) is surprised and then disturbed to receive an anonymous package containing video footage of himself with his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche), mother (Annie Girardot) and family.
As more parcels arrive, Georges’s unease spirals and he becomes convinced that he is the target of a stalker.
Police refuse to offer any assistance and Georges is faced with the prospect of singlehandedly protecting his nearest and dearest from an invisible enemy.