Digger

Digger is playing at The Ultimate Picture Palace on Cowley Road, with screenings starting Sunday 25 October. It's a sharp comic satire from Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, the man behind Birdman and The Revenant, and it follows the most powerful man in the world in a frantic race to prove he's humanity's saviour before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything. It's a 15, running 2 hours and 9 minutes.

That's a big cast to fit into one story: Tom Cruise takes the lead, with John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. BBC reviewer Nicholas Barber gave it four stars, singling out Cruise's performance, the script's grim environmental message and Iñárritu's antic style. If you've seen his other work, you'll know he's not one for playing it safe with his camera.

It's showing at The Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford's oldest independent cinema. Founded in 1911 and community-owned since 2022, it screens independent, international and classic films in a cosy single-screen auditorium on Cowley Road, and was named one of BIFA's 15 best cinemas in the UK. The venue also runs the UPP Monthly Film Quiz on the first Thursday of every month and the Kino Kids Cinema Club, family classics every other Sunday.

There are four screenings to choose from: Sunday 25 October at 5:15pm; Monday 26 October at 8:15pm; and Thursday 29 October with a Parent + Baby screening at 11:45am and a regular showing at 5:30pm. It's a 15, so keep that in mind if you're bringing anyone younger.