The season’s been well timed for the release of Christopher Nolan’s engagingly divisive Interstellar (a timeless masterpiece or miserable failure, depending on who you talk to) which can be seen at any cinema you dare to think of. Cornerhouse are offering all manner of sci-fi classics if Nolan’s latest doesn’t appeal, with the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey set for an (extremely) limited release. For more details you can visit the Cornerhouse site, but for condensed reading the highlights are:

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey – 28th November.
  • Dr. Strangelove – 1st December.
  • The Midnight After (Hong Kong director Fruit Chan’s violent 2014 effort) – 6th December.
  • The Neverending Story – 6th December.
  • The War of the Worlds (not the 2005 Tom Cruise vehicle) – 14th December.
  • Ghostbusters – 11th December.
  • E.T. – 21st December.

Film fans can try out their debating skills at the Cornerhouse, as a discussion will take place before the screening of Dr. Strangelove. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its release, lecturer of Film Studies Peter Kramer will join Salford University’s Andy Willis to consider whether the Dr. is still crazy after half a century.  There’s also a chance to discuss science fiction and the apocalypse on 3rd December at Manchester’sInternational Anthony Burgess Foundation Centre. A must for sci-fi fanatics, it’s free to enter but booking is required.

Finally, to cap a busy month ahead, there are two other events worth considering. The first, rather excellently, is Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut. It returns to numerous cinemas on 14th December for a limited release (if you’re busy don’t panic, as it will have another run in April 2015). The second is a recording of Danny Boyle’s award winning 2011 theatre production of Frankenstein. It ran at London’s National Theatre and starred Benedict Cumberbatch (the man who’s in everything), and Jonny Lee Miller (of Trainspotting fame) to considerable critical acclaim. It will be shown on 4th December at the Cornerhouse.

You could go for any of these. Alternatively there’s Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?, although you can hear film critic Mark Kermode’s scathing review right here. Perhaps stick to the Cornerhouse.