Transformers: Age of Extinction FIRST LOOK

The new Transformers trailer HOT OFF THE PRESS direct from the Super Bowl trailer!

Exciting stuff. And shiny.

Grudge Match

What’s it about?
Sylvester Stallone (aka Rocky) and Robert De Niro (aka Raging Bull) play two arch enemies – both former world boxing champions – who end up agreeing to a rematch 30 years after their previous bout. And way past their prime.

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Teenage me would have frothed at the mouth at the prospect of Rocky vs Raging Bull but adult me thought it would be cringeworthy, stupid and ruining beloved memories with old actors. But as much as I expected to hate it I found myself laughing and enjoying it. It’s certainly not a great movie (and in fact barely good) but it is actually entertaining despite the heavy reliance on cliche. Wait for the DVD but it is worth a look if you like boxing movies.

Last Vegas

What’s it about?
Four school yard chums reconnect in their twilight years. They aim to celebrate the bachelor party of the last of their band to get hitched. They each have their own burdens to shrug off, but before they do, they’ll need to dehumanise some surgically enhanced women.

What did we think?
Dan says: Hollywood loads four of their best into the chamber and fires ageist and misogynistic bullets into the corpse of the “Dude Adventure” story. What were they thinking? I mean, Morgan Freeman was in Shawshank Redemption for Christ’s sake.

The film ties together like a jigsaw puzzle with numbered pieces. I could tell you most of the stories ten minutes in. But just when you think it’s irredeemable, Robert De Niro and Kirk Douglas show you just why they’ve been in the business for so long and manage to inject maybe not heart, but at least some still-warm blood into this hollow cadaver. Your parents will love it.

Maleficent

Angelina Jolie as the evil Maleficent?  Perfect.  Magnificent even.  This new sneak peek trailer is bound to make anyone excited for the release of this revamped classic fairy tale.  Lana Del Ray accompanies the eeriness with her re-imagined cover of the tune “Once Upon a Dream”.  The extra touch of the Maleficent’s dark castle behind the Disney logo is clever as well.  Let’s hope the movie will live up to my new found expectations.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

What’s it about?
Recent high school graduates and best friends Jesse and Hector face the same demonic forces that terrorise the protagonists of the previous Paranormal Activity films in this Latino spin-off of the “found footage” horror franchise.

What did we think?
Marnie says: Another day, another demon. There are a couple of scary moments in The Marked Ones, which is presented as a “cousin” rather than a direct sequel, but overall it is too formulaic to be effective. Though focusing on Latin-American characters, the film bypasses the opportunity to expound on Catholicism’s approach to demonic possession, which could have been gripping. Fans will appreciate details about the series’ established characters but The Marked Ones lacks the satisfying shock of the unfamiliar that made its predecessors successful, and the dissatisfying ending so transparently sets the scene for yet another instalment that the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Wolf of Wall Street

What’s it about?
The spectacular rise and fall of unscrupulous, hard-partying New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). Based on Belfort’s memoir of the same name.

What did we think?
Belfort, his partner in white-collar crime (a brilliantly tubby-again Jonah Hill) and their boys club are utterly repulsive yet simultaneously make you feel like you need to get more, amid their constant daze of yachts, drugs and hookers.

The film doesn’t pull its punches on the more sinister, unhinged aspects of Belfort’s life either, as reality – and the law – starts to catch up with him. So many great performances round out this often uproarious picture, especially Australia’s Margot Robbie and a brief, hilarious turn from Matthew McConaughey. Desensitise your moral compass before viewing.

What’s Popular

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

What’s it about?
Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and the rest of the cast of 2002’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding return for a sequel involving (who’d have thought?) ANOTHER big fat Greek wedding.

What did we think?
Amy Currie says: This film is basically a montage of the entire cast running from one event to another in a very wacky panic. They wave their arms around a lot and pull faces. Man, what a bunch of characters! Family, am I right? Oh, boy.

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

What’s it about?
Ideologies clash as the world’s only two public superheroes come to words then blows. But is there more afoot?

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: At the end of the day you go to this movie to watch the two SuperFriends fight and/or to see Wonder Woman finally debut on the big screen. You will not be disappointed on either count. It just takes a while to get there.

For a long movie there’s not as much action as you’d expect but once it finally arrives it’s well worth the wait. The first half of the film suffers from a heck of lot of sub-plots, exposition and lingering shots of Superman as a messianic figure. The conflicting ideas of Superman being above the law, an alien and a hero to all are reasonably well explored and exploited even if Jessie Esienberg’s xenophobic Lex Luthor is more psychotic Joker than measured intellect. Affleck does well as an older, jaded Batman though his propensity to use guns and kill people sits oddly, while Gal Gadot would have stolen the show if she’d been used more.

DC is obviously playing movie catch up and trying to pack so much set-up into the front half of this film detracts from what should have been a quality gritty superhero film that lacked the whimsical one-liners of the Marvel universe.  Still it was enjoyable and ends with the promise of so much more. Avoid spoilers and see it early.

Star Trek Horizon

What’s it about?
Earth’s coalition of planets is at war with the Romulans. But something is wrong – a weapon of immense power that shouldn’t exist is about to change the galaxy.

What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: For years people have bemoaned the impending death of amateur theatre. Cry no more, for YouTube is the new amateur theatre paradise. As with the local rep, the acting is variable, some casting is dubious, but the passion is never in question. And because the budget is minuscule, there is innovation aplenty (blurring the background to alleviate set design issues is a very nice touch).

The effects, premise & script are all quite good – it’s better than some professional films out there. Open YouTube on your TV and have a Star Trek fan fiction movie night at home!

10 Cloverfield Lane

What’s it about:
After waking up in a cellar after a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is told that the surface of the Earth isn’t habitable. However, her trust in her saviour, Howard (John Goodman), is shaken when circumstances take a turn for the worst.

What did we think:
Nick Bleeker says: An utterly thrilling and claustrophobic debut from Trachtenberg who keeps everything extremely precise and in-check. Goodman takes the film by the scruff of the neck and drops an MVP-level performance. I recommend you go into this cold for an infinitely more satisfying experience.

Editor's Choice

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

What’s it about?
Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and the rest of the cast of 2002’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding return for a sequel involving (who’d have thought?) ANOTHER big fat Greek wedding.

What did we think?
Amy Currie says: This film is basically a montage of the entire cast running from one event to another in a very wacky panic. They wave their arms around a lot and pull faces. Man, what a bunch of characters! Family, am I right? Oh, boy.

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

What’s it about?
Ideologies clash as the world’s only two public superheroes come to words then blows. But is there more afoot?

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: At the end of the day you go to this movie to watch the two SuperFriends fight and/or to see Wonder Woman finally debut on the big screen. You will not be disappointed on either count. It just takes a while to get there.

For a long movie there’s not as much action as you’d expect but once it finally arrives it’s well worth the wait. The first half of the film suffers from a heck of lot of sub-plots, exposition and lingering shots of Superman as a messianic figure. The conflicting ideas of Superman being above the law, an alien and a hero to all are reasonably well explored and exploited even if Jessie Esienberg’s xenophobic Lex Luthor is more psychotic Joker than measured intellect. Affleck does well as an older, jaded Batman though his propensity to use guns and kill people sits oddly, while Gal Gadot would have stolen the show if she’d been used more.

DC is obviously playing movie catch up and trying to pack so much set-up into the front half of this film detracts from what should have been a quality gritty superhero film that lacked the whimsical one-liners of the Marvel universe.  Still it was enjoyable and ends with the promise of so much more. Avoid spoilers and see it early.

Star Trek Horizon

What’s it about?
Earth’s coalition of planets is at war with the Romulans. But something is wrong – a weapon of immense power that shouldn’t exist is about to change the galaxy.

What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: For years people have bemoaned the impending death of amateur theatre. Cry no more, for YouTube is the new amateur theatre paradise. As with the local rep, the acting is variable, some casting is dubious, but the passion is never in question. And because the budget is minuscule, there is innovation aplenty (blurring the background to alleviate set design issues is a very nice touch).

The effects, premise & script are all quite good – it’s better than some professional films out there. Open YouTube on your TV and have a Star Trek fan fiction movie night at home!

10 Cloverfield Lane

What’s it about:
After waking up in a cellar after a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is told that the surface of the Earth isn’t habitable. However, her trust in her saviour, Howard (John Goodman), is shaken when circumstances take a turn for the worst.

What did we think:
Nick Bleeker says: An utterly thrilling and claustrophobic debut from Trachtenberg who keeps everything extremely precise and in-check. Goodman takes the film by the scruff of the neck and drops an MVP-level performance. I recommend you go into this cold for an infinitely more satisfying experience.

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