The Amazing Spiderman 2
I hated the first Amazing Spiderman and after watching this trailer I’m already concerned for the newly rebooted franchise. Seriously? Multiple villians has hardly ever worked, the Richard Parker storyline already looks forced and while it looks big on action and fx it rolls out cliched dialogue hinting at a lack of depth.
To me it looks like quantity over quality.
But decide for yourself:
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Ron Burgundy is everywhere at the moment! In cinemas telling us to turn off our phones, hosting TV shows (even here in Australia) and even commenting on the Doctor Who buzz in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary special.
What could be better? Well, the movie itself but until then be teased some more with the latest trailer:
Kill Your Darlings
What’s it about?
Set in 1944 and chronicling the origins of the Beat Generation, the film follows fresh-faced New Jersey poet’s son Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) to New York’s Columbia University, where he befriends the luminous, restless fellow student Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan). Joined by William S. Burroughs and writer Jack Kerouac, the pair grapples with convention, burgeoning talent, literary ambition and the consequences of obsession.
What did we think?
Marnie says: From pretentious, stock-standard coming-of-age film beginnings Kill Your Darlings hits its stride when it takes a dark turn to become a gripping, nicely paced tale of infatuation and its aftermath. Behind another pair of distinctive glasses a committed Radcliffe acquits himself well but the true star is DeHaan, whose character’s pain and desperation is palpable. Whether or not you’re familiar with the Beat movement, the intriguing story and psychological drama will hold your attention until the end.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Flint Lockwood returns with his cast of zany friends to combat a second wave of killer food. Can he stop the dangers that threaten the whole globe while keeping his friends together and maintaining his relationship with his father? Of course he can. The big question is will it be entertaining?
What did we think?
Dan says: The first Cloudy film was an exceptional piece of cinema. This film takes the characters you loved from the last film and shoe horns them into a second, more whimsical endeavour. Lovers of awful puns will delight in this eye-popping extravaganza but if you want some heart in your story you’re looking at the wrong reanimated corpse.
It’s not unpalatable and there are plenty of laughs but ultimately it feels like someone took some old brioche, truss tomatoes and wagyu beef and turned them into a McDonald’s burger.
Her
Okay, this looks fascinating. It’s on my ‘to-watch’ list for sure.
Delivery Man
What’s it about?
A hapless delivery driver finds out that, during a rather active period as a sperm donor, he fathered more than 533 children. More than 100 of these now adult children petition the sperm bank to reveal their father’s identity. Will he come forward? Will he make a good dad?
What did we think?
Alex says: A remake of a 2011 French-Canadian film, Starbuck, Delivery Man is an unusual film. The warm-hearted, serious moments that are usually a cheesy drawback of “dropkick-proves-his-worth” comedies are actually the strengths of this film – though perhaps by default, because the laughs aren’t overly forthcoming. Parks & Recreations’ Chris Pratt is fine droll form as David’s lawyer but Vince Vaughn and Cobie Smulders aren’t at their best, guffaws-wise. Some genuinely touching scenes and good acting save this from being just another unnecessary US remake of a better foreign-language film.
What’s Popular
Suffragette
What’s it about?
Combining both real and fictional characters from the underground suffragette movement of 1912 Britain, Sarah Gavron directs this Abi Morgan-scripted foray into the dirty streets of London women’s harsh fight, depicting the sacrifices so many made to place the first brick in the as-yet unfinished road to equality.
What did we think?
Angela Young says: Carey Mulligan is brilliant as working-class mother Maud Watts, drawn into a fight that sees her lose her job, her family and her home. Other poignant performances from Anne-Marie Duff and Helena Bonham Carter ensure the grim reality of this brutal fight against the state hits you right where it hurts, with certain significant events depicted with powerful reservation. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s still a must-see for anyone that feels they owe so much to the women who gave so much.
In The Heart of the Sea
What’s it about?
Moby-Dick is lauded as one of America’s greatest romantic novels. Herman Melville took his own experiences as a whaler to bring the tragic true story of the Essex to life. This is an interpretation of Melville meeting the sole survivor of the shipwreck, and the dramatic recreation of the fateful voyage.
Segue
Dear Chris Hemsworth fangirls, you keep pining for this film, I do not think it contains what you think it contains*
What did we think?
Ishmael^ says: An epic retelling of one man’s monomania that led to the destruction of a great whaling vessel, and the deaths of most of its crew. The brutality and beauty of whaling is told in vivid realism, with impeccable execution: the broad 1820’s Nantucket accents; the graphic harpooning and gutting of a whale; the impending sense of madness and doom. It just feels a tad bloated – a ye olde saga in an age of 15 second attention-spans.
*It says quite clearly on the poster … “Based on the incredible true story that inspired Moby-Dick”. Not “Chris Hemsworth takes his shirt off and reveals his rock-hard abs”.
^Not really, it’s actually me – Stephen Scott – I just thought, for a lark, that for this one review, you could, you know, call me Ishmael?
By The Sea
What’s it about?
Angelina Jolie Pitt directs herself and her real-life betrothed (Brad Pitt) as they play a disenchanted husband and wife, holidaying by the French coast as he tries to write a new book and she languishes in large hats, resenting the local culture and generally being miserable.
What did we think?
Angela Young says: This film has been prey to a lot of speculation, most of it predicting a big bunch of pretentious self-indulgent wank. Bizarrely, despite the fact that it is indeed, basically a big bunch of pretentious, self-indulgent wank, I rather enjoyed it. The cinematic colour and styling suits its mid-‘70s setting like a glove, and the titillating twist to the story adds a little frisson of excitement, albeit not the greatest of crescendoes. Prepare for lots of moody pouting and sideways glances, and you could just get something out of it too.
Scout’s Guide to the zombie Apocalypse
What’s it about?
Three teenage scouts struggle with unpopularity but when a zombie outbreak occurs they realise that their carefully honed survival skills are just what’s required.
What we thought
Dan says: This “sexy” horror “comedy” starts well. Twenty minutes of character creation and tense moments suddenly unravels as soon as the zombies turn up. A bag full of zombie jokes is plucked from every five minutes throughout the film and who cares what’s been established so far.
This film doesn’t just fail the Bechdel test, it then spends a week sending assault threats to it via Twitter. If I was a 14 year old boy at a slumber party in the late eighties I probably would have loved it but make no mistake, this film is bad. Bad enough to hate watch.
Editor's Choice
Suffragette
What’s it about?
Combining both real and fictional characters from the underground suffragette movement of 1912 Britain, Sarah Gavron directs this Abi Morgan-scripted foray into the dirty streets of London women’s harsh fight, depicting the sacrifices so many made to place the first brick in the as-yet unfinished road to equality.
What did we think?
Angela Young says: Carey Mulligan is brilliant as working-class mother Maud Watts, drawn into a fight that sees her lose her job, her family and her home. Other poignant performances from Anne-Marie Duff and Helena Bonham Carter ensure the grim reality of this brutal fight against the state hits you right where it hurts, with certain significant events depicted with powerful reservation. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s still a must-see for anyone that feels they owe so much to the women who gave so much.
In The Heart of the Sea
What’s it about?
Moby-Dick is lauded as one of America’s greatest romantic novels. Herman Melville took his own experiences as a whaler to bring the tragic true story of the Essex to life. This is an interpretation of Melville meeting the sole survivor of the shipwreck, and the dramatic recreation of the fateful voyage.
Segue
Dear Chris Hemsworth fangirls, you keep pining for this film, I do not think it contains what you think it contains*
What did we think?
Ishmael^ says: An epic retelling of one man’s monomania that led to the destruction of a great whaling vessel, and the deaths of most of its crew. The brutality and beauty of whaling is told in vivid realism, with impeccable execution: the broad 1820’s Nantucket accents; the graphic harpooning and gutting of a whale; the impending sense of madness and doom. It just feels a tad bloated – a ye olde saga in an age of 15 second attention-spans.
*It says quite clearly on the poster … “Based on the incredible true story that inspired Moby-Dick”. Not “Chris Hemsworth takes his shirt off and reveals his rock-hard abs”.
^Not really, it’s actually me – Stephen Scott – I just thought, for a lark, that for this one review, you could, you know, call me Ishmael?
By The Sea
What’s it about?
Angelina Jolie Pitt directs herself and her real-life betrothed (Brad Pitt) as they play a disenchanted husband and wife, holidaying by the French coast as he tries to write a new book and she languishes in large hats, resenting the local culture and generally being miserable.
What did we think?
Angela Young says: This film has been prey to a lot of speculation, most of it predicting a big bunch of pretentious self-indulgent wank. Bizarrely, despite the fact that it is indeed, basically a big bunch of pretentious, self-indulgent wank, I rather enjoyed it. The cinematic colour and styling suits its mid-‘70s setting like a glove, and the titillating twist to the story adds a little frisson of excitement, albeit not the greatest of crescendoes. Prepare for lots of moody pouting and sideways glances, and you could just get something out of it too.
Scout’s Guide to the zombie Apocalypse
What’s it about?
Three teenage scouts struggle with unpopularity but when a zombie outbreak occurs they realise that their carefully honed survival skills are just what’s required.
What we thought
Dan says: This “sexy” horror “comedy” starts well. Twenty minutes of character creation and tense moments suddenly unravels as soon as the zombies turn up. A bag full of zombie jokes is plucked from every five minutes throughout the film and who cares what’s been established so far.
This film doesn’t just fail the Bechdel test, it then spends a week sending assault threats to it via Twitter. If I was a 14 year old boy at a slumber party in the late eighties I probably would have loved it but make no mistake, this film is bad. Bad enough to hate watch.