Mood Indigo
What’s it about?
A surreal love story centered around a woman (Audrey Tatou) who suffers from an unusual illness caused by a flower growing in her lungs.
What did we think?
Mood Indigo is a surreal but wonderful visual feast that delights the senses but occasionally fails to engage the heart. Definitely worth seeing if you appreciate foreign films but the unrelenting nature of the unfettered imagination will leave you exhausted by the end. When I say surreal I mean super surreal as director Michel Gondry truly lets loose. Apparently there’s a much longer director’s cut but I have to say that much surrealism may just be too much for the human brain.I found it both tiring and enchanting.
47 Ronin
Well this is gut-wrenching. The legend of the 47 ronin is one of my favourite Asian stories (behind only the Monkey king and the journey west) and this looks so beautiful aesthetically.
BUT Keanu?!? Now I’m not hating for hating sake. I’m not complaining it’s Keanu (though that’s far from ideal) – I just don’t know why there’s a white guy there at all. Seriously. It could be David tennant and I wouldn’t be happy (well maybe a little).
But it looks like a visual feast… oh confliction of emotions…
Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Rebellion
Cuteness overload? Well actually this looks like it’s got a bit of an edge.
http://youtu.be/SCKUo0kl1pE
The Counselor
What it’s about?
Filmmaker Ridley Scott and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) team up for this thriller about a respected lawyer’s (Michael Fassbender) one-time involvement in an illegal drug-trafficking deal that spirals out of control.
What did we think?
Hilary says: The cast alone – Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt – is undoubtedly a crowd puller and the vivid characters they play (especially Malkina by Diaz) is definitely a highlight of this film, but this is McCarthy’s first-time screenplay and it shows. The Counselor’s slick, good looks can’t make up for the fact the story is tediously indulgent and incomprehensible for the majority of its two-hour running time. But it does contains some of the best monologues in recent memory, and you won’t want to miss Diaz’s auto-erotic sex scene and the recounting of it by Bardem.
Fruitvale Station
What’s it about?
The tragic true story of 22-year-old Oscar Grant III, who was fatally shot by an Oakland transport-police officer on the morning of New Year’s Day, 2009, following an altercation on a train. Viral video footage at the scene showed he was completely apprehended and posed no threat.
What did we think?
Alex says: We follow Grant (Michael B. Jordan, who fans of The Wire will remember as the equally ill-fated young Wallace) on what is to be the final day of his life. He’s no angel and has done time in prison but he is turning his life around and genuinely cares for his girlfriend and daughter. After his mother’s (The Help’s Octavia Spencer) birthday, Grant and his friends celebrate a fateful New Year’s Eve on the town. A very well-acted dramatisation that is thoroughly deserving of its two Sundance awards. Not a feel-good hit.
The Butler
Rising from a boyhood of slavery in the cotton fields of Georgia to enter into domestic service and eventually becoming a butler serving eight presidents at the White House, an African-American man clashes with his son, who is involved in America’s burgeoning civil rights movement.
What Did We Think?
Marnie says: Historical epic The Butler paints an important, moving picture of the effects of injustice and systemic oppression by showing one uniquely placed man’s sacrifice and dedication to providing for his family against a backdrop of a radically changing America. An overlong, occasionally heavy-handed script’s quest to visit every historical signpost pushes its trajectory towards potted history lesson, but the film rightfully brings attention to the stories of the courageous, inspiring individuals who fought for racial equality in the United States.
What’s Popular
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.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
What’s it About?
Katniss continues in her fight against the Capitol.
What Did We Think?
Elizabeth says: It was never a good idea to split the weakest of the book trilogy into two movies. There’s simply not enough plot to sustain the two films in a way feels in any way energetic. Significant deaths that had me sobbing in the book were so rushed that I wasn’t sure if they actually occurred or if Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) was hallucinating. Moreover, I’m not sure what happened in the direction department, but all the chemistry between the three leads (Gale, Katniss and Peeta) has melted away. Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson all turn in great individual performances but the love triangle vibe has gone limp; honestly it felt like Katniss was more affectionate towards Peeta when she hated him. On the heels of copycat concept films such as Divergent and The Maze Runner, Mockingjay Part Two feels tired and done and is at least 30 minutes too long.
Spectre
What’s It About?
Bond, James Bond. (No spoilers here!)
What Did We Think?
Liz says: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, shaken not stirred, starring James Bond and Hans Lander. Seriously, if you saw MI5, and Inglorious Basterds, then you’ve already seen this movie. Still an enjoyable romp, Spectre is on par with Skyfall, leagues ahead of Quantum of Solace (that’s not hard) but falls far short of the high-rolling brilliance of Casino Royale.
Editor's Choice
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.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
What’s it About?
Katniss continues in her fight against the Capitol.
What Did We Think?
Elizabeth says: It was never a good idea to split the weakest of the book trilogy into two movies. There’s simply not enough plot to sustain the two films in a way feels in any way energetic. Significant deaths that had me sobbing in the book were so rushed that I wasn’t sure if they actually occurred or if Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) was hallucinating. Moreover, I’m not sure what happened in the direction department, but all the chemistry between the three leads (Gale, Katniss and Peeta) has melted away. Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson all turn in great individual performances but the love triangle vibe has gone limp; honestly it felt like Katniss was more affectionate towards Peeta when she hated him. On the heels of copycat concept films such as Divergent and The Maze Runner, Mockingjay Part Two feels tired and done and is at least 30 minutes too long.
Spectre
What’s It About?
Bond, James Bond. (No spoilers here!)
What Did We Think?
Liz says: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, shaken not stirred, starring James Bond and Hans Lander. Seriously, if you saw MI5, and Inglorious Basterds, then you’ve already seen this movie. Still an enjoyable romp, Spectre is on par with Skyfall, leagues ahead of Quantum of Solace (that’s not hard) but falls far short of the high-rolling brilliance of Casino Royale.