Get Out
What’s it about?
A young black man visits his girlfriend’s wealthy white family at their mansion in the woods for the first time, but when he gets there, things seem seriously weird.
What did we think?
True horror is not monsters or ghosts – it’s humanity. And nowhere is this more evident than in Jordan Peele’s Get Out. An incredibly intelligent look at racism, the insidiousness of political correctness and modern America, it’s a movie that defies easy categorisation though it slips into a revenge flick. The true strength is that it will make you uncomfortable mentally long after the credits have rolled. Insightful and witty, it’s a must see not only for film lovers but anyone interested in equality or racial dynamics. Superb.
GET OUT opens in Australian cinemas on May 4.
CHiPS
What’s it about?Michael Peña and Dax Shepard reprise the roles made famous in the 1970s/80s by Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox, with the California Highway Patrol officers this time hunting down a mob of motorcycle thugs making a killing from security vans, with suspicions of an inside job.What did we think?Angela says: “Chip happens” is the tagline: an implied sentiment so synonymoys with modern remakes. But surprisingly, this cheesy little comedy is actually not light on laughs. Peña’s Frank Poncherello is a likeable little git, and despite being the writer, director and star, Shepard’s washed-up ex biker makes a great partner. It’s no Oscar-winner, but there’s some serious chortles to be had. It’s a bit like watching a film your douchey friends have made in their spare time – pretty clumsy, but you can’t help feeling happy with it.
Going in Style
What’s it about?
Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine turn to a bank robbery in order to save their stolen pension funds.
What did we think?
Nick John Bleeker says: Despite being a bit light on the comedy, Going in Style delivers nothing new, but is still driven by a grand chemistry between its three leads.
Fate of the Furious
What’s it about?
Family. But also a buttload of action scenes with cars somehow still being the main attraction. If we’re being real? Cipher (Charlize Theron) makes Dom (Vin Diesel) turn on the crew for mysterious reasons.
What did we think?
Nick John Bleeker says: F8 shows the Fast franchise starting to lose its creative edge, but you just can’t shake the fact that hanging out with the crew is still tonnes of fun. The addition of Theron as a nutcase villain adds to the mix nicely and, at the end of the day, the action is, as always, wonderfully explosive and utterly ridiculous. Exhausting but still a damn good time.
Ghost In The Shell
What’s it about?
Major’s brain was saved from a terrorist attack and was the first human brain connected with a robotic body. The military wants her for her murder skills. Everyone else just likes that she gets around naked all the time.
What we thought
Dan says: The prospect of exploring the human condition as it struggles to find itself in this increasingly tech driven environment is quickly shelved to show a naked lady beating seven hells out of robot assassins then sitting in a car talking for 20 minutes. Scarlett Johanson’s butt does so much heavy lifting in this film that you wonder if it wouldn’t have a more promising career if it left ScarJo for a solo career.
There’s some interesting design in this film that’s lifted straight from the source material. A couple of the secondary characters are watchable and have a handful of satisfying moments, but this film is… boring. Unless you really want to watch robots, gunfire and naked ladies, I’d probably take a pass on this one.
Smurfs: The Lost Village
What’s it about?
A collection of cobalt forest goblins have funky forest adventures. Each one has a strongly defined vocation except for the singular girl goblin, “Smurfette” who is defined only through her gender. In a massive departure from tradition, Hollywood attempts to address this.
What we thought
Dan says: This film is for kids. It’s not scary, there are almost no stakes. If you’re stuck in the same room as children watching this then you might get a couple of chuckles out of it. You’ll appreciate how pretty it is and find yourself trying to play ‘spot the famous voice’. Sadly “because magic” seems to be the solution to any actual dilemmas. At the end of the day this film is just a bit…
Laaah Lah lala la blaaah
What’s Popular
Show Dogs
What’s it about?
A loner police dog gets partnered with a goofy and impatient FBI officer to go undercover at a dog show in search of a stolen panda.
What we thought
Dan says: Show Dogs biggest claim to fame is a misguided subplot about the hero learning to be relaxed when his dog junk is physically checked for quality. This scene was removed in the international version for accidentally sending the wrong message to children about molestation.
Interfering with the auteur’s vision can have negative effects on the resulting product.
Thankfully, in this instance, the auteur appears to have spent so much of the film’s budget on coke that nothing makes any sense before the edited scene. The story is both simplistic and yet baffling at the same time. The effects are laughably nineties. There are more jokes about breeding than I’d expect in a kid’s film including one with Ru Paul that I can’t figure out whether it’s racist or transphobic.
I did chuckle twice at the pug.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
What’s it about?
Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro team up to try and incite a war between drug cartels, but don’t really do a very good job.
What did we think?
Nick says: Day of the Soldado opens and closes beautifully, but the big issue lies in the fact that there’s not a lot to rave about in the middle. Still, Del Toro and Brolin are terrific and there are some really satisfying bits and pieces amongst the retreading and boring politics.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
What’s it about?
People try to profit off dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat people. Other people try to save dinosaurs.
What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom asks some very interesting questions and even throws in an unexpected surprise. It’s just a shame it’s all couched within a cliched and boring storyline. When you care more about the survival of one of the dinosaurs than most of the human characters (including, it has to be said, the main two), then you’re doing something wrong. The first half was entertaining but the makers seem to have forgotten the charm of the original was based on the humans with the dinos just being the danger.
It’s not bad as monster movies go, but at the end of the day, it’s a blockbuster popcorn movie profiting off a legacy instead of adding to it.
Tag
What’s it about?
Inspired by true events, a group of mates who’ve played a game of tag for decades get back together to see if they can make the only member of the group who’s never been tagged “it” before he retires.
What did we think?
Elizabeth says: That moment when you have to break your review down into three parts because of a badly misfiring joke…
Pre problematic joke: This movie feels like Adam Sandler should be attached to it somehow, I hate myself for enjoying it this much and that’s all you really need to know about that.
During problematic joke: Oh god they’re not going there are they? They went there. Oh god they went there again. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WON’T THEY STOP GOING THERE?!
Post problematic joke: I’m still horrified at the joke subject matter but somehow I’m back to laugh/crying. I need a shower to feel better about this.
Editor's Choice
Show Dogs
What’s it about?
A loner police dog gets partnered with a goofy and impatient FBI officer to go undercover at a dog show in search of a stolen panda.
What we thought
Dan says: Show Dogs biggest claim to fame is a misguided subplot about the hero learning to be relaxed when his dog junk is physically checked for quality. This scene was removed in the international version for accidentally sending the wrong message to children about molestation.
Interfering with the auteur’s vision can have negative effects on the resulting product.
Thankfully, in this instance, the auteur appears to have spent so much of the film’s budget on coke that nothing makes any sense before the edited scene. The story is both simplistic and yet baffling at the same time. The effects are laughably nineties. There are more jokes about breeding than I’d expect in a kid’s film including one with Ru Paul that I can’t figure out whether it’s racist or transphobic.
I did chuckle twice at the pug.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
What’s it about?
Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro team up to try and incite a war between drug cartels, but don’t really do a very good job.
What did we think?
Nick says: Day of the Soldado opens and closes beautifully, but the big issue lies in the fact that there’s not a lot to rave about in the middle. Still, Del Toro and Brolin are terrific and there are some really satisfying bits and pieces amongst the retreading and boring politics.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
What’s it about?
People try to profit off dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat people. Other people try to save dinosaurs.
What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom asks some very interesting questions and even throws in an unexpected surprise. It’s just a shame it’s all couched within a cliched and boring storyline. When you care more about the survival of one of the dinosaurs than most of the human characters (including, it has to be said, the main two), then you’re doing something wrong. The first half was entertaining but the makers seem to have forgotten the charm of the original was based on the humans with the dinos just being the danger.
It’s not bad as monster movies go, but at the end of the day, it’s a blockbuster popcorn movie profiting off a legacy instead of adding to it.
Tag
What’s it about?
Inspired by true events, a group of mates who’ve played a game of tag for decades get back together to see if they can make the only member of the group who’s never been tagged “it” before he retires.
What did we think?
Elizabeth says: That moment when you have to break your review down into three parts because of a badly misfiring joke…
Pre problematic joke: This movie feels like Adam Sandler should be attached to it somehow, I hate myself for enjoying it this much and that’s all you really need to know about that.
During problematic joke: Oh god they’re not going there are they? They went there. Oh god they went there again. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WON’T THEY STOP GOING THERE?!
Post problematic joke: I’m still horrified at the joke subject matter but somehow I’m back to laugh/crying. I need a shower to feel better about this.