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
The Lego Batman Movie
What’s it about?
It’s The LEGO Movie spin-off featuring the hilarious, egotistical Batman you came to love. This time the lone vigilante is faced with a citywide invasion from the Joker’s evil army, after he refuses to reciprocate a love-hate relationship with the villain. In order to save Gotham, Batman is faced with his hardest struggle: working with others.
What did we think?
Candice says: There may not be a catchy sing-a-long to rival Everything Is Awesome, but The Lego® Batman™ Movie still hits the right notes! Theres something for everyone, with plenty of comedic Batman references and pop-culture jokes to keep the adults happy. Batman’s newest orphan recruit Robin and his long-serving butler Alfred add layers of witty, silly (and at times rude) banter between the figurine co-stars. The film gets a little heavy towards the end and may stretch the attention of some younger folk in the cinema, but they’ll quickly be won over with the musical finale.
Looking to take a little bit of The Lego® Batman™ Movie home with you? Say ‘Hey Puter’ to Siri. You’re welcome.
The Boss Baby
What’s it about?
A seven-year old with an overactive imagination discovers the new baby in his home (voiced by Alec Baldwin) is really a middle-manager from the place ‘where babies come from’; here to complete a spy mission and climb the corporate ladder.
What did we think?
Lisa Clifford Says: while mildly amusing, being convoluted and overly long means The Boss Baby probably won’t become a family favourite. There are genuinely funny moments, though most rely heavily on the corporate executive schtick Alec Baldwin honed on 30 Rock.
In a missed opportunity, it raises, but fails to deal with, the tricky issues for kids around feelings of jealousy and displacement when a new baby arrives, and how a parent’s love is quantified and divided between siblings.
If you miss 30 Rock and have to watch a G-rated movie, The Boss Baby will keep you entertained for about an hour*.
*Full running time is actually 97 minutes
What’s Popular
Kin
What’s it about?
An ex-con (Jack Reynor) and his adopted young brother (Myles Truitt) find themselves fleeing a vengeful crime boss (James Franco), the cops, and two strange unearthly figures in this sci-fi, crime drama, road trip, action movie mashup.
What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: It’s super engaging but this flick left me feeling like there were two different movies duking it out for screen time. Unfortunately the sci-fi part, which was ultimately the more interesting part, took a back seat to family drama. Bring on a TV series where they could explore both sides of the coin in a more thorough manner. A kick-ass final act left me immediately Googling if there’s going to be a sequel because shit, you can’t just leave it there. I need more!
The Merger
What’s it about?
Bodgy Creek’s footy club has no players, no coach, and (unless they merge with a just-as-shitty club) no future … could prodigal son, former AFL rising star and “town killer” Troy Carrington find redemption by saving the Roosters with a motley crew of refugees?
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: it’s been a long time between drinks for heart-warming Australian comedies, but The Merger is here to shout a round (beer or cordial), rouse a cheer, and yes, coax a tear. There’s romance without being gushy, there’s a morality tale without being preachy, there’s a bratty kid who’s actually pretty damn cool (Raffety Grierson is a revelation), and there’s lots of down-to-earth swearing to remind you of this country’s heart. Shit yeah.
Based on Damian Callinan’s stage play (which is now on my must-see list), The Merger is destined to join other Aussie favourites like The Castle, Red Dog andThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in shining a light on who we are as a people through topical and controversial issues that actually date back over 200 years.
#GoRoosters
Mile 22
What’s it about?
Mark Wahlberg and other angry friends try and transport a guy 22 miles while avoiding death by terrorists.
What did we think?
Nick says: Mile 22 offers nothing but epileptic action, an insanely poor editing job and poorly written, asshole characters. It gets a star because Iko Uwais is solid and at least it’s around 90 minutes long.
The Happytime Murders
What’s it about?
To clear his name of the brutal (yet strangely hilarious) Happytime murders, disgraced ex-cop turned private dick Phil Philips must overcome the bad blood between him and his old LAPD partner. But Phil’s a puppet living in a human world, and we all know puppets are only good for singing and dancing. Not being racist, just telling it like it is.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: believe it or not, there is a story thread running throughout this flick that comments on the racial tensions in Western society, but you can easily ignore that and take Happytime Murders for what it is: a blend of every b-grade buddy cop movie with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Meet the Feebles.
It’s puerile, clichéd and predictable – in a good way. You know what to expect, it’s done well, and the jokes are more hit than miss.
I hope it moooooooves you in the same way it mooooooved me.
Editor's Choice
Kin
What’s it about?
An ex-con (Jack Reynor) and his adopted young brother (Myles Truitt) find themselves fleeing a vengeful crime boss (James Franco), the cops, and two strange unearthly figures in this sci-fi, crime drama, road trip, action movie mashup.
What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: It’s super engaging but this flick left me feeling like there were two different movies duking it out for screen time. Unfortunately the sci-fi part, which was ultimately the more interesting part, took a back seat to family drama. Bring on a TV series where they could explore both sides of the coin in a more thorough manner. A kick-ass final act left me immediately Googling if there’s going to be a sequel because shit, you can’t just leave it there. I need more!
The Merger
What’s it about?
Bodgy Creek’s footy club has no players, no coach, and (unless they merge with a just-as-shitty club) no future … could prodigal son, former AFL rising star and “town killer” Troy Carrington find redemption by saving the Roosters with a motley crew of refugees?
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: it’s been a long time between drinks for heart-warming Australian comedies, but The Merger is here to shout a round (beer or cordial), rouse a cheer, and yes, coax a tear. There’s romance without being gushy, there’s a morality tale without being preachy, there’s a bratty kid who’s actually pretty damn cool (Raffety Grierson is a revelation), and there’s lots of down-to-earth swearing to remind you of this country’s heart. Shit yeah.
Based on Damian Callinan’s stage play (which is now on my must-see list), The Merger is destined to join other Aussie favourites like The Castle, Red Dog andThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in shining a light on who we are as a people through topical and controversial issues that actually date back over 200 years.
#GoRoosters
Mile 22
What’s it about?
Mark Wahlberg and other angry friends try and transport a guy 22 miles while avoiding death by terrorists.
What did we think?
Nick says: Mile 22 offers nothing but epileptic action, an insanely poor editing job and poorly written, asshole characters. It gets a star because Iko Uwais is solid and at least it’s around 90 minutes long.
The Happytime Murders
What’s it about?
To clear his name of the brutal (yet strangely hilarious) Happytime murders, disgraced ex-cop turned private dick Phil Philips must overcome the bad blood between him and his old LAPD partner. But Phil’s a puppet living in a human world, and we all know puppets are only good for singing and dancing. Not being racist, just telling it like it is.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: believe it or not, there is a story thread running throughout this flick that comments on the racial tensions in Western society, but you can easily ignore that and take Happytime Murders for what it is: a blend of every b-grade buddy cop movie with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Meet the Feebles.
It’s puerile, clichéd and predictable – in a good way. You know what to expect, it’s done well, and the jokes are more hit than miss.
I hope it moooooooves you in the same way it mooooooved me.