Insurgent
What’s it about?
Part two in the Divergent trilogy sees our heroes, Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) attempt to uncover the truth about their society’s rigid faction system and bring down its Machiavellian government.
What did we think?
Lisa Clifford says: Insurgent begins where Divergent left off – a little disorientating for those unfamiliar with the first installment or novels. For a dystopian teen drama, it’s a pretty bleak look at the lengths some will go to for power and pulls no punches when it comes to violence and death. The strong cast does their best with the at-times mediocre dialogue. The story moves along a reasonable pace, spurred on by some decent edge-of-your-seat action sequences. An improvement on its predecessor, Insurgent builds to a satisfying climax while effectively setting up the final installment in the trilogy. Fans of the books and the first film will enjoy.
Home
What’s it about?
Oh, an alien on the run from his own people, lands on Earth and makes friends with the adventurous Tip, who is on a quest of her own.
What did we think?
Erin Lane says: Not even the voices of Jim Parsons and Rihanna can save Home from a terrible blandness. Their presence might help the film’s popularity and, to be honest, it probably needs all the help it can get. The forced Boov dialogue – more Jar Jar than Yoda – grates and there are so many little morals coming at you that it’s hard to see what a child would go away with from the movie. A poor plot without a consistent theme just makes it difficult viewing for adults. It alternates between too cutesy and too clever for its own good (for example Tip is a nickname because her name is Gratuity). Kids might possibly like the cute aliens (who change colour with emotions) but let’s face it, cute aliens have been done before and much better.
Big Eyes
What’s it about?
It’s the early ’60s, and Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) is famous for his kitsch, sentimental paintings of big-eyed children. But it’s all a con – the paintings were actually created by his wife Margaret (Amy Adams), and she’s had just about enough of living in his shadow.
What did we think?
Amy Currie says: Director Tim Burton dials down his trademark spooky-quirky to make a biopic, and there’s not a Depp or Bonham Carter in sight. Adams finds the sweet spot between downtrodden and determined, and Waltz manages to be both the comic relief and a genuinely menacing presence. There’s still enough Burton-ness to make the world seem just a little larger than life (and the gorgeous sets and costumes make the audience want to run away to the ’60s) but it trails off into a made-for-TV ending. Worth seeing, but cross your fingers it doesn’t start a big-eyed art revival.
Run All Night
What’s it about?
A former mob hitman gets caught in a web of conflicting loyalties and goes on the run trying to protect his estranged son from his good friend and boss.
What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Run All Night is edgy, gritty, character driven and fun – everything you want in an action thriller. But despite a solid Liam Neeson performance he’s actually the biggest problem with it. His very presence robs the film of any unpredictability turning it into a by-the-numbers Neeson film (albeit an interesting one). The exploration of loyalty and the complexity of friendship and family is probably worth the price of admission but with someone else in Neeson’s role you’d truly be on the edge of your seat. Great performances and intriguing plot are let down by an eventual lack of tension.
Chappie
What’s it about?
In presumably the not too distant future, crime is patrolled by a robotic police force. When one droid, Chappie, is stolen and reprogrammed, he becomes the first machine with the ability to think and feel for himself.
What did we think?
Casey Moon-Watton says: As a 120-minute music video for Die Antwoord its not great, as a movie exploring the potential of a learning robot, its even worse. The visual effects that bring Chappie to life are amazing, and visually the film is quite pretty to watch. It has some good one liners and showcases a solid performance by Dev Patel. Overall though I didn’t care about any of the characters, just felt like a platform for Neil Blomkamp’s mates (Ninja and Yo-landi) to show off. It’s a shame… There is a good movie burried in here somewhere.
Inherent Vice
What’s it about?
Set in the 1970s, a drug-fueled LA detective Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend alongside a star-filled cast.
What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: You know when you get invited to a party at a really swanky looking house – I’m talking super stylish – with all these “it” people and you’re thinking, “This is gonna be a helluva night”, but then everyone else proceeds to get really high except you, and while everyone else is uncovering the mysteries of the world hidden in their navels, you’re looking at your watch wondering when it would be polite to leave? Yeah. That.
What’s Popular
20th Century Women
What’s it about?
Two women, a man, a boy approaching manhood and a girl becoming a woman face their own crisis of confidence in that short burst of creativity during the late 70’s when punk flared then disappeared as quickly as it came. At its core, a 55 year-old mother is frustrated at her perceived inability to raise her 15 year-old son into manhood.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: Coming of age isn’t only for pre-pubescents. The revelations of this share-house-moulded, psuedo-intergenerational family prove it. An endearing exploration of how an individual’s response to the realisation of “this is as good as it gets” changes – with a sharp focus on the pivotal point of puberty via 15, 17 & 24 year-old perspectives.
It’s vexing pinpointing what is so enthralling about this nebulous reflection on everything and nothing. Perhaps it’s best left to the bohemian Abbie’s wistful explanation of the musical ineptitude of punk musicians: “it’s really interesting what happens when your passion is bigger than the tools you have to deal with it. It creates this energy that’s raw. Isn’t it great?”.
Baywatch
What’s it about?
Mitch Buchanan (Dwayne Johnson) is the ultimate boy scout of lifeguards. But when illegal drugs threaten the sanctity of his bay, he and his team take it upon themselves to expose the criminal plot.
What did we think?
Lisa Clifford says: I really wanted to like this one. I used to love watching the cheesy 90s original and I even appreciate the genial charms of Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. But by the mid-way mark, I was ready to raise an arm and call for somebody to ‘saaaaaaaaaaave me’ (*cue theme song*).
Despite a few laughs and a LOT of gratuitous (but equal opportunity!) body shots, Baywatch suffers a MAJOR identity crisis that causes a lack of cohesion. Is it a re-boot? A parody of the original? Or an awkward continuation of the original Baywatch universe, where the ‘new class’ of lifeguards have the have the exact same names as their predecessors for some bizarre reason? Good luck trying to figure it out, because I doubt anyone involved with the movie has yet.
The Sense of an Ending
What’s it about?
Tony (Jim Broadbent) leads a reclusive, curmudgeonly existence until a letter from his past resurfaces and forces him to confront his flawed recollections of his past in the film adaptation of Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize-winning novel.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
What’s it all about then?
From the beginnin’. Well, there’s this roguish lad see, an’ ‘e an’ his mates are plannin’ a heist …
‘Old on, ‘old on. Yer sure nothin’ ‘appened before the beginnin’? Aw yeah, that’s right. Ye see (flashback) the kid’s not the bastard son of a prostitute, but actually heir to ye olde Englaland’s throne.
That’s more like it my son. Go on … There’s this magical scimitar an’ rooftop parkour an’ a kind-but-fair oriental fight instructor, y’know, everything you’d expect in 6th century Londinium …
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: in a gloriously raucous post-Roman-occupied Britanniae, trouble is brewing in a cockney lad’s-own adventure that’s bleedingly obviously directed by Guy Ritchie without having all the promos blaring it at a million decibels. Fast, romance-free, with a (fantastic) soundtrack that makes you go “yeah – that’s what action movie music must’ve sounded like in 629AD”, it’s Lock Stock and One Smoking Excalibur. Exactly what you expect.
Editor's Choice
20th Century Women
What’s it about?
Two women, a man, a boy approaching manhood and a girl becoming a woman face their own crisis of confidence in that short burst of creativity during the late 70’s when punk flared then disappeared as quickly as it came. At its core, a 55 year-old mother is frustrated at her perceived inability to raise her 15 year-old son into manhood.
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: Coming of age isn’t only for pre-pubescents. The revelations of this share-house-moulded, psuedo-intergenerational family prove it. An endearing exploration of how an individual’s response to the realisation of “this is as good as it gets” changes – with a sharp focus on the pivotal point of puberty via 15, 17 & 24 year-old perspectives.
It’s vexing pinpointing what is so enthralling about this nebulous reflection on everything and nothing. Perhaps it’s best left to the bohemian Abbie’s wistful explanation of the musical ineptitude of punk musicians: “it’s really interesting what happens when your passion is bigger than the tools you have to deal with it. It creates this energy that’s raw. Isn’t it great?”.
Baywatch
What’s it about?
Mitch Buchanan (Dwayne Johnson) is the ultimate boy scout of lifeguards. But when illegal drugs threaten the sanctity of his bay, he and his team take it upon themselves to expose the criminal plot.
What did we think?
Lisa Clifford says: I really wanted to like this one. I used to love watching the cheesy 90s original and I even appreciate the genial charms of Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. But by the mid-way mark, I was ready to raise an arm and call for somebody to ‘saaaaaaaaaaave me’ (*cue theme song*).
Despite a few laughs and a LOT of gratuitous (but equal opportunity!) body shots, Baywatch suffers a MAJOR identity crisis that causes a lack of cohesion. Is it a re-boot? A parody of the original? Or an awkward continuation of the original Baywatch universe, where the ‘new class’ of lifeguards have the have the exact same names as their predecessors for some bizarre reason? Good luck trying to figure it out, because I doubt anyone involved with the movie has yet.
The Sense of an Ending
What’s it about?
Tony (Jim Broadbent) leads a reclusive, curmudgeonly existence until a letter from his past resurfaces and forces him to confront his flawed recollections of his past in the film adaptation of Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize-winning novel.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
What’s it all about then?
From the beginnin’. Well, there’s this roguish lad see, an’ ‘e an’ his mates are plannin’ a heist …
‘Old on, ‘old on. Yer sure nothin’ ‘appened before the beginnin’? Aw yeah, that’s right. Ye see (flashback) the kid’s not the bastard son of a prostitute, but actually heir to ye olde Englaland’s throne.
That’s more like it my son. Go on … There’s this magical scimitar an’ rooftop parkour an’ a kind-but-fair oriental fight instructor, y’know, everything you’d expect in 6th century Londinium …
What did we think?
Stephen Scott says: in a gloriously raucous post-Roman-occupied Britanniae, trouble is brewing in a cockney lad’s-own adventure that’s bleedingly obviously directed by Guy Ritchie without having all the promos blaring it at a million decibels. Fast, romance-free, with a (fantastic) soundtrack that makes you go “yeah – that’s what action movie music must’ve sounded like in 629AD”, it’s Lock Stock and One Smoking Excalibur. Exactly what you expect.