On April 9th 2009, seven(!) films are opening in cinemas across Australia:
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Mary and Max
A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.
Review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
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17 Again
A guy whose life didn’t quite turn out how he wanted it to and wishes he could go back to high school and change it. He wakes up one day and is seventeen again and gets the chance to rewrite his life.
Review: ★ ★ ★
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Dragonball: Evolution
The young warrior Son Goku sets out on a quest, racing against time and the vengeful King Piccolo, to collect a set of seven magical orbs that will grant their wielder unlimited power.
Review: ★ ★ ½
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The Boat that Rocked
In 1966 — arguably British pop music’s finest era — the BBC played only two hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio blasted rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day.
Review: ★ ★ ★
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Elegy
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life — which he indicates is a state of “emancipated manhood” — thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
Guest Review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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Good
The rise of national socialism in Germany should not be regarded as a conspiracy of madmen. Millions of “good” people found themselves in a society spiralling into terrible chaos. A film about then, which illuminates the terrors of now.
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Race to Witch Mountain
A Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a UFO expert to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.
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Genre: Animation / Drama / Comedy
Rating: M
Running Time: 93min
Director: Adam Elliot
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Barry Humpharies
Official Website: View
Review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
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Synopsis:
MARY & MAX is a claymated feature film from the creators of the Academy Award winning short animation HARVIE KRUMPET. It is a simple tale of pen-friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkle, a chubby lonely eight year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44 year old, severely obese, Jewish man with Aspergers Syndrome living in the chaos of New York. Spanning 20 years and 2 continents, Mary and Max’s friendship survives much more than the average diet of life’s ups and downs. Like Harvie Krumpet, MARY AND MAX is innocent but not naïve, as it takes us on a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious difference, agoraphobia and much much more.
Worth seeing?
In a word; YES!
Review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
My verdict:
“If American Beauty director Sam Mendes teamed up with the makers of Wallace & Gromit at Aardman Animations, the product might look something like Mary & Max. The film perfectly uses visual wit to help tackle an array of very real societal issues, which are honestly and convincingly explored. It’s a big call to make this early in the year, but if Pixar’s upcoming film Up isn’t up to Wall-E standards, Adam Elliot might just be on his way back to the Oscar podium in 2010.”
Read our exclusive interview with Mary and Max director Adam Elliot!
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Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG
Running Time: 102min
Director: Burr Steers
Cast: Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg
Official Website: View
Review: ★ ★ ★
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Synopsis:
What would you do if you got a second shot at life? Class of 1989, Mike O’Donnell is a star on his high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. But instead, he decides to throw it all away to share his life with his girlfriend Scarlett and the baby he just learned they are expecting. Almost 20 years later, Mike’s glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage to Scarlett has fallen apart, he has been passed over for a promotion at work, his teenage kids think he is a loser, and he has been reduced to crashing with his high school nerd-turned-techno-billionaire best friend Ned. But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool in the class of 2009. And in trying to recapture his best years, Mike could lose the best things that ever happened to him.
Worth seeing?
Review: ★ ★ ★
Katina’s verdict:
“17 Again doesn’t present anything we haven’t seen before, but is nonetheless a fun outing. Some great one-liners help its cause, as does Efron’s involvement. Because really, it’s The Zac Efron Show. If you’re not a fan, perhaps stay away.”
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Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy
Rating: PG
Running Time: 82min
Director: James Wong
Cast: Justin Chatwin, Joon Park, Jamie Chung
Official Website: View
Review: ★ ★ ½
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Synopsis:
“Dragonball: Evolution” is the long-awaited, live-action motion picture based on the popular Japanese manga created by Akira Toriyama. Toriyama’s work spawned best selling graphic novels, videogames and a phenomenally successful television series.
The manga, series and games bring to the new film a rich mythology and exciting, complex characters – all of which have captivated millions of fans, of all ages, around the globe. One of the greatest manga franchises ever created, “Dragonball” has an enormous online fan base and is consistently one of the most frequently searched-for terms on Google and Yahoo!
“Dragonball” has exploded into a global phenomenon that has generated more than four billion dollars in merchandising sales. It is considered the gold standard of anime-based video games, with more than 25 different games and over ten million units sold since May 2002. The series – 500 episodes strong – posted top ratings in Europe, Asia and the U.S.
The motion picture “Dragonball: Evolution” features a cast of rising young stars and veteran acclaimed actors. Justin Chatwin, who portrayed Tom Cruise’s son in Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds,” takes on the role of the heroic Goku, a powerful warrior who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the Universe and controlling the mystical objects from which the film takes its name. Emmy Rossum (“The Day After Tomorrow”) is Bulma, a beautiful woman intent on retrieving the mystical Dragonballs for her own reasons; Jamie Chung (“Samurai Girl”) is Chi Chi, a young martial artist who captures Goku’s eye; and screen legend Chow Yun-Fat (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) is Roshi, the Master who guides Goku on the young man’s epic quest to save the Earth from the forces of darkness.
Worth seeing?
Review: ★ ★ ½
My Verdict:
“Ultimately, DragonBall Evolution isn’t able to decide on who it wants to please. It’s enjoyable enough as a standalone action film for teens, but not likely to be memorable or engaging enough to create new fans out of them. For long-time fans of the original series that have patiently waited for a live action Dragon Ball film, the campiness of the Evolution is likely to leave you feeling unsatisfied, as the comic/anime you grew up with hasn’t managed to return the favour and grow up with you.”
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Genre: Comedy/Romance
Rating: M
Running Time: 135min
Director: Richard Curtis
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh
Official Website: View
Review: ★ ★ ★
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Synopsis:
Inspired by the British pirate radio revolution in the ’60s, the majority of the film’s shoot will take place in a large rusty metal fishing trawler moored off the coast of England in the very waters that kept the rock of the ’60s booming into the U.K.
In 1966 — arguably British pop music’s finest era — the BBC played only two hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio blasted rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people — more than half the population of Britain — listened to these pirates every single day.
“The Boat That Rocked” is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the ’60s and pop music. It’s about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz.
Leading the cast are Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Bill Nighy as Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock — a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that’s populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Rhys Ifans as Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Nick Frost as Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and Kenneth Branagh (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hamlet) as British Minister Dormandy, a fearsome government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation.
Worth seeing?
Review: ★ ★ ★
My Verdict:
“Whilst British pirate radio might have rocked the airwaves back in the 1960′s, Richard Curtis’ onscreen depiction only ever manages to gently sway. It’s by no means a nauseating motion; there’s still a lot of lighthearted fun to be had, but Curtis’ screenplay tends to draw out the lean premise, causing the film to run out of steam well before it reaches its destination.”
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Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: M
Running Time: 112min
Director: Isabel Coixet
Cast: Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, Dennis Hopper
Official Website: View
Guest Review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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Synopsis:
Driven by Isabel Coixet’s visually assured and deeply observant direction, “Elegy” charts the passionate relationship between a celebrated college professor and a young woman whose beauty both ravishes and destabilizes him. As their intimate connection transforms them-more than either could imagine-a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story. With humanistic warmth, wry wit and erotic intensity, “Elegy” explores the power of beauty to blind, to reveal and to transform.
David Kepesh (Sir Ben Kingsley) glories in the pursuit of adventurous female students but never lets any woman get too close. When gorgeous Consuela Castillo (Penelope Cruz) enters his classroom, however, his protective veneer dissolves. Her raven-haired beauty both captivates and unsettles him.
Even if Kepesh declares her body a perfect work of art, Consuela is more than an object of desire. She has a strong sense of herself and an emotional intensity that challenges his preconceptions. Kepesh’s need for Consuela becomes an obsession, but ultimately his jealous fantasies of betrayal drive her away.
Shattered, Kepesh faces up to the ravages of time, immersing himself in work and confronting the loss of old friends. Then, two years later, Consuela comes back into his life-with an urgent, desperate request that will change everything.
“Elegy” is based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth’s short novel “The Dying Animal.”
Worth seeing?
Guest Review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Eddie Crismani’s Verdict:
“With a great script by Nicolas Myer based upon a Philip Roth novel The Dying Animal, Elegy is a brilliant and subtly directed film by Spanish director Isabel Coixet. This romantic drama beautifully caresses to the surface themes of growth, love and finding a place in the world for us out of a selfish, self-centred and lonely… one.”
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Genre: Drama
Rating: M
Running Time: 96min
Director: Vicente Amorim
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Jason Isaacs, Jodie Whittaker, Mark Strong, Steven Mackintosh, Gemma Jones
Official Website: View
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Synopsis:
Viggo Mortensen takes on an extraordinary change-of-pace role as John Halder, a good, decent individual with family problems. A German literature professor in the 1930s, Halder explores his personal circumstances in a novel advocating compassionate euthanasia. When the book is unexpectedly enlisted by powerful political figures in support of government propaganda, Halder finds his career rising in an optimistic current of nationalism and prosperity. Yet with Halder’s change in fortune, his seemingly inconsequential decisions potentially jeopardise the people in his life with devastating effects.
Worth seeing?
The title might be Good, but the word on the street suggests anything but. Granted, I still am intrigued by this film, and will endeavour to see it. Mortensen is a great actor, who rarely disappoints…even if the film around him might.
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Genre: Family/Adventure/ Sci-fi/ Comedy
Rating: PG
Running Time: 94min
Director: Andy Fickman
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb,
Official Website: View
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Synopsis:
For years, stories have circulated about a secret place in the middle of the Nevada desert, known for unexplained phenomena and strange sightings. It is called Witch Mountain, and when a Las Vegas cab driver (Dwayne Johnson) finds two teens with supernatural powers in his cab, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of an adventure he can’t explain. When they discover that the only chance to save the world lies in unraveling the secrets of Witch Mountain, the race begins, as the government, mobsters and even extraterrestrials try to stop them. “Race to Witch Mountain” is a fun and thrilling adventure featuring incredible special effects.
Worth seeing?
It’s probably a better pick than Dragonball if you plan on taking the kids to the movies.
But “The Rock” in a kids movie? Reminds me of Vin Diesel in The Pacifier…and we all know how well that went down.
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