During the week of March 26th 2009,  three films are opening in cinemas across Australia:

Knowing
A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions — some that have already occurred and others that are about to — that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

The Uninvited
Anna Rydell returns home to her sister (and best friend) Alex after a stint in a mental hospital, though her recovery is jeopardized thanks to her cruel stepmother, aloof father, and the presence of a ghost in their home.

Bottle Shock
The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as “Judgment of Paris”.

 

 

For session times in your area, click here.

 

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Knowing

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: M
Running Time: 121 min
Director: Alex Proyas
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury
Official Website: View

For session times in your area, click here.

Studio’s Synopsis:

In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl’s cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Myles. But it is Caleb’s father, professor Ted Myles (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document’s secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events-the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son.

When Ted’s attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.

This  supernatural thriller charts one man’s faltering steps towards belief in the ultimate order of the universe even as he finds himself surrounded by mounting chaos. With the reluctant help of Diana Whelan (Rose Byrne) and Abby, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies, Ted’s increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster-and the ultimate sacrifice.

Worth seeing?
Gone are the days where there was a shimmer of hope that Nicolas Cage might just have a good performance left in him. After films like The Wicker Man and Bangkok Dangerous, I find it hard to fathom this is a man who won the best actors Oscar in 1995. However, of all of Cage’s films of late, I’m semi-intrigued by Knowing due to it’s director Alex Proyas. He was the man responsible for the brilliant noir film Dark City back in 1998.  Then again, Nic Cage is in it….it just can’t possibly be good.

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The Uninvited

Genre: Horror / Thriller
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 87 min
Director: Charles Guard, Thomas Guard
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, David Strathairn, Arielle Kebbel, Emily Browning
Official Website: View

For session times in your area, click here.

Studio’s Synopsis:

In the suspense thriller “The Uninvited,” based on the 2003 Korean motion picture “Changhwa, Hongryon” written and directed by Kim Jee-woon, Anna (Emily Browning) returns home after spending time in a psychiatric facility following her mother’s tragic death and discovers that her mother’s former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks), has moved into their house and become engaged to her father, Steven (David Strathairn). Soon after she learns this shocking news, Anna is visited by her mother’s ghost, who warns her that Rachel has evil intentions.

Together, Anna and her sister (Arielle Kebbel) must convince their father that his new fiancee is not who she pretends to be, and what should have been a happy family reunion becomes a lethal battle of wills between stepdaughters and stepmother.

Worth seeing?

As long as this is better than The Unborn…which isn’t asking much at all.
But it’s disappointing to see yet another US horror rip off a probably better foreign film. Is there any originality left in the Hollywood horror industry? Also, Elizabeth Banks’ career should be given a speeding ticket; she’s in every second film and TV show at the moment. Luckily I don’t mind her.

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Bottle Shock

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rating: M
Running Time: 110min
Director: Randall Miller
Cast: Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Bill Pullman, Rachel Taylor, Freddy Rodríguez
Official Website: View

For session times in your area, click here.

Studio’s Synopsis:

Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Parisian wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world’s best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim’s Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn’t seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring — their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Worth seeing?
★ ★ ★ ½

I reviewed Bottle Shock here, giving it 3.5/5 stars. My conclusion:

“Ultimately, the shortcomings of the screenplay prevent Bottle Shock from reaching the top shelf, but that certainly doesn’t mean it won’t compliment your evening.”

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