Opening in cinemas across Australia this week we have a number of new films ranging from the intriguing (I’m Still Here) to the irrelevant (Cats & Dogs 2) to the reportedly awful (The Last Airbender). Continue reading for film details, trailers and recommendations!
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Running Time: 103 min
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Noah Ringer
Official Website: link
For session times in your area, click here.
Studio’s Synopsis:
Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world.
Worth seeing?
M. Night’s career has been on the slide ever since he cheated audiences and lost their trust with The Village back in 2004. While this film is on track to become his first legitimate box office hit in over half a decade, the critical slaying it has received overseas suggests you should stay far far away from this turkey. Some things just never change.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMoGFeMmhKA
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Genre: Family, Comedy
Rating: G
Running Time: 85 min
Director: Brad Peyton
Cast: Carlos Alazraqui, Christina Applegate, Fred Armisen
Official Website: link
For session times in your area, click here.
Studio’s Synopsis:
In the age-old battle between cats and dogs, one crazed feline has taken things a paw too far. Kitty Galore, formerly an agent for cat spy organization MEOWS, has gone rogue and hatched a diabolical plan to not only bring her canine enemies to heel, but take down her former kitty comrades and make the world her scratching post. Faced with this unprecedented threat, cats and dogs will be forced to join forces for the first time in history in an unlikely alliance to save themselves — and their humans.
Worth seeing?
Not that the first movie was a groundbreaking experience by any means but it did manage to be a cute distraction for the kiddies and maybe the odd animal lover. This seems too little to late, as it’s taken 9 years to get the sequel to the screen and no one was really asking for it either. Reviews and box office receipts in the U.S. have been luke warm at best, but you could probably do worse this weekend and see The Last Airbender.
Read Amy Killin’s two star review here.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0tqsdtoDb4
I’m Still Here
Genre: Documentary
Rating: M
Running Time: 108 min
Director: Casey Affleck
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs
Official Website: link
For session times in your area, click here.
Studio’s Synopsis:
The directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Casey Affleck, I’M STILL HERE is a striking portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of internationally acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, I’M STILL HERE follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
Worth seeing?
This looks intriguing to say the least. There has been much debate as to whether this doco and the subject’s retirement from acting are real or just an elaborate prank being played on the public by the star and director. Either way the best part of two years have passed since Joaquin Phoenix has graced our screens and if it is just a big joke, you have to at least admire the commitment to the gag. This one could be the ticket this weekend.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2spHiYOORc
Easy A
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Rating: M
Running Time: 92 min
Director: Will Gluck
Cast: Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow,
Official Website: link
For session times in your area, click here.
Studio’s Synopsis:
Stone plays a high school student who, after being ostracized by a false rumor she’s loose, uses the rumor mill to her advantage, pitting puritanical students and teachers against their liberal counterparts. – The film weaves the plight of The Scarlet Letter heroine Hester Prynne into a parallel storyline to what the Easy A protagonist endures.
Worth seeing?
In the tradition of films like 10 Things I Hate About You, this new teen flick could be the just the vehicle to break out rising young star Emma Booth. If the trailer is anything to go by it could be a bit of light fun aimed at the teen set. Also it’s probably better than The Last Airbender and didn’t cost 150 million to make.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNbPnqyvItk
The Reluctant Infidel
Genre: Comedy
Rating: M
Running Time: 105 min
Director: Josh Appignanesi
Cast: Archie Panjabi, Matt Lucas, Richard Scgiff, Omid Djalili
Official Website: http://infidelmovie.com/
This film is in limited release. For session times in your area, click here.
Studio’s Synopsis:
Meet MAHMUD NASIR (Omid Djalili), loving husband, doting father and something of a relaxed Muslim.
Does the F word occasionally pass his lips? Its hardly worth mentioning. Does he say his prayers five times a day? Of course! Well, usually Does he fast every day of Ramadan? Whos counting anyway?
He may not be the most observant, but in his heart he is as Muslim as it gets. But after his mothers death a discovery turns Mahmuds world upside down. He finds his birth certificate which reveals that not only was he adopted at birth but hes Jewish, and his real name is Solly Shimshillewitz!
As Mahmud tumbles headlong into a full scale identity crisis, the only person he can turn to is LENNY (Richard Schiff), a drunken Jewish cabbie who agrees to give him lessons in Jewishness, which start with how to dance like Topol. Oy vey.
Worth seeing?
With modest reviews so far, this British comedy tackles taboo subject matter but it seems unlikely that it will get close to reaching the heights of Four Lions from last month.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMudF0MQgC0
The Extra Man
Genre: Comedy
Rating: M
Running Time: 105 min
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Cast: Kevin Kline, Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, Paul Dano
Official Website: link
For session times in your area, click here.
Studio’s Synopsis:
THE EXTRA MAN follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start. He quickly finds a 9 to 5 job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes) but, what really sparks Louis’ imagination is his new home life. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric and brilliant playwright. Along his exploration into the heart of New York City, Henry and Louis have unexpected influences on each other and form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.
Worth seeing?
Based on the novel by Jonathan Ames, this film has a great cast including the always charming Kevin Kline and also marks the return of Katie Holmes, who has been far too busy being Mrs Cruise for the last few years. Could be a charming little indie treat!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp3ItefraLw
