Opening in cinemas across Australia this week we have one of the guaranteed biggest blockbusters of the year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, historical drama Agora starring Rachel Weisz and award winning documentary Gasland.
Continue reading for film details, trailers and recommendations!
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1
Genre: Adventure/Drama/Fantasy
Rating: (M) Fantasy themes and violence
Running Time: 146 min
Director: David Yates
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes
Official Website: Link
Studio’s Synopsis:
Voldemort’s power is growing stronger. He now has control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to finish Dumbledore’s work and find the rest of the Horcruxes to defeat the Dark Lord. But little hope remains for them, so everything they do must go as planned.
Worth seeing?
For once this question isn’t really relevant. If you are a fan or have seen the previous six entries, you are so invested that you don’t really have a choice. Just take it from someone who has 8 seasons of Smallville sitting on their DVD rack and hasn’t liked it since season 3. (Rotten Tomatoes Rating)
Check out Anders Wotzke’s 3 star review here.
Box Office Predictions:
The Potter franchise has had impressively consistent box office. All the films have grossed between 250 – 300 million at the U.S. box office and internationally all the films have hit around 800 – 900 million. Being that this is the first part of the final installment, Deathly Hallows could end up being the first Potter to break the 1 billion mark, where it joins only 7 other films to reach that milestone
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EC2tmFVNNE
AGORA
Genre: Period/Drama
Rating: (MA 15+) Adult themes and violence
Running Time: 126 min
Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella
Official Website: Link
Studio’s Synopsis:
A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hopes of pursuing freedom while also falling in love with his master, the famous female philosophy professor and atheist Hypatia of Alexandria.
Worth seeing?
Middling reviews that still praise Rachel Weisz’s performance as “gripping”. Perhaps only for hardcore Weisz fans or fans of epic period dramas. On a side note the always excellent Weisz has apparently been chatting to director Christopher Nolan recently about a role in The Dark Knight Rises…interesting. (Rotten Tomatoes Rating)
Box Office Predictions:
While it was the biggest grossing film in Spain of ’09, there ain’t much hope of it making back it’s 70 odd million budget (not in cinemas anyway). The film only made $600, 000 in the U.S. but locally it could easily double that.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbuEhwselE0
GASLAND
Genre: Documentary
Rating: (PG)
Running Time: 104 min
Director: Josh Fox
Cast: Josh Fox
Official Website: Link:
Studio’s Synopsis:
Can you imagine being able to light your tap water on fire? This is just one of the many shocking results due to the natural gas drilling boom which has swept the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” just beneath us. But is fracking safe? Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown. Josh Fox encounters EPA whistleblowers, congressmen, world recognized scientists, and some of the most incredibly inspiring and heart-wrenching stories of ordinary Americans fighting against fossil fuel giants for environmental justice.
Worth seeing?
Not many reviews yet for this award winning doco but all that do exist are very positive. If you like your expose style docos, this may be the one for you this weekend, especially if you ain’t down with the boy-wizard. (Rotten Tomatoes Rating)
Box Office Predictions:
Documentary films rarely do big business and this one will be no different. Possibly $300,000 locally if it lasts long enough in limited release.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0fAsFQsFAs
