As Summer marches on in Australia and the heat and the humidity ramp up, interspersed with the occasional clap of thunder and sudden brief rain storm, we find ourselves once again at pains to decide which new release movie to go and see in the coming week. And for the week ahead we have six new offerings to choose from nonetheless that offer something for everyone, unless that is you happen to be under the age of 15!
Arriving at a movie theatre near you this week then we have two more films in Oscar contention - of which one is for Best Picture and the other Best Documentary Feature amongst others; then there is the book that sold 70 million copies finally 'coming' to a big screen near you; a very controversial comedy that almost started WWIII . . . literally!; an outback Aussie zombie gore fest that has to be the must-see of the week (just my humble opinion); an English comedy of holidays, relationships, birthdays and heartbreak; and to cap it off a doco about a whistle blower a few years back that exposes a issue close to all of our hearts!
With more detail shown below, be sure to catch something new in the week ahead, and when you do, don't be shy, make a Comment directly below this or any other Post and share with our ever expanding readership your thoughts on your chosen movie and your film going experience!
SELMA (Rated M) - in 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. At around about the same time four African American girls are killed by an explosion en route to their church, and in the town of Selma, Alabama a black woman Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey, who also Produces here) attempts to register a vote to which she is by rights entitled, but is prevented from doing so by a white registrar. Subsequently MLK (here played by David Oyelowo) meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to have legislation passed to enable black citizens to vote without fear of refusal or reprisal - the President says he has more important things to do! King then travels to Selma with a number of other colleagues and followers, and in the meantime J. Edgar Hoover (Dylan Baker) advises the President that he thinks King is problematical. Cooper, whose voting rights were denied, has a scuffle with the town Sheriff in front of the local courthouse and as a result she, King and several others are arrested. The Alabama Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth) speaks out against King. King's new wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo) seeks support from Malcolm X (Nigel Thatch) and as time progresses the atmosphere becomes more intense in Selma and the rallied black community and the local white law enforcers and political leaders jockey for position and the upper hand.
What follows is the recounting of the Selma to Montgomery march and the bloody battles that ensued along the way as local authorities and officers of the law let loose with tear gas, clubs, batons and many on horseback to break up the march and disperse the activists. The violence was extreme with many injured, and this all plays out on national television with Johnson then having to back peddle to get legislation hurried through Congress to give the black citizens unencumbered voting rights. King uses his best oratory skills to rally his supporters and garner new too, and as the march draws to a relatively peaceful conclusion in Montgomery his final address there is cut with real footage from the day. Directed by Ava DuVernay for a cost of US$20M this has a strong cast headed up by English Oyelowo, that is not an MLK bio-pic but a recounting of the Selma story that served to help change the course of history in which King played a fairly significant role. Nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song at the upcoming Academy Awards it is one to watch, and another based on real events.
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Rated MA15+) - the book sold 70 million copies worldwide and spawned two further books in the series which, if this is successful, will spawn two further films in all likelihood. Directed by Sam Taylor Johnson this has Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey - the two main characters in this story of two individuals - she a young literature student and he a hugely successful and wealthy international businessman - drawn together by sexual desire, but in her naivety she comes to realise that Grey wants/needs to control everything and do so on his terms, which in turn opens up a whole new world of possibilities! The budget to deliver this to the big screen came in at about US$40M and is likely to do plenty more than that in the final analysis given the book sales and the anticipation around its big screen adaptation.
THE INTERVIEW (Rated MA15+) - just about anybody and everybody in the movie going world knows of the trouble this film has caused on the international stage and the subsequent fall out from it. World leaders have become involved, Sony Entertainment was cyber-hacked exposing to the world all manner of things not intended for public consumption, the head of Sony Pictures stood down, the release date was put back as the film had to be re-cut, and all because the subject matter about an interview with, and an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was deemed by him and his cronies to be war mongering. Furthermore, it was threatened by a certain extremist group that if shown on general release those pesky North Koreans would consider this an act of war and take all necessary action against the heinous West without mercy! Really - WTF! Anyway the said satirical spoof concerns Seth Rogen and James Franco as two hapless but reasonably successful television journalists granted an interview with said world leader, and then tasked by the CIA to take out this leader once they have won his confidence. Unlikely to go down in history as the greatest comedy of all time, but, it will go down in history as the movie that almost caused North Korea to fire on North America and in doing so caused much angst, table thumping and gnashing of teeth in the process. As a result of the Hoo-Haa it was released on digital rental on Christmas Eve 2014 and very limited cinema release thereafter where it garnered US$40M and US$9M respectively making is Sony's most successful digital release to date.
WYRMWOOD : ROAD OF THE DEAD (Rated MA15+) - what's not to like about an Aussie outback zombie gore fest that might be best described as
'Mad Max' meets
'The Walking Dead' - bring it on I say! Written by brothers Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner and Directed by the former this tells the story of family man and mechanic Barry (Jay Gallagher) whose very existence is pulled assunder on the eve of a zombie apocalypse. Forewarned by his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey) that the zombies are attacking which seems to be the result of a meteor storm hitting Earth and a disease ensuing that turns the population into the flesh eating, gut munching walking dead. Needless to say only a few survive to fight of the marauding masses of the un-dead, but Brooke is kidnapped by a mad scientist hellbent on experimenting on her and various other survivors, and so Barry needs to team up, tool up and man up to rescue Brooke, overthrow the mad evil scientist and save his own skin before he too becomes zombie fodder! Brilliant!
WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY (Rated PG) - for a slightly more low key offering there is this Brit Pic comedy starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike (as husband and wife team Doug and Abi respectively) who are on the verge of divorce but have not yet braved up and told Doug's dad of the pending separation. Travelling then up to Scotland to celebrate Dad's birthday - Gordy McLeod (Billy Connolly) it seems that you can't keep a secret a secret for very long especially where three young whipper-snapper grandchildren are concerned. Touted as a solid enough romp with strong performances from the three lead adult actors and pretty good turns from the three grand kids too (Emilia Jones, Amelia Bullmore and Bobby Smalldridge) together with the backdrop of the Scottish highlands this is sure to please lovers of Connolly and a good British comedy yarn that can hold its own.
CITIZENFOUR (Rated M) - this documentary film is up for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category and is Directed by Laura Poitras who back in January 2013 started receiving anonymous encrypted e-mails from a source known as
'Citizenfour' concerning illegal covert surveillance operations run by the NSA in conjunction with various other government agencies around the world. Fast track to mid-2013 she, and colleague reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill jet off to Hong Kong to attend the first of many meetings with Edward Snowdon. Taking her camera along to capture the intimate details of those meetings, this film tells the blow by blow account of the information that spilled forth, and the perpetrators of that information and those embroiled in it. It could be compelling viewing giving you an insiders view of Snowdon - his rationale, his state of mind and what he hoped to gain in going public by outing those that would threaten our security, our privacy and our right of freedom.
A real mixed bag then of cinema content this week ahead that is sure to please on some level, somewhere and with someone. Where you're done, remember to reserve your Comments and your feedback of your filmic experience with your rapidly growing favourite movie Blog, and share away!
Movies - catch one this week, at least!
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
This film was released in Australia on Boxing Day last year and it has taken me this long to see 'ST. VINCENT', but it was worth the wait I'd have to say! Directed by Theodore Melfi and made for US$13M it has so far made US$53M as at 3rd February, and this dramedy has garnered five award wins and another seventeen nominations including two Golden Globes for Best Film and Best Lead for it's starring Actor, Bill Murray.
One day a new neighbour turns up with young son in tow. Mother Maggie (Melissa McCarthy, playing it down) is going through a bitter divorce and moves in right next door with Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) who introduce themselves when the removalist truck they have rented backs into a tree knocks down a heavy branch and it lands on the bonnet of Vincent's car. He is none too pleased, and so the relationship begins. Maggie works as a hospital assistant and when expected to work back late one afternoon has no one to care for young Oliver after school and so it's Vincent very reluctantly to the rescue - begrudgingly and only for a small fee of $11 an hour . . . always the opportunist too it seems!
It's an engaging story, but of course it's not all good for the two new friends! There is the inevitable parting of the waves when the two fall out and Mum comes to learn of what Vincent has been exposing young Oliver too as it plays out in a custody scene in court. But, what goes around comes around as Oliver's teacher - God fearing and down to earth Catholic Priest Brother Geraghty (Chris O'Dowd) tasks his young pupils with writing a story of a person they have contact with on why they should qualify for a Sainthood. The school class is given two weeks in which to do their research and then present their nominees on stage at school in front of gathered parents, friends and school staff.
Young Oliver secretly nominates Vincent and begins to research his past with the people he has come to meet through their friendship. It seems there is much more to Vincent than anyone really knows, and this beer swilling, cigarette chewing, cantankerous, opinionated, lazy loud guy who has seen a fair share of tragedy in his own life, must be more saintly than we realise.
There are some laugh out loud moments in this film, particularly at the beginning as things begin to ramp up and we get to know Vincent. It then sinks into some melodramatic moments before the final tear jerking emotional final chapter when all is good in the world and the stars align for Vincent, his new family and his new neighbours. It's a feel good film and Bill Murray gives a good turn playing Bill Murray as you would imagine him to be when he's not acting for a living! Given that this has been on general release now for about six weeks or so, you can catch it soon on DVD and BluRay and it's worth it for a night in and a film of human frailty, and a dose of heart and humour.
