Movies out today, SA
You can tell we're entering midyear blockbuster season. There are too many movies to watch, and too little time to do so. Five new films hit South African cinemas today. Two, in fact, have been out since Wednesday for some inexplicable reason...
First up, and my viewing priority for the weekend, is Angels & Demons, the sequel to the controversial smash hit, The Da Vinci Code... which of course was based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel.
Angels & Demons reunites the creative team that brought audiences The Da Vinci Code, including director Ron Howard, writer Akiva Goldsman and, of course, Tom Hanks as celebrated Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (this time with a new haircut).
I've blogged about Angels & Demons before, but basically this mystery-thriller sees Langdon racing around Rome to stop a deadly threat to the Vatican and, by extension, the entire Catholic Church.
Angels & Demons is only 39% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but I'm a firm believer it just has to be better than the overlong, plodding Da Vinci Code. Howard and co. have promised they've learned from their mistakes with the first film, and early reviews seem to back up that claim. Angels & Demons, the book, was better than The Da Vinci Code novel. Here's hoping it holds true for their movie counterparts...
Like Angels & Demons, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past has been showing in some local cinemas since Wednesday. This romantic comedy stars Matthew McConaughey as photographer Connor Mead, an unrepentant womaniser who is forced to learn the error of his ways when he is visited by the spirits of girlfriends past, present and future. Their visitations awaken Connor's feelings for his long-lost true love, played by Jennifer Garner.
So yes, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past steals wholesale from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and even features Michael Douglas in the role of Connor's long-dead uncle and mentor.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past scored a 28% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been called charmless, formulaic and distinctly unfunny. However, it is apparently one of the better Matthew McConaughey rom-coms, so his fans should be pleased about that.
People who want scares instead of sugar can check out The Unborn, a horror film from Blade and Dark Knight writer David S. Goyer. With its possession/exorcism focus, The Unborn centres on a young woman Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) who is haunted by a vicious evil spirit in the form of a little boy.
Aligning herself with Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman), Casey seeks to rid herself of the demon, and in the process discovers a curse dating back to Nazi Germany.
The Unborn scored a very disappointing 13% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and was labelled laughingly bad, frequently silly and dependent on cheap scares to frighten the audience. It's also just PG-13, so don't expect it to be a particularly intense movie experience.
Showing in very limited release, meanwhile, is the indie comedy Hamlet 2, starring Steve Coogan, Elizabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette.
A massive hit at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Hamlet 2 focuses on a hopelessly untalented actor-turned-high-school-drama-teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan). After a number of failed productions, including an adaptation of Erin Brockovich, the drama department is targeted for closure. Dana comes up with a "genius" idea to save his department - an unpolitically correct, musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Hamlet 2 is supposed to be sublimely ridiculous, with Coogan's performance especially over the top. The film scored a 63% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It does apparently require a special, silly sense of humour to appreciate it, so you have been warned.
Finally, lovers of Bollywood cinema can check out Golmaal Returns, a sequel to the 2006 hit Golmaal. Reading its synopsis the film sounds like pretty conventional fare - suspicious wives, misunderstandings, kidnappings and, of course, dancing chorus girls!
Golmaal Returns has been a massive success wherever it has shown, but received mostly negative reviews. It's generally described as a goofy film for college-age audiences.
First up, and my viewing priority for the weekend, is Angels & Demons, the sequel to the controversial smash hit, The Da Vinci Code... which of course was based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel.
Angels & Demons reunites the creative team that brought audiences The Da Vinci Code, including director Ron Howard, writer Akiva Goldsman and, of course, Tom Hanks as celebrated Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (this time with a new haircut).
I've blogged about Angels & Demons before, but basically this mystery-thriller sees Langdon racing around Rome to stop a deadly threat to the Vatican and, by extension, the entire Catholic Church.
Angels & Demons is only 39% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but I'm a firm believer it just has to be better than the overlong, plodding Da Vinci Code. Howard and co. have promised they've learned from their mistakes with the first film, and early reviews seem to back up that claim. Angels & Demons, the book, was better than The Da Vinci Code novel. Here's hoping it holds true for their movie counterparts...
Like Angels & Demons, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past has been showing in some local cinemas since Wednesday. This romantic comedy stars Matthew McConaughey as photographer Connor Mead, an unrepentant womaniser who is forced to learn the error of his ways when he is visited by the spirits of girlfriends past, present and future. Their visitations awaken Connor's feelings for his long-lost true love, played by Jennifer Garner.
So yes, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past steals wholesale from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and even features Michael Douglas in the role of Connor's long-dead uncle and mentor.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past scored a 28% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been called charmless, formulaic and distinctly unfunny. However, it is apparently one of the better Matthew McConaughey rom-coms, so his fans should be pleased about that.
People who want scares instead of sugar can check out The Unborn, a horror film from Blade and Dark Knight writer David S. Goyer. With its possession/exorcism focus, The Unborn centres on a young woman Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) who is haunted by a vicious evil spirit in the form of a little boy.
Aligning herself with Rabbi Sendak (Gary Oldman), Casey seeks to rid herself of the demon, and in the process discovers a curse dating back to Nazi Germany.
The Unborn scored a very disappointing 13% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and was labelled laughingly bad, frequently silly and dependent on cheap scares to frighten the audience. It's also just PG-13, so don't expect it to be a particularly intense movie experience.
Showing in very limited release, meanwhile, is the indie comedy Hamlet 2, starring Steve Coogan, Elizabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette.
A massive hit at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Hamlet 2 focuses on a hopelessly untalented actor-turned-high-school-drama-teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan). After a number of failed productions, including an adaptation of Erin Brockovich, the drama department is targeted for closure. Dana comes up with a "genius" idea to save his department - an unpolitically correct, musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Hamlet 2 is supposed to be sublimely ridiculous, with Coogan's performance especially over the top. The film scored a 63% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It does apparently require a special, silly sense of humour to appreciate it, so you have been warned.
Finally, lovers of Bollywood cinema can check out Golmaal Returns, a sequel to the 2006 hit Golmaal. Reading its synopsis the film sounds like pretty conventional fare - suspicious wives, misunderstandings, kidnappings and, of course, dancing chorus girls!
Golmaal Returns has been a massive success wherever it has shown, but received mostly negative reviews. It's generally described as a goofy film for college-age audiences.
Comments
And I heard a film critic this morning who said that Angels & Demons was better than DaVinci Code, though he still thinks Tom Hanks is miscast.
As for Hamlet 2, the more I read about it, the more keen I am to see it. It's not showing here widely at all though so I'll probably have to wait for DVD.