Movies today, South Africa
A grand total of 7 new films open in South Africa today. None of them really pique my interest though so I think I'll be giving the cinema a miss this weekend.
The most high profile of these new movies is undoubtedly Duplicity, a breezy comedy-drama about 2 former spies who turn to corporate espionage for personal profit. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts star, and the film has been described as charming, smart and packed with plot twists. It's apparently ideal for fans of stylish crime caper movies like Oceans 11. Duplicity is a solid 67% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Horror movie junkies will probably want to check out The Uninvited, yet another remake of a hit Korean psychological-thriller. This time the action centres on a young woman, Anna (Emily Browning), who, after the tragic death of her mother, is admitted to a mental hospital. She returns home to discover her father (David Strathairn) is suddenly engaged to her mother's former nurse (Elisabeth Banks). When various spirits start visiting Anna with disturbing warnings, it's up to her and her sister to stop the marriage. The Uninvited is sitting on 32% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes - it's apparently quite atmospheric but very predictable, with a ridiculous ending.
Anyone with an interest in the history of rock 'n' roll, and its connection to the blues, may want to check out Cadillac Records. This musical drama is based on the true story of Chess Records, a Chicago-based record company that helped launch the careers of legends like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Etta James in the 1950s and 60s. Adrien Brody plays record label founder, Leonard Chess, and the rest of the cast includes Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Cedric the Entertainer and Mos Def. Cadillac Records has a very respectable score of 68% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The music and performances are supposed to be great; the actual storyline muddled and cliched.
Moving on to the films that are coming out in a much more limited release, there's Miss March, a raunchy teen comedy about a young man who wakes from a 4-year coma to discover his ex-girlfriend is now a magazine centrefold. Cue roadtrip to the Playboy mansion with sex-crazed best friend! With a 4% score at Rotten Tomatoes, Miss March sounds like something to be avoided at all costs.
Asterix at the Olympic Games is the third live action French film based on the classic comics by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. I remember being horribly disappointed when I saw a dubbed version of the first movie (with Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier and Roberto Benigni) - visually the filmmakers had brought the comics to life, but otherwise it was silly, juvenile junk. And the dubbing was appalling. By the sounds of it, Olympic Games is no better. It won the French equivalent of the Razzie Award for worst film made in 2007.
Something else for the kiddies then is the CGI-animated movie, Garfield's Fun Fest, a follow-up to 2007's similarly animated Garfield Gets Real. The film's storyline centres on a talent show which fat cat Garfield has to win in order to impress on-off girlfriend Arlene, who's been flirting with the new tom in town. It's great to see the look of the Garfield comic strip faithfully translated into computer animation. It's unfortunate though that the film apparently lacks the strip's sense of humour and charm. User comments on the IMDB are very negative.
Finally there's the feature length documentary Hidden Heart, focusing on the world's first heart transplant, performed by Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town in 1967. More specifically the film looks at the role former gardener turned lab assistant Hamilton Naki played during the operation, and why his contribution was overlooked. I've only found 1 review of the film here, and it's described as interesting, but a bit clunky at times, particularly when it tries to integrate footage of the Soweto uprisings into the narrative.
The most high profile of these new movies is undoubtedly Duplicity, a breezy comedy-drama about 2 former spies who turn to corporate espionage for personal profit. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts star, and the film has been described as charming, smart and packed with plot twists. It's apparently ideal for fans of stylish crime caper movies like Oceans 11. Duplicity is a solid 67% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Horror movie junkies will probably want to check out The Uninvited, yet another remake of a hit Korean psychological-thriller. This time the action centres on a young woman, Anna (Emily Browning), who, after the tragic death of her mother, is admitted to a mental hospital. She returns home to discover her father (David Strathairn) is suddenly engaged to her mother's former nurse (Elisabeth Banks). When various spirits start visiting Anna with disturbing warnings, it's up to her and her sister to stop the marriage. The Uninvited is sitting on 32% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes - it's apparently quite atmospheric but very predictable, with a ridiculous ending.
Anyone with an interest in the history of rock 'n' roll, and its connection to the blues, may want to check out Cadillac Records. This musical drama is based on the true story of Chess Records, a Chicago-based record company that helped launch the careers of legends like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Etta James in the 1950s and 60s. Adrien Brody plays record label founder, Leonard Chess, and the rest of the cast includes Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Cedric the Entertainer and Mos Def. Cadillac Records has a very respectable score of 68% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The music and performances are supposed to be great; the actual storyline muddled and cliched.
Moving on to the films that are coming out in a much more limited release, there's Miss March, a raunchy teen comedy about a young man who wakes from a 4-year coma to discover his ex-girlfriend is now a magazine centrefold. Cue roadtrip to the Playboy mansion with sex-crazed best friend! With a 4% score at Rotten Tomatoes, Miss March sounds like something to be avoided at all costs.
Asterix at the Olympic Games is the third live action French film based on the classic comics by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. I remember being horribly disappointed when I saw a dubbed version of the first movie (with Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier and Roberto Benigni) - visually the filmmakers had brought the comics to life, but otherwise it was silly, juvenile junk. And the dubbing was appalling. By the sounds of it, Olympic Games is no better. It won the French equivalent of the Razzie Award for worst film made in 2007.
Something else for the kiddies then is the CGI-animated movie, Garfield's Fun Fest, a follow-up to 2007's similarly animated Garfield Gets Real. The film's storyline centres on a talent show which fat cat Garfield has to win in order to impress on-off girlfriend Arlene, who's been flirting with the new tom in town. It's great to see the look of the Garfield comic strip faithfully translated into computer animation. It's unfortunate though that the film apparently lacks the strip's sense of humour and charm. User comments on the IMDB are very negative.
Finally there's the feature length documentary Hidden Heart, focusing on the world's first heart transplant, performed by Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town in 1967. More specifically the film looks at the role former gardener turned lab assistant Hamilton Naki played during the operation, and why his contribution was overlooked. I've only found 1 review of the film here, and it's described as interesting, but a bit clunky at times, particularly when it tries to integrate footage of the Soweto uprisings into the narrative.
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