Movies today, SA!
Several new films open in South Africa today, offering a little something for everyone. My top 2 personal picks for the weekend are:
Last Chance Harvey - If you're in the market for something lightweight with a couple of acting heavyweights, there's this romantic drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Hoffman plays a middle-aged workaholic stuck in a dead end job as a jingle writer. In England for his daughter's wedding and down on his luck, he encounters Thompson's lonely, charming but always unlucky-in-love statistician, and the couple spend the day together to cheer each other up.
I haven't seen or heard much at all about about Last Chance Harvey (it was released in the States on Christmas Day 2008), but general consensus is that it's a sweet treat with the message that it's never too late to find love, and change your life for the better. Hoffman and Thompson make a likable screen couple, as expected, and together ably carry the film. 70% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Final Destination is the fourth (and supposedly final) film in the popular horror-comedy franchise in which teens and twenty-somethings (played by acting unknowns) narrowly avoid death... only to find that the grim reaper is still out to get them. They then proceed to die in some of the ludicrous accidents imaginable.
You'd probably only go and see Final Destination 4 if you enjoyed the previous films in the series. The gimmick this time around is that you can watch the highly choreographed carnage in 3D, as the movie is screening in both traditional format and everyone's new favourite movie gimmick. The Final Destination is, however, just 27% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes so keep your expectations moderated.
In terms of other films opening this weekend, there are plenty of choices to keep the kiddies amused:
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure - This CGI-animated film was designed for straight-to-DVD release overseas but for some reason it's screening at some South African cinemas. Peter Pan's little sidekick must embark on a perilous adventure to save her fairy friends.
Aliens in the Attic - Combining live action footage and CGI-animation, this family adventure sees a group of kids defending their holiday home against a group of knee-high alien invaders. Naturally the kids' parents are oblivious to the battle going on. 26% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
God Rocks! Live in Miami - Dude! The Almighty Father put on a gig and nobody except a chosen few knew about it. His underling, the Pope gets more press! Seriously, God Rocks! seems to be the Jonas Brothers (with a girl) of Christian music, and this film mixes concert footage with an animated movie done in a colourful Spongebob style.
Wake Up Sid - Hip, urban Bollywood romance about a good looking young slacker who falls for an aspiring writer in bustling Mumbai. Their relationship nudges Sid towards deciding what to do with the rest of his life. Much singing and dancing ensues.
Last Chance Harvey - If you're in the market for something lightweight with a couple of acting heavyweights, there's this romantic drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Hoffman plays a middle-aged workaholic stuck in a dead end job as a jingle writer. In England for his daughter's wedding and down on his luck, he encounters Thompson's lonely, charming but always unlucky-in-love statistician, and the couple spend the day together to cheer each other up.
I haven't seen or heard much at all about about Last Chance Harvey (it was released in the States on Christmas Day 2008), but general consensus is that it's a sweet treat with the message that it's never too late to find love, and change your life for the better. Hoffman and Thompson make a likable screen couple, as expected, and together ably carry the film. 70% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Final Destination is the fourth (and supposedly final) film in the popular horror-comedy franchise in which teens and twenty-somethings (played by acting unknowns) narrowly avoid death... only to find that the grim reaper is still out to get them. They then proceed to die in some of the ludicrous accidents imaginable.
You'd probably only go and see Final Destination 4 if you enjoyed the previous films in the series. The gimmick this time around is that you can watch the highly choreographed carnage in 3D, as the movie is screening in both traditional format and everyone's new favourite movie gimmick. The Final Destination is, however, just 27% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes so keep your expectations moderated.
In terms of other films opening this weekend, there are plenty of choices to keep the kiddies amused:
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure - This CGI-animated film was designed for straight-to-DVD release overseas but for some reason it's screening at some South African cinemas. Peter Pan's little sidekick must embark on a perilous adventure to save her fairy friends.
Aliens in the Attic - Combining live action footage and CGI-animation, this family adventure sees a group of kids defending their holiday home against a group of knee-high alien invaders. Naturally the kids' parents are oblivious to the battle going on. 26% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
God Rocks! Live in Miami - Dude! The Almighty Father put on a gig and nobody except a chosen few knew about it. His underling, the Pope gets more press! Seriously, God Rocks! seems to be the Jonas Brothers (with a girl) of Christian music, and this film mixes concert footage with an animated movie done in a colourful Spongebob style.
Wake Up Sid - Hip, urban Bollywood romance about a good looking young slacker who falls for an aspiring writer in bustling Mumbai. Their relationship nudges Sid towards deciding what to do with the rest of his life. Much singing and dancing ensues.
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