Movies opening today, SA!
Five new films open in South Africa today, once again offering a little something for everyone. My top 2 picks for the weekend are as follows:
1) 2012 - Director Roland Emmerich, the man who previously brought audiences such enjoyably ridiculous disaster flicks as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow is back with another apocalypse tale. I've blogged briefly about 2012 before, but basically the film proposes that the world will end on 21 December 2012, which coincides with the end date of the 5,125-year-long ancient Mayan calendar. Cue global catastrophe, billions of deaths and some nifty special effects as the world's great cities, buildings and monuments tumble.
As expected with these types of films, 2012 has a large cast. Among others, the movie stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson.
Out of interest, 2012 opened at #1 at the US box office a few weeks back and is currently the fourth highest grossing film of 2009 worldwide, as well as the 47th highest grossing film of all time. That's not bad going for a film that's just 37% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics are calling it visually stunning but weak and repetitive story-wise - as if we expected anything different?
Anyway, I don't care. I've been keen for this one for a long time... even if it has a butt-numbing run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Yee-haw! Bring on the cataclysm.
2) (500) Days of Summer - If death and destruction isn't your idea of a good evening's entertainment then perhaps an offbeat, festival circuit romantic comedy is more to your liking? (500) Days of Summer stars the decidedly cute onscreen couple of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, who play 2 young professionals tentatively embarking on a relationship. Thing is, while he's crazy in love, she's not sure what she wants and sends all sorts of mixed signals.
I caught the trailer for the film only 2 weeks ago, but I really liked what I saw. A lot! (500) Days of Summer actually seems to an appropriately realistic and touching look at the complexity of relationships. And the critics apparently agree. The film is a very impressive 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers calling it charming, entertaining and refreshingly honest. Could this be the best romcom of 2009? It seems likely.
Now to work out how to get the bf into the cinema for this one...
Also opening at the movies this weekend are:
Astro Boy - CGI-animated family film based on the iconic Japanese manga and anime series. In a futuristic world where humans and robots co-exist, a grieving scientist creates a super-powered, sentient android modelled on his dead young son. 48% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Bandslam - Another family film for fans of musically talented teens. Starring Gaelan Connell, Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Alyson Michalka, the film centres on a group of music-loving misfits who join forces to compete in a fiercely contested battle of the bands competition. A surprisingly high 80% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Nutcracker - Recording of the beloved Tchaikovsky ballet performed onstage. This festive favourite sees a young girl whisked away to a magical world on Christmas Eve, where brave nutcracker soldiers fight rat kings and meet sugar plum fairies. Judging by the details on their sites, Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro seem to be screening 2 different productions.
1) 2012 - Director Roland Emmerich, the man who previously brought audiences such enjoyably ridiculous disaster flicks as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow is back with another apocalypse tale. I've blogged briefly about 2012 before, but basically the film proposes that the world will end on 21 December 2012, which coincides with the end date of the 5,125-year-long ancient Mayan calendar. Cue global catastrophe, billions of deaths and some nifty special effects as the world's great cities, buildings and monuments tumble.
As expected with these types of films, 2012 has a large cast. Among others, the movie stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson.
Out of interest, 2012 opened at #1 at the US box office a few weeks back and is currently the fourth highest grossing film of 2009 worldwide, as well as the 47th highest grossing film of all time. That's not bad going for a film that's just 37% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics are calling it visually stunning but weak and repetitive story-wise - as if we expected anything different?
Anyway, I don't care. I've been keen for this one for a long time... even if it has a butt-numbing run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Yee-haw! Bring on the cataclysm.
2) (500) Days of Summer - If death and destruction isn't your idea of a good evening's entertainment then perhaps an offbeat, festival circuit romantic comedy is more to your liking? (500) Days of Summer stars the decidedly cute onscreen couple of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, who play 2 young professionals tentatively embarking on a relationship. Thing is, while he's crazy in love, she's not sure what she wants and sends all sorts of mixed signals.
I caught the trailer for the film only 2 weeks ago, but I really liked what I saw. A lot! (500) Days of Summer actually seems to an appropriately realistic and touching look at the complexity of relationships. And the critics apparently agree. The film is a very impressive 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers calling it charming, entertaining and refreshingly honest. Could this be the best romcom of 2009? It seems likely.
Now to work out how to get the bf into the cinema for this one...
Also opening at the movies this weekend are:
Astro Boy - CGI-animated family film based on the iconic Japanese manga and anime series. In a futuristic world where humans and robots co-exist, a grieving scientist creates a super-powered, sentient android modelled on his dead young son. 48% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Bandslam - Another family film for fans of musically talented teens. Starring Gaelan Connell, Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Alyson Michalka, the film centres on a group of music-loving misfits who join forces to compete in a fiercely contested battle of the bands competition. A surprisingly high 80% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Nutcracker - Recording of the beloved Tchaikovsky ballet performed onstage. This festive favourite sees a young girl whisked away to a magical world on Christmas Eve, where brave nutcracker soldiers fight rat kings and meet sugar plum fairies. Judging by the details on their sites, Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro seem to be screening 2 different productions.
Comments