Movies today, South Africa
It's a slightly better weekend at the movies after last Friday's set of dud releases. Over 7 new films open in South Africa today, including Bollywood Western spoof Quick Gun Murugan, the new Sam Mendes drama, Away We Go (66% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), and South Africa's own Outrageous, which is packed with local stand-up comedian talent (including John Vlismas, Barry Hilton, Mark Banks, Loyiso Gola and Riaad Moosa).
My picks for the weekend though are as follows:
Date Night - I haven't heard anything about this comedy, or seen any promotional material other than its poster, so I actually know little about it. However, it's pretty obvious that the film's main selling point is that it teams wildly popular comedians Steve Carell and Tina Fey for the first time. I'm not a Carell fan but anything with Fey in it makes me sit up and take notice. Maybe it's a result of all that built-up love for 30 Rock and Liz Lemon - one of my TV character doppelgangers .
Anyway, in Date Night, Carell and Fey play a very ordinary suburban married couple who decide to spice up their usual date night routine by going to a fancy New York bistro. There, a case of mistaken identity throws their evening into turmoil.
Date Night sounds like a genre throwback to those madcap 80's comedies for adults. It is currently a so-so 62% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics are praising the film for the comfortable chemistry of its leads, but complaining about the toothless and utterly conventional handling of the film's action-comedy content.
The Descent Part 2 is the sequel to that solid, but unfortunately overhyped horror film, The Descent. The original film centred on a group of female friends who go caving in the Appalachian Mountains, only to find themselves lost underground and hunted by terrifying cavemen mutated for life in dark, silent tunnel systems. The Descent Part 2 picks up directly after the events of the first film, with a survivor leading a rescue team back into the caves. Needless to say, things don't go particularly well for this new group of spelunkers.
The Descent Part 2 is directed by the editor of the first film, and executive-produced by the original's director Neil Marshall. Part 2 is 50% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which is in no way great, but actually not a bad rating for a horror film. Apparently The Descent Part 2 is pretty much just more of the same as the first film, with the gore factor and sense of claustrophobia cranked up considerably.
If you've got nothing better to watch at the cinema, The Descent Part 2 is probably an okay choice. Otherwise I'm sure you can safely wait for the DVD release.
My picks for the weekend though are as follows:
Date Night - I haven't heard anything about this comedy, or seen any promotional material other than its poster, so I actually know little about it. However, it's pretty obvious that the film's main selling point is that it teams wildly popular comedians Steve Carell and Tina Fey for the first time. I'm not a Carell fan but anything with Fey in it makes me sit up and take notice. Maybe it's a result of all that built-up love for 30 Rock and Liz Lemon - one of my TV character doppelgangers .
Anyway, in Date Night, Carell and Fey play a very ordinary suburban married couple who decide to spice up their usual date night routine by going to a fancy New York bistro. There, a case of mistaken identity throws their evening into turmoil.
Date Night sounds like a genre throwback to those madcap 80's comedies for adults. It is currently a so-so 62% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics are praising the film for the comfortable chemistry of its leads, but complaining about the toothless and utterly conventional handling of the film's action-comedy content.
The Descent Part 2 is the sequel to that solid, but unfortunately overhyped horror film, The Descent. The original film centred on a group of female friends who go caving in the Appalachian Mountains, only to find themselves lost underground and hunted by terrifying cavemen mutated for life in dark, silent tunnel systems. The Descent Part 2 picks up directly after the events of the first film, with a survivor leading a rescue team back into the caves. Needless to say, things don't go particularly well for this new group of spelunkers.
The Descent Part 2 is directed by the editor of the first film, and executive-produced by the original's director Neil Marshall. Part 2 is 50% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which is in no way great, but actually not a bad rating for a horror film. Apparently The Descent Part 2 is pretty much just more of the same as the first film, with the gore factor and sense of claustrophobia cranked up considerably.
If you've got nothing better to watch at the cinema, The Descent Part 2 is probably an okay choice. Otherwise I'm sure you can safely wait for the DVD release.
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