Movies released today: Centurions with Dragon Tattoos
Well, I’ll be doing my little write-up of South Africa’s Friday cinema releases a little differently… at least for a while. Instead of trying to list everything, I’m just going to profile the big name releases, and other lesser known movies with popular stars in them – basically the films I think you, my readers, may consider watching.
First up then is The Switch, the latest Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy. Aniston stars as a single woman who decides to have a child via artificial insemination. During the party to celebrate her impending impregnation, her best guy friend (Jason Bateman) knocks over the carefully chosen semen sample. Terrified of being found out, and suffering from a severe case of beer logic, he fills the cup himself… The result is that seven years later he’s trying to win over the unrequited love of his life, and get to know his son better.
Honestly I wasn’t going to give this one the time of day, especially after watching the wretched trailer. However, with a Rotten Tomatoes aggregated rating of 51% Fresh, The Switch apparently isn’t that bad. In fact, 51% is actually a very solid rating for a romcom. The Switch is apparently more gently amusing than gross-out hilarious, and is carried by the very likeable Bateman. Sentimentality and predictability does seep in towards the end though, as the film is stuffed into the more traditional genre mould.
Another unconventional comedy releasing this weekend is Cyrus, starring John C. Reilly, Marissa Tomei and Superbad’s Jonah Hill. Reilly stars as a man who finds the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has an eerily close relationship with her obnoxious adult son (Hill).
With a plot not unlike Reilly’s recent Step Brothers (with Will Ferrell), Cyrus is apparently tonally far removed from the juvenile Ferrell film. Featuring a strong 82% Fresh rating, Cyrus’s greatest strength is its performances and painfully funny realism… for the most part. Evidently, the film’s only major failing is that it plays it safe when it comes to exploring the really dark, really weird side of this unusual love triangle.
I’ve written about Centurion before as part of this blog’s Trailer Tuesday feature. The latest from The Descent and… erm… Doomsday writer-director Neil Marshall, Centurion is a historical action-adventure starring Michael Fassbender, Olga Kurylenko and Dominic West. Mixing fact and fantasy, the film explores the disappearance of Rome’s Ninth Legion as they ventured into the Scottish Highlands in the 2nd Century ADE to eradicate the savage, mysterious Picts.
Centurion is 56% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently the film is highly rousing, and a guilty pleasure – if you can get past its incredibly brutality and bloodlust. Expect plenty of blood, guts and dismemberment then! At the same time Centurion’s focus on violent action has been at the expense of character development and plot, but that’s hardly surprising. Also, you shouldn’t expect any humour in the film. Tonally Centurion is apparently as grim as its Caledonian setting.
Finally, there’s Swedish-language mystery drama The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the acclaimed bestseller by Stieg Larsson. The American film adaptation comes out next year starring Daniel Craig and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)’s Rooney Mara, but fans – and lovers of good movies – may want to catch the original now on the big screen while they have the chance.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo centres on a shamed investigative journalist (Michael Nyqvist) who, along with the title character – a troubled 24 year old hacker (played apparently brilliantly by Noomi Rapace) – is recruited by a wealthy industrialist to solve a decades-old mystery, and potential murder, in his own family.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has an excellent 87% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and has been described as a rewarding mix of Art House and good old fashioned detective cinema. This said, I don’t believe the film will be entirely accessible for the casual moviegoer, and it is apparently very graphic in terms of its depiction of violence and abuse. However, personally this weekend I know I’ll be torn between this one and Centurion.
First up then is The Switch, the latest Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy. Aniston stars as a single woman who decides to have a child via artificial insemination. During the party to celebrate her impending impregnation, her best guy friend (Jason Bateman) knocks over the carefully chosen semen sample. Terrified of being found out, and suffering from a severe case of beer logic, he fills the cup himself… The result is that seven years later he’s trying to win over the unrequited love of his life, and get to know his son better.
Honestly I wasn’t going to give this one the time of day, especially after watching the wretched trailer. However, with a Rotten Tomatoes aggregated rating of 51% Fresh, The Switch apparently isn’t that bad. In fact, 51% is actually a very solid rating for a romcom. The Switch is apparently more gently amusing than gross-out hilarious, and is carried by the very likeable Bateman. Sentimentality and predictability does seep in towards the end though, as the film is stuffed into the more traditional genre mould.
Another unconventional comedy releasing this weekend is Cyrus, starring John C. Reilly, Marissa Tomei and Superbad’s Jonah Hill. Reilly stars as a man who finds the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has an eerily close relationship with her obnoxious adult son (Hill).
With a plot not unlike Reilly’s recent Step Brothers (with Will Ferrell), Cyrus is apparently tonally far removed from the juvenile Ferrell film. Featuring a strong 82% Fresh rating, Cyrus’s greatest strength is its performances and painfully funny realism… for the most part. Evidently, the film’s only major failing is that it plays it safe when it comes to exploring the really dark, really weird side of this unusual love triangle.
I’ve written about Centurion before as part of this blog’s Trailer Tuesday feature. The latest from The Descent and… erm… Doomsday writer-director Neil Marshall, Centurion is a historical action-adventure starring Michael Fassbender, Olga Kurylenko and Dominic West. Mixing fact and fantasy, the film explores the disappearance of Rome’s Ninth Legion as they ventured into the Scottish Highlands in the 2nd Century ADE to eradicate the savage, mysterious Picts.
Centurion is 56% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently the film is highly rousing, and a guilty pleasure – if you can get past its incredibly brutality and bloodlust. Expect plenty of blood, guts and dismemberment then! At the same time Centurion’s focus on violent action has been at the expense of character development and plot, but that’s hardly surprising. Also, you shouldn’t expect any humour in the film. Tonally Centurion is apparently as grim as its Caledonian setting.
Finally, there’s Swedish-language mystery drama The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the acclaimed bestseller by Stieg Larsson. The American film adaptation comes out next year starring Daniel Craig and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)’s Rooney Mara, but fans – and lovers of good movies – may want to catch the original now on the big screen while they have the chance.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo centres on a shamed investigative journalist (Michael Nyqvist) who, along with the title character – a troubled 24 year old hacker (played apparently brilliantly by Noomi Rapace) – is recruited by a wealthy industrialist to solve a decades-old mystery, and potential murder, in his own family.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has an excellent 87% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and has been described as a rewarding mix of Art House and good old fashioned detective cinema. This said, I don’t believe the film will be entirely accessible for the casual moviegoer, and it is apparently very graphic in terms of its depiction of violence and abuse. However, personally this weekend I know I’ll be torn between this one and Centurion.
Comments