Pfangirl Through the Looking Glass

Four new movies open in South Africa today, including two biopics. However, if you can only watch one film this week, your choice is clear... Gravity : Screening in 3D and 2D is this sci-fi thriller and survival tale from acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are astronauts forced to fend for themselves, floating in space when a debris field destroys their shuttle and all communications with Earth. Trailer Tuesday profile . There's no doubt about it. Gravity is currently the forerunner for the title of Best Film of the Year. You can read my review here , as well as those of my TheMovies.co.za buddies, Kervyn and Lourens . In short, Gravity is visually dazzling, a technical masterpiece and a relentlessly nerve-wracking movie experience. Internationally the film has racked up a near-perfect aggregated review score of 98% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes . Jobs : Your first big screen biography of the week is this warts-and-all portrayal of Apple f...

Gravity risks overhype right now, so I’m wary of building up people’s expectations even further. This said, the sci-fi survival tale is undeniably one of the best films of the year and you owe yourself to experience it on the big screen. And definitely in 3D. Because that really is the only way to fully appreciate the mind-boggling beauty and ambition of the movie, the latest from Children of Men writer-director Alfonso Cuarón . If Gravity can be compared to anything recently, it’s very reminiscent of last year’s The Grey , touching on similar themes. Liam Neeson ’s character in that grim Alaskan Wilderness adventure was apathetic about life, and Sandra Bullock ’s engineer-turned-astronaut in Gravity is much the same. Over the course of the film though, her Doctor Ryan Stone rediscovers her will to live just as her chances of survival in space dwindle, following a catastrophic incident. It’s a wonderful “everyman” performance from Bullock, as she plays a character clawing (s...

The post-festive season dumping ground looks to be littered with fantasy films -  Seventh Son , 47 Ronin and, now supernatural actioner, I, Frankenstein . Based on as yet unpublished graphic novel from Darkstorm Comics , I, Frankenstein centres on Doctor Frankenstein's creature - played by Aaron Eckhart - an immortal, patchwork quilt of a being who has reached our present and now calls himself Adam Frankenstein. Gifted with increased strength and stamina, Adam finds himself caught in the middle of a battle between two ancient warring clans: the sacred Gargoyles and the Demon Horde. The former is headed by Miranda Otto and the latter Bill Nighy . Despite not being human, Adam's existence as a man- as opposed to God-made being means he will be instrumental in saving humanity... if he wants to, that is. If this sounds at all familiar, it's worth mentioning that I, Frankenstein comes from the writer and studio responsible for Underworld . In all honesty,...

Over the past year or so, Wonder Woman fan-made movies and trailers haven't been in short supply. At least recently. Check out these blog posts here and here for other examples. Basically, as Warner Bros. continues to drag its heels about bringing the most iconic of female superheroes to ANY screen, big or small, aspiring filmmakers and Diana fans have been stepping forward with their own efforts. They've been showing just how easy it is to do a badass Wonder Woman film or TV series without a multi-million dollar budget. The following 2 and a half minute short comes from Rainfall Films , and stars Team Unicorn 's Rileah Vanderbilt as the title character. Watch it and be blown away. Hollywood, pay attention - this is how Diana should be done.

With eight new movies opening in South Africa today, there must surely be something to tempt everyone to the cinema. This Is the End : Jay Baruchel , Seth Rogen , James Franco , Jonah Hill , Danny McBride and Craig Robinson all star as themselves in this ensemble comedy about celebrities fending for themselves during the End Times. If you love silly stoner comedies, This Is the End apparently delivers the goods, with an appealing self-referential layer. It's utter nonsense but loads of fun if you aren't allergic to any of the actors and their prior work. 84% Fresh on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes . Prisoners : This mystery thriller stars Hugh Jackman as a man pushed to his limits when his daughter and her friend are kidnapped on Thanksgiving. Jake Gyllenhaal is the detective on the case and Paul Dano a suspect. Also with Viola Davis , Maria Bello and Terrence Howard It's long and slow at 2 and a half hours but Prisoners is also evidently an unu...

This past weekend was my first year heading up to Johannesburg for rAge (an eleven year old acronym for Really Awesome Gaming Expo), South Africa’s biggest gaming and technology convention. It’s an event that evidently keeps NAG , the country’s oldest print gaming magazine afloat, but that’s more as an aside. I was at rAge more to soak up the atmosphere, cosplay and meet many Twitter friends and followers for the first time than to do any serious interviews, LANing, competitive board/card gaming or splurging. The severe, uninviting congestion around the retailer stands on Saturday really helped prevent the latter… although that was obviously bad news for the exhibitors, like Digital Sushi , who were crammed into a small aisle and had to watch potential customers turn away. Video gaming-wise, I did at least immediately preorder my copy of Batman: Arkham Origins after rAge – even if it took me a while to realize that it wasn’t Arkham City being played at my expo. Origins lo...

For all the changes made to it, Disney 's CGI-animated comedy musical Tangled was still pretty recognisable as the story of Rapunzel . Very much in the same vein, tonally and stylistically, upcoming Frozen seems to be an even looser fairy tale adaptation - this time using Hans Christian Anderson's Snow Queen as its basis. Not that there is anything obviously wrong with deviating from literary source material. Certainly from the trailer Frozen looks visually stunning; not to mention loads of fun. It's just that the original story has so many interesting elements, and these have been erased in favour of wisecracking snowmen and a fairly standard love-hate relationship. I suppose we should be glad that the Scandinavian aesthetic has been preserved at least. For the record, in the movie  Kristen Bell voices Anna, a young woman who ventures out to negotiate with her estranged sister, the Snow Queen ( Idina Menzel ), who has plunged the Summery kingdom into Win...

A movie about men who drive fast cars around a track over and over… On paper that's not exactly a concept with universal appeal. Although there are millions of motor racing enthusiasts the world over, the simple fact is that sport racing traditionally doesn’t make for a particularly satisfying movie experience. If you don’t count the acclaimed Senna documentary , the last serious sport racer was probably Sylvester Stallone ’s Driven over a decade ago. And that was a braindead mass of clichés. So it’s quite surprising then how engaging Rush is. Even if you’re not a Formula One fan, you’ll never be bored during this slickly made, and not at all stupid, dramatisation of real life events. The latest effort from director Ron Howard doesn’t break free of cliché, but for the most part it avoids cheesiness (at least until the very end), providing a nuanced character study in between some very exhilarating, well edited race scenes. Set during the 1970s, Rush explores the rivalry ...

Five new films open in South Africa today, offering a full spectrum of genre fare to choose from. Rush : The new release pick of the week is this real-life racing story. Set in the 1970s, Rush centres on the professional Formula One rivalries of playboy driver James Hunt ( Chris Hemsworth ) and the cool, clinical Niki Lauda ( Daniel Bruhl ). Also with Olivia Wilde . Directed by Ron Howard .  Trailer Tuesday profile . You can read my full review here but in short Rush is worth a viewing whether you like motor racing or not (personally I don't). The film is far from subtle, but it's always compelling and refreshingly character-driven. Internationally, critics have praised the film for its acting, emphasis on the human element of the sport and its well-shot racing scenes.  88% Fresh on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes . R.I.P.D. : Screening in converted 3D is this supernatural Dark Horse comic adaptation . Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges are dead lawmen recruit...

It's happening. I'm heading to Johannesburg this weekend to attend my first ever rAge Expo , South Africa's (and the African continent's) biggest technology and gaming convention - happening 4 - 6 October at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate. I'm going to be there chiefly for the cosplay - yep, I'll be in my Lara Croft gear - and to meet the many peeps I interact with regularly via social media but  have never encountered face to face. If you spot me on Saturday, please come and say hi. And help my frazzled brain by introducing yourself with your Twitter handle. Meanwhile,  click here for some handy guidelines on attending rAge - i.e. don't expect cellphone signal inside the Dome, wear comfortable shoes and take a backpack plus lots of cash because credit card machines work only intermittently. I'm really looking forward to the experience. Hope to see you there!

Despite the fact that the 1976 Sissy Spacek starrer is one of my all-time favourite horror films / dark revenge fantasies, I can't say I was particularly opposed to the idea of a remaking this classic - based of course on the Stephen King novel of the same name .  So when it came to the this year's  Carrie   - which is supposedly more faithful to King's book - I was on paper already mostly   sold by the idea of Julianne Moore playing Margaret White, the title character's awful, abusive, completely cray-cray mother. For the record, love-her-or-hate-her Chloe Moretz is Carrie, a bullied high school outcast whose puberty coincides with the development of telekinetic powers. These abilities are initially empowering for Carrie, and seem to signal a new, more satisfying chapter in her life. This is until a prank at her expense leads to tragedy, however. So yeah, in theory, I wasn't opposed to a Carrie reinterpretation, particularly since it comes f...

I’m playing catch-up today with mini reviews of two recent releases that I never got around to reviewing in full when they hit cinemas. World War Z : If you go into World War Z expecting a faithful adaptation of author Max Brooks ’s instantly classic tale of zombie apocalypse, then you will be disappointed. Marc Forster ’s film version is World War Z pretty much in name only, as it zeroes (ha!) in on Brad Pitt ’s ex-UN employee as he darts back and forth across the globe, searching for a cure to the pandemic. Still, for a horror thriller that has a very troubled production, plagued by reshoots and hefty reediting – and the signs of this meddling are very evident in the theatrical release – World War Z delivers the entertainment goods surprisingly well. This is a largely bloodless PG-13 zombie film that nonetheless manages to put viewers continually on the edge of their seats. The airplane scene and laboratory climax are especially thrilling and it helps that Pitt is such a cha...

It's a big week for musical entertainers at the movies, with three new films opening in South Africa that fit this theme. Actually, it's a big week for new movies in general, with seven flicks debuting locally today. Runner, Runner : Justin Timberlake stars in this crime thriller about a Princeton student who is sucked into the highly profitable, if dangerous, world of online poker. He becomes the right hand man of unpredictable kingpin Ben Affleck . Also with Gemma Arterton . Runner, Runner has yet to release in North America, but it's currently sitting with an aggregated Rotten Tomatoes review score of 22% Fresh . It's evidently not terrible, but it's not compelling either, and none of the leads is able to generate any charm. Metallica - Through the Never : Catch the iconic heavy metal rockers in 3D. This movie blends concert footage with the surreal tale of a roadie ( Dane DeHaan ) who must complete a mission for the band while being pursued by a dark ...