The “lost at sea” scenario played out brilliantly in JC Chandor’s All Is Lost, with Robert Redford. Not so much in the romance drama Adrift, which has Baltasar Kormákur (Everest) at the helm. Adrift is based on the true story of two sailors who set out to travel from Tahiti to San Diego in 1983. Tami…
Sicario is a Spanish word used to describe the hitmen associated with Mexican drug cartels. Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario (2015) was a gripping action crime drama set on the border between the US and Mexico. The sequel, Day of the Soldado, doesn’t disappoint. The film is propelled by two antihero protagonists who venture deep into the…
After the success of Hotel Transylvania (2012) and its sequel Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), now we have Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation. It’s not surprising the studio keeps churning out these Dracula animations. Why wouldn’t they? Especially because, despite his blood sucking reputation, Drac (voiced by Adam Sandler) is one of the good guys…
Ideal Home showcases the talents of Steve Coogan (The Trip to Spain) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man). While bawdy, it proves to be a sometimes surprisingly touching comedic-drama. Colourful celebrity chef Erasmus (Coogan) and his partner Paul (Rudd) have a happy and rather self-indulgent life together. They live in a glorious home in Santa Fe. Erasmus…
The filmmakers responsible for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom have stuck with a tried and tested formula. It makes money, so why fiddle too much with it? Two of its co-writers, Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly are back as scriptwriters for this one. Connolly also directed Jurassic World three years ago, but this sequel is helmed…
Most of us would have played “tag” at school. Well, imagine if you never grew up, and continued to play that game well into adulthood. That is the harebrained premise of TAG. Loosely on fact, this comedy is something like a cross between The Hangover and Game Night. For one month every year, five highly…
The seniors’ road trip The Leisure Seeker is, if you can believe this, a lighthearted take on dementia. The heavily concocted drama however stretches beyond acceptance. John and Ella Spencer (Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren) have almost reached the end of the road. Ella is frail, while John’s memory is failing. Instead of going quietly into that…
Big Brother is watching in Upgrade, a futuristic horror-thriller from Leigh Whannell (Insidious: Chapter 3). Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) barely makes a living fixing old cars. His attractive wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) works in IT. The pair have a good relationship. All that changes though after Grey delivers a vehicle to Eron (Harrison Gilbertson). Eron is…
Featuring a series of powerful performances, Disobedience packs a punch. At stake is the future of three people – a London-based husband and wife; and their childhood friend, a photographer living in New York. At an Orthodox synagogue in London, the chief rabbi collapses and dies. As funeral rites commence, the rabbi’s photographer daughter Ronit Khruska (Rachel…
Hard to believe Brad Bird’s groundbreaking The Incredibles came out 14 years ago. He already had a solid reputation from his beloved The Iron Giant, but The Incredibles shot him to another level. Now Bird and an expanded team are back with Incredibles 2 – and they’ve done it again. The Incredibles 2 picks up – literally – where The Incredibles…
