[star rating=”4″]
GET OUT. Directed by Jordan Peele, with Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford.
Jordan Peele’s speculative thriller does not disappoint; in fact, it provides a large amount of comedic relief to counter the surprisingly realistic terrors of a black character’s experience in a white community. The gory desire for typical horror tropes is equally satisfied, but the film is so immersive that one completely forgets to anticipate the scares, making them considerably more effective.
Kaluuya’s introduction as Chris sent chills down my spine. Childish Gambino’s Redbone plays as he packs for a trip to meet his white girlfriend’s family. The banter about the trip brought up some typical issues with white allyship. Rose (Williams), claims that she failed to mention to her parents that Chris was black. She jokes about it being irrelevant, undermining the fact that the shock at seeing their daughter’s black boyfriend could result in some aggression … in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere. But it’s a horror movie, so Chris ignores the warnings of a friend Rod and goes anyway. As the visit gets more intense, Rose is never inclined to save him until he says that he wants to leave. EXTRAS: Alternate ending & Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Peele, Unveiling the Horror of Get Out, Q&A with Peele and Cast. – Kat Manne
[star rating=”3″]
THE HOLLARS. Directed by John Krasinski with Krasinski, Margo Martindale, Sharlto Copley, Anne Kendrick and Richard Jenkins.
The Hollars is a sweet-ish offering which plays on the well-worn dysfunctional family riff. Directed by John Krasinski, who takes one the of the lead roles, it follows the consequences when matriarch Sally Hollar (Margo Martindale) is diagnosed with a brain tumour. The three men in her life (husband and two sons) each have their own shit to deal with – looming bankruptcy, looming parenthood, looming loser status. But ultimately their concerns are eclipsed by the enormity of Sally’s plight. Despite friction between the three, they need to pull together for her sake. And it is in their sometimes awkward attempts to comfort each other, that a kind of catharsis is reached. The petty small stuff is purged, and a bigger picture can emerge.
It’s an ensemble cast production, with each character given space to shine. And it’s a fine cast. But one can’t help feeling that the script doesn’t really go far enough. Sharlto Copley is goofy – but not too much so. Richard Jenkins could have an interesting back story – but we don’t get to hear it. Anna Kendrick has nowhere to let loose her great comedic timing. And so on. The Hollars is not a bad film, all things considered. It’s quite sensitive, and has some funny-poignant moments. But it’s also not a brilliant film, either. EXTRAS: Commentary, Inside The Hollars, Q & A with Krasinksi, Martindale and Kendrick and more. – Karen Rutter
[star rating=”3″]
DIE REBELLIE VAN LAFRAS VERWEY. Directed by Simon Barnard, with Tobie Cronje, Chantell Phillipus, Neels van Jaarsveld.
Lafras Verwey is a square peg in a round hole. He’s an ill-fit for popular culture and Tobie Cronje works hard to make this work. He brings an incredible vulnerability to the role and you really worry for the man. The drama is coloured by elemental pathos, sadness, alienation and the fragility of hope. And Cronje is mesmerising as an offbeat loner buoyed on by the principles that guide him. Phillipus and Pretorius up the production, but the downside of this personal rebellion is that as the 83-minutes play out, it starts to lag and doesn’t make for particularly immersive viewing. The dedicated focus on Verwey’s off-kilter grasp of reality eventually wears you down.
The story hooks around a principled civil service clerk who unravels when he turns 58. His rich inner world finally gets the better of him as he makes his final stand. EXTRAS: Agter Die Skerms (features interviews with Barnard, Katinka Heyns and more) – Jane Mayne
[star rating=”3″]
LIFE. Directed by Daniel Espinosa with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds and Ariyon Bakare.
Life pays homage to classic space thrillers like Alien, using the International Space Station as a mise–en–scène for an invading extraterrestrial which has clearly had no diplomatic training. It all starts when six space scientists are returning from Mars with a soil sample that goes bad. Initially nicknamed “Calvin”, the piece of dirt (literally) mutates into something that looks like what would happen if the plant from Little Shop of Horrors and the giant squid from Tentacles had a baby. Needless to say, it is not friendly. Escaping from the lab where it had been quarantined, it proceeds to hunt down the Space Station crew. Its preferred method of killing appears to be entering a human via their mouth and then exploding them from within. Like swallowing a piece of calamari that turns rogue. Director Espinosa uses all the important airlock/floaty sequences that signify this is a space drama (Mars, Gravity etc); but to be honest, they’ve been done before, and sometimes much better. It is a tense movie, however, and the chase scenes are suitably scary and the attack scenes are suitably gory. You probably won’t want to go out for seafood after watching this, though – consider yourself warned. EXTRAS: Astronaut Diaries, Deleted Scenes, The Art and Reality of Calvin and more. – Karen Rutter
[star rating=”2.5″]
GHOST IN THE SHELL. Directed by Rupert Sanders, with Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt, Chin Han and Juliette Binoche.
Ghost in the Shell has a vast following in the anime community and for those who have seen the animated film Sanders’ version is based on, you may not enjoy the latter. Major is a cyborg (Johansson) living in a post-World War III Japanese prefecture. She works closely with members of Public Security Section 9 and is the leader of an assault team targeting cyberterrorism.
At first, the beauty of the cyberpunk city and the emergence of her cybernetic body captures the wonder of the animated film and we surrender to nostalgia, but the key differences between the original film and remake become distinct. Sanders’ auteurship expresses little desire to stay true to the depth and philosophical complexities of the animated film. Everything that was meant to be discreet was either muttered or murmured. That said, the film does create an impressive metropolistic setting and the cybernetics are gradually revealed in humans, easing us into a world where these alterations are common.
This AI aesthetic gives us a certain pleasure but at what point are we giving the audience too much without insulting their deductive abilities? It is only towards the end of the animated film that the pinnacle of the story is revealed, a key plot point that didn’t make it to the new film. EXTRAS: Section 9:Cyber Defenders, Man & Machine: The Ghost Philosophy. – Kat Manne
[star rating=”2.5″]
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (aka FAST AND FURIOUS 8). Directed by F Gary Gray, with Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham.
The counter is climbing, but despite the smoking wheels and the best efforts of these action stars No 8 is quite a ‘pap’ watch. Even our very own demigod, Charlize, bleeds out into an amorphous evil presence with absolutely no bite.
This hackneyed yarn fails to hot-wire the much-loved stereotypes, and the sharp corners and burning rubber don’t translate into cerebral equivalents. Great stunt action, but overall it’s an impassive viewing experience. EXTRAS: All About the Stunts, Extended Fight Scene. – Jane Mayne
DVDS: Nu Metro/SK Home Entertainment
WS
