Film Guide - July 31, 2015

Marvel's Ant-Man Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) Photo Credit: Film Frame ? Marvel 2015

Marvel's Ant-Man Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) Photo Credit: Film Frame ? Marvel 2015

Published Jul 31, 2015

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Ant-man: Funny, light-hearted and entertaining, this origins story meets passing-the-baton tale about the tiniest of Marvel superheroes is the most kid-friendly of any of their fare. *** TS

Big Game: Entertaining stab at recreating 80s B-grade action movies, only this time set in a Finnish forest with a Laplander teenager having to save the day. *** TS

That Sugar Film: Informative documentary with lots of gimmicks that inadvertently turns you off the idea of sugar, though it actually only suggests that you need to more careful about what you eat. *** TS

The Gallows: Narratively contrived, this suspenseless, visual mess sends the audience tumbling to the bottom of the found-footage horror genre barrel. ** HR

Thina Sobabili: A coming of age story about a girl whose desperate decisions alter her life and that of her overprotective brother. **** HH

Woman in Gold: Helen Mirren is regal as the woman who successfully took on the Austrian government to get back her family’s art work, looted by the Nazis during WWII. *** TS

5 Flights Up: Sweet, charming, if wholly unsubstantial, story about a long-married couple who decide to sell their flat. Understated performances from Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton are what attracts. *** TS

5 to 7: A heavily romanticised story about a would-be writer who embarks on an affair with an older woman that turns into a lesson about writing. *** TS

A Royal Night Out: Poignant and entertaining with enough of a satirical edge not just to seem like an exercise in cosy British nostalgia. **** IND

Black Sea: Jude Law’s magnetic performance keeps this (otherwise not particularly deep) thriller in the realm of well-crafted. *** WP

Cut Bank: A young man’s criminal plan to leave a small town backfires. Starring Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich and Billy Bob Thornton. *** HH

Deux jours, une nuit (Two Days, One Night): Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s deceptively straightforward film – set in a working-class community in the filmmakers’ native Belgium – is emotionally affecting with a searing performance from Marion Cotillard. ***H WP

Entourage: The whole gang is back in this boring but cameo-filled bro-flick in which Ari stands up for Vince’s directorial debut with his entourage’s help. ** HH

God’s Not Dead: As the title suggests, this one is designed to counter the propaganda that suggests otherwise, but it is pretty much aimed at believers. *** HR

Inside Out: Beautifully animated return to form for Pixar, this story about 11-year-old Riley and the move to a new city teaches us we are emotional creatures in more ways than one. **** TS

Jurassic World 3D: A fun, adrenalin-fuelled ride through a dinosaur theme park where the humans become the food. The loving references to the old films make up for continuity faults. *** TS

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken: Bland documentation of the kidnapping of a beer magnate, which netted the perpetrators the biggest ransom at the time. ** TS

Minions: This prequel to the Despicable Me films takes us back to the evolution of the banana-coloured creatures and their search for a new evil boss for their brotherhood. Not much in this one for adults, but kids will love it. *** LD

Magic Mike XXL: A road trip with hot boys in the most perfectly sculpted and taut bodies stripping down while exploring their 50 shades of erotic moves. That’s basically what the movie is about. The story? Well, there’s not one, per se. *** DT

Pixels: Adam Sandler’s least offensive film in a while is contrived, boring and rather pointless. ** TS

Ride: Helen Hunt directs and stars in a film about an overbearing mom who is forced to slow down and surf before she loses her son. *** HH

Rudderless: Billy Crudup gives a contained yet powerful performance as a father struggling to reconcile the death of his only son with the life he finds the child was leading through his songwriting. ***H TS

San Andreas: A wasted opportunity to tell a good story about a natural disaster striking California. With a bad script and poor acting from The Rock, the film relies on computer graphics to save itself. ** MV

Spy: Fun and funny, this spy spoof is an excellent vehicle for the combo of actress Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig’s irreverent, broad yet still progressive comedy style. **** TS

Terminator: Genisys: Old Arnie gives an impressive performance as an aged robot who has to protect Sarah Connor. This time the fight is staged in several pasts and futures demanding that you concentrate. **** MV

True Story: Unsettling film about a disgraced journalist who befriends a convicted killer in the name of getting the story, this tries to question mankind’s fascination with true crime stories. *** TS

While We’re Young: Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts play a middle-aged couple who live vicariously through young Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried. **** HH

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