Film Guide - June 12, 2015

5 to 7_060613_066.NEF

5 to 7_060613_066.NEF

Published Jun 12, 2015

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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

Everly: This thinly plotted torture porn does nothing with Salma Hayek or director Joe Lynch’s dollops of style. ** WP

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

Man and Superman: NT Live production of George Bernard Shaw’s play starring Ralph Fiennes, directed by Simon Godwin. **** IND

Seun: Director Darrell Roodt looks at conscription in the 80s for a sad but nostalgic look at what life was like back then. *** TS

The Riot Club: Rich spoilt kids at Oxford behaving badly gives us a thinly veiled look at unentitled privilege without truly commenting on it. ** TS

A Most Violent Year: This measured character study questions whether it is possible for a person to stick to the higher moral ground and never compromise while chasing the American Dream. **** TS

Age of Adaline: While it might not say anything different about mortality than similar films, Blake Lively and Harrison Ford’s performances stand out. *** HR

Avengers: Age of Ultron: Joss Whedon’s stamp is all over this comic book sequel with witty one-liners, frenetic action and an underlying sense of dread as the superheroes unleash a supervillain on the world. **** TS

Barely Lethal: Hailee Stenfield plays a teenage assassin who trades in her guns for school books when she enrols at the local high school. (Not reviewed)

Far From the Madding Crowd: Tom Hardy’s book is turned into a film which explains the main character in a way the source material never made clear. Beautifully filmed and well acted. **** TS

Furious 7: This latest sequel is a sentimental last hurrah for Paul Walker, filled with fast cars and impossible stunts. *** TS

Get Hard: Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart are wasted on tired and offensive gags instead of allowed to take advantage of the comedy’s potential to break boundaries. ** WP

Hear Me Move: A high-energy South African dance film set against the backdrop of a dramatic coming-of-age story that is bound to be a hit with dance flick fans. **** LN

Hot Pursuit: Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara try to replicate the success of The Heat. (Not reviewed)

Infinitely Polar Bear: Opposite Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo plays a bipolar father trying to care for two children while his wife goes away to school. *** HR

Little Chaos: Alan Rickman directs an understated Kate Winslet and a restrained Matthias Schoonaerts in a period drama about the design of the garden around the Versailles Palace in what was then the Paris countryside. *** TS

Mad Max: Fury Road: This bonkers, adrenaline-fuelled drive through an eerily beautiful dystopian desert is crammed full of impossible stunts and a welcome dose of female power. **** TS

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2: This unnecessary sequel makes the original look like an unheralded classic. What happens in Vegas, should have just stayed there. * HR

Pitch Perfect 2: Elizabeth Banks directs a perfectly pitched sequel with more Fat Amy Jokes, lots of music and a bit of a lesson about growing up and facing the world. **** TS

Poltergeist (3D): This reboot might offend purist, but it doesn’t stray too much from the original. It has a more modern approach, plenty of scares and a palatable dose of humour. *** DT

Serena: Director Susanne Bier gathers a stellar cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Rhys Ifans, and then does nothing with them. HH WP

Song One: This film’s earnest charm and Anne Hathaway aren’t quite enough to get it beyond the slight and very familiar storyline. *** WP

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

Survivor: Milla Jovovich is a disgraced US State Department employee targeted as a terrorist, even though she isn’t one, and Pierce Brosnan is the assassin trying to kill her before she gets home. (Not reviewed)

The Forger: John Travolta and Christopher Plummer try to inject some characterisation into this half-baked heist movie which is short on drama and thrill. ** TS

The Guest: An intelligent, if a tad violent, thriller, this one is a good effort from genre director Adam Wingard. *** HR

The Rewrite: Hugh Grant does a credible Hugh Grant impression in a film about scriptwriting, which relies on Hollywood clichés to try to tell the non-Hollywood story. Go figure. ** TS

Tomorrowland: ‘What’s so amazing, that keeps us stargazing’ is not a question that will be answered by this hot mess of a theme park ride full of stuff blowing up and cool robots, but very little actual story. Looks good while going nowhere fast. *** TS

Treurgrond: Darrell Roodt turns in a beautifully lensed film about South African farm murders which doesn’t tell us who the murderers are or why they do it. Multiple sub-plots are left dangling, but the film will find its audience. *** TS

Very Good Girls: Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen are wasted on veteran screenwriter Naomi Foner’s underwhelming directing debut. HH HR

Yellowbird: This animated cliché won’t fly with anyone over the age of six. ** HR

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