This week we have a gross out film, courtesy of
Seth McFarlane. Disney unleashes the dark fairytale Maleficent, and for those
who love art house, quirky films The Double is your film and my pick of the
week.
(My movie Pick
of the week)
The
Double ✪✪✪✪
Opens
in Australia: 29th
May 2014
USA: 15th May 14 (festivals) UK: 4th
April 2014
Other Countries: Release Information
Perth: Luna
Palace Cinemas
OUR THOUGHTS
This is a great example of an art house film
that works. When I say art house, I mean it’s not a blockbuster by a big
studio, but a small film with a small budget but filled with big ideas. Jesse Eisenberg
and Mia Wasikowska are such extraordinary talents that if they walked back and
forth across a screen for an hour I would probably still enjoy watching.
In The Double, you are drawn into more than a
film, but the mood of insanity and hopelessness. These are not wonderful places
to visit, but the screenplay is so clever and the direction so deft that I’m
happy to go there. It will have you thinking. There is no definitive answer at
the end, but it’s not a film you will forget in a hurry. It’s interesting that
the film is adapted from a book by Fyodor Dostoevsky, a Russian author who died
in 1881. It makes me grateful that I live in Australia in this lifetime. The
world of The Double is a fascinating
place to visit for two hours, but you wouldn’t want to live there.
STUDIO BLURB
Eisenberg plays Simon, a timid, isolated man who's overlooked at
work, scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman of his dreams
(Wasikowska). The arrival of a new co-worker, James (also played by Eisenberg),
serves to upset the balance. James is both Simon's exact physical double and
his opposite - confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simon's horror,
James slowly starts taking over his life. (c) Magnolia
A
Million Ways To Die In The West ✪✪✪
Opens
in Australia: 29th
May 2014
USA: 30th May June 14
UK: 30th
May 2014
Other Countries: Release Information
OUR THOUGHTS
After getting off to a shaky start that elicited
more groans than laughs from the audience and this reviewer, A Million Ways To Die In The West’s comedy
finally arrives via some quite funny slapstick.
Nothing is sacred in this film, and Seth MacFarlane
doesn’t hold back from anything that may offend, bouncing from sexual jokes to
racial slurs to scenes with penises and graphic descriptions of vaginas. There
are moments of hilarity along with several priceless cameos—including one
that had the audience applauding.
It could have been a lot funnier if they hadn’t
been going for total gross-out. I liked it a lot better than Ted, which I didn’t find funny at all,
so I’m not certain if that is great praise. If you did find Ted funny, then you will certainly enjoy
this. If you have to choose between Bad
Neighbours and dying in The West, I would visit with the Neighbours.
STUDIO BLURB
Seth MacFarlane directs, produces, co-writes and
plays the role of the cowardly sheep farmer Albert in A Million Ways to Die in
the West. After Albert backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves
him for another man. When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she
helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her
husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his
newfound courage to the test. Starring alongside MacFarlane are Oscar (R)
winner Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah
Silverman and Neil Patrick Harris. MacFarlane reunites many of the filmmakers
behind Universal and MRC's hit film Ted including Scott Stuber (Bluegrass
Films) and Jason Clark who produce, and Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin who
co-wrote the script. (c)Universal
Maleficent
✪✪✪½
Opens
in Australia: 29th May 2014
USA: 30th May 2014
UK: 28th
May 2014
Other Countries: Release Information
OUR THOUGHTS
This
film is very dark, not only in colour palette, but also in its theme. Angeline
Jolie is beautifully made-up, cheek prosthetics and all, and she really pulls
off a great English accent. In fact, she is quite mesmerising to watch. The
antagonist, her childhood friend who grows up to become Maleficent’s enemy, on
the other hand is woefully miscast, which spoiled it a little for me. However,
the special effects are extraordinary, and the twist on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty is kind of cool. It’s
definitely much better than Oz The Great
and Powerful, but I wouldn’t take little ones to see this. There will be
very little sleeping that night if you do.
STUDIO BLURB
"Maleficent" explores the untold story of Disney's most
iconic villain from the classic "Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of
her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge
and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent
cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant
Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething
conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom
that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to
peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both
worlds forever. (c) Walt Disney Pictures
What have you seen this week? Did you
find our comments helpful or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us.
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