TechSmart 121, October 2013 TechSmart 132, September 2014 | Page 38

MOVIES

The Equalizer (26 September)

CINEMA RELEASES
The Giver (12 September)
John Lennon’s song Imagine
could be the theme for the
perfect future as imagined in the
film adaptation of Lois Lowry’s
book, The Giver. While everyone
is peacefully numb, a young man
is chosen to experience and learn the true pain and pleasure of the ‘real’
world.
The Giver introduces newcomer, Brenton Thwaites, and stars Meryl
Streep, Jeff Bridges and Katie Holmes, who you may have spotted in
South Africa during filming. Director, Phillip Noyce, is best known for
political espionage thrillers and social dramas. In The Giver, he delves
into science-fiction with a film that echoes thought-provoking social
thrillers Gattaca and In Time.

Before I Go to Sleep
(12 September)
Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth
have played a married couple
haunted by traumatic memories
twice: in Railway Man and now
Before I Go to Sleep. While
Railway Man was a powerful post-war drama, Before I Go to Sleep is
a mystery thriller that immediately conjures up films such as Blink,
Memento, Side Effects and Groundhog Day.
We follow a woman struggling with amnesia, trying to piece together
memories in an effort to discover the true identity of her assailant. It’s
bound to be a sleek psychological thriller full of twists-and-turns as her
mind continually resets and trust wears thin.

I Origins (19 September)
Writer-director Mike Cahill has a
thing for intriguing sci-fi drama
with a touch of romance, and
Brit Marling. Or, at least that’s
how it appears from his last two
endeavours, Another Earth and
I Origins. His new film sees a molecular biologist and his laboratory
partner discover something about the human eye that could change
society forever.
I Origins stars the elemental Michael Pitt, enchanting Astrid BergèsFrisbey and of course the ever-present Brit Marling (amazing in Sound
of My Voice). From the outset, it seems to encompass themes from The
Number 23, style itself on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and
features Radiohead on the cool electronica soundtrack.

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If you enjoyed Denzel Washington’s
approach in Man on Fire, then
there’s a good chance you’ll dig
The Equalizer. He plays another
no-nonsense character and while
he doesn’t own a spandex outfit or
cape, he’s taking back tomorrow as a former black ops operative turned
citizen enforcer.
Chloe Grace Moretz does a little enforcing herself, echoing her iconic
role as Hit Girl in Kick-Ass. Naturally he gets in too deep, ticks off some
Russian mobsters and risks being unmasked as the invisible vigilante.
It’s bound to be action-packed and hard-hitting in the hands of Training
Day and Olympus Has Fallen’s Antoine Fuqua.

The Maze Runner
(26 September)
As if The Hunger Games wasn’t
enough to digest, another postapocalyptic series is hitting the big
screen. The Maze Runner, a novel
by James Dashner, has spawned a
no-name sci-fi actioner about teenagers having their minds erased and
being relocated to a dangerous maze – think The Shining meets Tomb
Raider.
The deadly do-or-die booby traps are reminiscent of The Cube and if
the prospect of getting squashed to death doesn’t register, there are
predators. While promising, it all looks very Hunger Games on a budget,
so let’s hope young Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario and Will Poultner are
able to a-maze us.

MOVIE NEWS
Three bad boys for
Bad Boys 3?
While Michael Bay continues
to assault our senses with
the Transformers juggernaut
franchise, many hark back to
the time of Bad Boys, one of his
more agreeable action films.
Well, hark no more. Martin Lawrence announced he’s collaborating
with Bay for Bad Boys 3, which could “potentially re-team” him
with Will Smith. Although, let’s get real… can it really continue to
be Bad Boys if they don’t keep the Bay, Lawrence and Smith triple
threat?

Hollywood continues the
Bible epic binge…
Producers of The Bible, Mark
Burnett and Roma Downey,
will be overseeing MGM’s
adaptation of Lew Wallace’s
1880 novel, Ben Hur: A Tale
of the Christ. It was originally
adapted into Ben-Hur with Charlton Heston in 1959 and it seems
that 50-odd years are a long enough wait for a remake. Producers
are reportedly courting Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) to play
Judah Ben-Hur to harness some extra charm and a couple of
million fans too.

September 2014 | TechSmart