MOVIES
Snowpiercer - 17 October
CINEMA RELEASES
Automata (10 October)
We’re cast 30 years into the future
as we journey with Jacq Vaucan,
an insurance agent for a robotics
corporation, whose latest case
of robot manipulation will have
profound consequences on life
as we know it.
Antonio Banderas isn’t known for science-fiction, but after playing a
blend of ‘Donkey’ and ‘Puss in Boots’ in the Expendables 3, it seems as
though anything is possible. Automata, may seem like an I, Robot clone
at first glance, dealing with the minefield of ethics and robotics. However,
it seems as though “visionary” Spanish writer-director, Gabe Ibáñez, is
going for a Bicentennial Man angle.
Gone Girl (10 October)
When Neil Patrick Harris, Missi
Pyle and Tyler Perry headline
a movie, you have to guess
it’s going to be crass… and
potentially funny. The last
thing you would expect to be
watching is a stone cold David
Fincher film starring Ben Affleck.
Affleck has created his own cinema legacy as a director and the movie
title echoes his breakthrough debut, Gone Baby Gone. However,
Fincher’s rabbit hole runs even deeper, reflecting key aspects from The
Game in a dark crime mystery thriller about a husband who unwittingly
becomes the focus of a media circus after his wife’s disappearance.
Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles (17 October)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
love pizza… you probably didn’t
learn that watching National
Geographic. If you grew up
on a diet of “heroes in a halfshell”, you’ll probably be willing
to spend money on their latest FX-driven adventure, whether Michael
Bay rocked (or ruined) your childhood memories of Transformers.
Surprisingly, there’s a South African connection as home-grown director,
Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans), shows us where Megan Fox
has been hiding all this time and shares some inside jokes with Will
Arnett, William Fichtner and Whoopi Goldberg. Catch the Batman Begins
wannabes as they face-off against an evil kingpin in New York City.
38
Joon-ho Bong is an up-and-coming
director, who is developing a
reputation for thought-provoking scifi action adventures with a political
message. His latest achievement,
Snowpiercer, is all-out art house actioner that is both intellectually and
visually arresting (based on the 1982 French comic Le Transperceneige)
If its high calibre cast in Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell
and John Hurt doesn’t compel you, then the story about a self-sustainable
train making journeys around a frozen Earth with a strict social order just
might. Imagine the politics of The Hunger Games, the visual spunk of Kung
Fu Hustle with the weight of Oldboy all rolled into one locomotive.
Annabelle (24 October
The Conjuring introduced us to
Annabelle, a doll whose origins are
explored in greater depth in the
self-titled prequel, Annabelle. While
the real rag doll that inspired the
story behind The Conjuring wasn’t
available as a prop, the novelty of toy possession horror died with a
stream of underwhelming Chucky sequels.
While produced by James Wan, it’s directed by his cinematographer,
John R. Leonetti, the guy who directed Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
The concept of a satanic cult home invasion has great potential if you
remember The Strangers, although the no-name cast and low budget
mean it could be a dark horse or a dud.
MOVIE NEWS
No Country for Old Man
Rambo?
Sylvester Stallone has been
trying to stage an 80s action
man revival, well, ever since
the 90s. To his credit, The
Expendables is already
three movies in, and while
degenerating, it’s still drawing an audience. According to the latest
reports, Stallone is set to star and direct a fifth and final Rambo
movie, aptly titled Rambo: Last Blood. Current speculation is
that the action and ultra-violence is going down like The A-Team
started… with a Mexican drug cartel.
Aaron Cross vs.
Jason Bourne
Matt Damon probably turned
his back on the Bourne series
because Paul Greengrass was
not interested in directing a
fourth installation. Well, it’s been