Off the screen magazine january 2014

January 2014 Your one resource for what’s happening at the South African Box Office.

www.offthescreenmagazine.com

King’s Queen of Horror Chloè Moretz talks to us about bringing one of horror master Stephen King’s greatest characters back to life in the remake of the horror masterpiece, Carrie

The Year of the Sequel

We take a look at the features which we should all be watching out for in 2014, and they’re all sequels. Well, kind of.

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Content s Cover Story:

16 King’s Queen of Horror Chloè Moretz talks to us about breathing new life into one of horror master Stephen King’s scariest characters in the new remake, Carrie

Features:

10 Facing the Dragon One of the latest actors to join director Peter Jackson in Middle Earth, Luke Evans, talks to us about the experience of shooting The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

22 The Year of the Sequel We have a look at the films which are coming in the New Year that we should all be on the look-out for, and they all seem to be sequels

Reviews: Film Released December 13th 32 Escape Plan 33 Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux 34 Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas 35 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 36 The Fifth Estate

16 Released December 20th 37 Frozen 38 In a World 39 Blue Jasmine 40 The Counsellor 41 Last Vegas

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Editor Jon Broeke jon.broeke@gmail.com

Deputy Editor Annette Bayne annette.bayne@gmail.com

10 Released December 27th 42 Emperor 43 47 Ronin 44 Walking with Dinosaurs Released January 3rd 45 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 46 Carrie 47 Empire State 48 Justin Bieber’s Believe 49 Goddess

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Photo Credits Nu Metro, Ster Kinekor, Getty Images, UPI.com, Google Images, imdb.com

Releasing January 10th 50 The Wolf of Wall Street 51 Don Jon DVD 54 Penthouse North Beneath the Darkness Sinister I’m so Excited

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Editors Letter

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It’s officially 2014, so happy New Year. We all hope you had an eventful, but safe, New Year’s celebration, and are ready to get going in this fine new time. To help you in 2014 we look forward to the films, all of them sequels, kind of, that you should be on the lookout for in the New Year, as well as speaking to teen star Chloè Moretz, our cover, about her starring turn in the remake of the horror classic, Carrie, and to Luke Evans about joining Middle Earth in the latest Hobbit film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Of course we have all the reviews you expect as well so have a look and we hope you enjoy the magazine. See you in February :)

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Best Wishes Jon Broeke Editor Off The Screen Magazine 7

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Facing the Dragon _________________________________________________________________________Off The Screen Magazine

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This month sees the second instalment of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy hit our big screen. We chatted to the latest actor to join in the Middle Earth family, Luke Evans, about his character, the Middle Earth world, and the books

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or 12 years now Peter Jackson’s foray into the world of JRR Tolkein’s Middle Earth has enthralled viewers. Since Frodo Baggins first got his hands on the ring of power and set off to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom we’ve been riveted to our screens to see if he made it or not. Then last year Jackson took us back in time, to before Frodo was even born, to the time of his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, to learn of his adventures with a bunch of dwarves, a wizard and a monstrous dragon named Smaug. This month sees the next volume in Bilbo’s adventures as he and the band of adventurers trying to get their home back finally reach the dragon and begin to the final battle, one that will be concluded in next year’s final chapter, The Hobbit: There and Back Again. As with all new chapters we have new characters adding to the magic of the amazing world. One of these characters is Bard, played by Luke Evans. We chatted to Evans about his role, how Bard gets involved in the story and why he agrees to help the dwarves at all.

“You meet him exactly as you meet him in the book, which is nice,” Evans tells us.

“The Dwarves crash their barrels on the edge of the river and don’t know where they are.

They are a bit disorientated and look up, and all of a sudden there is this huge, ominous figure peering down with an arrow pointing at them. He is a giant compared to them because they are so small. That’s how you meet him. A bit of bartering goes on to get them into Lake-town. Bard is lower-working class, really, living hand-to-mouth. He has three kids and lives in this controlled state, which is very corrupt and run by one dictator.

The people there have nothing. The place is rotting away. It is literally sinking into the lake. It has lost all its trade with Erebor because this huge Dragon now lives there, sitting on its gold. It’s tragic. They have nothing. They have nowhere to go and that’s

the sadness of this place. You do feel they are just a forgotten race.”

Though Bard agrees to help the dwarves, after a while, he is not exactly altruistic, really out for himself.

“He is,” Evans agrees. “But when he comes across these 13 Dwarves and a Hobbit, he knows that this is a big deal. How is he going to get them all in to Lake-town? And, yes, he wants to make it worth his while, saving them, so he makes a deal with them.

Bard is not stupid. He is a very savvy, streetwise character and that is why he has survived for as long as he has, much to the dislike of the Master of Lake-town; Bard always seems to be one step ahead of the Master, who really doesn’t like Bard.”

The Master, the controller of Laketown, is played by the amazing Stephen Fry, and he and Evans have a few interesting encounters in the film.

“It is a fantastic dynamic,” Evans says of the onscreen friction between his character and Fry’s. “Anyone who is offered a role against Stephen Fry, in any context, any genre, would be mad to not take it. And this one was no exception. The Master in this film looks just incredible. He is a very statuesque human being. Stephen is a very tall man.

They have made him very portly. He has these teeth, is bald-headed, and he is really over-indulging in food and wine while the rest of his townsfolk starve and suffer on a daily basis. The thing that he doesn’t have, though, which Bard does, is the respect of the people.

As you see the film develop and the story unfold, Bard gains their respect because he is one of them, whereas the Master is never really one of them. He never wanted to be part of their lives. He keeps them on the verge of starvation so that they are weak and they can’t revolt, but Bard is the light in this very dark world that they live in.”

Bard, as a result, becomes the leader of these people, and their very hope. We

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asked Evans about some of the better moments in his characters life, the ones that resonate with him, and will resonate with the viewers.

“Bard has quite a lot of finest moments!” he says. “He starts off as this sort of cheeky chap, maybe with an undercurrent that he doesn’t play everything by the rules.

Well, you wouldn’t, in order to survive and to have some quality of life in a controlled state.

You meet his family. He has these wonderful kids, but no wife because she has died. It is very sad, and he works for them. That’s it.

That’s all he has and he keeps them clothed, fed, watered and safe. As the film goes on, you realize his only objective is to keep them safe and, unfortunately, that is compromised.

He has shunned his history and his family legacy. His ancestor, his grandfather six times back, was Girion, Lord of Dale, who is the only person who ever tried to kill the Dragon and all he managed to do was to dislodge a scale.

The dragon survived and eliminated Dale and all of Bard’s ancestors. It is a story they don’t talk about; Bard’s ancestors were shunned, disliked, because they were held responsible for the annihilation of Dale. There is a lot going on in Bard’s life. There are some

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incredible moments for Bard in this film. They are very epic.”

A large part of Bard’s life is archery, something not uncommon with Jackson films with Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom in the first Lord of the Rings trilogy and in this very film as well, playing with his bow a lot of the time. We asked Evans how he took to playing with his own bow in this film.

“Great, I loved it,” he says with a smile. “We had a really good time learning archery. We all did it together, even though the Dwarves use different bows and arrows.

They shoot from the hip, whereas Bard shoots like the Samurai, so the palm is facing away from the face. That way, you can extend further than the face. If your palm is facing your face you can only draw the bow to your ear. You naturally cannot go any further. A longbow takes a massive draw for the arrow to go anywhere. That was one of the wonderful things I learned!”

As all teenagers in the world, especially since the release of the films, Evans was familiar with the book, The Hobbit, before filming started, but not with the Lord of the Rings.

“The Lord of the Rings terrified me too much, just the sheer size of it!” he jokes. “I think The Hobbit is probably the most childfriendly of all the Tolkien stories in this series.

I think it is the easiest to read. I was captivated from the second it starts. It starts very cosy in the middle of the Hobbit Hole, it is beautiful, and it draws you in very quickly.

The characters are so well written. One thing Tolkien does incredibly well, and this is from a lay person’s point of view, I am not scholar or anything, is that you don’t have to make an effort to envisage the worlds that he writes about. They are so well done. I immediately have an image whenever I read him. I reread The Hobbit, and the images I had in my mind straightaway were the same images I had as a teenager. They still triggered the same images. I think that is very clever.”

To see Evans, along with the rest of the cast, portraying those images onto the big screen go and see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at all cinemas, countrywide, today.

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King’s Queen of Horror This month sees one of horror’s most iconic characters coming back to the big screen with the remake of the classic horror, Carrie. We chatted to Chloè Moretz about bringing this icon back to life, working with Julianne Moore and all that blood

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he original Carrie, back in 1976, was a revelation. It put Sissy Spacek on the map as far as acting goes, even though she already had an acting career, but more that, it was the first time a certain novelists work had been turned into a film. That writer was Stephen King, and the rest, as they say, is history. King has had several horror hits since, including 1408, The Shining, IT and the Pet Cemetery films, just to name a few, but that first film is always close to his heart. This year sees the first film coming back to light as the remake of that first film opens on South African screens.

This time another well-established young actress takes the role, and even though she’s already on the map, Carrie will go a long way to taking her even further. We sat down with Chloè Moretz, star of the Kick-Ass films, and chatted to her about taking on the iconic role of, maybe, the first and scariest of the horror characters.

“The role of Carrie is very emotional role,” Moretz says in an interview. “It is probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever been, as an actor, so in some ways it’s kind of terrifying for it to come out, but at the same time it’ll be kind of an awakening for me, because it’s something I’ve never done before.”

That awakening, and pushing herself to do different things, which is something

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she’s always done in her career, were some of the reasons she took the role in the first place.

“Why wouldn’t you want to play Carrie, you know what I mean?” she asks.

“Carrie is such a diverse and multi-layered character, and there’s so many ways you can go with her. You can show her vulnerability, her astrocisation, the manipulation, and the loss, and the convoluted sense of happiness.

There are just so many things for an actor to portray in that, and also to do homage to a Stephen King character. That is honestly the ultimate character.”

The new film follows the same story as the original. Carrie is an outcast at school.

Very sheltered by her uber-religious mother, played by Julianne Moore, Carrie has no friends, and is teased, but when things get really bad she discovers a gift within herself that may save her. At the same time one of the popular girls, Sue, played by Gabriella Wilde, begins to have pangs of guilt about Carrie and decides to make amends by convincing her boyfriend, played by Ansel Elgort, to take Carrie to prom instead of her.

This seems like a good idea at the time, but the mean girl, Chris, played by Portia Doubleday, has other plans, and because of these plans the gift Carrie thought would save her, ultimately damns her. We asked Moretz what she thought about the story.

“It’s this heightened reality of the mother-daughter struggle you have as a young adult,” she tells us. “Carrie’s also dealing with her religious background, which her mother, she created fake scripture and

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“She is trying to be the best parent, but she doesn’t know how to be, because she is so paranoid, and so terrified of what might happen to her daughter she wants to keep her in the house, keep her in the closet, keep her safe, keep her a child and not allow her to grow up because she knows that what happens by the end of the movie might happen to her.” such to kind of manipulate her and she completely loses touch of what’s going on around her and that is when the telekinesis part of her pops out, because when she can’t cry enough, she can’t scream enough, she can’t speak enough, this energy within her pops out in little bursts, and that is another thing that Margaret, her mother, tells her is magic and sinful, but she begins to realise, in her own way, that it’s not.”

She doesn’t feel that Margaret, Carrie’s mother, is evil though. She’s just misguided.

“Margaret is never trying to harm her daughter because she is trying to abuse her,” she says. “She is trying to be the best parent, but she doesn’t know how to be, because she is so paranoid, and so terrified of what might happen to her daughter she wants to keep her in the house, keep her in the closet, keep her safe, keep her a child and not allow her to grow up because she knows that what happens by the end of the movie might happen to her.”

Oscar nominated actress Julianne Moore plays Margaret in the remake, a role originally played by Piper Laurie. We asked Moretz what she was like to work with.

“It was immediate,” Moretz says about the chemistry between the two of them. “When I first met her I knew that she was such a beautiful soul and a beautiful

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human, and she made me feel so safe and secure during rehearsals and, honestly, there was never any quam, never any issue about whether or not we would get along. We just clicked immediately. It was amazing to be so secure and so safe with your co-star, especially when you’re sharing so many emotionally intimate scenes with.”

A big part about the original film, and indeed this film as well, was the prom scene, where, if you haven’t seen either film and don’t know the story stop reading now, Carrie gets a bucket of pigs blood on her head, right before she goes postal and kills almost everyone. We asked Moretz about the process of the blood and the scenes that take place after she’s covered in it.

“The funny thing is,” she says, “That I’d put on the dress and it’d be dry, but then I’d go onto set and they’d be spraying me down with water to make it look all wet and nasty, and it was gruelling. I spent hours and hours, in total a month a half, being soaking wet and freezing and sticky and uncomfortable, but the day you watch the movie and what we got was beautiful stuff, so it makes it worth it.”

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Right before that she’s enjoying herself at the prom, in a beautiful pink dress.

We asked Moretz what she thinks it is about prom that made Carrie risk everything to go, even though she was convinced that she was being pranked almost the whole time. ““Going to the prom means you ultimately fit in, and I think that’s what Carrie wants,” Moretz answers. “To ultimately fit in and to be liked and to be, quote ,’Normal’. To be accepted, because that’s really truthfully what everyone wants and that’s all she wants, if that means going to prom or whatever it means, it’s what she wants.”

Of course she doesn’t get the acceptance she desperately wants, but before that, and everything that happens in the films, stems from Carrie being bullied, either by her mother, or the kids at school. We asked Moretz what she thinks the films message about

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bullying is.

“It’s much more relevant now, I’d say,” comparing the message from the original film with the message from the remake. “It’s also, the little bit we have in this movie, of it, is much scarier and much more dangerous than it was back in 1976 when you watched it, and you’re going, ‘Oh, that’s to terrifying’, but it wasn’t as loud as bullying is now, probably. It’s become very publicised in how to stop it and how we need to, instead of just saying, ‘Stiff upper lip’, it’s, ‘No. Talk about it, let’s talk about it. Let’s get through this together’, because stiff upper lip never works.”

If you want to see what could happen if you stay stiff-upper-lipped or if you were a fan of the original Carrie, go and see the remake at cinemas now.

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The Year of the Sequel

2014 As is customary this time of year we looked ahead to the coming year to let you know what the films you should be on the look-out for are and why, but this year we were met with a bit of a surprise. Almost all the films that caught our eye are sequels. So here you go, in no particular order, our list of sequels that you should be on the lookout for next year.

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irst on our list is the sequel to the superhero smash Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, opening in South Africa March 28th.

In the sequel our hero, Steve Rodgers AKA Captain America, reprised by Chris Pine, is trying to come to terms with being a man out of time, pulled from World War II into our modern world, and trying to find his place after the events in The Avengers. Things become worse when he’s faced with an enemy he could never have imagined, the mysterious Russian agent, The Winter Soldier. This is filled with spoilers, so be warned, The Winter Soldier turns out to be none other than Bucky Barnes, reprised by Sebastian Stan, Steve’s best friend who fell from the train in the first film. In the comics he didn’t die, instead he was found by the Russians and retrained to be their own version of the super soldier, with a bionic arm. He is an iconic character in the Captain America universe, so we’re really excited to see him on the screen next year.

Also coming back is Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow, and rumour has it there’s a love connection between her and the Captain, and a new character The Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, who is known as the Captain’s side kick as sorts with wings and a falcon that works with him. He is very cool. If you liked the other Marvel superhero movies, and we all did, then don’t miss this one.

Animated films always do well at the South African Box Office, so it was no surprise when Rio did well back in 2011. Now Blu, voiced again by Jesse Eisenberg, and Jewel, voiced again by Anne Hathaway, are back, but this

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time instead of the magical city of Rio, they’re going head first into the jungles of the amazon, and they have kids, in the sequel Rio 2, opening in South Africa April 11th.

It looks like, according to IMDB, that Nigel, the bad bird from the first film, is back as well, voiced again by Jemaine Clement, but worse than that, this time Blu has to face Jewel’s father. This looks like it’s going to be huge fun, and the first sequel to come from Blue Sky Studios outside their Ice Age series, and we know how popular those are, so we’re really looking forward to this one. The second of three superhero films to hit out list is the sequel to one of the best reimagining’s ever, The Amazing Spiderman 2: The Rise of Electro, opening in South Africa April 25th.

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___________________________________________________________________________ In Spiderman 2 Peter Parker AKA Spiderman, reprised by Andrew Garfield, is doing well at balancing being a teen high school student and a superhero. He’s even getting the love and admiration of the people of New York, but then things go wrong with the emergence of Electro, played by Jamie Foxx. He also has to deal with reappearance of his friend, Harry Osborn, played by Dane DeHaan, and begins to realize that his enemies may all be coming from the same place, OsCorp. We all loved the first Spiderman reboot in the franchise and are dying to see the sequel.

We love Garfield as the webslinger, and Emma Stone as his girlfriend, Gwen Stacey, who she’s playing again in this sequel. We’re also dying to see Foxx as Elector, as well as DeHaan as the Green Goblin, who rumour has it he becomes, and Paul Giamatti as the Rhino, another bad guy that Spidey has to fight. Rumour has it we’ll even get to see a bit of Doctor Octopus in this film, but whether or not that’s true we’ll have to wait and see, either way it’s going to be a great ride. The last superhero sequel on our list is also from the Marvel world and features such wellknown names as Wolverine, Professor X and Magneto, of course we’re talking about the sequel to the 2011 hit X-Men: First Class, XMen: Day of Future Past, opening in South Africa May 24th.

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According to 20 Century Fox the plot for this film involves Wolverine, reprised for the 7th time by Hugh Jackman, and sporting bone claws if the film follows the events in The Wolverine, going back in time to save the world, both mutants and humans, from events that destroy everything. Best we can discern is that the event has something to do with Bolivar Trask, played by Peter Dinklage, who invents giant robots, the Sentinels, which then go about trying to eradicate all mutants, but instead start a war destroying virtually everything. Wolverine needs to get the help of Professor Xavier, reprised by both Patrick Stewart in the future and James McAvoy in the past, Magneto, reprised by both Ian McKellen in in the future and Michael Fassbender in the past, and a bunch of the other X-Men alum, some from the previous XMen films and some from X-Men: First Class, including Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman, Lucas Till as Alex Summers/Havok and Daniel Cudmore as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, in an all-out battle to save everything. We’re thrilled to see another XMen film, especially after the wonderful job they did with X-Men: First Class. We heard the news that Anna Paquin, who plays Rogue in the series, has been cut from the film, and that’s a bit of a downer, but even that’s not going to dampen our excitement about the film. It looks to be one of the best X-Men films yet, especially since Bryan Singer, director of the first two X-Men films, is back in the director’s chairs and our favourite X-Men are back as well. It looks to be absolutely awesome, so if you love the X-Men as much as we do, then don’t miss this one. The only other animated feature to make our list is the sequel to the dragon filled hit, How to Train Your Dragon 2, opening in South Africa June 20th.

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___________________________________________________________________________ It’s been five years since Hiccup, voiced again

by Jay Baruchel, and Toothless, his dragon united the dragons and Vikings on the island of Berk and taught them that they could work together instead of fighting. Now the other warriors that Hiccup trained with have all taken dragons and they spend their time dragon racing, Berk’s new favourite sport, while Hiccup and Toothless travel the skies finding new lands. This search leads them to a mysterious ice cave filled with wild dragons and the mysterious dragon rider, which leads to a battle to protect the peace that Berk has found, when the wild dragons and the dragon rider try to take it away. How to Train Your Dragon was a wonderful film back in 2010 and introduced us all to the Vikings and the dragons, and we all fell in love with them all equally. This time we’ll get to know them even more, and see if Hiccup can emerge victorious from his greatest battle ever. If you loved the first film, or if you’re a kid and love animated films, then this one you don’t want to miss. This year sees those giant robots in disguise back on our big screens in Transformers: Age of Extinction, opening in South Africa June 27th.

This time the Autobots, and their evil counterparts the Decepticons, go in search of a motor mechanic, played by action man Mark Wahlberg, and his daughter, played by Nicola Peltz from The Last Airbender, when they stumble on something that the Transformers want. It’s interesting to have a transformers film without Shia LeBeouf, but Wahlberg is great in action roles, as well as anything else, Peltz is really pretty

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and not a bad actor, at least she wasn’t in Last Airbender, and the big transforming robots are back, and looking better and meaner than ever, so let’s say goodbye to Sam Witwicky and hope this sequel is as good as the others. If you loved the other Tranformer’s films then don’t miss this one. Young adult film adaptions are insanely popular, from Twilight to Harry Potter, and the one still in our memories, which we have a sequel for next year, The Hunger Games. In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I, opening in South Africa November 21st,

Katniss, reprised by Jennifer Lawrence who also appears in X-Men: Days of Future Past, has survived her second foray into the arena and is now a guest of the long thought dead District 13. She becomes the face of the revolution, using her as a human Mockingjay pin to rouse the people into action, but she doesn’t really want to get involved in the war, partly because she never wanted to fight in the first place, and partly because all she really cares about is Peeta, reprised by Josh Hutcherson, who was captured by the Capitol when she blew up the arena in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and she doesn’t know if

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___________________________________________________________________________ he’s alive or not. This film based on the book Mockingjay has been broken into two films, Part I and Part II, and both films are going to be great, judging from what they did in Catching Fire. What’s interesting to us is to see where they stop this film and pick up in the fourth film, which could be anywhere, but it’s great that they’re going to be able to put everything little detail into the films, and we’re expecting them to do just that, and we’re dying to see it. The one and only South African film on our list, partly because it’s virtually the only South African sequel, ever, is the third chapter in the life of John ‘Spud’ Milton, Spud 3: Learning to Fly, opening in South Africa November 28th.

It’s Spud’s, reprised for the third time by Troye Sivan, senior year at boarding school and he’s still trying to figure things out. This year sees him grappling with Shakespeare, the meaning of God and developing an eversion to fried fish after discovering something disturbing about his grandmother. He also faces all the old troubles with girls and friends and sees his arch nemesis re-enter his life, along with a garrulous Malawian who takes over his dorm room. Can he survive another year? Though Spud 2: The Madness Continues didn’t do as well as the South African Box Office as some hoped, it still did relatively well, and was a good film. We’re expecting Spud 3: Learning to Fly, to follow suit and continue the adventures of our favourite boarding school child, after Harry Potter of course. It will also be nice to see old friends back on the big screen, so if you liked Spud 1 and 2 then go and see Spud three. Next year

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sees the final instalment coming from Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, opening in South Africa December 19th.

After The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the company of Thorin Oakenshield, reprised for the third time by Richard Armitage, which is made up of his fellow dwarves, Bard, reprised from The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug by Luke Evans, Gandalf, reprised for the sixth time by Ian McKellan, The Elf, Tauriel, reprised by Evangeline Lilly and the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, reprised by Martin Freeman, have reached the Lonely Mountain with the hopes of finding it deserted, instead they found the dragon, Smaug, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Can they destroy the dragon and get their home back, or will the dragon have its day, and will their home be lost forever? Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy has been as popular as his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now with only one film left we’re expecting it to be bidder and better than the other two. If you loved An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug then There and Back Again should be a satisfying end to a fabulous trilogy. Last, but certainly not least, on our list is the second sequel to the 2006 surprise smash hit, Night at the Museum. Night at the Museum 3, opening in South Africa December 26th,

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___________________________________________________________________________ sees Ben Stiller’s Larry Daley returning to the museum for a third time to deal with the adventures of the exhibits who come to life with the aid of a magical Egyptian tablet. Not much more than that is known about the plot, which is being kept a closely guarded secret, but we do know that Robin Williams has signed on to reprise his role as Teddy Roosevelt, but whether on the horse or not we don’t know, Ricky Gervais has signed on to

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reprise his role as Dr. McPhee, the museum curator and Skyler Gisondo has joined the cast as Nick, Larry’s son, originally played by Jake Cherry in the first two films. There’s no word as to whether Owen Wilson or Steve Coogan will be reprising their miniature roles, but even without them it looks to be a riot, so if you loved Night at the Museum 1 and 2 then this is one to diarise.

That’s the last of the sequels, but there are several other films we wanted to focus on that fall under the same category, sort of. They’re not sequels exactly, but they’re close enough so…

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ngelina Jolie does her bad turn in Disney’s Maleficent, opening in South Africa June

A retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale, Maleficent looks at the fable from the perspective of the evil fairy, Maleficent, played by Angelina Jolie. It follows her own tale and explains what happened to her to turn her heart cold and bring her to the point in her life where she cursed the young Princess, Aurora, played in this version by Elle Fanning. While not a sequel it is a remake of a classic film, Sleeping Beauty and well worth a look. It looks absolutely lovely and it’s always nice to see a well-known tale told from a different angle. The film also stars South Africa’s own Sharlto Copely, currently shooting Neil Blomkamp’s Chappie. A fourth superhero film to look out for next year is the Guardians of the Galaxy, opening in South Africa August 1st,

and while not a sequel or a remake, it is like the twentieth film from the Marvel stable, so kind of makes it a sequel. In Guardians of the Galaxy we meet the Guardians, Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, a jet pilot who gets stranded in space and has to bring together the rest of the team, according to the write up on IMDB, Rocket Racoon, voiced by Bradley Cooper, who is an alien species who looks very much like a racoon, and carries a really big gun, Drax the Destroyer, played by WWE superstar Dave Bautista, who joins the team because of his hatred for the bad guy in the film Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace, Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel, a giant tree like creature, and Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana, the adopted daughter of the Accuser, who is looking for a new path, so joins the team. It’s going to be a lot of explosions and effects and a good tie in to the rest of the Marvel universe films, the glowing blue things that Thor is dealing with in Thor: The Dark World, is part of this film, and so is the weird smiling dude at the end of The Avengers, so it should be fun. Not a sequel, not a remake, and not part of a multiple film franchise, Jersey Boys, opening in South Africa August 15th,

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makes this list because we covered it, as a stage production early last year, May 2013, so it can be put on this list. Hey, it’s our list so we make up the rules. Telling the tale of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jersey Boys has some of the best music, comparable to Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables, and is one film we’re all dying to see. Frankie is played by John Lloyd Young while the rest of the Four Seasons is made up of Tommy, played by Vincent Piazza, Bob Gaudio, played

by Erich Bergen, and Nick Massi, played by Michael Lomenda. This looks to be one of the films of the year, if the stage production was anything to go by, and one that you shouldn’t miss. Also not a sequel or a remake, but falling into the bunch of films about cars and car racing is Need for Speed, opening in South Africa March 21st.

stars Dakota Johnson as Paul’s girlfriend, so we’re excited to see her before witnessing her in 50 Shades of Grey early in 2015. Last on our list is a remake, and its one helluva remake at that. Our favourite robotic police officer is back on the streets with the remake of Robocop, opening in South Africa February 7th.

The film follows the exploits of Tobey Marshall, played by Aaron Paul, an ex-racer who gets released for prison and goes in search of the person who set him up Dino, played by Dominic Cooper, only to find everyone out for his blood after a bounty is put on his head hours before he begins a massive underground race. If you’ve ever played the Need for Speed video games you know how much fun the world they revolve around can be, so it’s about time they turned that world into a films. It looks to continue in the proud tradition of the Fast and Furious films, and be a total thrill ride. It also

The remake sticks to the original story, when police man Alex Murphy, played in this version by Joel Kinnaman, is killed in the line of duty, the multinational corporation Omnicorp sees it as an opportunity to create something they can use to take control of old Detroit, so they create Robocop. Their plan backfires, though, when, what they thought would be become a robotic puppet for the corporation, retains the cops memories and becomes a sign of struggle and fight for the people of Detroit. We loved the original Robocop films, starring Peter Weller as the robotic cop, so we’re thrilled for the remake, especially if you consider the effects we have today compared to 1987 when the first was made. We’re hoping for big things, and we’re sure we’re going to get them, as long as the makers stay true to the story, all the effects will only help.

Well, that’s our list. 2014 looks to be quite a year for films, so happy watching, and we’ll see you at the cinemas. _______________________________________________________Off The Screen Magazine

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Film Review: Released December 13

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Escape Plan 8/10 Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Caviezel Directed by Mikael HĂĽfstrĂśm

The Verdict: I am a big fan of

The Story: Ray Breslin (Sylvestor Stallone) is a professional escape artist.

He owns a security firm that specializes in him being put in prison and then breaking out to show the weaknesses in the system, so when the CIA comes knocking at his door, offering him a lot more money than he usually gets, to break out of a new, highly secure facility known as the Vault, he agrees to do the job. It's only when he arrives that he realises that he's been set up. The warden, Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) either has no idea who he is, or doesn't care, and he has to endure really bad treatment. It falls to him to do what he does best, break out of the prison, but this time it's for real, and if he gets caught he's liable to be shot. He aided by a mysterious Austrian man, Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), another prisoner inside the prison who holds a secret Hobbes is desperate to get his hands on, the prison doctor, Dr Kyrie (Sam Neill), and his team outside the prison, Abigail (Amy Ryan) and Hush (Curtis "50 cent" Jackson) as he tries to survive the prison and find the one responsible for putting him there.

both Stallone and Schwarzenegger since back when Stallone was Rocky and Schwarzenegger was the Terminator, and I've wanted to see them together in a film for ages, and more than just the cameos that Schwarzenegger did in the Expendable movies, but see them both in real, action hero roles in the same film, and here it is, my dream come true.

They are both at their action, though somewhat aged, bests in this film. It's funny and smart and full of explosions and gun fights, and absolutely marvelous.

Stallone is straight faced and grumpy as a lawyer trying to make the world a better place, and appease his demons, by keeping prisoners in prison, while Schwarzenegger is mysterious and interesting as a man with a secret. It was wonderful to hear him speaking German as well, the first time ever. Caviezel is sadistic and evil as the prison warden since George Kennedy in Cool Hand Luke.

He revels in nastiness and it's wonderful.

Jackson, Neill and Ryan all deliver solid supporting performances, and Vince Vaughn shines as Stallone's partner. If you've loved these two actors through the years as much as I have then this is a film you need to see. It even has Schwarzenegger pulling a really big gun off of a helicopter. What more could you want?

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Film Review: Released December 13

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Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux 4/10 Starring Ian Roberts, Anna-Mart van der Merwe and Lizelle de Klerk Directed by Paul Eilers

The Story: Engela (Lizelle de Klerk) comes home to her aunt Koba (Anna-Mart van der Merwe) and uncle Frans’ (Ian Roberts) house. The two have raised her since her parents died in a car accident years before. The day she arrives so does an odd man and his donkey, whom then begins building a wall on the property, and soon after a woman comes to the house too. Engela doesn’t know it, but the woman is, in fact, her mother and she carries with her a secret that could not only rip apart Engela’s life, but the lives of Frans and Koba as well.

the man and his donkey to be there. I think he’s supposed to be some kind of angel, but that’s never verified, so that’s just an assumption. The whole Mannetjies Roux angle is heavy handed and convoluted. The addition of Roux, though nice for the original concept, doesn’t work in the film, especially since no one realized who she was until the last three seconds of the film. Roberts, van der Merwe and de Klerk try their best, but without mush in the way of direction or script or storyline to follow, there’s only so much they can do. This is a miss for a production company that has done really solid work in the past. Let’s hope this was just a slump and not a sign of things to come.

The Verdict: I was excited to see this film when I heard about it. Firstly it is based on the successful stage production, directed by Paul Eilers, who also directed the film and based around the music of Laurika Rauch, who also appears in the film as Engela’s older self and the narrator of the story, and secondly, the film was made by the same producers who brought us Roepman and Verraaiers, both excellent Afrikaans films, but, unfortunately, they really missed the mark on this one. The story is confusing and makes little sense. There’s no reason for

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Film Review: Released December 13

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Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (not rated) Starring Tyler Perry, Kathy Najimy and Chad Michael Murray Directed by Tyler Perry Eileen's daughter, Lacy (Tika Sumpter), who has mysteriously informed her that she's not coming home for the holidays.

Lacy lives on a farm in a small town called Buck Tussel, and she's still avoiding telling her judgmental mother that she's gotten married to Connor (Eric Lively), a white boy she met in college, for fear of disappointing her. So when Eileen and Madea arrive at the farm, Lacy panics and claims Connor is just a farmhand, and it only gets more difficult to sustain when Connor's Southern hillbilly parents, Buddy (Larry the Cable Guy) and Kim (Kathy Majimy) arrive for a holiday visit of their own.

The Verdict: Unfortunately we The Story: A Madea Christmas begins with Madea (Tyler Perry) accompanying her niece, Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford), to pay a surprise visit to

missed this one, but if you loved the other Madea films, and you’re a fan of Tyler Perry then you should definitely go and see this one before Christmas.

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Film Review: Released December 13

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (not rated) Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage Directed by Peter Jackson

The Story: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company travels East, encountering along the way the skin-changer Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt) and a swarm of giant Spiders in the

treacherous forest of Mirkwood.

After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood-elves, the Dwarves journey to Lake-town, and finally to the Lonely Mountain itself, where they must face the greatest danger of all—a creature more terrifying than any other; one which will test not only the depth of their courage, but the limits of their friendship and the wisdom of the journey itself—The Dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

The Verdict: Unfortunately we missed this film, but if you loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey then this is a must see for you.

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Film Review: Released December 13

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The Fifth Estate 7/10 Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brühl and Carice van Houten Directed by Bill Condon

The Story: Based on the true events about the creation of Wikileaks, one of the most contested websites of all time.

Daniel Berg (Daniel Brühl) meets Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) at a conference for hackers and computer enthusiast and is immediately taken in by the man. He has a dream about a world without secrets. Where everyone will know everything and nothing will be hidden. To achieve these aims Assange has created a website called Wikileaks.

The concept behind the site is that anyone can release information to the general public, through the site, while staying completely anonymous, even to the owners of the site. This creates a platform for whistle blowers to expose corruption without fear of recourse. The concept is sound and Berg, along with others, help Assange to get the site up and running, and as soon as they do they have a major win by exposing the corruption behind one of the biggest banks in Europe and bringing it to its knees. Drunk with the power of their victory they start attacking bigger groups, including the United States government, but soon Berg realizes that Assange isn’t all he claims to be, and his completely altruistic intentions may not be as pure as he likes to lead people to believe, especially when people begin to get hurt because of content on the site.

The Verdict: The story of Wikileaks

is very well known, the leaking of thousands of pages of interactions between high ranking officials in the United States government about spying and talking about each other and such, but it hasn’t been looked at from this angle before. I do understand why the real Julian Assange did not like this film, because it really does cast him in a not very positive light. By the time the film is over he comes across as a paranoid, somewhat delusional ego maniac who is willing to destroy anyone, and anything, to get what he wants, even though no one is really sure what that is since he changes his mind, and story, every ten seconds. I don’t know whether or not he is really like that in real life, but it comes across as pretty convincing on the screen, which is thanks to a great performance by Cumberbatch. He carries Assange’s charisma very well at the beginning of the film, showing the way the man convinced people to do what he wanted them to do, but then shows the cracks in the man as he continues. It’s a well thought out performance by a very accomplished actor.

Brühl is also great as the man who follows Assange until he realizes that there is something not quite right, firstly with the man, but also with what they’re doing, putting people’s lives at risk. If you like political or journalist thrillers then you should get something out of this film, or if you are interested in Assange and Wikileaks, then you may get something too. It is an interesting film.

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Film Review: Released December 20

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Frozen 9/10

Starring the voices of Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

The Story: Anna (voiced

by Kristen Bell and Livvy Stubenrauch as a little girl) and Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel and Eva Bella as a little girl) are sisters and the best of friends, but one night while they’re having fun with Elsa’s magical powers, she can make ice and snow from her hands, something goes terribly wrong and Anna gets hurt. The King and Queen save her, with the help of a bunch of trolls, but they make Elsa promise to never use her powers again, to keep Anna, herself and the entire kingdom safe. Elsa agrees and, to keep her safe, cuts Anna out of her life. It’s a lonely life for Anna, especially after the castle gates are locked and the King and Queen pass away in a ship accident, leaving them alone, but the day finally comes when Elsa gets old enough to become Queen and the gates are finally open. Anna dream of finding her true love, and she thinks she’s done just that when she meets Hans (voiced

by Santino Fontana), but when she tells Elsa that she’s agreed to marry him after knowing him for just a few hours Elsa tells her that she’s crazy and she won’t allow it. Anna is angry and the two have a fight, which results in Elsa’s powers being shown to the entire kingdom. Afraid of hurting everyone Elsa runs away into the mountains, finally being able to use her powers freely. She thinks she’s left the kingdom in safety, but instead she’s frozen the entire kingdom. Anna sets off into the wilds to find her sister and save the kingdom, getting help along the way from Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) an ice

farmer, his crazy reindeer Sven and a magical snowman, Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad) who the sisters made as children and who is crazy about summer, but when Anna finds Elsa she doesn’t want to go back, and she hurts her sister by accident, again. How can Anna save the kingdom, and her sister, if she can’t save herself?

The Verdict: Disney, in my opinion, does the best animated films. All the way back to Cinderella, to their recent hits Wreck-It Ralph and Brave, they have the most incredible animation, the most complex characters and the best storylines. Frozen is no exception. The story is great, based loosely on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale about the Snow Queen. The characters are wonderful. Anna is free spirited and fun loving, a real fiery spirit, while Elsa is more poised and well-mannered and controlled, even though she’d like to be free spirited like her sister, the two make a great contrast, the two sides of the coin, both trying to do the right thing, no matter what the cost. They are both great role models for the little girls watching this film. Kristoff is tough, but sensitive, brave yet cautious, he’s everything you’d be proud for your son to grow up to be, and the comedy is thick and fast, provided by Sven, the crazy reindeer who will eat his way into everyone’s heart, and Olaf, who is one crazy little snow man, but with such a big heart that you just love him to pieces. It’s also great that Disney has gone back to its musical roots. Brave and Wreck-It Ralph were incredible films in their own rights, but it’s lovely to have the big musical numbers back in a Disney film. Let it Go will give you goose bumps, while Do You Want To Build a Snowman? will have tears running down your cheeks and a lump in your throat. This is perfect holiday fare, so take the little ones, or the little ones at heart, and run off to your local cinema to see it now.

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Film Review: Released December 20

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In a World 6/10

Starring Lake Bell, Jeff Garlin and Fred Melamed Directed by Lake Bell (Michaela Watkins) and her husband, Moe (Rob Corddry).

The Verdict: This is a sweet and

The Story: Carol (Lake Bell) is a voice coach who moonlights some times as a voice over artist, but has never really had her big break, mostly because the industry is male dominated, and her father, Sam (Fred Melamed), is one of its biggest stars. Things change for her, though, when she gets the opportunity to read for the trailer for a new major motion picture that’s being released, but she has some serious competition in the form of Gustav (Ken Marino), a popular voice over artist who Carol stood in for, getting her on the radar for the other job, and her very own father, so she prepares for battle with the help of a producer, Louis (Demetri Martin) who has a crush on her, and her sister, Dani

interesting comedy, I’ve never seen one set in the cut throat world of trailer voice overs, but the problem is that it’s largely forgettable.

There are funny moments, the voices are interesting and Bell, who wears two hats in this project directing as well as staring, is good, especially with her voices and impressions, but nothing really makes you roll in the aisles laughing. Everyone does a good job, Corddry is funny and endearing as the loving husband who is complete oblivious to the world around him, Watkins does a good job as his wife, tempted into an affair, Marino is rude and crude and very good as the rival, very popular, voice over artist, Melamed is egotistical and neurotic as a former star trying desperately to hang onto his fame, and Martin is nervous and awkward as the guy who likes the girl, but has no idea how to tell her, but none of them really stand out. This is a fun comedy if there’s nothing else on, but I wouldn’t pay to go and see it.

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Film Review: Released December 20

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Blue Jasmine (not rated) Starring Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin and Peter Sarsgaard Directed by Woody Allen

The Story: After everything in her life falls to pieces, including her marriage to wealthy businessman Hal (Alec Baldwin), elegant New York socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) moves into her sister, Ginger's (Sally Hawkins) modest apartment in San Francisco to try to pull herself back together again. Jasmine arrives in San Francisco in a fragile mental state, her head reeling from the cocktail of anti-depressants she's on. While still able to

project her aristocratic bearing, Jasmine is emotionally precarious and lacks any practical ability to support herself. She disapproves of Ginger's boyfriend Chili (Bobby Cannavale), who she considers another "loser" like Ginger's exhusband Augie (Andrew Dice Clay).

Ginger, recognizing but not fully understanding her sister's psychological instability, suggests that she pursue interior design, a career she correctly intuits that Jasmine won't feel is beneath her. In the meantime, Jasmine begrudgingly accepts work as the receptionist in a dentist's office, where she attracts the unwanted attentions of her boss, Dr. Flicker (Michael Stuhlbarg).

The Verdict: Unfortunately we missed this one, but Blanchett is being keyed as an Oscar contender for this role, so if you like her, or are a fan of Woody Allen’s films then this is must see for you.

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Film Review: Released December 20

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The Counsellor 5/10 Starring Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz and Cameron Diaz Directed by Ridley Scott

The Story: When we meet the Counsellor (Michale Fassbender) he is a lawyer working with some unscrupulous people, but also getting involved in some deals that he really shouldn’t be. He’s invested money to build a night club with Reiner (Javier Bardem), who is a part time drug dealer married to the insane cheetah fanatic, Malkina (Cameron Diaz), who he tells the Counsellor some very interesting stories about. The Counsellor has also invested money in a major drug deal with Westray (Brad Pitt), and everything seems to be going well, until the drug shipment that the Counsellor is involved with is stolen. Now the people who are involved want him dead, along with everyone else, so the counsellor has to run with his fiancé, Laura (Penélope Cruz) in tow.

The Verdict: When I heard about this movie, and the hype it’s been generating overseas, I was really excited to see it, unfortunately that excitement died about ten minutes into the film. It’s not that it’s a bad movie, the story is basic guy gets over his head with drug dealers fare, and the acting is good from Fassbender as a man who thinks he

has all the answers, but then realises he doesn’t even know the questions, Bardem as a rock star cross drug dealer with very bad hair, Cruz as a girl who is just in love, Diaz as a completely insane girl who loves her cheetahs, the actual big cats who are on the screen for a lot of the film more than her husband, and has a serious plan for everyone else, and Pitt as a been-there-done-that drug dealer who also thinks he has the angles figured only to get a tie he really doesn’t want, but the problem is the dialogue. For some reason writer Cormac McCarthy decided to sprout philosophy every time any of the characters had a conversation, but philosophy that makes absolutely no sense. I spent the entire time scratching my head when the characters where having a conversation and trying to figure out what was actually said, but to no avail. I only caught up on the story after the talking stopped. It was all a little surreal, and annoying to be honest.

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Film Review: Released December 20

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Last Vegas 8/10 Starring Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline Directed by Jon Turteltaub

The Story: Archie (Morgan Freeman), Sam (Kevin Kline), Paddy (Robert De Niro) and Billy (Michael Douglas) have been friends forever, growing up together in New York.

Now, years later, Billy is marrying his thirty years younger than him girlfriend, who he proposed to at another friend’s funeral, and the other three are on their way to Vegas for the bachelor party, but with Archie under house arrest by his worried son, Sam being given a weekend pass to have “fun” with whoever he wants by his wife, and Paddy not speaking to Billy after he didn’t show up for his wife’s, another best friend of all four of the boys since childhood, funeral, things aren’t going to be all wine and roses for the friends, especially when they meet Diana (Mary Steenburgen), a lounge singer at a casino, and the old rivalries between Paddy and Billy flare up again.

Kline, Douglas and De Niro you really can’t go very wrong. Each one of them gives great performances.

Freeman is a man who just wants freedom, but is under the protective care of his son, Kline is a miserable old man living in an old age home with people he feels he has nothing in common with, Douglas is the die-hard bachelor, who, in a moment of nostalgia proposes, and De Niro is heart breaking as a man who misses his wife so much he can’t move on.

They are wonderful, natural actors and all give solid performances. The story is sweet and touching, partly growing old gracefully, partly defying aging, it is lovely and funny at the right times. This is a film you should watch if you like any of the actors, or like good solid comedies. Good fun.

The Verdict: With actors of the calibre of Freeman,

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Film Review: Released December 27

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Emperor 8/10

Starring Matthew Fox, Tommy Lee Jones and Eriko Hatsune Directed by Peter Webber

The Story: It’s just after World War II and America have moved into Japan to control their surrender. One of the major problems they have is the thinking of the Japanese soldiers, so in the span of one night the Americans arrest as many of the military leaders that they can, before they commit ritual suicide. After this is done, the real problem arises, do they arrest the Emperor of Japan for war crimes, risking plunging the country into civil war, since the only reason the Japanese didn’t continue fighting was that they were told not to by that very man?

General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) is tasked, by the leader of the Allied forces, General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones), with discovering what the Emperor’s involvement in declaring war was, and whether or not to arrest this man, who is considered a living god by his people, and risking plunging the country into a civil war that America would be dragged into.

story. The use of actual footage from the war, and photographs, like the one depicting the Emperor and MacArthur at the end of the film, give it credence and make it very interesting indeed. Fox is wonderful as a man stuck between two worlds.

He loves Japan, a place he’s been to as a younger man, he even fell in love with a Japanese girls, played by Eriko Hatsune, and she’s a big part of why he’s there at all. He’ tasked with a near impossible task, and the ramifications of his decision, for the country as well as the world, is obvious to him from the very start. Fox manages to show the conflict well, and really gives life to the turmoil within, and really breathes life into the characters. The sets are wonderful, the desolation of a country that’s just been hit by two atomic bombs, not to mention years of war, and the way they show the complete obedience to the Emperor is great. It really is a thinking man’s war film and it’s done in a beautiful way that will make you want to see it again.

The Verdict: War films have never especially been my cup of tea, but this was one that I could really get into. The story is intricate and engaging, especially when you consider that it’s a true

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Film Review: Released December 27

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47 Ronin 8/10

Starring Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada and Kô Shibasaki Directed by Carl Rinsch they first need Kai, but can he trust them?

And can they all survive once his past is revealed, and the truth of what they face is upon them?

The Verdict: Based on a true story of 47

The Story: In feudal Japan Kai (Keanu Reeves) is a half Japanese, half British boy who is hated by all who see him. He’s given a home by Lord Asano (Min Tanaka) and falls in love with his daughter, Mika (Kô Shibasaki), but everyone still hates him, especially Asano’s samurai. Everything changes though when Asano is betrayed by Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano), the lord of another province who coverts Asano’s lands. By using a witch (Rinko Kikuchi) he puts a spell on Asano making his only course of action to commit Seppuku, Japanese ritual suicide.

After his death his samurai are branded as ronin, or master less samurai, and banished from their homes. Their leader, Ôishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), Sasno’s second in command is imprisoned, Mika is forced into a wedding engagement with Kira, and Kai is sold to the Western travellers, and everything is ruined. A year later Ôishi is released from prison and goes in search of the other samurai to get revenge on Kira for what he did, but

ronin who fought for revenge after their master was killed, this story has all the aspects that make Japanese culture what it is, ultimate sacrifice by incredibly brave men, who, after fighting and winning, they still pay the ultimate price for their honour. It’s a difficult concept for westerners to understand, the idea that once you lose, or even because you don’t obey an order from your superior, that you would then commit suicide. Especially considering what a no-no suicide is in western thinking, but the Japanese think of it differently. It’s all about the next life, and going there by your own hand, to regain your honour, is one of the best things you can do. It’s a strange concept, even to me, but there it is. This concept is the basis of this story, and it’s beautiful. That being said, the film itself is awesome. The sets are incredible, especially the Dutch Island, which is a manmade island of 16th century ships, which is amazing, and the forests of bamboo and trees are really eerie and wonderful. The villages are incredible too. The fighting is top notch, and Reeves shows his abilities again, as in the Matrix movies, to fight as well as anyone. This film is all about the effects and fights, but also about a much deeper message. You may not agree, or even truly understand, the message, but you will love the effects and the fights.

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Film Review: Released December 27

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Walking with Dinosaurs 8/10 Starring the voices of Charlie Rowe, Karl Urban and Angourie Rice Directed by Barry Cook and Neil Nightingale

The Story: This documentary type film

The Verdict: This film is a must for

tells the tale of Patchi, a pachyrhinosaurus, voiced by Justin Long, from his birth all the way to his final destiny, which is big. It follows his life as he grows, loses his parents, has fight after fight with his brother, Scowler, voiced by Skyler Stone, and falls in love with Juniper, voiced by Tiya Sircar. His tale is narrated by the funny Alex, a bird type dinosaur, voiced by John Leguizamo, and has excitement, heart ache and amazement.

anyone, young and old, who ever had a love for dinosaurs. The tale is sweet, but not the real point, the point is the CGI animation, which is remarkable. The dinosaurs are so real you feel like they were recorded with a camera, rather than drawn in a small room. It is really something to behold. If you’ve ever loved dinosaurs then go and see this film, but more importantly, take your kids. They will love the story, but they will love the dinosaurs even more and want to go back and back again. A definite watch for Christmas.

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Film Review: Released January 3

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 9/10 Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wigg and Sean Penn Directed by Ben Stiller

The Story: Walter (Ben Stiller) works on placing the photographs in Life magazine, but he dreams of more. He’s madly in love with a work colleague, Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), but would never have the courage to even speak to her, let alone ask her out, so he lives vicariously through day dreams and imaginings. His life is thrown into turmoil though when, in the middle of the closing of the print side of the magazine, the picture Life’s favourite photographer, Sean (Sean Penn), sends for the cover vanishes.

Walter has no choice than to get out of his head and go in search of the reclusive photographer travelling to some exotic locations, including Greenland, Iceland and the Himalayas, searching for the photo, but inadvertently finding a part of himself he thought he’d lost forever.

The Verdict: Based on the short story

by James Thurber, this is one of the sweetest, smartest, quirkiest drama comedies I’ve seen in a while. The concept, the visuals and the performances work so well together to create a cohesive product that is really wonderful.

Stiller is sublime as the lead character, a man who, much like many of us, plays his life out in his head rather than actually living it. He’s afraid of being hurt, being rejected, just of being, so he makes himself someone else in his head, but when he’s forced into action he begins to realise that the people in his head are just

sections of himself, and he really begins to shine. The scene when he runs to catch a helicopter, to the sounds of Wiig singing Ground Control to Major Tom, is one of the best ever and will go down in film school annals for years to come. Wiig is back at her best as the object of Walter’s affection. She’s funny and sweet and the kind of girl every guy wants to fall in love with. She is really great.

Penn, while in a very small section of the film, is pivotal as the man who gets Walter moving.

He is the mentor figure of the film and plays it understatedly, and beautifully. The real hero of the film is the scenery that Walter finds on his search. From the rolling hills of Iceland to the frozen tundra of the mountains in Tibet it is truly breath taking. The scene when Walter and Sean are playing football up in the mountains, just after seeing an incredible Ice Cat, is really amazing and puts a smiling on your face, as does Walter skateboarding down a street in Iceland. It’s really fabulous. This is one of those films that really make you think, and this is the perfect time of year for it. Get off your butt and see the world maybe, there’s a lot of world to see and it’s really amazing. Of course if you can’t go and see the world, which most of us can’t, let’s be honest, do the next best thing and go and see the Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

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Film Review: Released January 3

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Carrie 8/10

Starring Chloè Moretz, Julianne Moore and Gabriella Wilde Directed by Kimberly Peirce

The Story: A remake of the 1976 horror classic starring Sissy Spacek, Carrie tells the story of Carrie White (Chloè Moretz), a very sheltered, shy girl who is the victim of some serious bullying at school, as well as traumatic treatment from her mother (Julianne Moore) at home, but her life changes when two things happen. First she realises she’s not like the other girls at school when she discovers that she can move things with her mind. She begins to try and harness, master, this power to try and make her life a little better.

Secondly, Sue (Gabriella Wilde), one of the girls guilty of teasing her, begins to feel guilty and convinces her boyfriend, Tommy (Ansel Elgort), to ask Carrie to the prom, to give her one normal night. He agrees and Carrie is really excited about the whole thing, but Chris (Portia Doubleday), the bad girl and ring leader of those that teased her has other ideas. These ideas result in Carrie’s evening being ruined, with catastrophic results.

The Verdict: The original Carrie was a horror masterpiece. The first Stephen King story to be made into a film it set a precedent that all horror films, be it Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream had to live up too. This sequel, while really good and an enjoyable watch, just doesn’t have the impact the original had. Probably because the original was just that, original, but that’s not to say

that this film isn’t worth a watch.

The effects are better in this one, of course considering the almost 40 years between the two, and the telekinesis is portrayed very well on the screen. I also like the emotional aspect of this film.

Carrie trying to understand and master her powers, rather than then just kind of happening. The performances are also wonderful, especially from Moretz and Moore.

They have such a chemistry between them that you can really believe that they are mother and daughter. All Carrie wants to do is please her mother, and all her mother wants to do is protect her daughter, but her idea of protection is completely insane, so when they fall out it’s not a complete surprise. Moore is creepy and fearful and suggests to me that she’s seen Carrie’s abilities before, maybe when she was a baby or something, so fears for her daughter’s soul, hence keeping her so locked away. Moretz’s Carrie is just a normal young girl, like any other, but from insane circumstances, which she actually handles very well, except for the part when she kills everyone, but let’s be honest, in high school…

With those powers… Given those circumstances, I’m talking about the blood on the head, which of us can honestly say we wouldn’t go on a murderous rampage? I certainly thought about it a few times and I never even had blood dropped on my head, or the boy I liked killed in front of me.

If you’ve ever felt that way, or loved the original, then go and see Carrie at cinema’s now.

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Film Review: Released January 3

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Empire State 7/10 Starring Liam Hemsworth, Michael Angarano and Dwayne Johnson Directed by Dito Montiel

The Verdict: This is a clever

The Story: Based on the true story of the biggest heist in American history, up to that point, Empire State tells the tale of Chris (Liam Hemsworth), a Jersey boy who, after failing to get into the police academy because of a stupid criminal record for a petty thing he didn’t even do, gets a job as an armoured car guard. Things go pretty well until his car is hit by robbers who kill his partner, Tony (Michael Rispoli). The company refuses to pay out to Tony’s widow, so Chris steals some money, which isn’t even counted so no one knows how much is there, from the security locker at work, and gives it to her. He gets away with it, but makes the mistake of telling his best friend, Eddie (Michael Angarano), a petty crook, who then comes up with a plan to rob the place for more than a little money, also getting the Greek mafia involved and complicating Chris’ life, especially when the same cop that helped after his partner’s death, Detective Ransome (Dwayne Johnson), starts looking more closely at the guard’s life.

little, based on a true story, film, but nothing that blew me away. The performances by Hemsworth and Angarano are good. They’re old friends and while one, Hemsworth’s character, is trying to do something with his life and move on, Angarano’s character is stuck in the past, and dragging his friend down with him. He’s even the one responsible for Chris not getting into the police academy. They have a good lovehate relationship throughout the film, which they both pull off very nicely. Johnson is good, but very brief only having about ten minutes of complete screen time. I would have loved to see more of him. The same can be said for Emma Roberts, who is billed in the film, but has maybe ten lines, and that’s it. I’m not sure why she’s even in the film, though she is good at what she has, and would have liked more.

This is the kind of film it is, you end up wanting more, more action, more comedy, just more. It’s bad, you just want more.

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Film Review: Released January 3

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Justin Bieber’s Believe (not rated) Starring Justin Bieber Directed by Jon M. Chu

The Story: A backstage and onstage look at Justin Bieber during his rise to super stardom.

The Verdict: Unfortunately we missed this one, but if you’re a fan of the pop star then this is one that you will need to go and see.

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Film Review: Released January 3

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Goddess (not rated) Starring Laura Michelle Kelly, Ronan Keating and Magda Szubanski Directed by Mark Lamprell

The Story: When young mum Elspeth Dickens (Laura Michelle Kelly), mother of naughty twin boys, installs a webcam in her kitchen, her funny sink-songs make her a cyber-sensation. While her husband James (Ronan Keating) is off saving the world’s whales, Elspeth is offered the chance of a lifetime. But when forced to choose between fame and family, the newly anointed internet goddess almost loses it all.

The Verdict: Unfortunately we missed this one, but it looks like fun, so go and check it out.

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Film Review: Releasing January 7

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The Wolf of Wall Street 7/10 Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Johan Hill and Margot Robbie Directed by Martin Scorsese

The Story: Based on the true life story of Jordan Belfort. Jordan (Leonardo DiCaprio) moves to New York to get his piece of the American dream, using the stock exchange to get it, but no sooner has he started at his flashy new job than the crash happens and he finds himself penniless with no prospects. He finds a new job trading penny stocks, small stocks in companies too small to list on the stock exchange and within a very short while has started to make a fortune, of course he’s doing it entirely legally, but that’s not really his concern. He builds a company, hires a bunch of guys including Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) and they go about making themselves stinking rich, but the lure of drugs, alcohol and woman is too much for Jordan and he begins to unravel, all the while making obscene amounts of money, with the FBI hot on his heels.

Departed, The Aviator and Gangs of New York the other films he made with DiCaprio in the starring role. Each of these films had a certain way of taking your breath away with the sheer talent presented in them, but Wolf of Wall Street just doesn’t really match up. That being said, I am holding the film to a high standard, because of the makers. DiCaprio is good as a snorting, fornicating maniac who thinks the only way to be happy is to make insane amounts of money. Even after he’s busted he still goes back to make more, thinking his life would be worthless without it. He is the stalwart in the film. The lynch pin that holds everyone else together. The rest of the cast is made up of coked out, drunk on their a**es freaks who sell like it’s going off and then reap the rewards, knowing how illegal it is the whole time, but not caring. It’s frightening to think that these people were, and still are, real people. Shocking. One of the highlights of the film is the performance by Jonah Hill. The Oscar winning funny man gives a fabulous performance, in a very strange hair piece, and really shines, showing his true acting ability. If you’re a fan of Scorsese then you’ll probably love this film, if not this won’t be the one to change your mind, but I’m sure it will feature at the Oscars in February.

The Verdict: The latest tour-de-force by Martin Scorsese is an epic three hour film that just doesn’t match up to his prior work.

It’s not a bad film, it’s got what you would want from a Scorsese film sex, drugs, crime and death, but it lacks the impact Shutter Island, The

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Film Review: Releasing January 7

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Don Jon (not rated) Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The Story: Jon Martello (Joseph GordonLevitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to "pull" a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn't compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography.

Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl.

Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she's determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

The Verdict: Unfortunately we didn’t see this one, but if you like quirky comedy, or Gordon-Levitt or Johansson, then you should go and see this film.

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DVD Reviews

Penthouse North 7/10

Sinister 8/10

Starring Michelle Monaghan, Michael Keaton and Barry Sloan Directed by Joseph Ruben The Story: Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) is a former war photo journalist blinded when a bomb exploded in front of her. Now she lives in her boyfriend, Ryan’s (Andrew Walker), penthouse apartment, but her life is turned inside out on New Year’s Eve when she returns home to find him murdered and Chad (Barry Sloan) in her house. He’s looking for $20 million worth of diamonds and he’ll do anything to find them.

The Verdict: Along the same lines as Panic Room, this is an enjoyable watch. Monaghan gives a great performance as the blind girl, and Michael Keaton casts our memory back to his performance in Desperate Measures as he plays a psychopath, Chad’s partner, with evil relish. The scene with the cat is one of the best I’ve seen for a while. He is the reason to watch this film. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.

Starring Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance and Fred Dalton Directed by Scott Derrickson The Story: True crime writer Ellison (Ethan Hawke) moves his family, his wife, Tracy (Juliet Rylance), his son, Trevor (Michael Hall D'Addario) and his daughter Ashley (Clare Foley) into the house where a family was hanged in the backyard and a little girl disappeared. He plans to write a book about the crime and recover his fame, which has waned after two rather unsuccessful books.

His aim changes though when he finds a box of 8mm home videos in the attic, each one showing a different murder, but as he looks into the murders on the videos, and the monster responsible, the monster starts to look back at him.

The Verdict: This is a really clever and original horror film. It is a great story with a great antagonist, Mr. Boogie, who is seriously scary, like Freddy scary. Hawke also adds his considerable acting talents to the film giving it a sense of realism that makes it even scarier.

If you like scary films then this is the one for you.

Beneath the Darkness 8/10 Starring Dennis Quaid, Tony Oller and Aimee Teegarden Directed by Martin Guigui The Story: Teenager Travis (Tony Oller), Brian (Stephen Lunsford), Danny (Devon Werkheiser) and Abby (Aimee Teegarden) go to check out rumours of ghosts at the local mortician, Vaughn Ely’s (Dennis Quaid), house, but get far more than they bargained for when they find the body of Ely’s wife and Danny is killed by the man. They try to get help, but no one will believe them, so it’s them against this psycho as they try to survive the plan he has for them.

The Verdict: This is a thoroughly enjoyable horror romp with enough scares to make any thriller fan happy. The highlight of the film is Quaid who is completely off his rocker, a nice contrast from the family friendly, dad-nextdoor character he normally plays. He really has fun with it while the others try to simply survive. An enjoyable watch if you enjoy this type of film.

I’m so Excited 4/10

Starring Antonio De La Torre, Hugo Silva and Miguel Angel Silvestre Directed by Pedro Almodovar The Story: An accident on the take-off run way leaves a plane with broken landing gear, so they can’t land, instead they are stuck circling Toledo, in Spain, while the air control tries to find them an empty runway for them to land on. Meanwhile the people in coach are drugged to avoid a riot, but the business class people on the plane try to deal with the situation with an insane amount of alcohol and the crazy antics of the very gay flight staff.

The Verdict: This is supposed to be a funny film, but it really isn’t. Firstly all the funny sections are just not funny. The way they portray the gay flight staff is actually insulting.

Secondly 90% of the dialogue is about sex, mostly man on man sex, which is distasteful at best. This is not a film I’ll watch again, and not one I’d recommend.

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