CULTURE
FILM
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
NEW RELEASES
★★★★★ DIRECTOR: Lana Wachowski CAST: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris
The Matrix Resurrections An iconic action franchise returns
The first Matrix movie was a watershed moment in cinema. It snatched the concept of Cartesian dualism from the hands of philosophy lecturers, wrapped it in trenchcoats and sold it back to us with an evolutionary leap in CGI and visual storytelling. It was a masterpiece. The leads from the original, Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, return, despite *spoiler* dying at the end of the last movie. In the trailer, Neo (Reeves) knocks back blue pills as prescribed by his shrink, played by Neil Patrick Harris. But after being freed from the shackles of virtual servitude, Neo resumes his rage against the machines. Can this movie live up to the original? On brand for the franchise, the trailer poses more questions than it answers. We skim across the surface of the film’s brooding metaverse like a stone hoiked across breakwater. You might feel like that’s a large spoonful of mangled analogy, but if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know, there is no spoon… 52_What’s On
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
★★★★
DIRECTOR: Jon Watts CAST: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Alfred Molina, Benedict Cumberbatch This is it, Watts and Holland rounding off their MCU Spidey trilogy with what will almost certainly be an emotional ride through the fractal-fractured multiverse. What we know: Zendaya is back as love interest MJ; Jacob Batalan is back as Peter’s BFF, Ned; Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) features, presumably filling in for Tony Stark as mentor; and we know for sure the villainous quartet of Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans reprise their Spideyverse roles as Dr Octopus, Electro, Sandman and Lizard respectively. But what about these rumours of multiple Spideys? With a villain cast that ominous, Tom Holland could probably do with some web slinging support from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. It’s all very exciting and we cannot wait to see what director Watts has in store before his next Marvel foray with the comic book adaption, Fantastic Four.
SING 2
★★★★★ DIRECTOR: Garth Jennings CAST: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Aside from the amazing cast list, the original animated Sing movie didn’t really have much going for it. Well, there was the cast and of course the incredible soundtrack. Oh, and the humour was
