weekend_sun_s1123 by Sun Media

The Weekend Sun

D V D 127 HOURS

M O V I E S

 Fantastic  Damn fine  Not bad at all  Dubious  Dreadful

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Thanks to Video Ezy Brookfield for the DVDs

Dir: Danny Boyle. Starring: James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn Many people avoided 127 Hours at the cinema and probably feel similar trepidation about watching it at home. This is, of course, the true story where a guy hacks his own arm off with a blunt penknife to escape from a fallen boulder which, admittedly, doesn’t sound like the making of a fun Saturday night. And it’s not. But there’s a lot more here than arm-chopping. Mixing memory with imagination, and self-filmed videos, this is as much a mental journey as a physical one, anchored by a brilliant central turn from James Franco as the reckless thrill-seeker slowly coming to terms with his situation and gaining self-awareness. I haven’t been able to make up my mind about The Green Hornet (). First time I saw it I hated it, feeling nothing but irritation for Seth Rogan’s spoilt rich boy take on the titular crime fighter. But with Michael Gondry directing, this was never going to be a regular costumed-hero romp. I watched it again last night and was intermittently charmed. There is a lot to like, particularly Christopher (Inglourious Basterds) Waltz as the villain, and if you approach this without great expectations – it’s certainly not Iron Man – and ready for the bickering dynamic between the Hornet and “faithful sidekick” Kato then there is a lot to enjoy. Restrepo () is a fly-on-the-wall documentary detailing the 15 month deployment of an American platoon in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, once described as ‘the deadliest place on earth’. It is bleak and inhospitable, and people shoot at you every day. This is not a political film; it is not about the big picture. Alternating between interviews with the young soldiers and hand-held footage of operations and everyday life, it centres on a dozen men and captures the hardship, fear, boredom, exhilaration and general misery of a rotten war. It’s powerful, messy stuff, never sensationalised and ultimately deeply depressing. This is war – it’s not fun.

Visually it takes a similar approach to Danny Boyle’s previous Slumdog Millionaire with supersaturated colours, mixed film stock, split frames, and editing that gives a constant kinetic charge, not through mere quick cutting but from expert shot choice and movement within the frame. Just as in Slumdog Millionaire the unpalatable and unpleasant (kids being blinded, diving in excrement) are presented in such a way as to make them eminently watchable, though many will look away during the brief scenes of the actual arm-cutting. This is filmmaking of the highest order: don’t let the subject matter deter you.

Wild Target () is the English remake of a rather good French comedy and it takes a likeable shot at things. Certainly casting Bill Nighy – repressed neuroses in delightful form – as the solitary assassin is no bad thing, and Emily Blunt is good as the irrepressible thief he is contracted to kill, but instead ends up protecting. Rupert Grinch is along for the ride as a coincidental apprentice and Martin Freeman has brief fun as a rival assassin. But somehow the bland direction, editing and cinematography let down the script, wasting the black humour: time after time potentially good moments are undercut by mediocre execution. The Big Bang () opens stylishly with Antonio Banderas under police interrogation. Something has happened; five people are dead. He tells the story. It’s a modern-day noir, one with more than a passing acquaintance with The Big Sleep, and has a quirky gimmick – that will elicit chuckles or irritation – in the way the script indulges in sciencey philosophical riffs and references. Banderas had been hired by a Russian boxer to find his missing stripper girlfriend. Complications ensued. Repetitive interrogation scenes break the flow but it’s good looking and diverting stuff. And it’s not often that particle physics and detective stories collide.

M O V I E S With Rialto

The Conspirator (M) Contains violence Drama from director Robert Redford about the trial of an alleged conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the

with

assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, to uncover the truth and save her life.

Friday Jun 17 - Wed Jun 22 131 Jellicoe Street, Te Puke. PLAYING on MEGASCREEN

Capitol Cinema 4 NEW THIS WEEK

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: BRIDESMAIDS (R16) ON STRANGER TIDES (M) Violence & Fantasy Horror. Off Language, Sexual Material & Other Content That May Offend. (2D) Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penélope Cruz. Fri 1:10, 8:15. Sat 1:00, 8:15. Sun 3:10, 8:10pm. Mon 1:00, 5:45. Tue 11:00, 8:15. Wed 1:00, 5:50.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 2: RODRICK RULES (PG) Greg enters seventh grade. Kids, Comedy.

Fri 3:50pm. Sat 10:45, 6:05pm. Sun 10:45, 1:00. Mon 3:40pm. Tue 3:50pm. Wed 3:40pm.

ARTHUR

Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Jon Hamm. Comedy. About a group of bridesmaids and their misguided attempts to throw a wedding party for their friend. “BRIDESMAIDS is hilarious best movie of the year!” POLLY GILLESPIE, ZM. Fri 11:00, 6:05pm. Sat 1:20, 8:25pm. Sun 6:00pm Mon 1:10, 8:25pm. Tue 11:00, 6:00. Wed 8:30pm

(PG) Violence & Coarse Language.

movies NEW THIS WEEK IN 3D

GREEN LANTERN (3D)

(M) Contains Fantasy Violence.

3D, Superhero, Sci-Fi, Adapation, Action. Ryan Reynolds is Hal Jordan, aka DC Comics’ superhero Green Lantern. Directed by NZer Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) and co-starring Taika Waititi (Boy) and Temuera Morrison. Fri 11:00am, 3:40, 8:40pm. Sat 10:40am, 3:40, 8:40pm. Sun 10:40am, 3:40, 6:00pm. Mon 1:00pm, 6:00pm. Tue 11:00am, 3:40, 8:40pm. Wed 1:00pm, 6:00pm.

Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner. Fri 11:00, 6:00pm. Sat 3:50pm. Sun 5:55pm. Mon 8:30pm. Tue 1:40, 6:00pm. Wed 8:35pm.

PLAYING THIS WEEK X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

(M) Violence & Off Language.

THE CONSPIRATOR

(M) Contains Violence.

Prequel to the X-Men trilogy. Cast: James McAvoy, James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline. Michael Fassbender. Fri 1:10, 6:00pm. Sat 1:00, FINAL DAYS Drama from director Robert Redford about the 6:00pm. Sun 1:00, 8:20pm. Mon 3:20, 8:20pm. PLAYING IN 3D. FINAL DAYS! trial of an alleged conspirator in the assassination Tue 1:10, 6:00pm. Wed 3:20, 8:20pm. of President Abraham Lincoln. Fri 11:30, 6:10pm. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: (3D) THE HANGOVER PART 2 (R16) Sat 1:25, 8:15pm. Sun 11:00, 5:40pm. Mon 3:30, ON STRANGER TIDES (M) Contains Violence & Fantasy Horror. Offensive Language, Drug Use & Sexual Content That May Offend. 8:10pm. Tue 1:00, 6:00pm. Wed 3:25, 8:20pm. Johnny Depp. Sun 10:45am. Wed 3:20pm. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis. PLAYING THIS WEEK Fri 3:50. Sat 3:50. Sun 3:50. Mon 3:45. Tue 3:45. FINAL DAYS

BARNEY’S VERSION

(M) Off Lang & Sexual Ref’s.

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.” VIEW NZ. Drama. Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman. Fri 2:00, 8:25pm. Sat 11:00, 5:45pm. Sun 1:20. Mon 1:00pm. Tue 3:20, 8:20pm. Wed 5:50pm.

SUPER 8

(M) Contains Violence & Fantasy Horror.

BRIGHTON ROCK

(R16) Violence, Offensive Language & Content

Director: J.J. Abrams, Producer: Steven Spielberg. That May Disturb. Sat 3:45. Sun 8:00pm. Mon 6:05. Wed 1:15. Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Starring Elle Fanning. FINAL WEEK! Fri 1:30, 8:35. Sat 11:00, 6:00. Sun 1:30, 8:30pm. FROM TIME TO TIME (M) Adaptation, Drama. Mon 6:05pm. Tue 1:30, 8:30. Wed 1:00, 6:05pm. Maggie Smith. Fri 4:25pm. Sun 3:50pm. Tue 11:10am.

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