Flying robot dinosaurs and Nazis! Is this the new Transformers or the long-awaited follow-up to Iron Sky? Paramount Pictures Australia has sent over an extended look at TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT. You be the judge.
Exploring the secret history of the robots in disguise, the clip aims to tell us why they have always been legendary.
Directed by Michael Bay (of course), the film’s impressive cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Isabela Moner, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Laura Haddock, Anthony Hopkins, Santiago Cabrera, Liam Garrigan, Jerrod Carmichael, and Mitch Pileggi.
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT hits Australian cinemas on 22 June 2017, following the US debut on 21 June.
Get ready to stay between the flags of excitement. Paramount Pictures Australia is excited to announce that Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario are headed to Sydney for the Australian Premiere of BAYWATCH. Fans will get the chance to see the two walk the red carpet from 6:30pm on Thursday May 18 at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter.
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth will host Premiere events at their local Hoyts cinema, with the Sydney red carpet and hosted Q&A LIVESTREAMED to fans and invited guests. Details will be available through the Paramount Facebook page.
BAYWATCH follows devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Johnson) as he butts heads with a brash new recruit (Efron). Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.
We’ll post more details as we get closer to the date. BAYWATCH is in Australian cinemas from 1 June 2017.
Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 animated film Ghost in the Shell, itself based on the manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow, has become part of the anime canon over the last two decades. Praised for its stylish atmosphere and contemplative narrative about identity, it set the tone for many films that followed. Yet with Rupert Sanders’ remake, he keeps some of the shell intact but pulls apart the guts of the soul to leave us with a hollow husk.
After her consciousness is ‘rescued’ by Section 9, cyborg Major (Scarlett Johansson) and her partner Batou (Pilou Asbæk) are tasked with rooting out hackers and other criminals. When a new threat comes in the form of Kuze (Michael Pitt), Major finds everything she believes in to be false.
Borrowing some of the aesthetic of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, along with selected plot points and wholesale scenes from of the 1995 original, GHOST IN THE SHELL is determined to latch itself on the appreciative parts of your eyeballs. Buildings are lit up with giant holographic advertisements, sort of like Blade Runner‘s skyline on crack, while figures and vehicles will be familiar to existing fans. Strangely, each of these is given copious exposition to justify their existence in the world, while other elements (such as an elongated origin story for Major) have only the most perfunctory flesh added. It’s all a delivery system for a memory of a film, as we get Sanders’ emotive translation rather than a true adaptation.
Johansson herself comes across as fairly rusty, as if she is remembering how to be human for most of the shoot. While the plethora of nudity in the original may be difficult to justify in a modern film, the fetishisation of technology combined with the shell-like costuming removes any humanity left, reducing her to nothing more than an object programmed to plod through the key scenes. In the climax of the film, Sanders’ literally tells us how he’s unapologetically shucked the original Motoko Kusanagi and placed her in Johansson’s shell. Takeshi Kitano’s hair and Asbæk’s eyes are also emblematic of this cold approach.
While GHOST IN THE SHELL could potentially stand happily by itself as a stylish modern action film, albeit one that’s thin on plotting with a one-dimensional villain, its name and legacy were never going to allow that. It’s not just Mamoru Oshii that it follows either, lifting visual cues from innumerable sci-fi films that have filled our screens in the intervening decades. Using recognition in place of real emotion, Sanders’ can only ever hope to be an approximation, which may be the closest he gets to understanding the politics of identity that underly Masamune Shirow’s story.
“The next generation would be justified in looking back at us and asking what were you thinking?” Paramount has dropped a trailer for the follow-up to the 2006 environmental documentary, which releases in Australia on 24 August 2017.
Delivering a power missive to both Donald Trump and Elon Musk in equal measure, former Vice President Al Gore continues to rage against the machine with his speaking tour that is now more salient than ever. Cameras follow him behind the scenes – in moments both private and public, funny and poignant – as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.
The visuals alone make this trailer worth watching, but with a US administration that threatens to deny climate science and defund the EPA, it’s incredibly clear who AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER is inconvenient for.
Based on the 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning play by August Wilson, FENCES is a continuation of writer’s tragicomic examination of the African-American experience across the decades. This long-gestating adaptation comes from a script Wilson penned prior to his death in 2005, with the author always insisting that directorial job “requires someone who shares the specifics of the culture of black Americans.” Denzel Washington’s third feature as director sees him step up to the plate, and while he’s covering all the bases with some heavy hitters in the acting department, his subservience to the source material keeps him from batting a thousand.
Part of Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle,” the scene is the 1950s, focusing on waste collector Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington), an ex-con and once promising baseball player, and his wife Rose (Viola Davis). Embittered about never making into the major leagues, Troy takes it out on his son Cory (Jovan Adepo), a skilled football player whose career is held back by his father’s refusal to support it. Totems of Troy’s past exist in the form of estranged son Lyons (Russell Hornsby), a child from a previous marriage; his former cellmate Bono (Stephen Henderson) and his younger brother Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson), psychologically damaged from injuries sustained in the Second World War.
Right off the bat, Washington establishes the stage origins of the story with an extended conversation between himself, Henderson and Davis. Through a series of jarring transitions that represent scene changes, FENCES never fully escapes this framework, with Washington’s flat direction rarely escaping the confines of the back porch or the streets that surround his house. In some ways this is appropriate, a miniature kingdom for Troy that is also never really his, with the purchase only made possible by his brother’s compensation money.
What this approach does achieve is a character showcase, and this is where the film’s strengths lie. Washington and Davis reprise their Tony Award winning roles from the 2010 season at New York’s Cort Theatre, and both are powerhouses. Davis in particular has some phenomenally emotional turns, especially in the anguished third act, where audience allegiances will be tested and the actors get to stretch their wings. So while FENCES may not be the most cinematic film in this year’s award contenders, it captures these terrific performances in a bottle for all time.
[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2016 | US | DIR: Denzel Washington | WRITER: August Wilson | CAST: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Saniyya Sidney | DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount Pictures Australia | RUNNING TIME: 139 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 9 February 2017 (AUS) [/stextbox]
There was a magical period in the late 1990s and early 2000s where we believed that the solution to the world’s problems was being more extreme. The attitude permeated everything from our beverages to our cheese-based snacks, and cinema was no exception. It was from this environment that extreme sports action hero Xander Cage emerged, only to be consumed by the ravages of time. Now, at the dawn of 2017, he has returned to once again make our lives more radical.
Long thought dead, a series of events causes Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) to come out of his self-imposed exile to chase down Xiang (Donnie Yen) and the “Pandora’s Box” weapon that is capable of downing satellites. He pulls together a misfit squad of trusted comrades, and xXx is soon running and gunning his way across the world facing down untold sexiness on his way to saving the free world.
From the opening shot of a satellite falling to the Earth, xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE is a joyous action film, the likes of which we haven’t seen for a while. Director D.J. Caruso switches gears from the extreme sports vibe of the original, and the CG street fight of its sequel, to something of a hybrid of those two styles. The introduction of Donnie Yen, in a spectacularly fast (and furious) heist sequence, is an electric shock to a dormant franchise. Soon, it’s glory shots of bikinis, skateboarding down a mountain with Diesel, or watching an open water chase on jet-ski motorbikes. Here’s a moment to soak in the glory of that last statement.
A massive tip of the hat must go the casting which, like the Fast and Furious series, is a contemporary action film showing how effortless it can be to build a diverse and inclusive cast. Alongside Yen, Ong-Bak (and Furious 7) star Tony Jaa is a co-villain. It might be another reliable martial arts role for an Asian star, but Kris Wu’s character appears to simply be there to spin some records and win the day with awesome DJ skills. It’s that kind of movie. Meanwhile, there’s two female action heroes at the fore, including Australia’s Ruby Rose and Indian superstar Deepika Padukone. Rounding out the cast, Toni Collette is unable to find a piece of scenery that she doesn’t find delicious as an NSA Agent, and she’s having a ball doing it too.
What F. Scott Frazier’s script maintains throughout xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGEis a healthy dose of self-aware thrills. Barely pausing to ponder its own audacity, it barrels along at an explosive pace, setting up all the pieces to be Diesel’s next reliable box office draw. May they always be this extremely fun.
[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2017 | US | DIR: D. J. Caruso | WRITER: F. Scott Frazier | CAST: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Kris Wu, Ruby Rose, Tony Jaa, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette, Samuel L. Jackson | DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount | RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 19 January 2017 (AUS), 20 January 2017 (US)[/stextbox]
We’re not saying that you’ll die in 7 days if you watch this trailer, but disclaimers are important in a litigious society. Paramount Pictures Australia have released the second international trailer for RINGS, a new chapter in the beloved Ring horror franchise. Starring Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan and Vincent D’Onofrio, it’s released in Australia on 23 February 2017.
A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before…
While the series has been running for years in Japan, with 2013’s Tide based on the original novel by series author Koji Suzuki, it’s been 12 years since the US have released a new English-language addition to the saga. It’s released in the US on 3 February 2017. F. Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall) directs.
The man who doesn’t need a pen has drifted into a new town with a fistful of trouble, and there’s something a little bit comforting about that. Based on the books by Lee Child, JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK adapts the 18th book in the series, but also acts as a cinematic sequel to the 2012 film, simply titled Jack Reacher. Director Edward Zwick’s follow-up doesn’t stray too far from the formula the first film set down, but it turns out that’s exactly what we want.
In the years following the events of the first film, Jack (Tom Cruise) has been travelling the country and solving cases. After developing a friendly phone relationship with his liaison Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), Jack arrives in Washington, DC to meet up with her. However, he finds that she has been charged with treason, and soon they are both on the run from the law and other nefarious forces.
The character of Reacher is a bit a dick, a fact continually demonstrated by his constant arrogance and general superiority complex. Yet in Turner he has something of an equal, a capable military officer who brushes up against a romantic angle, but safely keeps her distance enough to demonstrate some kick ass skills in the process. Fresh from several jaunts as Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Smulders and Cruise make a likeable on-screen partnership. If it weren’t for Reacher’s damn drifter ways, the pair would be a terrific double-act for future film entries.
Where JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK struggles a little is in the forced relationship building between Reacher and Samantha Dayton (Danika Yarosh), a 15-year-old who is possibly Reacher’s daughter. It’s an obvious move, given that Reacher’s character relies largely on his enigmatic appearances and ill-defined past. Yet with a role that is never fully fleshed out, Yarosh taps into the Kid Appeal Syndrome trope, but serves as a living reminder of the stakes Reacher faces beyond getting caught. It’s a simple but effective tool, even if it is a little bit cheap.
Nevertheless, while it may not have the sheer running-on-fumes appeal of the first outing, this sequel still works as a Cruise vehicle and a fun (if perfunctory) action-thriller. Filled with some lush photography of Louisiana, including a terrific rooftop fight sequence set against parade through the French Quarter, Zwick might be a long way from his Glory days, but he can still deliver a capable crowd-pleaser on demand.
[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2016 | US | DIR: Edward Zwick | WRITERS: Richard Wenk, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz | CAST: Tom Cruise Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh, Aldis Hodge | DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 118 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 20 October 2016 (AUS) [/stextbox]
Paramount and DreamWorks have released no less than five new teasers for the upcoming GHOST IN THE SHELL remake. Named Geisha Hallway, Unplug, What, Silhouette and Aramaki, you can check out the complete set in the players below.
GHOST IN THE SHELL is based on the Japanese media franchise that began life as a manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. Two major animated films directed by Mamoru Oshii have been released, along with a handful of animated spin-offs for televisions and video games.
Directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman), this is the first live action film based on the material. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Takeshi Kitano, Chin Han, Lasarus Ratuere and Juliette Binoche.
Hollywood is a bit like Ancient Rome, keeping us in bread and circuses for well over a century. In that time, multiple adaptations of Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ have been brought to the screen, most notably Fred Niblo’s 1925 silent version and the more famous 1959 epic from William Wyler. Timur Bekmambetov’s BEN-HUR comes with the modern sensibilities you’d expect, but puts the “Christ” back into the story by switching up the typical revenge narrative for something more positive.
Eschewing the census and the manger that opened previous filmed versions of the Biblical tale, Bekmambetov dives straight into the famed chariot race between Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) and Messala (Toby Kebbell). Flashing back to 8 years earlier, we watch the duo grown up together in the household of nobleman Ben-Hur, before his adoptive brother and Roman officer Messala falsely accuses Judah of treason. Surviving for years in servitude as a slave, Ben-Hur is determined to return to Rome and challenge Messala to save his family and win his freedom.
The basic narrative of the first half of BEN-HUR is wholly familiar, so it becomes most fascinating in the departures. On the surface, it’s the nature of Judah’s return to Jerusalem that differs slightly, giving the wealthy Sheik Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) a much bigger part to play in the lead-up to the climax. Thematically there’s a difference too, shifting Ben-Hur’s thirst for vengeance to a redemption story about the power of forgiveness. Infused with allegorical stand-ins for modern debates around religious freedom and zealotry, racial slavery and colonisation, BEN-HUR ultimately offers an alternative to “an eye for an eye.” This is perhaps due to the significantly increased presence of Jesus of Nazareth (Rodrigo Santoro), who is not only seen but heard, another place the film departs from the 1925 and 1959 films.
The focus remains on the bonds between the two adoptive brothers, far more satisfying than a purely combative relationship. Huston (Boardwalk Empire) is arguably a more convincing Judah Ben-Hur than Charlton Heston, a combination of his emotional rawness and enthusiasm. Similarly, the accomplished Kebbell finds the right balance between hubris and hurt to become a sympathetic anti-villain. The womenfolk are still sidelined, even if they are integral to the story. Ayelet Zurer is classy but perfunctory as Ben-Hur’s mum Naomi, although Esther (Nazanin Boniadi) is definitely more visible and vocal than in prior outings, giving the film a rounder character base. Only the familiarity of Freeman’s narrative voice takes us out the fantasy for a while, although his dreadlocked presence is a welcome one.
Even with modern special effects and impossible backgrounds, the scale of BEN-HUR is still dwarfed by its predecessors. The lush 65mm Eastmancolor of Wyler’s film is frequently replaced by the claustrophobia of close-ups with handheld cameras. This works magnificently on occasion, especially during the ship battle sequence, shot entirely with the immediacy of a below deck point-of-view. The chariot race, clocking in at around 10 minutes like the two races before it, is as tense and brutal as any other. Here the use of CG affords us the peace of mind that no horses were harmed in the filming, making every fall, stumble and crash a spectacle worthy of the Roman circus.
Bekmambetov’s intention is to restore some of Lew Wallace’s original meaning to BEN-HUR, steering it away from what he saw as the “revenge and miracles” focus of the 1959 Wyler film. In a strange way, the film becomes a reminder that religious and cultural intolerance only comes from the fringes of both sides, but that shouldn’t make us lose sight of our shared humanity. It may not be the most commercial message for an otherwise excellent action film, but it is certainly one of the most hopeful.
2016 | US | DIR: Timur Bekmambetov | WRITERS: Keith Clarke, John Ridley | CAST: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, Morgan Freeman | DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount Pictures (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes
