This week, five films are opening into cinemas across Australia:
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Friday the 13th
A group of young adults discover a boarded up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.
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Confessions of a Shopaholic
A college grad lands a job as a financial journalist in New York City to support where she nurtures her shopping addiction and falls for a wealthy entrepreneur.
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Notorious
The life and death story of Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm.
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Love the Beast
Eric Bana’s directorial debut explores the importance of his 25-year-long love affair with his first car – a Ford XB Falcon Coupe “The Beast”.
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Easy Virtue
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future – blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window. |
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Genre: Horror
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 95min
Director: Marcus Nispel
Cast: Jared Padalecki, Derek Mears, Amanda Righetti, Danielle Panabaker, Travis Van Winkle
Official Website: View
Synopsis:
Searching for his missing sister, Clay heads up to the eerie woods of legendary Crystal Lake where he stumbles on the creaky remains of rotting old cabins that lie in wait behind moss-covered trees. And that’s not the only thing hiding under the brush. Against the advice of police and cautions from the locals, Clay pursues what few leads he has with the help of a young woman he meets among a group of college kids up for an all-thrills weekend. But they are about to find much more than they bargained for. Little do they know, they’ve entered the domain of one of the most terrifying specters in American film history – the infamous killer who haunts Crystal Lake armed with a razor-sharp machete…Jason Voorhees.
My Opinion:
After My Bloody Valentine got it’s remake starring Jensen Ackles, it seems only fitting that his Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki gets to star in the remake of Friday the 13th. Regarless of whether it’s Friday the 13th tomorrow and without the 3D gimmick, I’m doubtful there will be much going for this seemingly unecessary remake of one of horror’s iconic slayers.
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Genre: Comedy/Romance
Rating: PG
Running Time: 104min
Director: P.J. Hogan
Cast: Isla Fisher, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas,
Official Website: View
Synopsis:
In the glamorous world of New York City, Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a fun-loving girl who is really good at shopping – a little too good, perhaps. She dreams of working for her favorite fashion magazine, but can’t quite get her foot in the door – until ironically, she snags a job as an advice columnist for a financial magazine published by the same company. As her dreams are finally coming true, she goes to ever more hilarious and extreme efforts to keep her past from ruining her future.
My Opinion:
As if you really need me to tell you whether to see this film or not, you should know already. Personally, I would rather rub my big toe against a cheese grater than sit through a film that has the words “confessions” and “shopaholic” in it’s title, but that’s just me. Really though; how much of an engaging plot could this film really have? Looks to me like a giant advertisment for next season’s fashion. But I could be very wrong; Aussie director P.J Hogan did bring us the classic Muriel’s Wedding, so there might be something more to this than meets the, er, title.
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Genre: Drama / Musical
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 123min
Director: George Tillman Jr
Cast: Jamal Woolard, Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie
Official Website: View
Synopsis:
Notorious is about the life of rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. In just a few short years, The Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation.
My Opinion:
Musicals are not usually my thing, nor is rap music, meaning Notorious isn’t exactly on my “must-see” list. It looks to me like another 8 Mile or Get Rich Or Die Trying affair, neither of which captivated me in the slightest.
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Genre: Documentary
Rating: M
Running Time: 88min
Director: Eric Bana
Cast: Eric Bana, Jeremy Clarkson, Jay Leno, Phil McGraw, Dave O’Neil, Grant Denyer, Barry Oliver
Official Website: View
Synopsis:
Eric Bana has cast himself in his ultimate role in Love The Beast. Bana’s directorial debut explores the importance of his 25-year-long love affair with his first car – a Ford XB Falcon Coupe “The Beast”.
Obsessed with cars and racing since he was a child, Eric takes us on a journey that spans a lifetime and culminates in the Beast’s untimely death in one of the world’s most dangerous races, the Targa Tasmania, with guidance from three life-long friends as well as other self-confessed petrol heads Jay Leno, Jeremy Clarkson and Dr Phil, Eric examines the significance of the bond that is formed around a common passion.
My Opinion: Likely scenario; your girlfriend wants to see Confessions of a Shopaholic while you want to see Love the Beast. If cars with grunt are your thing, Eric Bana’s directorial debut looks like a solid testosterone injection.
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Genre: Comedy/Romance
Rating: PG
Running Time: 93 min
Director: Stephan Elliott
Cast: Jesica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth
Official Website: View
Synopsis:
Adapted from a Noel Coward play, written and directed by Stephan Elliott (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) and starring Kristen Scott Thomas, Colin Firth and Jessica Beil. EASY VIRTUE is essentially a tale of Old World manners vs. New World freedom. It is 1929 and a young Englishman marries a glamorous American on the spur of the moment in the South of France and when he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future – blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window. However his mother takes an instant dislike to her new daughter-in-law. A battle of wits ensures and sparks soon fly …
My Opinion:
Stephan Elliott brought us what is quite possibly the most iconic film in Australian history in Pracilla Queen of the Desert, so expectations are high for Easy Virtue despite it being a very British film. Casting Jessica Biel though? She may have the sex appeal, but the only slightly good film she’s appeared in was The Illusionist, and she was hardly brilliant. This is surely worth seeing, but I can’t say I’m not worried…
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