If you’ve taken today off to get an extra-long weekend (you lucky fish, you), then this is what’s opening on circuit today to keep you entertained. And most of it is pretty damn good!
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The Nice Guys
THE NICE GUYS takes place in 1970s Los Angeles, when down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Gosling) and hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power.
The Nice Guys is, simply put, a fantastically entertaining movie. It’s absolutely hilarious with excellent chemistry and comedic timing from all the cast members, a twisty, entertaining plot that is a perfect throwback to the golden era of “odd-couple/buddy-cop” action flicks. On top of all that, it captures the 70’s so perfectly, it has got to be the only movie that’s ever made me feel nostalgic for an era I wasn’t even alive for. With a solid endorsement of 4/5 stars from Kervyn and our readers, The Nice Guys is highly, highly recommended.
Book now at Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor
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Finding Dory
FINDING DORY reunites the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the true meaning of family along the way. The all-new big-screen adventure dives into theaters in 2016, taking moviegoers back to the extraordinary underwater world from the original film.
Comparisons to the original Finding Nemo are unavoidable, but luckily Finding Dory doesn’t fall into the sequel trap of rehashing the same story with different characters, rather it sets out to tell its own tale. Some of the original awe is lost though, but the Pixar magic is still there. It’s still clever and funny, with loveable lead characters and breathtakingly beautiful animation, which all earns Finding Dory 95% on Rotten Tomatoes
Book now for 2D at Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor
Book now for 3D at Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor
Book now for IMAX, exclusive to Ster Kinekor
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Equals
Two young lovers living in a future devoid of emotions discover that a disease has the power to bring them back in this sci-fi romance from director Drake Doremus. Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult star in this Scott Free Films production featuring Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver.
Equals might be an artistic triumph in terms of set design and world building, but it’s so successful with removing the emotion from its world that it takes the emotion right out of the movie, and the audience. You can’t really care for the characters or what happens to them when everything is so still, calm, and sometimes downright dull. The film might be rewarding in other areas, with the solid, nuanced acting and stylish look, it’s just a slog to get through. Craig gives Equals 2.5/5 stars.
Book now at Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor
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Keanu
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in this comedy as two friends posing as drug dealers to get back a stolen cat. Peter Atencio directed.
Keanu is exactly what Key and Peele are known for, just as a full length action comedy instead of a skit. The chemistry and comedy is mostly on point, and while the jokes are often hit and miss, thankfully there are more than enough hits to make up for the misses. Plus, the cat is just terrifyingly adorable. It’s a solid feature length film debut for the duo, even though it’s a little uneven and unpolished at times, it still gets 77% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Book now at Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor
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A Hologram for the King
Cultures collide when an American businessman (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver (Alexander Black) and a beautiful Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhury).
Tom Hanks plays the stereotypical “fish out of water” with aplomb, but his performance is probably the only really good thing about A Hologram for the King. Everything else, from the sweet and meandering plot to the sweeping locations, is just kind of… okay. Not great, just okay. It still earns an amiable 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Book now at Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor
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Hello, My Name Is Doris
When Doris Miller meets John Fremont, her company’s hip new art director, sparks fly-at least for Doris. In the cluttered house she shared with her late mother, Doris mines the Internet for information on her one-and-only, guided by the 13-year-old granddaughter of her best pal Roz. When Doris begins showing up at John’s regular haunts, she wins over his Williamsburg friends. Her new life brings Doris a thrilling perspective, but also creates a rift between her and her longtime friends and family, who believe she’s making a fool of herself over a guy half her age. Eager for all the experiences she has missed out on, Doris throws caution to the wind and follows her heart for the very first time.
Lead by the indomitable Sally Fields, Hello, My Name Is Doris is a sharp and witty comedy-drama, and while the movie might let her down in some places with some uneven plot threads and cringe-worthy scenes, Fields carries it the whole way through. Her performance is magical throughout the wacky and endearing movie, earning it 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Book now at Cinema Nouveau, exclusive to Ster Kinekor
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I Am Wrath
A man is out for justice after a group of corrupt police officers are unable to catch his wife’s killer.
There is absolutely nothing unique or redeemable about I Am Wrath. It’s a generic, derivative, predicable and clichéd middle-aged vigilante rampage that only serves to remind you why John Wick was so excellent and that you should go watch that again instead. Ending up with an uninspiring 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, I Am Wrath should have left the revenge rampage movies to the pros.
Book now at Ster Kinekor
Last Updated: June 17, 2016
