YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK’S NEW CINEMA RELEASES
Four new movies and the cinema for your viewing pleasure this week…
TOP PICK TO SEE
Two movies are vying for top pick to see this week — CRIMSON PEAK and THE WALK. Because THE WALK probably has broader appeal, I’m putting that one at the top. THE WALK is a true story that takes place in 1974. High-wire artist Philippe Petit recruits a team of people to help him realise his dream: to walk the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. It’s available in 3D and, given the location, I think I’d go with that option. While the movie is not necessarily brilliant, The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney describes it as Harnessing the wizardry of 3-D IMAX to magnify the sheer transporting wonder… [With T]he you-are-there thrill of the experience, the film’s payoff more than compensates for a lumbering setup, laden with cloying voiceover narration and strained whimsy. My review coming soon.
OTHERS TO SEE
Second on my top list is the drama fantasy horror CRIMSON PEAK. In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author (Mia Wasikowska) is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers. From the shorts I’ve seen, I would say this is a period drama with some gothic elements taking place in a big, rundown house. The A.V. Club’s Katie Rife is unsurprised, given it is a Del Toro film, that … the production design is the real star of Crimson Peak. The trailers certainly look visually stunning. My review coming soon.
MAYBE/MAYBE NOT
A couple of films on the maybe/maybe not list this week. First is UNINDIAN. Beautiful divorcee and single mother of one, Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is an Australian of Indian origin. Smart and independent, she has carved out a successful life for herself and her daughter … despite family pressure to find ‘a nice Indian match’. Then Meera meets Will (Brett Lee)… tall and blonde with a charming smile. But falling in love with an Australian man is not only scandalous – it’s unindian! Does she do as her family wishes? … Or does she follow her heart and live her life the way she wants? Highlighting the complexities of wooing another from a different culture, unINDIAN is a comedy with a lot of heart and a little spice! No word from the critics yet, so not sure what this will be like. General viewers are rating a bit above average.
Finally, LEGEND tells the story of the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, and their organised crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s. It looks very violent from the trailers I’ve seen. Critics don’t like this one much. For example, The Hollywood Reporter’s Leslie Felperin describes it this way: This ungainly portrait strikes a lot of poses, as if inviting the viewer to admire its impressive cast list, fine period detailing, “cheeky” British humor, and insouciant attitude towards violence. But none of it disguises the fact that the film is also tonally incoherent, vacuous and structurally a bleedin’ mess.
That’s it for this week. See you at the movies!
*NOTE* Movie summaries are adaptations of movie summary on IMDB. Opinions are mine unless credited. These updates are written from an Australian perspective so openings of the movies in cinemas may vary in other parts of the world.