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This weekend there are seven new films out for you to choose from: Jennifer Aniston drama in Cake, the new Michael Mann cybercrime thriller Blackhat, Sidse Babett Knudsen – aka Birgitte from Borgen in new drama The Duke of Burgundy, time travel antics in both Predestination and Project Almanac, a film that’s too bizarre for words – Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, and another bloody Kevin Hart movie – The Wedding Ringer. Who keeps giving him work??
Cake tells the tale of Claire (Jennifer Aniston), who becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group. As she uncovers the details of Nina’s suicide and develops a poignant relationship with her husband, she also grapples with her own, very raw personal tragedy.
Also starring Anna Kendrick as Nina, plus Sam Worthington, Lucy Punch, William H Macy and Felicity Huffman, I love anything with Jennifer Aniston in it, especially when it’s a drama and this looks fantastic. She spends far too long making daft comedies, some of which are good, but if you haven’t seen her in 2002’s The Good Girl, alongside Zooey Deschanel, then I urge you to see that immediately.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Blackhat is a new Michael Mann film starring Chris Hemsworth as Nicholas Hathaway, a man is released from prison to help American and Chinese authorities pursue a mysterious cyber criminal. The dangerous search leads them from Chicago to Hong Kong.
The film also stars Viola Davis, William Mapother and Wei Tang, and looks like another great thriller from Mann.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Duke of Burgundy tells the tale of a woman who studies butterflies and moths, and tests the limits of her relationship with her lover.
The cast stars Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D’Anna and Fatma Mohamed, so, yes, it’s Birgitte Nyborg from Borgen!
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Predestination stars Ethan Hawke as a Temporal Agent, sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys, ultimately designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
Also starring Sarah Snook, Christopher Kirby and Christopher Sommers, I love anything to do with time travel, and this looks fantastic.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Project Almanac is a film which previously started off with the better title of Welcome To Yesterday, so I don’t know why they changed it, but either way, as I said with Predestination, I do love films and TV series about time travel, and this one is a film about a group of teenagers who embark on an adventure when they discover secret plans to build a time machine.
Produced by Michael Bay, the film stars Ginny Gardner, Amy Landecker, Sofia Black-D’Elia and Jonny Weston, and wasn’t due out until the middle of this week, but was actually released on Monday which is a rather odd day to do it. Sin City 2 did the same, coming out on Bank Holiday Monday in August. Okay, so this is out during half-term, but then it’s only kids films that fixate on that period, and Project Almanac is not a kids film.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter stars Rinko Kikuchi (right) in the titular role as a jaded Japanese woman who discovers a hidden copy of the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film, Fargo, on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.
Also starring Nobuyuki Katsube, Shirley Venard, David Zellner and Nathan Zellner, I’m definitely intrigued by this film’s bizarre premise.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Wedding Ringer makes me think… oh joy, another Kevin Hart movie. Who is this guy bribing to get screen time?
Oh well, at least he’s not the lead actor. That’s Josh Gad as Doug Harris, a loveable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy.
The Wedding Ringer also stars Nicky Whelan, Olivia Thirlby, Cloris Leachman, Catherine Chen and Mimi Rogers, and it’s released in the UK on February 20th 2015.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.