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This week, there are EIGHT new films out for you to choose from, led by Crazy Rich Asians. Here are the titles, with more info below:
- Crazy Rich Asians
The Predator
Lucky
Operation Finale
Loving Pablo
Superfly
The Debt Collector
King Of Thieves
Crazy Rich Asians centres around three wealthy Chinese families, who prepare for the wedding of the year.
The story follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), an American-born Chinese economics professor, who travels to her boyfriend Nick’s (Henry Golding) hometown of Singapore for his best friend’s wedding. Before long, his secret is out: Nick is from a family that is impossibly wealthy, he’s perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.
Watching this trailer, I heard one man’s voice and I thought – “Damn, he sounds like Henry Golding from BBC News’ The Travel Show”, and guess what? It’s him!
It’s a solid fact that Asian women are the hottest women in the world. And if I could find a rich one, even better!
Director: Jon M Chu
Also stars: Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Jimmy O Yang, Chris Pang, Sonoya Mizuno, Jing Lusi, Ronny Chieng, Pierre Png
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Predator… Yes, that thing’s come back again. And the film is written by the writer/director of… Robocop 3! Exactly…
From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When Rory (Jacob Tremblay – Room) accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.
Olivia Munn (X-Men Apocalypse) and many others join the fightback…
I thought the original Predator was very average, while I’m in a minority of preferring Predator 2. The least said about Predators, the better, but wasn’t it already settled in Alien Vs Predator that this lot are the GOOD guys?!
Oh, and don’t forget Alien Vs Predator 2: Requiem… I mean, DO forget that junk.
As for The Predator, well, from this trailer, it looks awful. Just lots of crash/bang/wallop with no way of differentiating itself from any actioner that doesn’t bear this enemy’s name.
Director: Shane Black
Writers: Fred Dekker, Shane Black
Also stars: Yvonne Strahovski, Lochlyn Munro, Sterling K Brown, Thomas Jane, Boyd Holbrook, Jake Busey, Edward James Olmos, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfie Allen, Paul Lazenby
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Lucky (Harry Dean Stanton) is an old US Navy veteran of rigid habits and attitudes in a small town. When his routine is interrupted by a sudden collapse at home, Lucky finds himself realising that his remarkably healthy old age is going to face an inevitable decline and he has to accept it. In that difficult reassessment, he must face up to what he believes in and how much it compares to his neighbors’ priorities. In doing so, Lucky finds that his life has its positive side as he searches for some meaning that he can accept.
Lucky is released almost a year to the day since Harry Dean Stanton passed away, since that was on September 15th 2017.
Also in the cast is Stanton’s Alien co-star Tom Skerritt.
Director: John Carroll Lynch
Writers: Logan Sparks, Drago Sumonja
Also stars: David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr, Barry Shabaka Henley, James Darren
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Operation Finale is set 15 years after World War II, where a team of secret agents are brought together to track down Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley, above), the infamous Nazi architect of the Holocaust.
This looks like it has the makings of a tense thriller, and with a great cast including Oscar Isaac and Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds), but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
Director: Chris Weitz
Writer: Matthew Orton
Also stars: Haley Lu Richardson, Lior Raz, Joe Alwyn, Nick Kroll, Greta Scacchi, Peter Strauss, Michael Aronov
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
Loving Pablo centres around Pablo Escobar, not Pablo Picasso, as I first thought.
In 1981, Virginia Vallejo (Penélope Cruz) is a famous Colombia’s journalist and TV news anchorwoman who is invited to a VIPs party in the ranch of Pablo Escobar (Javier Bardem), a low-born man who gained money and power with drug trafficking together his friends, turning them in the new generation of rich men of the country. Seduced by his charisma, Virginia starts a passionate love affair with Escobar despite he’s a family man married with MarÃa Victoria (Julieth Restrepo).
Along the ’80s years, Escobar becomes famous in his try to better the life of the low-born people of MedellÃn (Colombia’s capital) and raising a politician carrier in the Colombia’s congress, but Virginia starts to understand Escobar’s real power controlling an empire of crime in Colombia and spreading his drugs across the USA.
Peter Sarsgaard is also here, as DEA agent Shepard, taking an interest in the man’s business.
Loving Pablo has a R18 rating in the US, so that indicates an element of hanky panky in there, but (unconnected!) I am looking forward to it, though.
Writer/Director: Fernando León de Aranoa
Novel: Virginia Vallejo
Also stars: Óscar Jaenada, Fredy Yate, Ricardo Niño, Pedro Calvo, Joavany Alvarez
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
SuperFly
When Priest, a young but experienced coke dealer in Atlanta, realizes it’s time to get out of the trade, he risks it all on one last score. Double-crossing his mentor, Priest heads to Mexico to connect with the cartel that serves as the source of his product.
Director: Director X
Writer: Alex Tse
Stars: Trevor Jackson, Jason Mitchell, Lex Scott Davis
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Miss!
The Debt Collector
A classically-trained martial artist (Scott Adkins – Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning) goes to work as a debt collector for the mob. The job seems easy enough, until one “client” pulls him into a situation deeper than could ever be expected. Also starring Louis Mandylor, Michael Pare, Tony Todd and Vladimir Kulich.
This doesn’t look 100% terrible, but these debt collector’s aren’t exactly Paul Bohill from Channel 5’s Can’t Pay We’ll Take It Away… and there’s some dodgy, enforced Cockerney accents, a la Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins!
Director: Jesse V Johnson
Writers: Jesse V Johnson, Stu Small
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Maybe!
King Of Thieves centres around a crew of retired crooks, who pull off a major heist in London’s jewellery district…
So, after The Hatton Garden Job comes ANOTHER Hatton Garden Job movie, but with more famous people in it. The first one wasn’t a big hit, but at least it was first out of the trap, so I know the full story and don’t need to see this bunch of self-satisfied egos retreading the entire thing… or re-shoving themselves through a wall.
As I type, it doesn’t list any character names, so Michael Caine appears to be playing Michael Caine… how apt.
Director: James Marsh
Writer: Joe Penhall
Magazine article: Mark Seal
Stars: Michael Caine, Michael Gambon, Charlie Cox, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Francesca Annis, Paul Whitehouse, Kellie Shirley, Martha Howe-Douglas
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.