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This weekend there are six new films out for you to choose from: political drama in Selma, animated fun in Shaun The Sheep: The Movie, great British drama in Still Life, great Australian multi-director drama in The Turning, the finally-released comedy The Interview, and sci-fi nonsense in Jupiter Ascending.
Selma tells the unforgettable true story chronicling the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (David Oyelowo) led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement.
Director Ava DuVernay‘s Selma tells the story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.
Also starring Carmen Ejogo, Jim France, Oprah Winfrey and Giovanni Ribisi, this certainly looks well worth a watch, yet has been largely ignored by the awards season.
Still, never mind Selma, when’s the “Patty” movie coming out? Eh? Eh? I’m here all week, tip your waitress.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Shaun The Sheep: The Movie
When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it’s up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home.
It looks BAAAAAAAD!
No, seriously, it’s from Aardman Animations, so how can it fail?
The film stars Andy Nyman, plus voices from Nick Park, Justin Fletcher, Omid Djalili, John Sparkes and archive voice (since he’s dead) of Stanley Unwin.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Still Life is – it says here – a poignant, quixotic tale of life, love and the afterlife. Meticulous and organized to the point of obsession, John May (Eddie Marsan) is a council worker charged with finding the next of kin of those who have died alone. When his department is downsized, John must up his efforts on his final case, taking him on a liberating journey that allows him to start living life at last.
Also starring the lovely Joanne Froggatt, plus Karen Drury and Andrew Buchan, it was originally due out just before Christmas, but now may have a chance to get somewhere in the cinema. It looks like a wonderful drama with comedic touches and I really want to see this.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Turning explores the impact of past on present, how the seemingly random incidents that change and shape us can never be escaped or let go of. All of the stories are bound together by recurring themes; the passing of time, regret, addiction and obsession.
Starring Colin Friels, James Fraser, Henri Phillips and many more, plus SEVENTEEN directors – one for each segment in the film, I’m fascinated by this concept and really want to see it. However, the full version runs for 180 minutes, and it’s been edited down for cinemas to 107 minutes, so I would have to see the full version. I’m reminded of how amazing the Cinema Paradiso Director’s Cut was over the original.
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
The Interview is a film that needs no introduction, really, because it’s led the news headlines on many occasions recently, but just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock throughout December, it centres around entertainment hack Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapaport (Seth Rogen), who are in charge of the No.1 gossip show, Skylark Tonight, being invited to interview North Korean despot and owner of a shit haircut, Kim Jong-un (Randall Park). However, the government actually want them to kill him while they’re in town.
This film is actually better than you’d think, but for more info, read The DVDfever Review!
Hit or Miss? Verdict: Hit!
Jupiter Ascending is a new sci-fi movie starring Mila Kunis (Family Guy, Friends With Benefits) and the second international trailer is now online.
In a universe where humans are near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, a young destitute human woman is targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe because her very existence threatens to end the Queen’s reign.
Written and directed by Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski, and also starring Channing Tatum, Douglas Booth, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Tuppence Middleton, James D’Arcy, Terry Gilliam, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Tim Pigott-Smith and Nikki Amuka-Bird, Jupiter Ascending this looked pretty cool originally, but the most curious thing about this is why it was put back 8 months from the summer blockbuster season to the time of the year which is usually a dumping ground for non-Oscar movies (see also Taken 3… or, rather… don’t)
Jupiter Ascending? Jupiter ARSE-ending, morelike! Eh? Eh? Is this thing on?
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.