The cinematic landscape has you covered this week with several indie gems and a couple of Hollywood staples, including: a brooding Danish drama starring the fantastic Mads Mikkelsen, a Hollywood sci-fi romp starring father and son Smith, and the new Vince Vaughan-Owen Wilson comedy fest.
Films opening today:
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THE HUNT……FILM OF THE WEEK
Denmark | 111 minutes | Drama
Director: Thomas Vinterberg (Submarino, It’s All About Love)
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Lasse Fogelstrøm, Susse Wold, Anne Louise Hassing
A disturbing depiction of what happens when lies become truths. Gossip, doubt and malice flourish in a small town, igniting a witch-hunt that threatens to destroy an innocent teacher’s life.
We saw this at last year’s NZIFF, which makes it an easy choice for FOTW. Mikkelsen is brilliant.
Distributor: Madman Entertainment
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AFTER EARTH
USA | 100 minutes | Sci-Fi, Action, Adenture
Director: M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable)
Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Isabelle Fuhrman, Zoë Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo
A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige and his legendary father Cypher stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape.
Planet Smith. If you can handle that, then this could be an entertaining sci-fi romp – although, sadly, reviews suggest otherwise.
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
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CAMILLE REWINDS
France | 100 minutes | Comedy, Fantasy
Director: Noémie Lvovsky (Feelings)
Cast: Noémie Lvovsky, Samir Guesmi, Judith Chemla, India Hair, Julia Faure, Yolande Moreau, Michel Vuillermoz
Abandoned by her lifelong love for a younger woman on New Year’s Eve, 40-year-old struggling actress Camille awakens in a hospital bed as a 16-year-old girl again, and vows to save herself from the heartache that awaits her in the future.
A light but entertaining-looking French comedy.
Distributor: Umbrella
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REMEMBRANCE
Germany | 107 minutes | Drama, Romance, War
Director: Anna Justice (Max Minsky und ich)
Cast: Alice Dwyer, Dagmar Manzel, Mateusz Damiecki, Susanne Lothar, David Rasche
This love story follows a Polish prisoner and his Jewish girlfriend who escape a grisly WWII concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland… but become separated. Living in New York, 30 years later, she is convinced that her former lover died in the chaos. But on discovering that he is still alive via a TV interview, she sets out to find him.
A fabulous-looking drama, based on a true story. And it features 80s TV icon Sledgehammer: David Rasche! – an ageless David Rasche, I might add.
Distributor: Arkles Entertainment
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THE INTERNSHIP
USA | 119 minutes | Comedy
Director: Shawn Levy (Date Night, Real Steel)
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Will Ferrell, John Goodman, Josh Gad, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Jessica Szohr, Chuti Tiu
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Two out of work – and out of luck – salesmen become fledgeling interns at Google and compete with candidates half their age and twice as smart for highly-coveted positions at the internet giant.
The boys are back. Hopefully the Google-groomed script leaves room for Vaughn and Wilson to shine.
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
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THE OTHER SON
France | 101 minutes | Drama
Director: Lorraine Levy (London mon amour, The First Time I Turned Twenty)
Cast: Emmanuelle Devos, Pascal Elbé, Jules Sitruk, Mehdi Dehbi, Areen Omari, Khalifa Natour, Mahmud Shalaby
The moving and provocative tale of two young men – one Israeli, the other Palestinian – who discover they were accidentally switched at birth, and the complex repercussions facing them and their respective families.
Another great film from this year’s French Film Festival gets a deserved release.
http://youtu.be/Vd0yURquHLA
Distributor: Curious Distribution
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Which side of the cinematic fence are you on this week: Hollywood or Indieville?
