Skeem

Although I missed the screening of this local comedy I am super excited to see it.

Here’s the synopsis from the filmmaker: “Set in a partially deserted and rather creepy holiday resort somewhere between Cape Town and Johannesburg, it's a classic caper-film: a mile a minute chase after a cardboard box full of money.

“The film features a cast of colourful characters, all hell-bent on getting their hands on the cash. In the best tradition of a classic French Farce, each character's cunning plan inadvertently thwarts the next.”

A brilliant cast, great script and local setting have already made this film a hit. Support!

Rating: 4/5

In Time

Here’s the premise of this sci-fi flick: It’s the future, and you only get 25 years to live. Instead of money, time is the biggest commodity. In order to live longer you need to work for time. So when a stranger offers Will (Justin Timberlake) immortality, he decides to go for it. The catch is that only a select few can live forever, and the process is policed, so no one is very happy when Will suddenly adds a million years to his ticker. A secret game of cat and mouse follows, of course, along with a kidnapping and some other cool Big Brother-type things. Not bad.

Rating: 3/5

30 Minutes or Less

A couple of half-witted skelms decide to use a pizza delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg) to do their dirty deeds, and, after strapping a bomb to his chest, tell him to go rob a bank. Funny, right? Ok, maybe not so much. This comedy has its moments, but generally it’s a mess of sketchy characters and silliness. 

Rating: 2/5

Contagion

We’ve had our fair share of virus outbreak movies, but the genre has been given a shot of adrenalin thanks to director Steven Soderbergh’s hard-hitting doccie-style lens.

You know the story: some super-resistant virus breaks out and the entire world becomes a target, which means panic at the disco. While all around them people are losing their heads, the Centre for Disease Control tries to maintain some sort of calm, but with difficulty.

Starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and a host of other great actors, this is the movie you want to watch this weekend.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Fright Night

Colin Farrell as a charming and seductive vampire? Yes, I can see that working, can’t you?

While you may or may not be aware, vampires have been given a 21st Century makeover and are no longer bound to long black cloaks and slicked-back hair. Vamps these days are sexy and stylish and have the women falling at their feet. This remake of Fright Night has also been given the appropriate, er, revamp and is ready for modern-day consumption. It’s funny, dark and wicked – the perfect for the build up to Halloween.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Black Butterflies

If you have any reverence of South African poetry you’ll know the name Ingrid Jonker.

An incredible woman with foresight beyond her years, she broke boundaries with her words and insights before tragically killing herself in 1965. Nelson Mandela even read one of her poems at the opening of parliament in 1994.

This is a film about her and her life, and is one that will inspire and haunt you. Go see it.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Ceremony

What looks like a whimsical indie movie from the outside is really just a miscellany of better indie movies gone by.

Looking to win back his ex-girlfriend, Zoe (Uma Thurman), Sam ends up gate-crashing her wedding weekend. Of course the man she’s about to marry is a pompous prick, which further fuels his determination.

But we’re talking indie here, so thrown into the fray are a host of supposedly quirky characters and unusual encounters. Unfortunately this is no “Rachel Getting Married,” where humour and tragedy are so perfectly balanced. This comes across as a promising but rather immature attempt. That said, however, I didn’t flat-out hate it.

Rating: 2 outta 5.

Killer Elite

I’ve said it before: when you see Jason Statham’s name in the credits you know what to expect, and that is some serious ass kicking. I’m not the biggest action fan but I do know that this is not Statham’s best work to date. Nor is it even close to Robert de Niro’s best work. He seems to have fallen into some really bad gangster type movies lately and it’s doing nothing for his reputation (but everything for his pocket, I’m guessing). Nevertheless, I’m sure action junkies will be satisfied to some degree… after all, there is a fair amount of body blows and blood. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Rating: 2 outta 5.

The Three Musketeers

No doubt you’ve seen this movie in one form or another; it’s simply a sexier and more technologically advanced remake of an age-old tale.

This one stars Orlando Bloom, who looks like he could have walked straight off of the Pirates set and onto this one. And for the guys, there’s Milla Jovovich to make the film more interesting. Other than that there’s not much more I can tell you. It’s an adventure romp that will at least keep you entertained for a couple of hours. Sometimes that’s all you need.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Johnny English Reborn

It’s been eight years since Rowan Atkinson played the role of 007 wannabe Johnny English, but as the title suggests, he’s baaaack. For some this might be great cause for celebration, for others the event will pass by unacknowledged. Although I fall into the latter category I do understand (I think) the appeal of watching a half-wit fumble his way through an international conspiracy. For the fans, I hope the eight years has been worth the wait.

Rating: 2 outta 5.

The Help

When she returns from college to 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, “Skeeter” finds that she doesn’t fit into the privileged, white upper class as easily as she used to. A journalism graduate, she starts to observe the black “help” employed to raise the white children and maintain a pristine household, and approaches her family servant, Aibileen, to discuss what it feels like, for an article. After some initial resistance, a whole can of worms is opened up, giving Skeeter enough fodder for a novel titled "The Help".

While this film obviously comments on the race relations at the time, it’s also a story about friendships, loss, forgiveness and pride. With outstanding performances from a brilliant ensemble cast, this is the movie to watch in anticipation of next year’s awards season.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Viva Riva!

Like an action movie on steroids, this Congolese offering from first-time director Djo Tunda Wa Munga is a shining light for African film. Highly acclaimed at a series of international film festivals, the crime-action thriller packs a punch that must be a massive eye-opener for Western viewers.

It revolves around a smooth ladies man called Riva, who has stolen a truckload of petrol from a bunch of Angolans. Since Kinshasa is all out of gas, he’s holding on to a small fortune. He’s also in love with a gangster’s woman and is going all out to win her over. All of this amounts to a hell of a lot of angry people, who are now out to find this Riva character – and what a character he is - and show him who's boss.

This is African film at its best, showcasing a raw, pulsing bloodlust, passion, gangsterism and crime, as well as the grittiness of a hustling African city. Kudos!

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Warrior

I usually turn my nose up at fight movies. Not because I don’t enjoy them (I actually consider Rocky a classic), but because more often than not they’re badly done with terrible ex-WWE stars and the most pedestrian of scripts. This one ain’t half bad though.

Firstly the fighting in question is called Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), which I can’t say I’m terribly familiar with, so it was pretty interesting if not a bit hair-raising to watch. Secondly the story pits two brothers against each other, and you honestly want both of them to win. Both are in the fight because their screwed-up lives have led them to the point of fighting for money. After establishing both of their histories at the beginning of the movie, you feel connected to both and understand why they’re there. Gripping and intense, this one is worth watching.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

What's Your Number?

When Ally (Anna Faris) reads in a magazine that a woman should find her husband within 20 relationships, she starts to panic and promises that she will not go over that number without finding her future “other”.

Instead of going out and looking for a new man, then, she decides to reacquaint herself with all her exes to see if she perhaps missed some husbandly quality in one of them. To help she enlists the services of her neighbour, who just happens to be a hottie, played by Chris Evans. Hmm. Any guesses what happens in the end? Yeah, this isn’t the sharpest of romcoms but it’ll get a few laughs.

Rating: 2 outta 5.