Moneyball

I yawned at the thought of another movie about baseball. Oh, how wrong was I!

Even though baseball is most popular in the USA, this true story about the Oakland Athletics is extremely relatable. Brad Pitt brings his stellar game – no pun intended – as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s. When they lose one of their best batsmen, Beane refuses to wallow. Instead he comes up with creative ways to save costs.

It is always entertaining to see people rise above their challenges and succeed. Watch this for inspiration, if nothing else.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Dream House

Big name stars like Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts give this movie a great footing, so does the great visuals. But where this film falls is through the script that has more pot holes in it than South African roads after the summer rains. The cast do manage to make the convoluted plot believable, though, our biggest gripe is that a major twist is given away in the trailer. Who does that, anyway? Watch it (the trailer) at your peril!

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Happy Feet Two

Happy Feet left us all loving penguins. Now they’re back and cuter than before because Mumble now has a kid. The new Dad is faced with a problem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven, a penguin who can fly!

Mumble has no hope of competing with this new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Spoiler alert: Erik learns of his father's "guts and grit" as Mumble brings together the penguin nations, and all manner of fabulous creatures, to put things right.

It’s a great watch for kids, young and old alike.

Rating: 4 outta 5

Broken Promises 3

If you have been craving your fix of funny Durban one-liners and Indian quips, your wait is over. The third installment of this side-splitting local movie series is back with a bang and continues to explore the relationships and unexpected happenings in Indian households.

This time around, Amsugi faces a challenge from a new potential daughter-in-law and is well over her head, trying to outwit and outsmart!

It’s a really light-hearted love story with a good dose of fun and of course, drama.

Rating: 3 outta 5

Cool It

The movie focuses on Danish economist, Bjorn Lomborg, the controversial author of “The Skeptical Environmentalist,” who came under fire from the scientific community for his published views on the topic of Global Warming. To sum it up, Lomborg believes the panic surrounding global warming has negatively encouraged countries to budget enormous sums of money to achieve insignificant reductions in temperature.

One thing I really liked about this movie is that instead of using fear, it gives us hope that there are answers out there and that something can be done.

Rating: 4 outta 5

Platteland

This is an Afrikaans musical and I gotta give a hand to local film makers for stretching the boundaries! The cinematography will make you fall in love with the country life, and the gorgeous South African land scape. 

Rating 3 outta 5.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

If you think the world was obsessed with seeing Prince William marry Catherine Middleton, you have not seen anything yet. We now have the ‘wedding of the century’ where vampire Edward Cullen finally gets his human girlfriend, Bella Swan, to walk down the aisle. Oh, Twi-hards, calm your shrieks of glee, will you?

Edward and Bella also take their relationship to the next level and they have to deal with the unexpected pregnancy that follows. Fans of the story will no doubt relish every moment of this first instalment of the final two movies. So, what are you waiting for? Get your movie ticket right now!

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Everything Must Go

Imagine if everything that could possibly go wrong in your life, does so in a single day? This is Nick’s mid-life crisis. He loses his job (fired by a younger boss, too!), gets home only to find all his possessions on the front lawn and his wife has kicked him out. What is a man to do? Nick (Will Ferrell) decides to booze it up and camp outside with all his life’s possessions, of course.

Along the way he becomes friends with a lonely boy, reconnects with an old high school mate and builds a relationship with a helpful new neighbour. I am not a Will Ferrell fan, but his portrayal of Nick will leave you thinking “aw…” for days after watching it.  All together now: “Aw…”

Rating: 4 outta 5

Straw Dogs

Another week and we have another remake out of Hollywood. This time it is Sam Peckinpah's 1971 Straw Dogs, which starred Dustin Hoffmann and Susan George. Since it is 2011, we have James Marsden playing David, a LA screenwriter and Kate Bosworth plays Amy. They go back to her red-neck home town in Mississippi.

Throw in Amy’s old boyfriend (played by True Blood’s delectable Alexander Skarsgård), tension that turns to horrific violence and a rape scene that made the 1971 movie controversial, and you get a compelling thriller that keeps you watching, and perhaps squirming in your seat too.

Rating: 3 outta 5

Outside the Law

It is a shame that movies like this, which opened up in 2010 in most parts of the world; gets to South African screens only now. Centred on three brothers, torn apart by the expropriation of their father’s ancestral land in Algeria during 1925 by the French, the political tone of this movie is set early on.  From Algeria’s struggle for independence, to V.E day during World War II and the nationalist massacre in Setif at the hands of French soldiers, this movie holds its own in the historical drama genre. The performances are astounding, particularly from the brother who becomes a club promoter in Paris. 

Rating: 3 outta 5

The Devil's Double

Oh so juicy, this is the true-to-life story about the man who was forced to be the official double of Uday Hussein, Saddam’s son. Dominic Cooper impresses by playing both the psychopathic Uday and his unwilling doppelganger, and the sordid stories unfold like bullets. Not only is it fascinating but well acted and produced too.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Beginners

At 38, Oliver (Ewan McGregor) is successful but not particularly happy. His father (Christopher Plummer), on the other hand, at the age of 75 has just revealed that he is gay and feels like his life is just beginning. Alrighty then. This is a fantastic film about love, acceptance and making new beginnings at any age.

Rating 4 outta 5.

Immortals

Mickey Rourke and Stephen Dorff in the same movie? Awesome. I’m in. Mickey plays King Hyperion, who comes to blows with Theseus, chosen by the god Zeus, to bring him down. Also in the mix is Henry Cavill from the Tudors, who plays a brilliant Theseus, along with a gorgeous Isabel Lucas who plays Athena. From what I’ve heard it’s a fabulous take on the legend, with some awesome effects and production. Can’t wait to see it.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Apollo 18

The premise of this film is that old footage of two astronauts is discovered, revealing something so terrible that it has never been spoken of, until now. Okay, so that leaves the door wide open for any number of interesting things to happen, but unfortunately they don’t. While the mood builds and the horror seeds are planted, this movie just fails to take off, if you’ll forgive the pun. It’s simply average in every way.

Rating: 2 outta 5.

Paranormal Activity 3

I was a big fan of the first PA. I couldn’t sit through the second one and now they’ve gone and released a third? Seriously, how many more can they expect us to stomach? Not only does the camera work make me feel rather ill, but the rehashed “special effects” do too.

Yawn. 2 outta 5.

50/50

Yes this movie is about a clean-living 27-year-old who discovers he has cancer and, consequently, a 50/50 chance at survival, but it’s not all tears and morbidity. Instead it’s one of those films that’s more about living and dying well.

Played beautifully by one of my favourite actors – Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Adam battles his emotions, his family and his friends while trying to come to terms with his mortality. Flanked by Seth Rogan as his fun-loving friend, as well as Anna Kendrick, this is one of those movies that will have you laughing and crying all at once. Tender and genuine, it’s a winner.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Anonymous

Did some anonymous writer actually pen all of William Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets and poems? If you’re a conspiracy theorist, perhaps. If not, you’re still likely to find the proposition rather interesting.

This dramatic and gripping film gives us the story in fascinating detail, and is anything but boring. Filled with villains, backstabbing, beheadings and other wonderfully gothic transgressions, the movie offers a lot more than a simple hypothesis.

Rating: 4 outta 5.

Tower Heist

This film’s pretty weak storyline is beefed up with a semi-impressive list of actors, which will be the only reason people see it.

Ben Stiller is a concierge at an exclusive apartment building, along with a huge team of other staff, including Casey Affleck and Michael Pena. One of the rich dudes who lives there gets all the staff to invest in a fraudulent pyramid scheme, and he’s taken down by the FBI and placed under house arrest at the apartment. The staff, having been ripped off, are keen to get their money back and since the FBI can’t find the missing $20mill, decide to rob the guy.

Eddie Murphy is the ex-con to help them, which of course throws some humour into the mix, but it’s not enough to completely save this odd script.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Attack the Block

From the guys who brought us Shaun of the Dead we’re transported to Souf London, Yeah, where some bad-ass kids come face to face with some bad-ass aliens. It’s filled with some classic British humour and one-liners that you’ll be using for days after. Just remember that this is a very specific type of humour; if you don’t get the Brits, you won’t get this movie.

Rating: 3 outta 5.

Shark Night

In the spirit of Lake Placid, Anaconda, Piranha and others comes the latest in creature movies. It ticks all the right boxes for the genre: hot college kids in swimsuits, expensive beach house on a private island, water and a boat. Now throw in some ravenous sharks and you’ve got the makings of a really bad fright flick.

If you’re a fan of these tongue-in-cheek horrors, Shark Night won’t disappoint, but if you fail to see the brilliance of cocky rich kids getting ripped apart by man-eating beasts best give it a miss.

Rating: 3 outta 5.