A Good Person
Cast: Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Molly Shannon, Chinaza Uche, Celeste O’Connor
Director: Zach Braff
Rating: MA15+
Synopsis: Allison is a young woman with a wonderful fiance, a blossoming career, and supportive family and friends. However, her world crumbles in the blink of an eye when she survives an unimaginable tragedy, emerging from recovery with opioid addiction and unresolved grief. In the following years, she forms an unlikely friendship with her would-be father-in-law that gives her a fighting chance to put her life back together and move forward.
Reviews
“The pleasure lies in watching Pugh and Freeman face up and finally come around to one another. It’s not straightforward, a dance of advance and retreat with both revealing their strengths and weaknesses, but it’s always worth watching as they arrive at the causes of the crash and cautiously work their way towards acceptance.”
Sydney Morning Herald
“Braff puts us through a gruelling “relapse” montage as Allison hits the pills again after an illusory breakthrough and then a “recovery” montage as she gets it together. And the film’s single valuable lesson – the one about not looking at your phone while driving – is all but forgotten.”
The Guardian
Mafia Mama
Cast: Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci, Sophia Nomvee, Alessandro Bressanello, Eduardo Scarpetta
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Rating: MA
Synopsis: A mild-mannered suburban mum unexpectedly inherits her late grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy. Guided by the firm’s trusted consigliere, she hilariously defies everyone’s expectations as she finds herself stuck in the middle of a deadly mob war.
Reviews
“Mafia Mamma felt to me like a “salad” movie. A little crime, a little romance, a little self-improvement, a little violence, a little Italian travelogue – toss them all together and see what comes out.”
The Blurb
“For the most part, Mafia Mamma is a chaotic farcical romp, carried by the charms, timing and gusto of Collette’s comedic chops. She is fully committed to the role – and seemingly having an absolute ball.”
News.Com.Au
The Pope’s Exorcist
Cast: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney
Director: Julius Avery
Rating: MA
Synopsis: Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist for the Vatican, battles Satan and innocent-possessing demons. A detailed portrait of a priest who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime.
Reviews
“The Pope’s Exorcist does not take any of those chances. While it broaches some interesting Catholic taboos – particularly in regards to the Zovatto character whose sinful confessions hint at emotional depths the script has no interest in following through with – Avery is more interested in being a fun night out at the movies instead.”
Screen Hub
“Avery stops short of reproducing the 360-degree head-spin that distinguished Friedkin’s Exorcist, but the idea is the same, with the horrors hinging on the nastiness of watching a child transformed into a ghoul.”
Sydney Morning Herald
Air
Cast: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Chris Messina, Viola Davis, Damian Delano Young, Chris Tucker
Director: Ben Affleck
Rating: MA
Synopsis: Sonny Vaccaro and Nike pursue basketball rookie Michael Jordan, creating a partnership that revolutionizes the world of sports and contemporary culture.
Reviews
“But the script is pacy, the tone is consistent, and Affleck’s deft direction commands a raft of skilful performances from an ensemble who rarely puts a foot wrong. There is something so delightful about watching fantastic actors just play around, bouncing off each other.”
News.Com.Au
“Given that we know how all of this turned out, it’s a credit to Affleck and his cast that Air is such a compelling, enjoyable time. The director’s Oscar-winning Argo showed he knew his way around a true story while adding just the right amount of Hollywood flash, and here he leans all the way into cinema’s exhilarating sense of make-believe.”
ABC.Net
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Cast: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Kevin Michael Richardson, Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Armisen, Charles Martinet
Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Rating: PG
Synopsis: With help from Princess Peach, Mario gets ready to square off against the all-powerful Bowser to stop his plans from conquering the world.
Reviews
“There are things that The Super Mario Bros Movie does very well. When it meaningfully leans into its video game roots, the film genuinely sings. There is a sequence early in the film where Mario moves athletically through a construction site that approximates the original NES game that tells you everything you need to know about the guy: he’s a determined problem solver, who refuses to give up, and who will go out of his way to help his brother, the only other person in his family that seems to believe in him besides their mother.”
Kotaku
“The sanitised veneer of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is depressingly blatant, with not a ‘damn’ or a ‘butt’ to be heard. There are no sly jokes meant to fly over kids heads; no quippy asides typical of a Disney/Pixar vehicle.”
Screen Hub
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head
Directors: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Synopsis: A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a long lost relic, but their charming adventure goes dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
Reviews
Goldstein and Daley’s reboot is not nearly so creaky as its year 2000 predecessor, mind you, but its combo of earnest fantasy adventure and smirking humour is unlikely to impress – and, depending on your tolerance for such wisecracks, may well grate (if the bland fantasy-speak doesn’t get you first: “The Emerald Enclave will never relent!”).
ABC.Net
All matter of monster and magic and (of course) dungeons and dragons feature throughout Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, yet it’s the charismatic performances that shine the most, resulting in a fantasy adventure where the emotional stakes are just as important as the spectacle.
Film Ink
Guardians of the Galaxy – Vol 3
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper
Director: James Gunn
Rating: M
Synopsis: Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
Reviews
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the best of the trilogy, the most moving but also the most serious. The humor is there (and goes well), but the tone has changed. The fights are brutal, the VFX clean, and the AD cool. Adam Warlock is disappointing otherwise, but Chukwudi Iwuji in HE is great.”
Movieweb
“After seeing it twice I can safely say #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3 completes the perfect MCU trilogy. It’s heartbreaking and hilarious and I’ve loved this team from the first ooga shaka. A blast for 10 years.”
Emil Franchi
Jesus Revolution
Cast: Joel Courtney, Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Anna Grace Barlow, Kelsey Grammer
Directors: Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle
Rating: M
Synopsis: In the 1970s, Greg Laurie and a sea of young people descend on sunny Southern California to redefine truth through all means of liberation. Inadvertently, Laurie meets a charismatic street preacher and a pastor who open the doors to a church to a stream of wandering youth. What unfolds is a counterculture movement that becomes the greatest spiritual awakening in American history.
Reviews
“The performances of Kelsey Grammer, Jonathan Roumie and Joel Courtney complemented the storyline. They helped maintain the historical significance of this movement. Erwin and McCorkle capitalised on the talent they have in front of the camera and managed to lift the quality of films being offered within the genre.
Eternity News
“All in all, it’s a fascinating look at events that helped shape a generation of young Christians in southern California and which played a key role in shaping evangelical Christianity in that area of the US and beyond as we know it today. It will stir memories for those who were around at the time as well as introduce younger generations to a story which may help provide some context to today’s evangelical landscape in the US.”
Sight Magazine
80 for Brady
Cast: Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin, Tom Brady, Harry Hamlin
Director: Kyle Marvin
Rating: M
Synopsis: Four best friends live life to the fullest when they embark on a wild trip to see their hero, Tom Brady, play in the 2017 Super Bowl.
Reviews
“While its script is often scattered and convenient, 80 for Brady is also a surprisingly effective movie, in which the “Brady” of it all doesn’t matter nearly as much as the bonds of friendship. Its four legendary actresses embark on the comedy-adventure of a lifetime, proving they’ve still got tricks up their sleeve, as they deliver sentimental performances that also make for a fun watch.”
IGN
“Despite the Patriots being something of an evil empire in an otherwise troublesome sport, despite Brady maybe not being the best choice for hero worship, 80 for Brady sells the valorization.”
Vanity Fair
Argonuts
Cast: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall MacGinnis, Michael Gwynn, Douglas Wilmer, Jack Gwillim.
Director: David Alaux
Rating: G
Synopsis: Life is peaceful in Iolcos, the beautiful and prosperous port city in ancient Greece. When an enraged Poseidon threatens to destroy it, a mouse and a cat will help ageing hero Jason and the Argonauts in their quest save it.
“A movie that’s far more oddity, than great odyssey.”
Stuff.Co.Nz
“Argonuts is a hilarious and inventive comedy adventure for the whole family with references from The Godfather to The A-Team.”
Brisbanista
