At The Flix with @Timmy666
Let’s head out to the outer reaches of the universe for this week’s At the Flix.
The Summer blockbusters continue to dominate the multiplexes alongside a few kids choices yet there’s still space for some world cinema at the mac as well.
Let’s delve in shall we ….
Guardians Of The Galaxy (12A)
Fresh from the Marvel camp, this is a bit like the flip coin to a number of Marvel conventions on ‘super hero’ comics. There’s a clear fizz, colour, thrill and tongue in cheek to the Marvel’s wider universe here, focussing a troupe of five misfits led by Peter Quill.
Quill finds himself the object of a bounty hunt after stealing an orb, coveted by Ronan, a villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.
The Marvel franchise has been in need of an alternative take for a while and with an injection of humanity and humour. With Quill, Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Drax the Destroyer, we have an unlikely bunch of heroes with which to entertain us with many witticisms and quirks.
Reviews have been almost universally positive so there’s so much to anticipate!
Nut Job, The (U)
The latest film for all the family for the Summer Hols and another that possibly destines to underwhelm.
The Nut Job tells that story of a self-serving exiled squirrel who finds himself helping his former park brethren raid a nut store to survive, that is also the front for a human gang’s bank robbery.
A South Korean co-production, the film evidently lacks the quality of an A-list studio product and has evidently been adapted and voiced to hit the Summer crowds. Not even voices including Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson and Katherine Heigl can save this.
A 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes probably doesn’t lie, alas.
Step Up 5: All In (12A)
I’ve never seen any of the other Step Up films but I believe it consists of all-stars from previous instalments, none of which I have a clue about, coming together in Las Vegas for an excuse to dance.
Prepare also for a series of thin story lines as a means to get from one impressive dance routine to another. It’s also an exercise in how cinema delivers slick dance moves with 3D glasses.
I imagine that as long as there’s an audience for it, then we’re likely to get a Step Up film every year.
Of Horses and Men (15)
Showing at the mac on a limited screening, Of Horses and Men is an Icelandic romance linking the human streak in horses and the horse-like streak in humans. Love and death become interlaced and with immense consequences. The fortunes of the people in the country through the horses’ perception.
This is Benedikt Erlingsson‘s debut feature and from the trailer, it is deeply rooted in its Icelandic setting, lots of Icelandic horses set against rugged, frozen backdrops. Akin to the country in which it is set, it is a film very much in an offbeat, rugged and majestic world all of its own!
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That’s it from me! A very eclectic mix of releases this week and, as always, I warmly welcome your feedback on any of the comments above or indeed your thoughts on the films themselves.
Until next week, in the words of Ace Rimmer, “Smoke me a kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast!”.
By Tim Wilson who can be reached via @Timmy666 or find out more on About.Me
