At the Flix with @Timmy666
Hello one and all. It’s time for this week’s #attheflix! Let’s roll.
Blackhat (15)
Michael Mann’s latest crime thriller (surprise, surprise!) looks at cyberterrorism with Chris Hemsworth starring as a sort of convict meets James Bond type with brains. The film follows Hemsworth and his American and Chinese partners as they hunt a high-level network from Chicago to Los Angeles
There are many critics who will stand by Michael Mann no matter what. He is the cinematic equivalent of comfort food – his visual flair and ability to capture cityscapes, colour palettes and alpha male brooding. I’m in the pro-Mann camp as he has been a big screen presence throughout my upbringing from Mohicans right through to the flawed Miami Vice.
Even if this has been seen as several notches below Heat by many American critics, will this be enough to entice British audiences to see it?
Project Almanac (12A)
Here’s a film telling the story of a bunch of teems who discover plans for a secret time machine … and put it together! It’s amazing what one can do with a Raspberry Pi. Of course though, when messing with time, things will go awry in rather dramatic ways, and therein lies the plot to this film.
Produced by Michael Bay, the film has been noted for its self-awareness to previous time-travel adventures. Whether or not it reaches the heights of great time travel adventures such as Primer or Looper, it remains to be seen.
Cake (15)
Jennifer Aniston is going for Oscar mode here in a film all about the pitfalls of drug abuse! This is a small film with a large central performance and how relieving it is to see Aniston with a role to own that takes her away from second-rate comedies to one which shows her clear acting chops.
It is quite familiar territory – addiction, healing etc, etc – and one which has divided critics Stateside.
Cake finds Jennifer Aniston making the most of an overdue opportunity to test her dramatic skills, but it lacks sufficient depth or warmth to recommend for all but her most ardent fans.
The Wedding Ringer (15)
This week’s American comedy tackles the subject of a husband to be called Doug, awkward in more ways than one, seeking out a best man for his wedding. He calls on Jimmy Callahan, the CEO of Best Man, Inc played by Kevin Hart – and here ensures the setup, a wedding charade meets bromance.
The all too familiar plot line provides opportunities for screwball, visual and verbal gags. Have we been here many times before? Yes. And for me, even the precedents like Hitch and The Wedding Crashers have their moments but are hardly classics.
Elsewhere, alongside the myriad of Oscar nominees getting airings, at the mac this week, there’s the opportunity to see Stephen Daldry’s BAFTA nominated Trash (15), the story of two trash-picking boys from Rio’s slums who find a wallet in their local dump. When the local police show up, offering a handsome reward for the wallet’s return, the boys, Rafael and Gardo, realize that what they’ve found must be important.
That’s it from me this week, I’m off to watch Heat! As always, please send any queries or quibbles to me on twitter @timmy666. Pip pip!
