At The Movies, January 20 to 26
It’s a packed week for cinema and a slightly rude one, apparently, as all releases are rated 15, and we’ve got Ralph Fiennes’ take on Shakespeare, a lady assassin out for revenge, two historical movies, and an ill-qualified baby sitter - something for everyone, then!
Coriolanus (15)
Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in this Shakespearean adaptation, translated to a modern military setting. A hero soldier of Rome (Fiennes) struggles to connect with the people and is banished, despite his military prowess. Enraged, he aligns with his arch enemy (Gerard Butler) to take revenge and invade the city he once loved.
Fiennes is a powerhouse, as is Vanessa Redgrave as Volumnia, and whilst it will still be somewhat inaccessible to those unfamiliar with Shakespeare, these performances and Fiennes clever direction make it a riveting watch.
Star rating: ****
Haywire (15)
Ocean’s 11 director Steven Soderbergh casts MMA fighter Gina Carano in her first leading role as Mallory Kane, a covert operative hired by various governments to do their dirty work. When a recent mission is not all it cracks up to be, Mallory realises her employer (Ewan McGregor) is out to kill her, and goes on a revenge rampage.
Big names such as Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas appear in this high octane thriller, and while the action and direction is entertaining, a lack of story lets down what could have been a Bourne-calibre movie.
Star rating: ***
J. Edgar (15)
Director Clint Eastwood’s take on J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio), the man who revolutionised law enforcement as head of the FBI for half a century. A notorious figure professionally, behind closed doors he held back secrets that, were they to be made public, would obliterate everything he had built.
The plot wanders relentlessly over two hours, and may lose less patient cinema patrons, but overall the film is saved by an astounding lead in DiCaprio, who is astonishing as Hoover. Not Clint’s best, but an interesting history lesson.
Star rating: ****
The Sitter (15)
Jonah Hill plays the title role in this rude comedy about a layabout who is charged with babysitting two wild kids during a night none of them will ever forget. All the good intentions behind the plot are drowned out by crude jokes that don’t utilise Hill to his best, instead trying to make him some cut-price John Belushi.
Whereas his previous films had an intelligence to their comedy, this throws the script up in the air and says, 'how many toilet gags can we fit into one movie?' For the most immature 15-year-olds only.
Star rating: *
W.E. (15)
She’s been in vogue (sorry) in the music industry for decades, yet somehow Madonna has never really been able to express herself (ok, I’ll stop) on the big screen, with most of her acting appearances being duds.
She moves behind the camera for W.E., a drama that looks at the lives of two women - Wallace Simpson (Andrea Riseborough), the notorious lover of King Edward, and a modern day woman (Abbie Cornish) obsessed with Simpson, trying to escape from her loveless marriage. The Simpson story is actually fascinating, and should have been a standalone movie, however the moping, navel-gazing modern parallel ruins the film and makes what could have been an adequate drama into something a little more tedious.
Star rating: **
Also released, Underworld: Awakening was not screened to critics, however Kate Beckinsale’s latest role as the latex-clad vampire is in cinemas, now in sparkling 3D.
