LISA DE KLERK
Summer has arrived in all its sunshiny, ice-creamy, half-nude glory. Yet when the sun sets or the heat becomes unbearable, an air conditioned movie theatre may be just the thing to cool you down. In between exams, random Pretoriathunderstorms and roughly two months of holiday, you’ll find the cinema the place to be. Perdeby’s got the scoop on what’s hot in this summer’s movie line-up.
First, let’s get The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part One out of the way. Twilight haters, beware the flood of lovesick pre-teens in shopping centres countrywide around mid-November. Twihards can already start booking for an exclusive midnight screening at Nu Metro cinemas on 15 November. Those who are willing to wait can catch it from 18 November. Undeniably the biggest release of the summer, Breaking Dawn: Part One is your chance to see Edward seal the deal with Bella and watch a pouty Jacob flex a lot.
If you’re keen for more of an adrenaline rush, the next two months are action-packed. The highly anticipated sci-fi thriller In Time is coming out this Friday. Starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy, In Time is set in a future where the human ageing gene has been disabled and people do not age after 25. Their arms are imprinted with a clock indicating how long they have to live. Overpopulation isn’t a problem as time has become the currency and a way for people to pay for luxuries and necessities. Rich people can live as long as they choose while others have to bargain for a few more years.
Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan take the lead in the crime drama Drive, which received a standing ovation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Adapted from the James Sallis novel of the same title, Drive depicts the life of a stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. Complete with comic gore and grind-house influences, Drive is considered a neo-noir tribute to the genre of car films and has critics and audiences alike raving. Catch it in cinemas from 9 December.
The comedy-drama accomplishment of the year is the poignant 50/50. The film’s title refers to the odds of the main character (based loosely on the life of screenwriter Will Reiser) surviving a spinal tumour. Starring the quirky comedic wonders of Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick, you’d think that some real comedy would be unlikely with such a heavy subject matter. The talents of close friends Reiser and Rogen, however, see to the perfect execution of real feeling and wit. A definite must-see, check it out from 4 November for a pre-exam treat.
South African Woody Allen fans are probably holding their breath for the 30 December release of Allen’s latest offering, Midnight in Paris. It’s difficult to provide a synopsis for this comedy-fantasy without slipping in some spoilers, so all you reallyneed to know beforehand is that Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams play a couple holidaying inParis.Wilson’s character, an unsuccessful screenwriter, is enraptured byParis and finds poetry in all he encounters. The result is an audience-friendly and unpretentious Allen comedy laden with charm. Playing the “Allenesque” character in the film,Wilson delivers the most sincere and enthusiastic performance of his career. Other cast members include first lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, French beauty Marion Cotillard as well as Adrien Brody and Kathy Bates.
Horror enthusiasts are also in luck. Though you might find disappointment in Shark Night, Dream House and Guillermo del Toro’s remake of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, the third instalment of Paranormal Activity is due for release on 11 November. Also a prequel, this supernatural horror focuses on sisters Katie and Kristi’s experience with the “entity” eighteen years prior to the events depicted in the first two films.
Cinema Nouveau fans will delight at the release of In a Better World, the winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. The Danish film follows parallel storylines – one in Denmark, one in Sudan – and explores human nature by juxtaposing characters of extreme cruelty and those who choose empathy instead. The heart of the film lies in the moral choices made by those who find themselves in between the intrinsically evil and deliberately good. In a Better World releases in Cinema Nouveau theatres on 25 November.
Finally, if animation and family films are your thing and you’re as apprehensive about the Puss in Boots film as we are, not to worry; Happy Feet 2 (25 November) and the long awaited The Adventures of TinTin: Secret of the Unicorn (23 December) promise to entertain and add that extra dose of feel-good to your holiday. Better get to the refreshments queue early.
Image: Gustav Reyneke
