Today we’re running the gamut of movie types. We’ve got an Oscar worthy film, a sci-fi epic, a goofy kid’s movie, two comedies and an Afrikaans ensemble romcom. Here are your choices:
Selma
SELMA chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernays SELMA tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.
While Selma may have missed out on a few important Oscar nominations, it’s still an incredibly powerful movie to behold. Skipping out on making the movie overly emotional, directory Ava DuVernay doesn’t shy away from the darker sides of the Dr. Martin Luther King story, and David Oyelowo’s performance as the man himself has left jaws on the floor, to say nothing of the stellar supporting cast. Kervyn definitely thinks it’s a must-see.
Jupiter Ascending
From the streets of Chicago to the far-flung galaxies whirling through space, JUPITER ASCENDING tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who was born under a night sky, with signs predicting she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along-her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
Despite the Wachowski siblings creating a visual masterpiece filled with awe-inspiring designs, ultimately Jupiter Ascending falls totally flat on almost everything else. Between two-dimensional characters, Mila Kunis’s disappointing performance and a plot with more holes than a Joburg road after the rain, in the end it sets you up for disappointment. As far as sci-fi spectacles go, Kervyn wouldn’t say Jupiter Ascending is one of the best, with 3/5 stars.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water
SpongeBob SquarePants, the world’s favorite sea dwelling invertebrate, comes ashore to our world for his most super-heroic adventure yet.
Wow, I didn’t expect something like The SpongeBob Movie to get 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, and yet most critics are loving it. Sometimes silly, sometimes weird and definitely funny, fans of the show will most certainly be entertained.
The Interview
In the action-comedy THE INTERVIEW, Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show “Skylark Tonight.” When they discover that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the two least-qualified men imaginable, to assassinate Kim Jong-un.
I think by now we all know the controversy surrounding The Interview and, with its global release on YouTube and Netflix, mostly everyone that wanted to see it has probably done so by now. But, if our wonderfully slow internet speeds stopped you before, now you can catch it in cinema. Be warned though, it’s not really that good.
The Wedding Ringer
Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is a loveable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy.
Pretty formulaic as far as gross-out, bachelor party-type comedies go, The Wedding Ringer has failed to impress. Awkward, flat and not very funny, it’s probably not worth the trip to the cinema.
Mooirivier
‘n Alles-in-een romantiese ensemble-film met vyf individuele, vervlegde storielyne wat tydens die oploop na Paasfees in Suid-Afrika ontvou. Die groter storielyn gaan oor 6 paartjies – van 12 tot 40 jaar oud – wat elkeen op hul eie, unieke ontdekkingsreis na ware liefde is. Moet egter nie die tipiese feëverhaalweergawe verwag nie, want hierdie film vat jou op reis na die (soms komiese en soms hartseer) realiteit van dít wat regtig nodig is om liefde te laat oorwin. Daar is ook oorspronklike musiek wat spesifiek vir die film geskryf is en deur gunsteling kunstenaars gesing word.
So, here’s a funny story. I can’t speak Afrikaans at all, and I have no idea what that says. Google translate was pretty helpful though. So basically it’s a romcom with an ensemble cast, about five different intertwining stories that take place in the run up to Easter weekend. Hmm, that just sounds like a rip-off of Love, Actually…
Last Updated: February 6, 2015
