STATE CINEMA
Three Identical Strangers (M) This is one of the best non-fiction features of 2018. It all starts with an incredible tale of coincidence that happened in the US in the early 1980s. Robert Shafran, Edward Galland and David Kellman were born identical triplets two decades earlier, only to be adopted out by a young mother not capable of raising them. The brothers accidentally found one another as adults, and became inseparable. The upbeat coincidence of the siblings’ chance reunion is gradually overshadowed by the possibility there was nothing coincidental about their separation at birth.
Ladies in Black (PG) A sweet bundle of nostalgic joy, this fine new Australian movie is unwrapped amidst a lovely, light-drenched and laid-back Sydney we will never see the likes of again. In the summer of 1959, a bright teenager lands a position as a sales assistant to while away an agonising wait for exam results that may get her into university
Searching (M) A tension-riddled story tracks the efforts of a worried father to find his absent daughter before authorities switch her case from Missing Persons to Homicide.
Crazy Rich Asians (PG) Anyone who has a weakness for clever feel-good comedies, fairytale romance, high fashion and/or utterly charming performances is going to be bowled over by how strong this movie connects with each and every pleasure centre. All storytelling roads intersect in a blinged-up Singapore as the city’s society wedding of the decade approaches. The House with a Clock in its Walls (PG) What mostly comes to mind is a mildly Americanised Harry Potter adventure, and any old Goosebumps tale you can’t quite recall. Some fantasy sequences may be a touch too frightening for some younger viewers.
Christopher Robin (G) The story begins with a grown-up Christopher Robin (played by Ewan McGregor) doing it tough as an adult in 1950s London. As a distance opens up between Christopher and his wife and son, his old pals from his childhood reappear to bring it all back together. The charm of this movie resides in the comforting manner in which the likes of Pooh, Piglet, Roo, Owl and the incomparable Eeyore have been brought to believable life through the magic of CGI effects.
Book Club (M) The lead characters are four females of a certain age who find their love lives transformed for better and for worse after reading all the Fifty Shades of Grey novels. Even if the source material propping up Book Club is weak, the experienced cast handed the task of tearing it all up is very strong indeed.
A Simple Favour (M) This is a slo-mo trainwreck of a movie that is never entirely sure if it’s a Gone Girl- ish missing-person mystery, a bruising black comedy about a domestic goddess and her demonic opposite, or a gawkfest of fancy clothes, pricey real estate and shiny appliances.