SHORTCUTS

NEW RELEASES

Inherent Vice: This film unfolds so organically, so gracefully and with such humanistic grace notes that even at its most preposterous, viewers will find themselves nodding along, sharing the buzz the film-maker has so skilfully created. ★★★★★ Fast & Furious 7: Any moviegoer who didn’t know about the untimely death of Paul Walker would never guess it had occurred during production of this film which – whatever massive efforts were required to work around his absence – is as stupendously stupid and stupidly diverting as it could have hoped to be had everything gone as planned. ★★★★ Cinderella: Perhaps the best-known fairy tale has been given a lush, if lifeless, production in this opulent reimagining that spares nothing in the way of colour, texture and rich visual value, but rarely manages to quicken its own pulse or that of the audience. ★★★ ON CIRCUIT Rosewater: A faithful and a forceful adaptation of Then They Came For Me, the 2011 memoir of Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari. Set during the run-up to Iran’s disputed 2009 election and the chaotic protests that followed, the film tells the story of Bahari’s imprisonment for 118 days, under suspicion of spying for the West. ★★★★ Top Five: A vibrant sense of possibility and joy propels Top Five, Chris Rock’s ode to romance, New York, artistic ideals and gutsy self-invention. ★★★★ Home: This animated sci-fi movie for kids has modest but well-executed ambitions which are no small part of its charm. ★★★ Danny Collins: Al Pacino plays an ageing rock star. The spectacle of a dissolute hedonist suddenly acquiring a heart and a conscience is shamelessly contrived. ★★★ The Lazarus Effect: A modern-day Frankenstein story about a team of medical researchers trying to raise the dead. Despite classy lead performances, the movie relies too heavily on monster movie clichés and scientific gibberish. ★★ The Boy Next Door: Jennifer Lopez brings unintentional humour to this future camp classic, in which her schoolteacher character has ill-advised rebound sex with a student after catching her husband cheating on her. ★★ Insurgent: After a shaky opening, The Divergent Series, as the movie franchise based on Veronica Roth’s novel trilogy is now officially called, offers a more cohesive and involving second instalment. ★★★ McFarland: You’ve seen feel-good football and baseball movies, plus great underdog stories of boxing, basketball, soccer and cycling. So what’s left? The 1980s-set McFarland has the answer: it’s cross-country running. The plot, based on a true story, is pretty much paint-bynumbers: an against-all-odds ascent, a nail-biting finale and recurring reminders that this isn’t just about some sports competition. ★★★ Lovesick: Charlie Darby (Matt LeBlanc) has everything going for him: a great job as a primary school principal, supportive friends and a wonderful life. The one thing that Charlie doesn’t have is love because every time he starts to fall for a girl, his brain chemistry changes and he goes clinically insane. Not reviewed. Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: A deeply moving, beautifully acted and ultimately mournful meditation on the gulfs that open between people, especially when tragedy falls like a cleaver. ★★★★★ Chappie: An inquiry into the mysteries of consciousness in the guise of a popcorn action-comedy, or just a mash-up of RoboCop and Short Circuit with pretensions, South African director Neill Blomkamp’s third feature is a funny little hybrid. ★★★ Focus: Will Smith and Margot Robbie bring low-key erotic chemistry to an easy simmer in this smooth, sophisticated caper flick. ★★★ The Gambler: Mark Wahlberg and director Rupert Wyatt team up for this remake of a 1974 crime drama, about a gambling addict deep in debt, who just happens to be a genius, albeit a rather unpleasant one. ★★ Nightcrawler: True to its title, this film creeps under the viewer’s skin much like the predatory title character. Lou Bloom is an ambitious, mercenary margin-dweller who scrapes by as a petty criminal and listens to business self-help tapes in hopes of scoring big time. ★★★★ The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: This perfectly amiable comedy sequel can never quite transcend its own holiday brochure-style complacency. ★★★