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ree pensioners conspire to rob a bank. That's the
tshell synopsis of Zach Braff's loose remake of the
79 film of the same name, which starred George
rns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg. This time it's
rgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine
nning the heist, after being shafted by the system
d corporate greed. Unlike the original (Burns and co.
it for a lark), there's a motive for the madness this
e and the screenplay by Theodore Melfi (Hidden
Figures) is always mindul of making these old timers
appear hard done by, and not the criminals they obviously are – it's
more crowd-pleasing that way. Needless to say, this caper comedy
for the grey market is at its best when its veteran trio of Caine,
Freeman and Arkin are bouncing off each other like a pinball. AC
You're never too old to get even.
GOING IN STYLE
The employees of the Colombian
Belko Corp. are about to have a
really bad day at the office, and
the overtime is killer – literally.
When their remote Bogotá high-
rise is suddenly sealed up, the 80
workers inside are informed that
30 of them will die during the
next eight hours. That number
will double should they refuse to
participate in a Battle Royale-like
bloodbath. Let the game begin...
Guardians of the Galaxy's James
Gunn returns to his horror roots,
scripting this brutal and blackly
comic corporate take on the
Stanford Prison Experiment, with
Wolf Creek's Greg McLean in
the director's chair. What further
recommendation do horror fans
need? SH
THE BELKO
EXPERIMENT
Release Date:
16/08/17
Format:
Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) and
Antonina Zabinski (Jessica
Chastain) are running the Warsaw
zoo when the Nazis invade Poland
in 1939. Following the bombing
of the zoo and the escape of the
surviving animals into the ruined
city, they join the Resistance,
sheltering Jewish refugees in the
underground pens and cages.
Will their covert operation be
discovered by their former ally
– German zoologist turned SS
officer Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl)?
Based on Diane Ackerman's
best-selling true account, this
Holocaust drama is anchored by
another impressive performance
from Jessica Chastain, even if
she does struggle at times with a
Polish accent. AC
THE ZOOKEEPER'S
WIFE
elease Date:
2/08/17
rmat:
Release Date: 02/08/17 Format:
stand-off between criminals following a dodgy deal
nvariably ends in guns being drawn and few left
tanding. It also usually lasts a matter of minutes. But
n Free Fire, British writer-director Ben Wheatley (Kill
ist, Sightseers) sustains the firefight for two thirds
f the running time, and the result is a wonderfully
bsurd siege movie that ricochets with snappy
ialogue, misfit characters, and masterful sound
esign. Wheatley has lined up a quality cast for target
practice – including Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Sam
Riley and Sharlto Copley – and pays tribute to John Carpenter's
Assault on Precinct 13 and other '70s crime classics. Free Fire might
be light on plot – the shootout is the plot – but hits the bullseye as
technically savvy and blackly comic take on the genre. SH
All guns. No control.
FREE FIRE
New Zealand motorsport legend
Bruce McLaren is the subject
of this documentary feature
from director Roger Donaldson.
Mentored by the great Jack
Brabham, McLaren won his first
Grand Prix in 1959, aged 22, and
went on to conquer Formula One,
Le Mans and Can-Am before
his tragic death in 1970. His
prowess in engineering matched
his skills behind the wheel,
ensuring his legacy in both racing
and automotive design. You
don’t need to be a petrolhead to
appreciate McLaren’s amazing
achievements – this doco is both
a portrait of a champion who
lived fast and died young, and
the inspiring story of a man who
dared to dream big. SH
McLAREN
elease Date:
6/08/17
ormat:
Release Date: 30/08/17
Struggling with writer's block in
his mountain retreat, Antonio
Banderas gets some creative
input from drifter Jonathan Rhys-
Meyers, an ex-con who saves
him from a potentially bruising
encounter with a trucker.
Inviting the stranger to stay
and collaborate on a screenplay
quickly turns into a Misery-like
game of cat and mouse – and
then there's the matter of
a series of abductions and
murders in the vicinity. Adapted
from the French TV thriller
Papillon Noir, this suspenseful
two-hander has more twists
and turns than the road up to
Banderas's cabin, and over the
top performances to match the
escalating tension. AC
BLACK BUTTERFLY
lease Date:
/08/17
rmat:
Format:
048 AUGUST 2017
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