Eight new movies released on 22 February nationwide in South Africa. From the supernatural Beautiful Creatures to a very alternative version of Hansel and Gretel, the eternal conflict between good and evil in Kadal to Kai Po Che!, which portrays friendship against all odds, to award-winning theatre in the form of The Magistrate. From an acclaimed writer determined to overcome the impossible in The Sessions to Verraaiers, a moving Afrikaans drama set during the Anglo Boer War to the controversial Vishwaroopam, it’s time to smell the popcorn!
Beautiful Creatures
Based on the first of four Caster Chronicles young adult novels, the movie is told mostly from the point of view of teenager Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) who can’t wait to escape from the backward town in which he lives. When Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) arrives at school swirled in rumours about her family and their supernatural ways, Ethan is convinced he has met the girl of his dreams.
Also starring Viola Davis, Jeremy Irons, Thomas Mann, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson.
Written and directed by Richard LaGravenese. From the novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.
Distributed by Nu Metro.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (3D)
After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel and Gretel make a living as bloodthirsty mercenaries hired by terrified townsfolk who report missing children and fear the latest witch plague. But now, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches… their past. The movie releases in both 2D and 3D.
Starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Derek Mears and Pihla Viitala.
Written and directed by Tommy Wirkola.
Distributed by UIP.
Kadal
“A rather complicated story of the battle between good and evil, revolving around two priests, a street thug, a young woman, and assorted accusations of impropriety, leading to a murder being planned.’ In Tamil with English subtitles.
With Gautham Karthik, Lakshmi Manchu, Thulasi Nair and Arvind Swarmy.
Written by Jayamohan and Mani Ratnam.
Directed by Mani Ratnam.
Kai Po Che!
This movie tells the story of the friendship between Ishaan (Sushant Singh Raiput), Omi (Amit Sadh) and Govind (Raj Kumar Yadav) who decide to start a cricket academy to produce India’s next cricketing superstar. “Kai Po Che! works on more levels than it fails, and mostly because of its brilliant execution’. (Kai Po Che refers to the traditional kite flying festival of Gujarat.) In Hindi with English subtitles.
Written by Chetan Bhagat, Pubali Chaudhuri, Abhishek Kapoor and Supratik Sen. From the novel by Chetan Bhagat.
Directed by Abhishek Kapoor.
The Magistrate
John Lithgow takes the title role in The Magistrate by Arthur Wing Pinero, a fast and furious, brilliantly plotted farce set in Victorian London and directed by Timothy Sheader. The first National Theatre Live of 2013, The Magistrate releases locally at Cinema Nouveau theatres and Ster-Kinekor Blue Route Mall in Cape Town on Saturday 23 February for four screenings only.
Distributed by Ster-Kinekor.
The Sessions
A movie that has been described as “tender, funny and touching’, The Sessions “provides an acting showcase for its talented stars and proves it’s possible for Hollywood to produce a grown-up movie about sex’. The film is based on the “poignantly autobiographical writings of California-based journalist and poet Mark O’Brien’ who is confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child. At the age of 38, O’Brien was determined to lose his virginity. A devout Catholic, he consulted a priest, and, after discussing the morality of the issue, a clerical blessing was bestowed on a venture the church would otherwise find impossible to sanction.
Starring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy and Moon Bloodgood.
Written and directed by Ben Lewin.
Distributed by Nu Metro.
Verraaiers
A powerful Afrikaans drama about the consequences of a respected Boer officer’s choice – a decision between the love for his family and the commitment to fighting for his country. When the Boers are threatened with Kitchener’s “scorched earth policy’ during the Anglo Boer War, those who decide to abandon the battle are tried for high treason, a crime punishable with death. Branded as “verraaiers’ or traitors, these men are suddenly delivered into the hands of those with whom they fought side by side for freedom; now the very men who will determine their fate… A moving film portraying family and friendship dynamics, loyalty and sacrifice, Verraaiers boasts a cast of brilliant actors, both seasoned and those relatively new to the craft.
Beautifully shot, Verraaiers is a well-crafted local production of which South Africans can be proud. In Afrikaans with English subtitles.
Starring, among others, Gys de Villiers, Stian Bam, Johan Baird, Neil Bennet, Jacques Bessenger, Ivan Botha, Deon Lotz, Vilje Maritz, Rika Sennett, Altus Theart and Andrew Thompson.
Written by Sallas de Jager.
Directed by Paul Eilers.
Distributed by Ster-Kinekor.
Vishwaroopam
Kamal Hassan’s enormously controversial film about a husband and wife, and their involvement with a sleeper Al-Queda cell in America, which is planning a terror attack, is sure to attract attention. In Tamil with English subtitles.
With Kamal Hassan, Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah.
Written by Kamal Hassan and Atul Tiwari.
Directed by Kamal Hassan.
