Trance
This was a bit of a trippy movie, and because Danny Boyle was the director (Trainspotting, The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire) maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise. It stars James McAvoy as a art auctioneer who gets caught up in an art heist with a group of criminals to clear his debts, but things go wrong and after a bump on the head he can no longer remember where the stolen art is. Enter the hypnotherapist who is engaged to help him remember where he put it - but that's not all she helps him remember.
My impressions: I liked it but it went into a bit of a moral decline at the end
Star rating: 3 out of 5
After Earth
This was a film I only watched because I'd nearly run out of films to watch by then! It stars Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith as a father/son team who crash land on Earth a millenium after events force humanity's withdrawal (sounding at all like Oblivion to you?! I couldn't believe how many sci-fi movies were on the plane - I didn't even contemplate watching Star Trek which was an option!). The crash landing kills off all but the father/son team but with Will Smith's character badly injured and unable to move, his son has to transverse 100km of hostile territory with all kinds of nasty creatures in wait to trigger a rescue beacon so they can be saved.
My impressions: If I was you, I'd only watch this if there really was nothing else in the house
Star rating: 2.5 out of 5
The East
I REALLY enjoyed this film. It centres on the storyline of a young operative from a private intelligence firm sent to infiltrate a destructive anarchist group who have been covertly attacking major corporations. However, the longer she spends with them, the more she realises that there is actually merit in their fight and finds herself more and more torn between the two worlds.
My impressions: like the byline I read says it's a "morally complicated, punkishly polished movie"
Star rating: 4 out of 5
42
If Salmon Fishing was my favourite movie on the way over, this was my clear winner for favourite movie on the way back. It tells the true story of Jackie Robinson, who was in 1946 the first black player to play in a major league baseball team in the USA and the team executive Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) who gave him the chance to create history.There was an incredible amount of hostility to overcome both on the field and off, and Jackie (who had previously not taken anything lying down) had to turn the other cheek on so many occasions. In his own way, he had a key role to play in the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr even said of him: "he was a legend and a symbol in his own time" and in 1999 was named as one of the 100 most influential people of the century. Each year major league baseball players wear the number 42 on April 15 in remembrance of Jackie's achievements both on and off the field.
My impressions: a class act and highly inspirational true story
Star rating: 5 out of 5
Beyond the Edge
I think we were very lucky to even see this one (on the last Air NZ leg home from Sydney) because it had only just premiered in NZ the week before. This is the incredible retelling of Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mount Everest. Part documentary, part drama it is incredibly well acted and re-told and both Peter Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's son were thrilled with how well their fathers had been portrayed. I only wish I had been a little more awake instead of zoning in and out of consciousness after no sleep for 24 hours - on that flight I even managed to spill Mark's Coke all over me as I was holding it then nodded off and started tipping it sideways!
My impressions: a must see for all Kiwis, or at least anyone with half a patriotic bone in their body
Star rating: 4.5 out of 5
If you missed the previous two weeks of reviews, click here and here.
So which of these movies have YOU seen? And I have convinced you to see any more with the last 3 weeks of reviews?!
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