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Enjoyable but many flaws Plenty of laughs in comedy follow-up Slow burner with an indie feel




Ocean's 8 (2627541)
Ocean's 8 (2627541)

EXCLUSIVE FILM REVIEW: OCEAN’S 8 (12A)

SHOWCASE CINEMA DE LUX PETERBOROUGH, OUT NOW

CAST: SANDRA BULLOCK, CATE BLANCHETT, ANNE HATHAWAY, MINDY KALING, SARAH PAULSON, HELENA BONHAM-CARTER, RIHANNA, AWKWAFINA & JAMES CORDEN

RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 50 MINS

DIRECTOR: GARY ROSS

Ocean’s 8 is a continuation of Steven Soderbergh’s trilogy that launched in 2001 with Ocean's 11 – which itself was a remake of the 1960 film of the same name.

It’s been a fair few years since the last Ocean’s movie, and in that time Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has died, or at least that's what we’re being told.

His sister, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) has been in prison for five years. Upon her release, she heads to New York City to reconnect with her old friend Lou (Cate Blanchett). The time behind bars was more than long enough for her to plan the perfect heist – stealing a $150million Cartier diamond necklace at one of the most secure and exclusive events in the Big Apple from off the neck of Anne Hathaway’s socialite.

In true Ocean’s style, Debbie assembles a team to help her pull off the robbery. This all-female crew includes the Irish designer Rose (Helena Bonham-Carter), street hustler Constance (Awkwafina), jewellery cutter Amita (Mindy Kaling), collector of stolen goods Tammy (Sarah Paulson) and computer hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna).

Every character is given their chance to shine with each of them getting a fair amount of screen time and none of them being overshadowed by others – an impressive feat given some of the A-listers involved.

As enjoyable as Ocean’s 8 is, there are many flaws. Before I get into them, I’d like to address the elephant in the room . . . the all-female cast.

There have been reports of certain cast-members arguing that lukewarm reviews from men are ‘unfair’. A similar thing happened after the release of the Ghostbusters reboot, with the director Paul Feig stating that those criticising the film were sexist. Sure, I’m not a woman but I know a good film when I see one. I couldn’t care less as to whether a film has an all-female cast – I only care as to whether the film itself is any good.

Now we’ve got that out of the way...

I felt the writing for Ocean’s 8 was lazy. The movie is pretty much a remake of Ocean’s 11 – with an almost identical storyline. Other than a having a new cast, if the film makers didn’t want to give us something new, why give us anything at all?

Also, the stakes simply aren’t high enough. We’re given no reason as to why the cast need the heist money, no disastrous consequence should they fail – and no real villain to get in the way.

That being said, I was entertained enough throughout. Ocean’s 8 is bright and breezy with a fun soundtrack.

The cast clearly had a lot of fun making this – with their camaraderie contagiously stealing the show – but I just wish they were given a better and more original script to work with.

Rating: 3/5, Mikey Clarke

Super Trooper (2627543)
Super Trooper (2627543)

FILM REVIEW: SUPER TROOPERS 2 (15)

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CAST: JAY CHANDRASEKHAR, KEVIN HEEFERNAN, STEVE LEMME, PAUL SOTER, ERIK STOLHANSKE, EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI, ROB LOWE, BRIAN COX, LYNDA CARTER, TYLER LABINE, WILL SASSO, SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT, DAMON WAYANS JR & HAYES MCARTHUR

RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 40 MINS

DIRECTOR: JAY CHANDRASEKHAR

Sixteen years ago, the Broken Lizard comedy troupe released Super Troopers – a rowdy, silly comedy about a highway patrol that refuses to take their jobs seriously.

Instead they preferred pranking speeders and fighting with local cops – as the zany flick took a healthy $18.5m box office return from a tiny budget.

The original received a cult following since its release and it’s because of that army of supporters we have a sequel – with thousands of fans contributing towards a record-breaking campaign on the fundraising site Indiegogo.

So, what did fans pay for?

Super Troopers 2 tells the story of an international border dispute between the United States and Canada. The Troopers – Mac, Thorny, Foster, Rabbit and Farva – are called in to set up a new Highway Patrol station in the disputed area. Much like we saw in the first movie, unconventional police work ensues.

I was worried about walking into my screening. Although I enjoyed the first movie, I was watching it through younger eyes. My sense-of-humour has changed since then... or so I thought. By switching off my brain and just going with it, I got a real kick out of the viewing experience.

My main issue is that this had five writers and you can tell from its uneven tone. It feels more like a bunch of skits mashed together rather than flowing naturally as a movie should.

Some of those skits don’t work, but many do. There are plenty of laughs to be had here.

As to whether Super Troopers 2 is for you, it simply comes down to the following. Did you enjoy the goofy ‘stoner’ feel of the original? If so, with this being more of the same, I think you’ll enjoy it.

If you like your comedies to be more hi-brow, then perhaps you should avoid or you could feel like you’ve been ‘nicked’.

Rating: 3/5 Mikey Clarke

FILM REVIEW: HEREDITARY (15)

SHOWCASE CINEMA DE LUX PETERBOROUGH, OUT NOW

CAST: TONI COLLETTE, GABRIEL BYRNE, ALEX WOLFF, MILLY SHAPIRO, ANN DOWD, MALLORY BECHTEL & ZACHARY ARTHUR

RUNNING TIME: 2 HRS 7 MINS

DIRECTOR: ARI ASTER

Hereditary (2627545)
Hereditary (2627545)

The hype surrounding Hereditary has been hard to avoid.

Many critics have hailed it a masterpiece, giving it five-star reviews, while audience comments I heard while leaving my screening included: “Worst film I’ve ever seen,” and “There’s two hours of my life that I’m never getting back!”

Clearly people – or more specifically critics and cinema-goers – are divided over this particular film. Where do I stand on it? Right now, I’m not too sure to be honest. Not since watching Jennifer Lawrence’s Mother! (the film, not the person) have I needed so much time to process what I’ve just seen on the screen.

And while I gather my thoughts, let me start by telling you what it’s about.

When Ellen passes away, her daughter’s (The Sixth Sense’s Toni Collette) family – including The Usual Suspect’s Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and newcomer Milly Shapiro – begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited.

There’s so much more to tell you about the plot but that would be treading on ‘spoiler’ territory.

The film is often compared to classics like The Shining and Psycho – which I don’t necessarily agree with. Those that walk into Hereditary expecting a more creatively mainstream horror like those are likely going to be disappointed.

It’s more like films such as The Witch and It Comes at Night (both also distributed by A24 films). Like those films, this is a slow burner with a real indie feel to it – a far cry from the jump-scare filled commercial horror that the trailers portray.

I can see why Hereditary is getting such mixed reviews. Positives include Oscar-nominee Collette being in fine form as the increasingly psychotic mother in the middle of the chaos that surrounds her. She is phenomenal in this role. Also, without giving too much away, I admire the fact that the writer and director Ari Aster has done something different here.

The problem is that this film is maybe a little too different. The first two acts give us a glimpse of how good a filmmaker Aster is (especially with this being his debut), with horror that genuinely gets under your skin.

And then there’s the third act. Here’s where I believe the audience split in two. The final third changes the film’s tone beyond recognition. While some have called it ‘genius’, others found it rather silly – laughing at moments that clearly weren’t meant to be perceived that way.

For me, the first hour and a half showed ingenuity. If the final 40 minutes had been just as good, I’d have perhaps agreed with all those saying that this was potentially one of the ‘horrors of the century’.

In my opinion – mainly due to its final act – Hereditary’s genetic make-up meant I ‘gave up the ghost’ long before the end.

Rating: 2.5/5 Mikey Clarke

SHOWING AT SPALDING & PETERBOROUGH THIS WEEK...

SOUTH HOLLAND CENTRE SPALDING:

BOOK CLUB (12A), FROM SUNDAY

I FEEL PRETTY (12A), TODAY AT 6.30PM

Book Club (2627549)
Book Club (2627549)

SHOWCASE CINEMA DE LUX PETERBOROUGH:

OVERBOARD (12A), FROM TOMORROW

SPOTLIGHT PRESENTS: MCQUEEN (15), TODAY AT 2PM & 7.30PM

MAQUIA (15), WEDNESDAY AT 7PM

Overboard (2627551)
Overboard (2627551)


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