Tonal whiplash. That’s what’s waiting for you at South African cinemas this week as three very different features make their debut.
Also on the big screen from this Friday are Bollywood caste-centred romance Dhadak 2; the Throwback return of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett; and a screening of local short film The Vlog, which is having its premiere at Sandton Ster Kinekor.
Sure to be the biggest earner of the new releases is franchise revival The Naked Gun. In this action comedy, a deadpan Liam Neeson steps into the shoes vacated by Leslie Nielsen, playing Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the original bumbling Police Squad detective. Drebin Jr. must solve a murder case to prevent his department from shutting down. Akiva Schaffer, a Saturday Night Live writing and directing veteran plus The Lonely Island member, oversees a cast that includes Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand and Danny Huston.
So you like dark and disturbing supernatural horror? Chances are then that you’ve watched Talk To Me from Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou. Well, the brothers are back with another skin-crawling genre entry also backed by A24 and also dealing with attempts to cross the barrier between life and death. Bring Her Back sees an orphaned brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother, played by Sally Hawkins. Despite its excellent performances, this one is apparently very bleak and not an easy watch.
School holidays may be over in South Africa, but that doesn’t mean family-friendly offerings have to dry up at cinemas. So this week we have animated action comedy The Bad Guys 2, a sequel to the surprise critical hit from DreamWorks Animation that parodied heist movies. This time, reformed criminals Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark and Ms. Tarantula find themselves forcibly recruited by a new team of delinquents called… the Bad Girls. Original voice actors like Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, and Awkwafina are joined by Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova and Natasha Lyonne.