This is one of those “have a breather” weekends at South African cinemas, where the new releases aren’t very high-profile… though they could deliver a good surprise!
Some of the special event screenings are notable, though, like the 40th Anniversary big screen return of Top Gun, along with the re-release of Oscar-winning sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Other than that, there’s Bollywood romcom Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, and the SK Prestige screening of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, staged by The Metropolitan Opera. As for the new features in wide release, you have just two options this week.
Okay, I was set to dismiss Fuze at first glance as some trashy action romp, but the cast and premise has me paying attention. In this British film, from the director of Hell or High Water, an unexploded WWII bomb is discovered on a construction site in central London. As thousands of citizens are evacuated, military expert Will (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is sent in to defuse the bomb. Meanwhile, a band of criminals, including Theo James and Sam Worthington’s bank robbers, use the chaos as cover for a daring jewel heist. Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays the police head overseeing the emergency.
In acclaimed horror film Obsession, hopeless romantic Bear (Michael Johnston) purchases a mysterious “One Wish Willow” from a New Age shop, and uses the charm to win the heart of his long-time crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette). It’s a Monkey’s Paw situation, though, as Nikki’s suddenly returned affections turn intense and disturbingly twisted. The early buzz is that fans of films like Barbarian and Weapons should love this one. Intense, uncomfortable and not afraid to be funny.