Enjoy the lull because as of next week, the end-of-year movie release schedule kicks in, with blockbuster after blockbuster. Not that this week is entirely quiet though. A resurgent sci-fi franchise enjoys its latest big screen instalment, while there’s powerful coming-of-age drama, and something for the kids too. Finally, on the Ster Kinekor Throwback front, Daniel Craig’s fourth James Bond film, Spectre, returns for a short time.
Having already enjoyed immense critical and commercial success with 2022’s Prey and animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers (watch it on Disney+), 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg is back steering another Predator film. So expectations are high for science fiction actioner Predator: Badlands, which mixes up the franchise formula by having a young outcast Predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) forced to team up with a Weyland Yutani synthetic (Elle Fanning) to survive a treacherous planet in the future.
Look out for our Predator: Badlands review before the end of the week.
Craving something more real-world? I Wish You All the Best is based on the bestseller by Mason Deaver, and centres on high school junior Ben (Corey Fogelmanis), who is thrown out by their parents when they comes out as nonbinary. Forced to move in with their estranged older sister (Alexandra Daddario) and her husband (Cole Sprouse), Ben must navigate the complexities of young adulthood in the context of a new school. However, an eccentric art teacher (Lena Dunham) and a new circle of friends aid their journey of self-discovery.
The Boonie Bears franchise is massive in China, and the latest big screen animated adventure is hitting South African cinemas this week. In Boonie Bears: Time Twist, overworked city programmer Vick discovers he accidentally established a new timeline, causing his forest-dwelling bear friends Briar and Bramble to disappear. Vick then embarks on a journey spanning two timelines to reunite with the bears and rediscover the rural lifestyle that’s his true destiny.