5 films to see on the week of August 30 — September 5, 2019
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
SET in 1969 Los Angeles, fading TV actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth strive to be famous and successful during the tail-end of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Luke Perry, Dakota Fanning, and Al Pacino. Empire’s Ian Freer writes, “At every stage, the film-mak-ing is on point. Robert Richard-son’s stun-ning cin-e-matog-ra-phy pops but never feels overly man-nered, Ar-i-anne Phillips’ cos-tume de-sign is too styl-ish for words, and Harry Co-hen’s dense, bravura sound de-sign in-ter-weaves mu-sic, ra-dio chat, ad-verts and TV chat-ter to spell-bind-ing ef-fect. It’s a film that courses with a love of moviemak-ing and Hol-ly-wood lore and might be Taran-tino’s most per-sonal film to date…”
MTRCB Rating: R-16
Ready or Not
A BRIDE’S wedding night turns weird when her in-laws invite her to play a terrifying game and she ends up fighting for her survival. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, it stars Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, and Mark O’Brien. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes, “It all goes from bloody hilarious to just bloody. What’s unexpected is the subversive wit that that turns Ready or Not into a satiric sneak attack on the institution of marriage.”
MTRCB Rating: R-16
Upin and Ipin: The Lone Gibbon Kris
FIVE-YEAR-OLD twin brothers Upin and Ipin, along with their friends, discover a mystical kris which leads them to the fantastical kingdom of Inderaloka in this animated feature. While finding their way home, they end up having to save the kingdom. Directed by Adam Bin Amiruddin and Syed Nurfaiz Khalid bin Syed Ibrahim, the film features the voice of Asyiela Putri Bt Azhar, and Mohd Amir Asyraf Bin Mohd Noor Rashid.
MTRCB Rating: G
Above the Shadows
A DECADE after Holly unexplainably became invisible to everyone around her, she meets retired MMA fighter Shayne who is the only one who can see her. With Shayne’s help, Holly works to regain her foothold in the world. Directed by Claudia Myers, the film stars Megan Fox, Olivia Thirlby, and Jim Gaffigan. Variety’s Courtney Howard writes, “This magical-realist fairy tale, about a young woman feeling so isolated and insignificant after a tragic loss that she’s literally invisible to everyone except one other struggling soul, is certainly imaginative and intelligent in its ideas. However, the savvy smarts within don’t quite sustain the running time and, much like its protagonist, the film becomes transparent in its motives and sentimentality.” Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 50% rating.
MTRCB Rating: PG
The Ghosting
BASED ON the Solante urban legend, the film follows Ken who knew that Grace met a little girl carrying a headless doll who asks for help to go home to a red house. Ken believes that the urban legend has something to do with the deaths in the neighborhood and Grace’s disappearance — however, no one believes him. Directed by Joey de Guzman, the film stars Khahil Ramos and Andrea Brillantes.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
