This is a weekend with so many releases but none of them is a must-see. Let’s check them out.
Power Rangers
Directed by: Dean Israelite
With: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Becky G., Elizabeth Banks, and Bryan Cranston
What is it about? A group of high-school kids, who are infused with unique superpowers, harness their abilities in order to save the world.
Heads Up: This remake of the 90s TV show looks cheesy and silly. Our own Lloyd Bayer wrote in his 2 stars review “Sadly, Power Rangers turns out to be a cinematic misfire that should have gone straight to TV. But even then, titles from Netflix and Amazon Studios far outweigh this debacle whose only purpose appears to be a disappearing act in your wallet”.
Life
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
With: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds
What is it about? Six astronauts aboard the space station study a sample collected from Mars that could provide evidence for extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet, only to discover that the life form proves more intelligent than anyone ever expected.
Heads Up: This space Sci-Fi has an excellent cast and premise, but Faizan Rashid was dismissive of it describing it as “…a straight to dvd, B movie bad film. If you can call it a film“. That said, I am still curious about it because the trailer reminded me of Alien and Event Horizon two films that scared the living daylight out of me back in the days (still do).
Autobahn
Directed by: Eran Creevy
With: Nicholas Hoult, Felicity Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Kingsley
What is it about? An American backpacker gets involved with a ring of drug smugglers as their driver, though he winds up on the run from his employers across Cologne high-speed Autobahn.
Heads Up: Here is the critical consensus: “Autobahn wastes a talented cast on a would-be thriller fatally undermined by eye-rolling dialogue, logical fallacies, and humdrum set pieces“. What a waste indeed.
Shepherds and Butchers
Directed by: Oliver Schmitz
With: Andrea Riseborough, Steve Coogan, and Garion Dowds
What is it about? A lawyer takes on a case of a prison guard in South Africa who is traumatized by the executions he’s witnessed.
Heads Up: This courtroom drama has two appealing leads and middling reviews. I say wait for its DVD release if you must.
Phillauri
Directed by: Anshai Lal
With: Anushka Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh, and Suraj Sharma
What is it about? A man must marry a tree to ward off threats to his love-life, but the tree turns out to have more spirit than the man bargained for.
Heads Up: This is Anushka Sharma‘s second foray as a producer after the critical hit NH-10. She has backed some wonderful choices recently, and this movie looks like another one that we can trust her decision on. The trailer sets it up suitably as a light-hearted take on modernism and India’s changing familial culture. I’d bet on this as worth the trip to the cinemas.
