TheWatchlist - The Best New Movies and Videos
From the sci-fi kick of Snowpiercer to something to stop the kids from singing Let it Go, here's our list of the best new movies and videos.
Heading out or staying in, this is your guide of what to watch
Whether you’re going out to catch a flick or staying in and looking for something to screen, there are no shortage of options. Here's a weekly look at what’s worth your time.
On Screen (in theatres)
- Guardians of the Galaxy - It's a space opera on steroids with the strangest collection of heroes in the history of comic book blockbusters, but with James Gunn’s smirking direction the Guardians guarantee a great time. (review)
- A Most Wanted Man - Although it’s set in the post 9-11 era this is vintage John Le Carré – a withering look at the collateral damage from the war on terror anchored by an achingly human performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman. (review)
- Boyhood - Transcendent cinema, this is a movie as a mirror. The story of a boy and his family told over 12 years. Fiction that feels real, another remarkable collaboration with his actors by director Richard Linklater. (review)
- Snowpiercer - The most unusual sci-fi story of the year (not including Under the Skin) comes from a South Korean director and an international cast. The world is frozen. The survivors remain on a train where a final battle for equality begins. A cinematic vision propelled by endless gusto. (review)
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Does intelligence corrupt or save? For a movie with roots in rubber gorilla suits the sequel to the Planet of the Apes reboot is surprisingly thought provoking. See why Andy Serkis deserves to be part of the Oscar conversation. (review)
At home on video, VOD or Netflix
- The Zero Theorem - Most fans of comedic visionary Terry Gilliam will need to venture to the video store to find his latest work. The Zero Theorem is a smaller personal film that feels like a colourful cousin of Brazil. It stars Christoph Waltz as Qohen, a cog in a giant machine searching for meaning in a world of endless media. Great turn by Lucas Hedges as Bob, the IT guy who helps bring Qohen's existential crisis back to reality.
- Grand Budapest Hotel - Speaking of distinctive directors, if ever there was a movie that deserved to be examined exhaustively it’s this candy-coloured treat from Wes Anderson. By setting the cartoonish chaos in a European country on the brink of war there’s much-needed gravity to the manic caper. (review)
- Blue Ruin - Take the typical Coen brothers crime story and pare it down to the bone and this is the result. Blue Ruin is a revenge story of devastating precision and a total lack of sentimentality – a shotgun blast that echoes.
- Rio 2 - Need an animated musical to erase the endless performances of Let it Go? Give this wacky pop-samba story a try. Need Kristin Chenoweth and Jemaine Clement trading verses in an epic rap opera battle? Yes, you do.