Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
Genre: Drama
Certification: 15
Duration: 112 minutes
Directed by: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Starring: Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, Billy Bob Thornton, Christopher Abbott
KRS Releasing Ltd

The American biographical war dramedy film is based on the memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by journalist Kim Barker.

Tina Fey plays real-life journalist Kim Barker in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Dissatisfied with her routine covering low-profile stories, TV news producer Barker (Tina Fey) decides to shake up her routine by taking a daring new assignment as a war correspondent in Kabul, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom.

She finds herself in the middle of an out-of-control war zone. Luckily, she meets Australian correspondent Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie), who takes the shell-shocked reporter under her wing, and Scottish freelance photographer Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman). Although her status as a woman presents challenges in a society which places restrictive roles on women, she also uses it to her advantage.  Amid the militants, warlords and night-time partying, Barker discovers the key to becoming a successful correspondent.

Despite the danger, Barker stays in Afghanistan for months, then years beyond her original assignment. She finally leaves in 2009.

The film, which was shot in Mexico, received average reviews, and critics suggested the film fell short of expectations.

Justin Chang of Variety said: “This haphazard fish-out-of-water dramedy tries to show how the rush of war can become its own weird escape from reality, but never really hits the surreal, satirical groove it's aiming for.”

And Jim Famurewa of Empire Magazine wrote that the “comedy for grown-ups sometimes struggles with its ambitious brief, but always remembers that the best laughs contain the odd shard of shrapnel”.

Made on a budget of $35 million by Fey’s production company, Little Stranger, the film grossed  around $23 million since its release in various countries on March 4.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Empire Magazine: 3 stars

Me Before You (2016)
Genre: Drama
Certification: 12A
Duration: 110 minutes
Directed by: Thea Sharrock
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Charles Dance, Sam Claflin, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Vanessa Kirby, Matthew Lewis
KRS Releasing Ltd

English theatre direcor Thea Sharrock adapts the 2012 bestselling novel of the same name by Jojo Moyes for this romantic drama.

Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin make for a charming couple in Me Before You.

Young and quirky Louisa "Lou" Clark (Emilia Clarke) moves from one job to the next to help her family make ends meet. Her cheerful attitude is put to the test when she becomes a caregiver for Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a wealthy young banker left paralysed from an accident two years earlier.

Will's cynical outlook starts to change when Louisa shows him that life is worth living. As their bond deepens, their lives and hearts change in ways neither one could have imagined.

The tear-jerker received mixed reviews, with some critics saying that the film is saved by its main protagonists, who exude charm.

Wendy Ide of The Guardian, in fact, wrote: “A cynical tear-jerker is saved by the winning performances of its two leads.”

The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Me Before You benefits from Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin’s alluring chemistry, although it isn’t enough to compensate for its clumsy treatment of a sensitive subject.”

And Chris Agar of Screen Rant commented: “Me Before You’s reliance on formula prevents it from being as compelling as it could have been.”

Made on a $20 million budget, the New Line and Metro-Goldywn-Mayer film received $26 million in worldwide receipts since its opening last weekend.

The novel was followed by a sequel titled After You, which was released last year. Who knows, it could also make it to the big screen in the coming years.

Ratings
IMDB: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Empire Magazine: 2 stars

Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Fantasy
Certification: 12A
Duration: 123 minutes
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Starring: Travis Fimmel, Ben Foster, Toby Kebbell, Robert Zazinsky, Dominic Cooper, Paula Patton
KRS Releasing Ltd

The video game adaptation brings an origin story of the fantasy world explored in the role-playing World of Warcraft gaming franchise from Activision Blizzard Inc., which had 10 million subscribers as of November 2015.

Video game adaptationWarcraft features mythical Orcs, dwarves, elves, wizard-esque mages and trolls.

The film follows the battle between the monster-like Orcs as they try to colonise the human land of Azeroth, with magic playing a key role in the fight.

It features mythical Orcs, dwarves, elves, wizard-esque mages and trolls, much like Lord of the Rings.

In fact, director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), who was tasked with translating the popular video game into a studio film, said he was inspired by film-maker Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy saga.

The film, however, did not receive very good reviews with one critic, Ethan Sacks of the New York Daily  News, going as far as saying that “somebody should have put this script to the sword”.

Rotten Tomatoes also penalised the film. The critics consensus reads: “Warcraft has visual thrills to spare, but they – and director Duncan Jones’s distinctive gifts – are wasted on a sluggish and derivative adaptation of a bestselling game with little evident cinematic value.”

Despite this criticism, Warcraft received over $69 million in box office receipts since its release on May 24 in most European cities. It still has to open in North America, Australia and Japan, among other countries.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 17%
Empire Magazine: 2 stars