Café Society (2016)
Genre: Comedy
Certification: 12A
Duration: 123 minutes
Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carrell, Blake Lively, Sheryl Lee, Parker Posey, Jeannie Berlin, Corey Stall, Ken Stott
KRS Releasing Ltd

Woody Allen’s 46th feature film is another romantic comedy, this time set in 1930s Los Angeles.

Written and directed by Allen, the plot revolves around young Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg), the youngest son of a Jewish family who works as a jeweller for his father in New York City. Unsatisfied with his life, one day he decides to leave the Big Apple in search of an exciting career in Hollywood.

Jesse Eisenberg is smitten with Kristen Stewart in Café Society.

After landing a job with his uncle Phil (Steve Carrell), Bobby falls for his secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) who, however, happens to be his employer's mistress. Feeling miserable, he tells her to choose between him and Phil, and she goes for Phil.

Heartbroken, he returns to the Bronx where he starts working in a nightclub. Everything falls into place when he finds romance with beautiful socialite Veronica (Blake Lively) until Vonnie walks back into his life and captures his heart once again.

The film has received mostly positive reviews, with most praising lead actress Stewart. Wendy Ide of The Guardian wrote: “Jesse Eisenberg is suitably jittery as the director’s alter ego, but it’s Kristen Stewart who carries the movie.”

Anthony Lane of The New Yorker agrees. He wrote: “It’s Stewart who takes the honours, allowing Vonnie’s shyness to shade into mystery.”

Critics were, however, not so sure about the director.

As an example, Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post, wrote: “With each succeeding year, Allen’s insular version of the past feels more eccentric. Depending on the viewer, it’s either happily reassuring or strangely out of touch.”

On the other hand, A.O. Scott of The New York Times said: “It’s neither another example of bad, late Woody Allen nor much in the way of a return to form. It is, overall, an amusing little picture, with some inspired moments and some sour notes.”

The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, was released on July 15. Since then, it has made around $11 million in box office receipts worldwide.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Empire Magazine: 3 stars

Inferno (2016)
Genre: Action
Certification: N/A
Duration: 121 minutes
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Ben Foster, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan
KRS Releasing Ltd

Director Ron Howard reunites with Tom Hanks for the third adaptation of a Dan Brown novel after The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Angels & Demons (2009).

Inferno sees famous symbologist Robert Langdon (Hanks) following a trail of clues tied to medieval poet Dante Alighieri. When he wakes up in hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories, and the two race across Europe and against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.

Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones race across Europe to foil a deadly global plot in Inferno.

The film, shot in Venice, Florence and Padua in Italy, Istanbul in Turkey and Budapest, Hungary, did not receive very good reviews so far.

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote: “Ron Howard's third Dan Brown adaptation holds true to the letter and spirit of its source, though that’s not necessarily a compliment.”

Helen O’Hara of Empire Magazine said: “It’s not the worst of the trilogy, but this is less for fans of thrillers and more for people who are pining after last year’s holiday to Florence.”

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was much less generous in his comments. He said: “Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones sprint fetchingly round Florence in a bid to stop half the world getting killed in this horrifically dull Dan Brown thriller.”

The film premiered in Florence on Sunday and opens in most countries this week (it opens in Malta on Friday). It will only be released in the US on October 28, so it’s still too early to see whether the film will be as successful as its predecessors.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 33%
Empire Magazine: 2 stars

Storks (2016)
Genre: Animation
Certification: U
Duration: 87 minutes
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland
Voices of: Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Danny Trejo
KRS Releasing Ltd

The protagonists of the new animated comedy are storks, the large long-legged and long-necked wading birds  which, according to an ancient legend popularised by a 19th-century Hans Christian Anderson story, are responsible for bringing babies to new parents.

In this film, however, storks do not deliver babies anymore. Instead they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant.

The protagonists of Storks have a special delivery to make.

Junior (Andy Samberg), the company’s top delivery stork, lands in hot water when the Baby Factory produces an adorable but wholly unauthorised girl. Desperate to deliver her, Junior and his friend Tulip (Katie Crown), the only human on Stork Mountain, race against time to make their first baby drop before the boss (Kelsey Grammer) finds out.

The film received mixed reviews, with some critics liking the uplifting, pro-family messages and others saying that the jokes are flat and that the protagonists are not too charming. Others doubted there will be a sequel.

Michael O’Sullivan of the Washington Post commented: “Fortunately, for the very young children who will flock to see it, it is a sweet enough confection albeit as forgettable as a ball of cotton candy.”

However, the film – produced by Warner Animation Group, RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Stoller Global Solutions – has done very well at the box office since its release in the US on September 23. It has garnered $106 million worldwide, so the film’s producers might be tempted to do a sequel.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 61%
Empire Magazine: N/A