Suspiria (2018)
Genre: Fantasy, horror
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick, Chloë Grace Moretz, Malgorzata Bela
Duration: 152 minutes
Class: 18
KRS Releasing Ltd

Italian director Luca Gaudagnino, who made headlines for his Academy Award-nominated drama Call Me By Your Name (2017), returns to the big screen, this time with a remake of the 1977 supernatural horror film of the same name by compatriot Dario Argento.

The original film was actually based on an 1845 essay by English essayist Thomas De Quincey titled Suspiria de Profundis (Sighs of the Depths).

The plot revolves around a young American dancer named Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) who travels to Berlin in the 1970s to audition for the world-renowned company Helena Markos Dance Company.

When she becomes the lead dancer, the woman she replaces breaks down and accuses the company’s female directors of witchcraft. Meanwhile, an inquisitive psychotherapist and a member of the troupe uncover dark and strange secrets as they probe the studio’s hidden underground chambers.

The film generated mixed feelings but mostly positive reviews.

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times called it “a bloated fantasy of violently consuming female power”, while Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant described it as an “alluring blend of sociopolitical allegory and visceral supernatural horror that yields imperfect, yet all the same fascinating results”.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety commented: “Suspiria has been made with enough skill to get inside your head, but also with enough ominous pretension to leave you scratching it.”

And the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Suspiria attacks heady themes with garish vigour, offering a viewing experience that's daringly confrontational ‒ and definitely not for everyone.”

The film, released in the US on October 26, has so far garnered $2.7 million worldwide.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 61%
Empire: 3 stars

John C. Reilly (voice) accompanies Sarah Silverman in her journey across the World Wide Web in Ralph Breaks the Internet.John C. Reilly (voice) accompanies Sarah Silverman in her journey across the World Wide Web in Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
Genre: Animation
Directors: Phil Johnston, Rich Moore
Voices of: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Alfred Molina
Duration: 112 minutes
Class: U
KRS Releasing Ltd

The sequel to the 2012 animated film Wreck-It Ralph  finds video game bad guy Ralph and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz risking it all by travelling to the World Wide Web in search of a replacement part to save Vanellope’s video game, Sugar Rush.

Ralph and Vanellope rely on the citizens of the internet ­‒ the netizens ‒ to help navigate their way, including an entrepreneur named Yesss, who is the head algorithm and the heart and soul of trend-making site BuzzzTube.

The film has received quite good reviews, yet critics pinpointed some faults.

Jonathan Pile of Empire wrote: “Entertaining, and occasionally inspired, but Ralph Breaks the Internet is too often content to achieve a quick laugh, rather than exploring the themes its set-up suggests.”

Molly Freeman of Screen Rant commented: “Ralph Breaks the Internet is bigger and more heartfelt, with some fun Disney nostalgia, but its story gets lost in the online setting at times.”

David Sims of The Atlantic was more pleased with the film. He said: “Amazingly enough, the result is a witty, visually inventive, and fittingly sober story about the perils of the internet, told through the eyes of a video-game avatar with unusually large forearms.”

The film, released in the US on November 21, has already grossed $127 million worldwide. It will open in Malta on Friday.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Empire: 3 stars

Taron Egerton is the new face of legendary hero Robin Hood.Taron Egerton is the new face of legendary hero Robin Hood.

Robin Hood (2018)
Genre: Action adventure
Director: Otto Bathurst
Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Jamie Dornan, F. Murray Abraham
Duration: 116 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd

The action adventure film is based on the tale of Robin Hood, starring Taron Egerton in the title role, Ewe Hewson as Marian, Robin’s love interest and girlfriend of Will Tillman (Jamie Dornan), Jamie Foxx as John, Robin’s mentor and Ben Mendelsohn as the Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin’s enemy).

Directed by British TV and film director Otto Bathurst, the plot sees how the war-hardened crusader Robin of Loxley and his moorish commander (Foxx) mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown.

The film was panned by critics. Dan Jolin of Empire wrote: “Like Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur, this tries too hard to do something new and exciting with an old formula. It quickly makes you wish for something more traditional and straightforward.”

Likewise, Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly said: “On all fronts, it strives to twist the Robin Hood story into something more provocative but ultimately it’s a garbled, hollow mess of attempts at relevancy.

And Michael O’Sullivan of the Washington Post complained: “The more invested you are in the old-fashioned Robin Hood of legend – the less likely you are to enjoy what amounts to a chilly and flavourless frappé of historical speculation, revisionist folklore and every lazy action-movie cliché ever written.”

Ratings
IMDB: 5.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 13%
Empire: 2 stars

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