#OntheBigScreen: Space travel & teen angst

Hacksaw Ridge

The extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Directed by Mel Gibson.

Says Gibson: Desmond Doss was singular. There are few, if any people, who could or would replicate his actions. The humility he maintained in discussing his heroics is a testament to the mettle of the man. In fact, Desmond was asked permission for years to adapt his story into a film, and repeatedly declined, insisting that the “real heroes” were the ones in the ground. In a cinematic landscape overrun with fictional “superheroes,” I thought it was time to celebrate a real one. Andrew Garfield truly inhabited the character and captured the essence of Desmond Doss, and the supporting cast and crew delivered in spades. I’m grateful for everyone’s contributions. It was a privilege and an honour to tell this story.

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life

It chronicles the trials and triumphs of Rafe Khatchadorian, as he uses his wits to battle bullies, hormones and the tyrannical, test-obsessed Principal Dwight. Rafe has an epic imagination…and a slight problem with authority. Both collide when he transfers to an oppressive, rule-crazy middle school. Drowning in dos and don’ts, Rafe and his scheming best friend Leo hatch a plan to break every rule in the school’s Code of Conduct. It’s Ferris Bueller meets Home Alone as their battle with Principal Dwight explodes into chaos both real and imagined. But Dwight displays his own fiendish creativity, striking back at the rule breakers. Meanwhile, Rafe struggles to hide his misbehaviour from Jeanne, the straight-A, overachieving girl of his dreams, and at home, his mother’s boyfriend - a moochy, jack-of-no-trades named Bear - threatens to become his stepfather. Directed by Steve Carr, with Lauren Graham, Adam Pally and Isabela Moner.

Passengers

The spaceship, Starship Avalon, on its 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet known as “Homestead II” and transporting 5,259 people has a malfunction in two of its sleep chambers. As a result, two hibernation pods open prematurely and the two people that awoke are stranded on the spaceship, still 90 years from their destination. Aurora Dunn (Jennifer Lawrence) is a writer from New York who is interested in cosmic travel. Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) is a mechanical engineer from Denver who wants to leave Earth and bought the ticket for the journey. The two soon discover that the malfunction that caused them to be awoken prematurely is not the only problem afflicting the huge spaceship, and as they try to find a way out, they soon find themselves falling in love.

Why Him?

Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at college, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly inappropriate match for his daughter. The one-sided rivalry - and Ned’s panic level - escalate when he finds himself increasingly out of step in the glamorous high-tech hub, and learns that Laird is about to pop the question. Directed by John Hamburg.

Snaaks Genoeg

An entertaining and poignant dark comedy, which explores the pain inflicted by humour on the average human being. The film, an original piece written and directed by David Moore, follows a down-and-out comedian (Casper de Vries) who drifts from one small town to another. Having alienated his audience with his crude comments and dirty humours, his popularity has faded. He hits the road fighting not only for survival, but also to find the spark he once had. He has been reduced to doing shows in small towns and working for food and accommodation. As he drifts from remote location to remote location, successful comedians are being kidnapped, tortured and murdered in bizarre ways, and he seems to be riding right into the centre of this storm. The murders and kidnappings are in fact being orchestrated by a genius lawyer, Koos van der Merwe (Tobie Cronje), who gets criminals off their charges in exchange for “sorting out” comedians who offend him and his family name. De Vries has some strange experiences along his journey, some hard and some less so, and all help to make him look at himself and start to reinvent his persona.

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