#OnTheBigScreen: Transformers, Romantic Rivalry and Deadly Obsessions

Transformers: The Last Knight
Transformers: The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock). There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we are called upon to make a difference. In Transformers: The Last Knight, the hunted will become heroes. Heroes will become villains. Only one world will survive: theirs, or ours.

Based on the toy line of the same name created by Hasbro, it is the fifth instalment of the live-action Transformers film series and a sequel to 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction. Directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Ken Nolan, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway. With Isabela Moner, Jerrod Carmichael, Laura Haddock, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel.

Says Bay: “I think the key is just keep giving into the imaginations of the audience and keep these characters alive. This one’s much more about mythology and in terms of plot; it’s kind of the deeper of all five of them. This movie is much more of an adventure. There are two very strong female heroes in this movie that I like very much and it’s kind of got a different bent on it than we’ve normally done on other Transformers movies.”

The Promise

Brilliant medical student Michael (Oscar Isaac) meets beautiful dance instructor Ana (Charlotte Le Bon) in late 1914. Their shared Armenian heritage sparks an attraction that explodes into a romantic rivalry between Michael and Ana’s boyfriend (Christian Bale), an American photojournalist who’s dedicated to exposing the truth. As the Ottoman Empire crumbles into war-torn chaos, their conflicting passions must be deferred as they join forces to get themselves and their people to safety.

The film was directed by Terry George, from a screenplay by George and Robin Swicord. ‘’The films I have loved and admired most were those that took audiences inside momentous human events – Films that immersed us in history in a visceral and unique way. The greatest non-fiction films such as Schindler’s List, The Killing Fields, Reds, The Battle of Algiers and historical dramas such as A Man for All Seasons, Dr. Zhivago and Apocalypse Now. Within the course of a few hours I experienced anger, fear, empathy, real sorrow and sometimes real joy. No other cinema genre could move me in that way. I left the theatre overwhelmed. I had been guided through historic moments by characters I would not forget.’’

“Co-writing and directing The Promise presented me with a truly unique opportunity. I have been able to work with amazingly talented people, Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac and Charlotte Le Bon, and many other great actors to tell a love story that I hope will not only captivate and move audiences, but will also take audiences inside the calamity that befell the Armenian people in 1915 and to allow them witness real historical events, experience joy, feel fear, witness courage, sorrow and redemption. Most importantly, I hope that The Promise will educate audiences about an event that deserves to be recognised, remembered and honoured around the world. What greater opportunity could a film maker ask for?’’

Obsession

Oscar nominee Jude Law (The Talented Mr Ripley, Cold Mountain) plays drifter, Gino, in this stage adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s 1943 Italian neo-realist film, Ossessione.

It is directed Ivo van Hove, who also directed National Theatre Live: A View from the Bridge and Hedda Gabler.

The production sees Gino meet a couple, Giuseppe and his much younger, trapped wife Giovanna, at their roadside restaurant and petrol station. Gino and Giovanna are attracted to one another and begin a passionate love affair. In pursuit of a ‘happy ending’, the lovers plot to murder Giuseppe. But, the crime only serves to set them apart and their passion leads to destruction.

This tale of passion and murder was filmed live from The Barbican in London for broadcast to cinemas around the world. Releasing in South Africa at Ster-Kinekor’s Nouveau cinemas on Saturday, 24 June, for limited screenings.

Everything, Everything

Teenage Maddy is housebound because she is allergic to almost everything, so she sees only her mother and a nurse — until a boy moves in next door, and she begins to fall in love. Directed by Stella Meghie and written by J. Mills Goodloe, it is based on a young-adult novel of the same name by Nicola Yoon. The film stars Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson.

“I wanted to import the whole book into the movie,” says director Stella Meghie of author Nicola Yoon’s novel Everything, Everything. “There was just so much between Maddy and Olly, the little moments that I wanted to get in, like every text conversation. Nicola wrote something so funny and sweet and honest and even fantastical, and it was important to me that the film feel like that, too.”

Meghie hopes moviegoers will see a bit of the character within themselves. “I think we’ve all looked for a kindred spirit at some point, in romance, in family, in friends… Someone who gets who we are and accepts it, all of it,” the director says. “From the moment he spots her in the window, Olly doesn’t let the limitations of Maddy’s life stop him from discovering what she’s about, from falling in love with her. And that makes him a beautiful boy for Maddy to fall in love with.”

Tubelight

An entertaining Indian historical war drama set in a small town in the hills of northern India, and tells the story of one man’s love for his family and his unshakeable belief in himself. After Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kabir Khan and Salman Khan come together to tell another heart-warming story about the power of doing good. Indian war drama film written and directed by Kabir Khan

Read more about the latest film releases by clicking here.