#OnTheBigScreen: Die Seemeeu, Love Lives Here and Shazam!

Die Seemeeu

Christiaan Olwagen adapts Anton Chekhov’s classic play, The Seagull, to film and places it in South Africa in the 1990s – almost 100 years after it was written.

Each of Chekhov’s skillfully drawn characters – the vain and self-absorbed theatre diva Irene (Sandra Prinsloo); her ailing and ageing brother Piet (Marius Weyers); the self-doubting, insecure, lovelorn playwright and neglected son Konstant (Albert Pretorius); the naïve, ingenue Nina (Rolanda Marais); the gloomy, alcoholic, dope smoking Masha (Cintaine Schutte); the cheerful philosopher and witness to the drama Dr Eugene (Gerben Kamper); the brash farm manager Elias (Deon Lotz); his long-suffering wife Paulina (Martelize Kolver); the puppy dog, poverty-stricken teacher Simon (Geon Nel); and the famous writer Boors (Alyzzander Fourie) – grapple with inner fears, longings, doubts, regrets, recriminations and miseries. All of them, of course, of their own making.

Performed in Afrikaans, with English subtitles, the characters are easily recognised, yet appear as if they were written for this new setting.

Love Lives Here

The romance tells the story of Zinhle Malinga (Thando Thabethe), a jaded romantic, whose quests for that picture-perfect prince charming have left her disillusioned about the idea of true love. Like most successful young women, Zinhle is ready to settle down but is yet to find a man who wants the same thing and has resigned to putting her search for love on hold.

When she meets Nathi Shange (Lungile Radu) everything changes and she sets out to get a commitment from him in the form of a ring. But Nathi has sworn off marriage and this brings Zinhle to the beginning of her journey to understanding the true meaning of love and ultimately finding the love she deserves.

Shazam!

An origin story that stars Zachary Levi as the titular DC superhero along with Asher Angel as Billy Batson, and Mark Strong in the role of super-villain Dr Thaddeus Sivana.

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word – Shazam! – this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard.

Still, a kid at heart – inside a ripped, godlike body – Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test?

Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr Thaddeus Sivana. It is the seventh instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).

Directed by David F Sandberg from a screenplay by Henry Gayden and a story by Gayden and Darren Lemke.

Galveston

Roy (Ben Foster) is a heavy-drinking criminal enforcer and mob hitman whose boss set him up in a double-cross scheme. After killing his would-be assassins before they could kill him, Roy discovers Rocky (Elle Fanning), a young woman being held captive and reluctantly takes her with him on his escape.

Determined to find safety and sanctuary in Galveston, Roy must find a way to stop his boss from pursuing them while trying to outrun the demons from his and Rocky’s pasts.

Written and directed by Mélanie Laurent, based on the novel of the same name by Nic Pizzolatto.

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