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#OnTheBigScreen: Come Away, Nobody and Extinct

Films entering the South African box office, this weekend, include Come Away, Nobody and Extinct.

Come Away

Come Away captures the magic of being a kid, and how to use imagination to cope with hardship. At the heart of Come Away lies a tantalising: What if? A question that forms a unique and ingeniously conceived prequel to two of the world’s most beloved and enduring pieces of children’s literature. What if, the film asks, Lewis Carroll’s Alice and JM Barrie’s Peter Pan were brother and sister?

David (12), Peter (10) and Alice Littleton (8) (Reece Yates, Jordan Nash and Keira Chansa) enjoy an idyllic childhood in late 19th century England. They love nothing more than to play in their garden and the nearby woods and are encouraged to indulge their vivid imaginations by their parents Jack (David Oyelowo) and Rose (Angelina Jolie).

Alice and Peter are enamoured with their older brother, David, who divides his attentions between his sister’s stuffed-toy tea parties and playing out thrilling pirate adventures with his brother. Then, their world is shaken when Rose’s status-obsessed sister Eleanor (Anna Chancellor) has secured David a place at Bristlemoss, a prestigious boarding school, meaning he will soon be sent away. Peter and Alice find strength in the power of their imaginations and set off on a real adventure to try and rescue the family from poverty — an adventure that takes them deep into the mean streets of Victorian London, where they make some astonishing discoveries about their father’s background.

Emboldened, Peter realises that perhaps growing up to be like his brother is not the answer, and he resolves to escape to a destiny of eternal boyhood in the distant isle of Neverland. Meanwhile, Alice delves into a world of her creation, namely Wonderland, where she realises she must, ultimately, return to reality, grow up and make her own choice between her mother and her aunt.

Directed by Brenda Chapman from a screenplay by Marissa Kate Goodhill.

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Nobody

A home invasion propels an underestimated, overlooked man to tap into his most lethal and ruthless instincts to keep his family safe, a wish-fulfilment fantasy for tens of millions of fathers.

Sometimes, the man you don’t notice is the most dangerous of all. When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son is disappointed in him, and his wife seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

Directed by Ilya Naishuller, best known for directing 2015’s first-person action-thriller Hardcore Henry, from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad (John Wick trilogy).

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Extinct

A rollicking, hilarious and charming animated adventure that has things no one has seen before: flummels!

Op and Ed are two adorable doughnut-shaped flummels who accidentally time-travel from 1835 to modern-day Shanghai. There, they discover traffic, trans fats and, worst of all, that flummels are now extinct. It's up to this bumbling pair to save themselves, save their species and just maybe change the course of history.

Directed by David Silverman, who has been closely associated with The Simpsons from its very inception; co-director Raymond S Persi; screenplay by Joel Cohen, John Frink and Rob Lazebnik.

Read more about the latest and upcoming films.

About Daniel Dercksen

Daniel Dercksen has been a contributor for Lifestyle since 2012. As the driving force behind the successful independent training initiative The Writing Studio and a published film and theatre journalist of 40 years, teaching workshops in creative writing, playwriting and screenwriting throughout South Africa and internationally the past 22 years. Visit www.writingstudio.co.za
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