#OnTheBigScreen: Barakat, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and Spiral

Barakat

This story about celebrating life, culture, and the importance of family marks South Africa’s first Muslim film in Afrikaaps.

The film tells the story of Ayesha Davids (Vinette Ebrahim), a widow who has to preserve the peace between her four sons (played by Joey Rasdien, Mortimer Williams, Keeno-Lee Hector and Danny Ross) after they all still struggle to come to terms with the death of their father, two years after the fact. Zunaid, Zaid, Yaseen and Nur, who return to the family home to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr or Labarang as it’s known in Cape Town, marking the end of the month of Ramadaan, have never really dealt with their father’s death and the void he has left behind. Each son’s unprocessed pain manifests in how they are constantly fighting with each other, making their mother extremely sad as she tries to move on with her own life.

The film is directed by Amy Jephta, who wrote the screenplay with Ephraim Gordon.

Read more here

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

This sequel to the popular Peter Rabbit explores questions of identity.

The lovable rogue is back. Bea, Thomas, and the rabbits have created a makeshift family, but despite his best efforts, Peter can’t seem to shake his mischievous reputation. Adventuring out of the garden, Peter finds himself in a world where his mischief is appreciated, but when his family risks everything to come looking for him, Peter must figure out what kind of bunny he wants to be.

Picking up from the hit first film, director/co-writer/producer Will Gluck returns for a new story that takes Peter far beyond the garden to the streets of the big city, where he’ll discover what kind of hero he wants to be.

Read more here

Spiral

This new chapter in the iconic Saw franchise is a diabolical twisted thriller.

A criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in Spiral. Working in the shadow of his father, an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.

To direct Spiral, the producers brought back filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman, who had previously helmed three of the most popular and successful movies in the franchise – Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006) and Saw IV, from a screenplay by screenwriting duo Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger.

Read more here

Read more about the latest and upcoming films here.