New Releases (20/06/13)

In cinemas this week we have World War Z, Monsters University, Despicable Me 2 and Satellite Boy. 

World War Z - Moving at a frenetic pace this is a relentlessly intense experience with huge scale production. Within mere minutes we are already witnessing the ferocious outbreak. Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former United Nations employee, his wife Karen (Mireille Enos) and children find themselves embroiled in mob panic as a Zombie outbreak quickly spreads. They manage to escape in a camper van and make it to Newark where they are extracted by Lane’s former UN colleague and lay low in a rundown apartment block. From there Gerry is coerced into representing the UN and traverses the Globe – from South Korea, to Israel and finally to a World Health Organisation lab in Wales – in search of a means to save what is left of humanity, while his family are kept under Navy protection.

Monsters University - Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. "Monsters University" unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Despicable Me 2 - Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is no longer a villain after saving his three adopted daughters Margo, Edith, and Agnes from Vector in the first film. His calm and unexciting new life takes an unexpected turn when he is recruited by Lucy Wilde and Silas Ramsbottom and is taken to the headquarters of the Anti-Villain League, a society dedicated to fighting crime on a global scale.

Satellite Boy - Catriona McKenzie's directorial feature debut is a heartfelt, moving and uplifting story about a young boy's journey to save his home and ultimately himself. Satellite Boy follows Pete, a 12 year old Aboriginal boy who lives with his elderly grandfather, Jagamarra (Gulpilil). Home is the abandoned outdoor cinema in the outback town of Wyndham. When it is threatened with demolition, Pete sees his world in jeopardy and sets off for the city. He is joined by his friend Kalmain, who has his own reasons for leaving town. Together the boys travel through epic and stunning Kimberley country and when they get lost in the bush, Pete has to remember some of the old Aboriginal bush skills his grandfather taught him for them to survive. Fable-like in its storytelling, it shows a world torn between old and new, tradition and progress, nature and technology. Celebrating the importance of family, true friendship and cultural and spiritual identity, Satellite Boy is affecting. HERE IS A LINK TO MY INTERVIEW WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR CATRIONA MCKENZIE.

Weekly Recommendation: An interesting week, considering the pair of animated sequels/prequels. I have seen Monsters University and can declare it well worth a look. While not quite as inventive in narrative, this is one of Pixar's funniest films to date. World War Z is also worth a look to see the fusion of Zombie lore with epic scale blockbuster intensity. It works, despite the plagued production. Satellite Boy, a Kimberley-set tale of a young boy who never relinquishes his hope of saving his home, is also enjoyable.