The biggest debut of the week, the terror “M3GAN” arrives in Brazil two weeks after its US launch and with the continuation confirmed. With proposals for the most varied tastes, the film program also highlights “Babylon”, with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, two award-winning thrillers set in the Middle East and three national productions, including “Rule 34”, winner of the prestigious Locarno Award Festivals, Switzerland.
Check below the films that will be showing this Thursday (19/1)
| M3GAN |
The new horror franchise follows a robotics scientist (Allison Williams, “Get Out!”) who gives a prototype lifelike robotic doll to her granddaughter (Violet McGraw, “Doctor Sleep”) to comfort her in her grief over the death of their parents . But the doll exceeds expectations and becomes fatally attached to the girl. As long as someone threatens the child for M3gan to go hunting.
To top it off, the humanoid robot also starts disobeying commands when he is no longer treated like one of the family.
Made for just $12 million, the tech horror thrilled at the international box office, earning $100 million in two weeks worldwide. It also received critical acclaim, holding a 95% critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is worth noting that the praise underlines the superiority of Universal’s production in the horror subgenre with “killer toys”, such as Chucky and Annabelle, choosing “M3GAN” as the ultimate modern-day creature, for echoing the era of proms by TikTok – detail: one of the producers, James Wan (“The Conjuring”), is the creator of Annabelle.
Wan also co-wrote the screenplay with Akela Cooper (“Evil”). The director is New Zealander Gerard Johnstone (“Housebound”).
| BABYLON |
Unlike ‘M3GAN’, ‘Babylon’ was released as an Oscar-nominated blockbuster and underwhelmed at the box office and critical ratings in the United States. A huge extravaganza from director Damien Chazelle (“La La Land”), starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie (both from “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood”), the film cost an estimated $110 million and in three weeks grossed over $15 million. To top it off, opinions divided, reaching 55% approval on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film is a recreation of the golden age of the American film industry, during the transition from silent to sound, with lots of sex, drugs and jazz.
Most of the characters in the film are fictional, but inspired by real people. After playing Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s film, Robbie plays a cocaine-addicted version of 1920s sex symbol Clara Bow, while Pitt’s character is based on great actors of the time, such as John Gilbert, who had difficulty adapt to the technological changes brought about by sound.
The staging is extremely exaggerated, everything is hysterical, but there is no shortage of those who really like this aspect of the production. By the way, even with negative reviews, the film has already won 23 awards for its technical achievements, including the Critics Choice for Best Art Direction (Production Design) and the Golden Globe for Best Score.
In addition to Pitt and Robbie, the stellar cast also includes Diego Calva (“Narcos: Mexico”), Tobey Maguire (“Spider-Man: Never Go Home”), Samara Weaving (“Bloody Wedding”), Olivia Wilde (“The Richard Jewell Case”), Jovan Adepo (“Watchmen”), Li Jun Li (“Evil”), Jean Smart (“Hacks”), PJ Byrne (“The Boys”), Lukas Haas (“The Revenant”), Olivia Hamilton (“La La Land”), Max Minghella (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Rory Scovel (“Physical”), Katherine Waterston (“Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secret”), Eric Roberts (“Inherent Vice”), Ethan Suplee (“Dog”), Phoebe Tonkin (“The Originals”), Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (“Queen & Slim”).
| HOLY SPIDER |
Director Ali Abbasi, who five years ago impressed world critics with the fantasy “Border” – a mixture of romance and detective plot with trolls! – , was once again revered with his new thriller. The story focuses on a serial killer who finds fertile ground and even sympathy in Iran by targeting prostitutes and sinful women. Faced with a succession of crimes, a journalist decides to investigate the so-called “Spider Killer” and his “divine mission”.
International critics have appreciated the context of the (Danish) production, which transforms the current Iranian situation into terror, where the violent repression of “badly educated” women (that is, with the messy hijab) arouses protests throughout the country. This relationship becomes even more important because the story of the film is real.
The killer responsible, a construction worker named Saeed Hanaei, began a year-long killing spree that began in the summer of 2000 and targeted prostitutes, especially those who used drugs. Hanaei was the subject of a documentary released in 2002, the year in which he was executed by hanging, and also inspired Ebrahim Irajzad’s “Killer Spider” (2020), filmed in Iran with government approval. “Holy Spider”, in turn, was filmed in Jordan with the additional freedoms this allows, including the role of Czar Amir Ebrahimi (playing the journalist), who fled Iran in 2008, as well as an approach that explicitly connects murders to the country’s social and religious misogyny.
The film won the Best Actress trophy for Zar Amir-Ebrahimi at the last Cannes Film Festival and is a finalist for the 2023 Oscar for Best International Film.
| SKY BOY |
Thriller specialist, Swede Tarik Saleh (“Dangerous contract”), son of an Egyptian father, signs a rare Muslim spy film, which shows the complexities of Egyptian politics. The plot accompanies a poor young man, the son of a fisherman, who receives the privilege of studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicenter of Sunni Islam’s power. Shortly after their arrival in the city, the university’s greatest religious leader, the Grand Imam, suddenly dies. And Adam is soon turned into a pawn in the brutal power struggle between Egypt’s religious and political elite as they try to elect the next Iman.
Much appreciated, the screenplay, written by the director himself, was awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.
| RULE 34 |
Winner of the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, in Switzerland, the new feature film by director Julia Murat (“Stories that exist only when they are remembered”) revolves around Simone, a young black law graduate, who paid her universities by selling sexual services online. Approved in a competition for the Public Defender’s Office, she intends to act on behalf of women victims of domestic violence, while her own sexual interests lead her to practices of violence and eroticism.
The lead role marks the film debut of actress and playwright Sol Miranda, creator of the award-winning play “Mercedes” (about Mercedes Baptista, the first black dancer to dance at the Municipal Theater).
The title is a reference to the “34th rule of the Internet, which states that any imaginable object, character or media franchise has pornography associated with it”, and the cast also highlights Lucas Andrade (“Corpo Elétrico”), Lorena Comparato (“Rensga Hits!”) and newcomer Isabella Mariotto.
| BOIL |
The Brazilian comedy basically has the premise of the ‘Ghost’ series. A couple moves into a new house, not knowing it is haunted, and begin interacting with ghosts, which are more fun than scary. The national differential is that the house used to be a venue for the “fervent” LGBTQIAP+ and now brings together drag queens from the outside. In addition, the plot is structured based on sketches, which allows for a huge parade of special guests, from Paulo Vieira to Marcelo Adnet.
Directed by Felipe Joffily, who released another comedy last week, “Nas Ondas da Fé”. The cast highlights Felipe Abib (“Who Will Stay With Mário?”) and Georgianna Goes (“Casa Grande”) as the central couple, as well as Rita Von Hunty (“Drag Me as Queen”) as the more glamorous ghost.
| CHEF JACK – THE COOK OF THE ADVENTURER |
Brazilian animation is a blend of Indiana Jones and culinary Mortal Kombat. The title character is a great chef who travels to the Kitchen Islands to participate in the trials of the “Convergence of Flavors”, the largest gastronomic competition in the world and try to beat his competitors. Anything goes, from cunning to sabotage, to gain access to precious spices, located in inaccessible places, which candidates must seek out to impress the jury.
The direction is by Guilherme Fiúza Zenha (“O Menino no Espelho”) and the voice cast highlights Danton Mello (“Predestinado”) as Chef Jack.
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Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
