HOLY DAYS
Rating: PG (Mild themes, coarse language and drug use)
Duration: 101 mins
Director: Nathalie Boltt
Cast: Elijah Tamati, Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes, Jacki Weaver, Jonny Brugh
Genre: Comedy, drama
Opens: AUG 06
In 1970s New Zealand, young Brian is devastated by the loss of his mother and determined to stop his dad from marrying the woman he sees as her replacement. Convinced he can reach his mother through prayer and penance, Brian finds refuge at a run-down convent with three delightfully eccentric elderly nuns.
But when he overhears plans to shut the convent down and split the sisters apart, sending the most vulnerable to a terrifying institution, Brian sparks an unlikely mission: escape to the Southern Alps to find a former nun-turned-lawyer who might just save them all.
What follows is a wild, hilarious, and heartwarming road trip as a boy and three nuns face down their fears, outwit crooked officials, lose a sister to fishmongers, and even cash a bet-shop win, all while racing against time to save their beloved convent.
STOP! THAT! TRAIN!
Rating: M (Mature themes, coarse language, drug references and sexual references)
Duration: 95 mins
Director: Adam Shankman
Cast: RuPaul Charles, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Latrice Royale, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Symone
Genre: Comedy, action
Opens: AUG 13
OK – let’s just start with this – Ru Paul is the President of the United States. Yep… John Water’s would be proud of this outrageous camp romp on a runaway train! Best friends Tess and DeeDee are train stewardesses who trade their dreary shifts on Stank Rail for the glitzy Glamazonian Express. When a catastrophic ‘Stormaganza’ threatens to derail the high-speed train and crash it into Florida, the duo must join forces with the snobby first-class attendants and President Gagwell to save the day in this wild ride of a comedy. Seriously – go and watch the trailer now!!!
THE RIVALS OF AMZIAH KING
Rating: M (Mature themes and coarse language)
Duration: 130 mins
Director: Andrew Patterson
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Kurt Russell, Cole Sprouse, Owen Teague
Genre: Crime, thriller
Opens: AUG 20
This was without a doubt the coolest, sassiest film of MIFF last year. Deep within the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, the charismatic and musically gifted Amziah King herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. When Amziah’s estranged foster daughter unexpectedly returns, Amziah leaps at the possibility to renew connection and create a family business. But the honey game is ruthless, and Amziah’s rivals threaten to destroy everything he has built. I love these films set down in the South where McConaughey’s drawl is its own character in the film.
THE DOG STARS
Rating: CTC
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, Allison Janney
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi
Opens: AUG 27
From renowned Academy Award nominated director Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator), comes the adaptation of Peter Heller’s acclaimed novel, a haunting but also breathtakingly beautiful story of loss, love and survival.
In a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly virus has wiped out most of humanity, former pilot Hig, who survived the pandemic but lost everyone he knew, including his wife, lives in the hangar of a small, abandoned airport with his dog Jasper. Alone, with his only neighbour the gun-toting ex-Marine Bangley, Hig often heads out in his 1956 Cessna, where he can fish and pretend things are how they used to be. When a random transmission beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside Hig that a better life might exist if he flies a bit further. Joining forces with Bangley, he risks it all to chase a possible haven in Grand Junction.
