Ghafla! Movies This Weekend (29th June 2012)
It’s that time of the week again when we bring you highlights of what to catch at cinemas around Nairobi. There’s one premiere this week as most of the other screenings remain unchanged, but rest assured that summer is here in full swing, though it’s absolutely cold in Nairobi, but expected releases are in abundance.
Animation franchise Madagscar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted slipped to second place on the International Box Office, succeeding to newcomer and rival Pixar’s Brave which scooped an impressive $66million (approximately Kshs. 5.6 Billion) on its opening week, after close to a year of anticipation.
Below is the bouquette of titles you can enjoy at the theatres from the weekend of June 29th-July 1st 2012:
The regional premiere of:
MIRROR MIRROR
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Starring: Lily Collins and Julia Roberts
After a beloved King vanishes, his ruthless wife seizes control of the kingdom and keeps her beautiful 18-year-old stepdaughter, Snow White, hidden away in the palace. But when the princess attracts the attention of a charming and wealthy visiting prince, the jealous Queen banishes the girl to a nearby forest. Taken in by a band of rebellious but kindhearted dwarfs, Snow White blossoms into a brave young woman determined to save her country from the Queen. With the support of her new friends, she roars into action to reclaim her birthright and win back her Prince in this magical adventure comedy that will capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences the world over.
SHOWING AT:
Fox Cineplex Sarit Center
*****
MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED (IN 3D)
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Starring: (the voices of) Jada Pinkett Smith and Ben Stiller
Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still trying to get back to the Big Apple and their beloved Central Park zoo, but first they need to find the penguins. They travel to Monte Carlo where they attract the attention of Animal Control after gate crashing a party and are joined by the penguins, King Julian and Co., the monkeys and a new arrival: a performing llama. How do a lion, zebra, hippo, giraffe, four penguins, two monkeys, three lemurs and a llama travel through Europe without attracting attention? They join a traveling circus.
SHOWING AT:
IMAX XX Century, Mama Ngina Street
Fox Capital Center
Fox Cineplex, Sarit Center
*****
PROMETHEUS (IN 3D)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Horror
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall Green and Michael Fassbender.
A team of scientists journey through the universe on the spaceship “Prometheus” on a voyage to investigate Alien life forms. The team of scientists becomes stranded on an Alien world, and as they struggle to survive it becomes clear that the horrors they experience are not just a threat to themselves, but to all of mankind.
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Prestige
Nu Metro Westgate
*****
MEN IN BLACK III (IN 3D)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy
Starring: Will Smith, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones
An alien criminal kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself.
SHOWING AT:
Nu Metro Westgate
Fox Cineplex Sarit
Starfilx Prestige
*****
GOOD DEEDS
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Starring: Tyler Perry and Gabrielle Union
Ghalfa Rating: 7/10
Businessman Wesley Deeds is jolted out of his scripted life when he meets Lindsey, a single mother who works on the cleaning crew in his office building.
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Prestige
*****
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrisson and Jennifer Lopez
Ghafla Rating: 5.5/10
Inspired by the perennial New York Times bestseller of the same name, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING is a hilarious and heartfelt big screen comedy about five couples whose intertwined lives are turned upside down by the challenges of impending parenthood. Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don’t stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste of her own militant mommy advice when pregnancy hormones ravage her body; while Wendy’s husband, Gary, struggles not to be outdone by his competitive alpha-Dad, who’s expecting twins with his much younger trophy wife, Skyler. Photographer Holly is prepared to travel the globe to adopt a child, but her husband Alex isn’t so sure, and tries to quiet his panic by attending a “dudes” support group..
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Westgate
*****
THE AVENGERS IN 3D
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Sci Fi
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson
Ghafla Rating: 9/10
A 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures1, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction.
Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay that was originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011 and New York City in September 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
SHOWING AT:
Nu Metro Westgate
Fox Cineplex Sarit Center
Starflix Prestige
*****
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure
Starring: Christen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth
Ghafla Rating: 7.5/10
Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen. Unable to tolerate the insult to her vanity, the evil queen decides that Snow White must die. The queen sends a huntsman to kill Snow White. However the huntsman finds himself unable to murder the innocent young woman, and instead ends up training her to become a warrior capable of threatening the queen’s reign.
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Village Market
Fox Cineplex, Sarit Centre
*****
ONE FOR THE MONEY
Genre: Action, Comedy
Starring: Katherine Heigl and Jason O’Mara
Ghafla Rating: 5/10
Jersey girl Stephanie Plum after losing her job, is broke. Needing a job she is told that her cousin, a bail bondsman, needs someone to help out in the office. But all he has are skip tracers. She learns that Joe Morelli, a guy she knew intimately years ago, is one of them. She eventually finds him but wasn’t really prepared so he gets away. Another bounty hunter, Ranger tries to teach her. Eventually she finds him again but he claims he is innocent of the crime he is accused of and he is trying to prove his innocence. Eventually Stephanie thinks he’s telling the truth so she stakes out the person who can help him but she only finds herself in trouble and Morelli saves her. She tries to find someone who can prove his innocence but problem is shortly after meeting with them they’re killed or attacked.
SHOWING AT:
Nu Metro Westgate
****
21 JUMP STREET
Genre: Comedy, Action
Starring: Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum
Ghafla Rating: 7/10
In high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was a dork and Jenko (Channing Tatum) was the popular jock. After graduation, both of them joined the police force and ended up as partners riding bicycles in the city park. Since they are young and look like high school students, they are assigned to an undercover unit to infiltrate a drug ring that is supplying high school students synthetic drugs.
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Village Market
Nu Metro Westgate
*****
THINK LIKE A MAN
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Starring: Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart
Ghafla Rating: 8.0/10
Four women have given up on getting their men to do what they want until they find a how to book written by Steve Harvey. They start using his advice about relationships, and their men start falling in line, until the men discover what the women have been doing, then the war is on.
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Prestige
Fox Cineplex Sarit Center
Fox Capital Center
*****
THE MUPPETS
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Starring: the Muppet Cast, Amy Adams, Jason Segel
Ghalfa Rating: 7/10
When 3 Muppet fans learn that Tex Richman wants to drill under the Muppet Theater for oil, Gary, Mary and Walter set out to find the Muppets who have been split up for years so that they can put on one last show and save the Muppet Theater. Kermit the Frog now lives in his own mansion depressed in Hollywood, The Great Gonzo is a high class plumber at Gonzo’s Royal Flush, Fozzie Bear performs with a tribute band called The Moopets, Miss Piggy is the plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, and Animal is at a celebrity anger management rehab center in Santa Barbara.
SHOWING AT:
Starflix Village Market
Starflix Prestige
*****
AT THE TOP OF THE BOX OFFICE is:
BRAVE (IN 3D)
Sadly Kenya may have to wait until mid-August 2012 to watch this animated film at the cinema.
*****
A release we’re looking forward to in Kenya next week:
THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Action
Starring: Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield
Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors, his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero..
*****
Ever pictured President Jomo Kenyatta coming back from the dead to rid Kenya of ogres? Well director Timur Bekmambetov has ressurected US President Abraham Lincoln to rid the USA of vampires in this sci-fi fantasy thriller. Check out the trailer to ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ in our movie highlight this week…
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