Comedy
80 For Brady (12A)
Review: During an early verbal volley in director Kyle Marvin’s amiable, lightweight comedy, Rita Moreno’s retirement home escapee observes, “The Super Bowl is no place for four old women”. Millions of American football fans who tune into the sport’s glittering final playoff would doubtless disagree with that ageist sentiment. However, cinemagoers who sit through 80 For Brady will question whether a ramshackle road trip inspired by the true story of the Over 80 For Brady fan club is a fitting vehicle for the combined talents of Moreno, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Sally Field.
Produced by retired quarterback Tom Brady, who appears on screen, Marvin’s saccharine ode to sisterly solidarity lacks both the pace and charm of its athletic namesake, orchestrating a series of predictable set-pieces such as a trippy interlude with marijuana-infused gummy bears. A supporting cast including Harry Hamlin, Bob Balaban and Billy Porter are squandered in throwaway, two-dimensional roles, the latter portraying the ebullient choreographer of Lady Gaga’s halftime show whose character name – Gugu – masquerades unconvincingly as a punchline. The central quartet of Moreno, Tomlin, Fonda and Field work tirelessly to enliven a sluggish script penned by Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, which fails to convert a single gag.
In 2001, Lou (Tomlin) is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, supported by gal pals Betty (Field), Maura (Moreno) and Trish (Fonda). A malfunctioning TV remote control forces the women to watch an American football game between the New York Jets and New England Patriots and the friends are instantly smitten with fresh-faced quarterback Tom Brady wearing the number 12 shirt for the Patriots. His heroics on the field inspire a nail-biting victory over the Jets and eventually that season, lead to glory at the Super Bowl.
Lou’s recovery coincides with Brady’s ascent and the clucky quartet become devoted fans of the player, meeting regularly to cheer him on during televised games. Sixteen years later, the Patriots are bound for another Super Bowl, this time to face the Atlanta Falcons. A radio show runs a competition with a first prize of four tickets and miraculously, Lou wins, setting in motion an excursion to Houston, Texas, where Betty enters a hot wings eating contest hosted by Guy Fieri (playing himself) and Trish peddles “sexy fan fiction” about Brady’s teammate Rob Gronkowski penned under the pseudonym Virginia Ledoux.
80 For Brady shuffles towards its grandstand finish at the NRG Stadium in Houston where the Patriots found themselves down and almost out 3-28 in the dying moments of the third quarter. The four leads trade heavily on their real-life friendships to catalyse winning on-screen chemistry but they can’t spin gold out of thin air. Without meaningful character development or a steady supply of witty wordplay, they is no chance of a touchdown.
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Horror
Infinity Pool (18)
Review: Since his acclaimed debut feature Antiviral in 2012, Canadian writer-director Brandon Cronenberg has demonstrated a similar taste in hallucinogenic sci-fi horror to his father David. Mind-bending madness percolates in Infinity Pool, a savage, blood-soaked satire about flagrant abuses of power that gleefully contemplates the moral ramifications of the wealthy elite creating clones to take the fall for their heinous transgressions including manslaughter and murder. Cronenberg’s script cranks up the gore-slathered delirium to fever pitch for a stomach-churning finale that pulls no punches with viscera and graphic images of mutilation underlined by the ominous chords of composer Tim Hecker’s score.
The writer-director also delivers a blitzkrieg of full-frontal nudity and on-screen sexual activity that leaves nothing to the imagination. Anyone of a nervous or squeamish disposition will need to look away for extended periods as impressive special make-up effects and prosthetics augment Alexander Skarsgard’s unhinged central performance as a creatively blocked writer tumbling down a rabbit hole of nihilism and perversity. Mia Goth, recently seen in the title role of horror prequel Pearl, is a deliciously creepy sparring partner and her deranged harpy drives the film towards its overblown and divisive climax.
It has been six years since James Foster (Skarsgard) penned a moderately successful debut novel and his creative juices have largely dried up. Thankfully, he married into money and his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) bankrolls him as he searches forlornly for inspiration for a follow-up book. James hopes some quality time with Em on an isolated island resort with pristine beaches and attentive staff will jolt him out of a rut and validate his existence as an artist. His bruised ego is massaged by fellow guest Gabi Bauer (Goth), who claims to be a fan of his work.
She is staying at the same resort with her architect husband Alban (Jalil Lespert) and they persuade the Fosters to break the rules, which stipulate guests should remain on the compound at all times. Consequently, James and Em join the Bauers on a jaunt into the surrounding countryside where personal boundaries are crossed. A night-time drive home with James behind the wheel ends in tragedy and the Fosters learn from a police detective (Thomas Kretschmann) that the punishment for any crime on Li Tolqa is death. However, the island nation operates a twisted system of justice that permits James to leverage his wife’s wealth to escape personal responsibility for his crime.
Infinity Pool is an uncompromising vision of nauseating excess that is hard to watch and harder to swallow. Cronenberg refuses to apply the handbrake once his depraved characters spiral sickeningly out of control and his ensemble cast responds with fearless performances. No-one of sound mind would wish they were here.
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Action
John Wick: Chapter 4 (15)
Review: Keanu Reeves’ retired hitman first bruised knuckles in 2015 when a Russian playboy and underlings broke into his home and killed his beloved beagle puppy. This act of senseless brutality lit the fuse on a lucrative film franchise directed exclusively by Chad Stahelski, with a spin-off TV series entitled The Continental poised to debut later this year. For the unapologetically violent fourth instalment, Wick lays low in New York City with crime boss the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), hoping to avoid an early grave at the hands of operatives of the High Table, which controls organised crime across the globe.
One member of the powerful inner circle, the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), declares war on John and he blackmails blind assassin Caine (Donnie Yen) into doing his bidding. Bone-crunching action moves from the west coast of America to Osaka, Berlin and Paris and John learns from Winston Scott (Ian McShane) that he can be free of the insidious High Table by challenging the Marquis to a duel. According to tradition, a challenger must be aligned with one of the High Table’s 12 controlling families so John reaffirms his ties to the Ruska Roma through his adoptive sister Katia (Natalia Tena).
John Wick: Chapter 4 screens to our critic on Tuesday. Check back later in the week for our full review.
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