In “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems…

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.

Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series. Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on “Get Out” and “Us,” scored “Star Wars: The Acolyte.”
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Gleaming details from the advertising and trailers that the film is marketed as a horror comedy, you think to yourself I hope these youths start getting picked off and soon. Sticking with it does have its payoff in part two though.

From the midpoint on, it’s very funny and its social commentary is as deadly as its body count. The hurricane party becomes less the cause of the mayhem and more the backdrop for human maleficence.

By the film’s end, several scenes feature verbal exchanges that will have you rolling in the aisle. And in the grand tradition of work in this genre, the big reveal will have you going back in your mind to both tally the body count and see the film in a whole different light.
Rob Hudson
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With a hurricane bearing down, a group of rich 20-somethings hole up in a remote family mansion stocked with food, flashlights, and drugs, ready to party their way through the storm. Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) has brought her new girlfriend Bee (Maria Bakalova) to meet her childhood friend, David (Pete Davidson), his girlfriend, Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), and their friends Jordan (Myha’la Herrold) and Alice (Rachel Sennott), who’s brought her older (as in 40-year-old) boyfriend, Greg (Lee Pace).

As night falls, lines are railed, and simmering grudges re- surface, and the group decides to play one of their favorite games: Bodies Bodies Bodies. One player is designated the murderer, the lights go out, a victim gets tapped on the shoulder, and everyone tries to guess who the killer was. But when the house’s power is cut, and people start getting killed for real, the old friends must survive the night and find the murderer in their midst—if they can just get over themselves first.

Starring Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games, The Hate U Give), Maria Bakalova (breakout star of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby), with Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live), Bodies Bodies Bodies will be released in Aussie cinemas September 15!
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Mixing storylines of the traditional road movie with science fiction themes and a teen coming of age saga makes up the parts at play here. Some of those ideas work and others don’t and the deciding factor is often the age of the viewer. The film is very much aimed at a younger audience and will score more points with the teen crowd.

There are universal moments at work here like the selfless act of sacrificing personal ambitions for the common good. Also the act of not always taking things at face value. These are lessons absorbed often as you grow older but ones that may seem fresh at a younger age.

The science fiction ideas are downplayed (the film’s trailer to the contrary) as the human element takes centre stage. The acting is consistent but for older members of the audience there seems to be one or two details missing, ones that would have helped raise The Darkest Minds above the rest.
Rob Hudson
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Soon this newfound family realises that, in a world in which the adults in power have betrayed them, running is not enough and they must wage a resistance, using their collective power to take back control of their future.

The Darkets Minds stars AMANDLA STENBERG, MANDY MOORE and GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE – in cinemas 2 August!

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