The action, while extremely violent in its nature is almost subtle in the way it is presented. The blood flows but the closely shot action scenes keep the energy high and confronting visuals somewhat discrete. There is very little gun play and the confrontations remain mostly in the hand-to-hand combat and knife play arena.

The story of revenge runs parallel with an examination of the plight of the poor and disenfranchised in India and the folklore surrounding Hanuman. This ape or monkey-like deity in Hinduism is considered immortal and is celebrated for his wisdom, strength, courage, and self-discipline. Patel’s character Kid shares most of these traits and virtues.

Patel has delivered a film crackling with energy and violence. This film feels like the Indian version of the John Wick saga, with our hero every bit the lethal weapon that is Wick. It does however have its own feel and sense of pace and visual presentation. This is a strong first film from Dev and makes one look towards his future with eager anticipation.
Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Packed with thrilling and spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel from his original story and his screenplay with Paul Angunawela and John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).

The film’s international cast includes Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven), Pitobash (Million Dollar Arm), Vipin Sharma (Hotel Mumbai), Ashwini Kalsekar (Ek Tha Hero), Adithi Kalkunte (Hotel Mumbai), Sikandar Kher (Aarya) and Makarand Deshpande (RRR).

Monkey Man is produced by Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas (Hotel Mumbai, The Man Who Knew Infinity), Oscar® winner Jordan Peele (Nope, Get Out), Win Rosenfeld (Candyman, Hunters series), Ian Cooper (Nope, Us), Basil Iwanyk (John Wick franchise, Sicario films), Erica Lee (John Wick franchise, Silent Night), Christine Haebler (Shut In, Bones of Crows) and Anjay Nagpal (executive producer of Bombshell, Greyhound).

Serving as executive producers are Jonathan Fuhrman, Natalya Pavchinskya, Aaron L. Gilbert, Andria Spring, Alison-Jane Roney and Steven Thibault.

Universal Pictures presents a Bron Studios production, a Thunder Road film, a Monkeypaw production, a Minor Realm/S’Ya Concept production, in association with WME Independent and Creative Wealth Media.
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU/

From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, colour and humanity.

The Personal History Of David Copperfield will be released in Australian cinemas July 2!
www.facebook.com/roadshow

It’s set in India and uses that colourful and frenetic local as an integral part of the storyline. It’s a tale of redemption amongst an older generation of Brits that are bucking against feeling like they have reached their used by dates. They end up at a hotel in India under false pretences and find that the luxury hotel the ads spoke about has been replaced by a run down complex run by Sonny (played with good humour by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire).

The set up is somewhat conventional but what really lets the movie down is how predictable the script is. This is not helped at all by an overbearing soundtrack that telegraphs almost every salient moment in the film. The actors try as they might have little to work with other that establishing their characters eccentricities.

Films with sophistication, complex characterization and involving plot lines will always have a place up on the big screen even if they appeal to only a certain segment of the audience but when you pander to a specific group you still need to involve them regardless of age or demographics.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/20thCenturyStudiosAUNZ

The story revolves around a computer sciences geek Deon Wilson (played by Dev Patel, he of Slumdog Millionaire, The Newsroom and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fame) who creates an Artificial Intelligence program to help his robots achieve a level of human consciousness. His place of employment has already used his technology to build robots that the police use to enforce the law in Johannesburg. Upper management is opposed to this, so he goes rogue to complete the task. This is when the story takes a rather large detour into ridiculousness.

Wilson is kidnapped by a group of hip-hop thugs lead by Ninja (Watkin Tudor Jones, a real life South African rapper, record producer and actor) who terrorizes Wilson but also helps him insert his AI program into a decommissioned robot. Once the program is installed, the robot essentially becomes a child and is taught the ways of life by both Wilson and the thugs. There are some interesting comments on nurture verses nature as the robot become more and more human.

The big finale borrows a bit too liberally from the film Robocop and the final end run takes science to unbelievable places. There are too many moments in the film that illustrate that working more diligently on the logic loop holes in the script would have helped immensely. The film errs on the side of big dumb entertainment, which is a bit of a shame as some of the ideas really showed promise. As it is, it’s entertaining but not much of a mental exercise. With Blomkamp’s stated intension of this being part one of a trilogy, here is hoping they work a little more believability into parts two and three.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS

The main trust of the film is the attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. This site was chosen for its opulence and the large numbers of Westerners that stayed there. We follow the plight of the humble hotel staff, most notably Anupam Kher as head chef Hemant Oberoi and Dev Patel as Arjun, one of his waiters. The staff are presented as selfless and brave. This reality is confirmed by the high number of actual staff members that were killed in the siege while protecting their guests.

Hotel guests of note include Nazanin Boniadi as Zahra and Armie Hammer as David, a newly wed couple with a new born baby. They get drawn into peril and their plight forms the backbone of the story. There are no real happy endings and no false histrionics as things play out. This is a gritty reality.

The contrast between the poverty shown throughout the city and the grandeur of the hotel is stark as is the extremes the hotel staff go to to please the guests. The film is incredibly tense and never falls into easy outs. The victims and the perpetrators enact actions that give the story believability. This is edge of your seat stuff.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/IconFilmDistribution.Au

The main trust of the film is the attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. This site was chosen for its opulence and the large numbers of Westerners that stayed there. We follow the plight of the humble hotel staff, most notably Anupam Kher as head chef Hemant Oberoi and Dev Patel as Arjun, one of his waiters. The staff are presented as selfless and brave. This reality is confirmed by the high number of actual staff members that were killed in the siege while protecting their guests.

Hotel guests of note include Nazanin Boniadi as Zahra and Armie Hammer as David, a newly wed couple with a new born baby. They get drawn into peril and their plight forms the backbone of the story. There are no real happy endings and no false histrionics as things play out. This is a gritty reality.

The contrast between the poverty shown throughout the city and the grandeur of the hotel is stark as is the extremes the hotel staff go to to please the guests. The film is incredibly tense and never falls into easy outs. The victims and the perpetrators enact actions that give the story believability. This is edge of your seat stuff.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/IconFilmDistribution.Au

Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple.

Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.

www.facebook.com/LionMovie

Competition will be drawn 18 January 2016, winners will be notified by mail.

The Man Who Knew Infinity stars Jeremy Irons, Dev Patel, Stephen Fry and Toby Jones and is based on the incredible biography by Robert Kanigel. The Man Who Knew Infinity tells the amazing true story of self-taught mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Dev Patel stars alongside Jeremy Irons in a film that explores the brilliance of a man many believe could decipher the very fabric of the universe and possibly existence itself. Driven by his destiny for a greater calling, Ramanujan’s (Patel) life was turned upside down when Cambridge professor G.H. Hardy (Irons) discovered his talents and plucked him from obscurity in his homeland of India.

The pair would go on to become unlikely friends and make up one of history’s most bewildering and productive collaborations, working on the most complex problems known to man, with much of his works still relevant in maths and science today.

www.facebook.com/TheManWhoKnewInfinityMovie/

Competition will be drawn 04 May 2016, winners will be notified by mail.

The story revolves around a computer sciences geek Deon Wilson (played by Dev Patel, he of Slumdog Millionaire, The Newsroom and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fame) who creates an Artificial Intelligence program to help his robots achieve a level of human consciousness. His place of employment has already used his technology to build robots that the police use to enforce the law in Johannesburg. Upper management is opposed to this, so he goes rogue to complete the task. This is when the story takes a rather large detour into ridiculousness.

Wilson is kidnapped by a group of hip-hop thugs lead by Ninja (Watkin Tudor Jones, a real life South African rapper, record producer and actor) who terrorizes Wilson but also helps him insert his AI program into a decommissioned robot. Once the program is installed, the robot essentially becomes a child and is taught the ways of life by both Wilson and the thugs. There are some interesting comments on nurture verses nature as the robot become more and more human.

The big finale borrows a bit too liberally from the film Robocop and the final end run takes science to unbelievable places. There are too many moments in the film that illustrate that working more diligently on the logic loop holes in the script would have helped immensely. The film errs on the side of big dumb entertainment, which is a bit of a shame as some of the ideas really showed promise. As it is, it’s entertaining but not much of a mental exercise. With Blomkamp’s stated intension of this being part one of a trilogy, here is hoping they work a little more believability into parts two and three.
Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/ChappieMovie