Yet with the restructuring of certain character’s place in this space-western universe, the game and its actions provide only the merest of hints. What you are left with is a very good example of a current-generation popcorn movie. It’s fun and frivolous and the 102-minute running time flies by. And just like the salty snack that fills but doesn’t stick to the ribs, it only tickles the memory cells.

Blanchett plays Lilith, an outlaw and a complete badass with guns and in hand-to-hand combat and one who is presented on-screen under a blazing scarlet do. Her 9 to 5 is bounty hunter but when she is tasked to go on a man, or in this case a woman hunt and return to her home planet, the adventure begins. She picks up some wayward help along the way with a mouthy robot Claptrap voiced by a sped-up Jack Black and a fellow warrior, Roland (Kevin Hart).

It all feels like maybe an MA rating might have given the film’s commandos a better opportunity to really let loose and provide a more substantive experience. Fans of the video game will have more to do as there are more than a few Easter Eggs carefully hidden in some unusual places and this gives value. For the rest of us, the entertainment quotient is rather immediate and not particularly long-lasting.
Rob Hudson
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Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot.

Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to BORDERLANDS.

BORDERLANDS is directed by Eli Roth and stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramírez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

BORDERLANDS is coming to Australian cinemas on August 8, 2024.
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Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila—his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine.

Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind’s—hangs in the balance.

Jaume Collet-Serra directs the film, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez and Jack Whitehall, with Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. The producers are John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment; Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions; and Beau Flynn of Flynn Picture Co., with Scott Sheldon and Doug Merrifield serving as executive producers. The story is by John Norville & Josh Goldstein and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, and the screenplay is by Michael Green and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” releases in cinemas July 29 and on Disney+ with Premier Access* July 30, 2021.

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A riveting drama inspired by the true events of the ‘90s Bre-X Mineral Corporation scandal, GOLD is the epic tale of one man’s pursuit of the American dream, to discover gold.

Kenny Wells (Academy Award® winner Matthew McConaughey) is a modern day prospector, desperate for a lucky break who teams up with a similarly eager geologist (Golden Globe nominee Édgar Ramírez) to find gold deep in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia. Getting the gold was hard, but keeping it would be even harder, sparking an adventure through the most powerful boardrooms of Wall Street.
www.goldmovie.com.au

Competition will be drawn 1 February 2017, winners will be notified by mail.

Every film viewing session, while being a great collective experience should be assessed without the bias of others. We’ve all had to endure watching films when those around us are so obviously not enjoying themselves. It enacts a real negative vibe and is as rude as those that chomp and plastic wrap rustle their way through the entire film.

Assessing The Girl On The Train as its own entity is also a bit difficult with so much press comparing it to Gone Girl. This sets up the audience to expect the big twist and this film doesn’t really deliver those kinds of surprises. The good and the bad characters are a little too obvious and the only real shading is provided by the actor’s chops (with unfortunately little help from the script).

Sorry about that, rant now over. With a film like this, it is best to go see it for yourself, get lost in that dark room with everyone else, try to enjoy yourself and then make up your own mind afterwards.

Rob Hudson
www.thegirlonthetrainmovie.com