“The Rule of Jenny Pen” tells the story of Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush), a former judge who suffers a stroke and is confined to a nursing home, where he becomes the target of a manipulative and sinister fellow resident named Dave Crealy (John Lithgow), who uses a seemingly harmless baby doll called Jenny Pen to terrorize and control the other residents, exploiting his facade of dementia to inflict psychological abuse and torment upon them, forcing Stefan to confront his own powerlessness and fight back against the insidious control of Jenny Pen in this secluded and vulnerable environment.

The Rule of Jenny Pen will be released in select cinemas March 20!
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The film tells the tale of King George the VI (Colin Firth), the British royal who took over the crown under the most amazing of circumstances. It followed his brother David (Guy Pierce) and his abdication of the throne so he could marry the divorced woman Wallis Simpson and is set amidst the beginnings of World War Two. Poor George has a very bad stammer and must overcome this if he is to properly lead his people during these tumultuous times. He soon comes under the tutorship of speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) whose unconventional teaching techniques initially rub the royal the wrong way.

Watching two of the finest actors currently working in film riffing off each other is fascinating and the script by David Seidler gives them both the ammunition to really ignite the story line. There are so many moments of real humour and real pathos and none of them feel like cheap manipulations. The film drew in all members of the audience.

If the trend towards mainstream films being aimed at progressively younger audience members leaves most adult viewers out in the cold, the powers to be should drop into a local Cineplex and see the full seats of an all ages audience enjoying this gem. Might make them re-evaluate that unfortunate trend.

Rob Hudson
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The novel by Colin Thiele was first published in 1966. That was followed by the first filmed version in 1976. Fast forward to 2019 and director Shawn Seet (The Code and Underbelly) presents a new take starring Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, Trevor Jamieson and the amazing newcomer, Finn Little as the young boy who helps save the lives of three orphaned pelicans.

It’s a universal story of growing up without the aid of a full family unit and believing in something bigger than yourself and it’s told with great care. Getting a modern day audience to slow down long enough to savour all the nuances in both story and performance is difficult but this film fully realises those lofty ambitions.

While its simple beauty is intoxicating, it is the human element that leaves the deepest memory. Updating to present times is carefully handled and the story loses none of it poignancy. This is a film to see with all the family and to fully enjoy by yourself.

Rob Hudson
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In some ways, Captain Jack has his swagger back. It’s a silly return to the fun of the first film and doesn’t take itself too serious. Depp charts no new ground but his original idea of channeling Keith Richards and the cartoon skunk Pepe Le Pew still works well, so well in fact that his character has become ubiquitous. Pistol and Boo would be proud.

The cast this time features some fresh new faces, Australian actor Brenton Thwaites as son of Will, Henry Turner and British actor Kaya Scodelario as his love interest, Carina Smyth. There is also the welcome return of a couple of fan favourites. The story this time, while unchallenging, provides the back drop for some crazy happenings on the high seas. It pulls out all the stops in its computer generated imagery but the 3D effect darkens things just that bit too much.

This movie isn’t made for students of film, it’s made for the young and the easy to entertain. It follows the itinerary that most block busters follow, open big and try like hell to keep the energy up. It doesn’t really succeed but as far as popcorn films go, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a bit of frivolous fun.

Rob Hudson
www.pirates.disney.com

In this action-adventure inspired by the classic mythology of Egypt, the survival of mankind hangs in the balance as an unexpected mortal hero Bek (Brenton Thwaites) undertakes a thrilling journey to save the world and rescue his true love. In order to succeed, he must enlist the help of the powerful god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in an unlikely alliance against Set (Gerard Butler), the merciless god of darkness, who has usurped Egypt’s throne, plunging the once peaceful and prosperous empire into chaos and conflict.

As their breathtaking battle against Set and his henchmen takes them into the afterlife and across the heavens, both god and mortal must pass tests of courage and sacrifice if they hope to prevail in the epic final confrontation.

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Competition will be drawn 23 February 2016, winners will be notified by mail.

Its timeline starts from the beginning of time and quickly accelerates to the swinging sixties and as such makes for some very funny history lessons. It also rewards those looking for popular culture references with a wide range of improbable moments. The soundtrack is also fantastically period appropriate and the filmmakers spared no expense in securing the original songs by the original artists. The licensing fees must have been through the roof.

The core of the action eventually settles in London and takes full advantage of the Royal family, British culture and the liberal and conservative attitudes of the time. The set design is colourful in the way a lollie shop is colourful and focusing the film on just the trio of minions, Kevin, Stuart, and Bob makes their individual characters stand out.

Getting the mix of adult and children friendly humour just right is never easy and in this regard Minions excels. This is a film that the whole family can enjoy together and one that will lead to very few embarrassing questions for the parental units on the drive home.

Rob Hudson
www.minionmovie.com.au

The film tells the tale of King George the VI (Colin Firth), the British royal who took over the crown under the most amazing of circumstances. It followed his brother David (Guy Pierce) and his abdication of the throne so he could marry the divorced woman Wallis Simpson and is set amidst the beginnings of World War Two. Poor George has a very bad stammer and must overcome this if he is to properly lead his people during these tumultuous times. He soon comes under the tutorship of speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) whose unconventional teaching techniques initially rub the royal the wrong way.

Watching two of the finest actors currently working in film riffing off each other is fascinating and the script by David Seidler gives them both the ammunition to really ignite the story line. There are so many moments of real humour and real pathos and none of them feel like cheap manipulations. The film drew in all members of the audience.

If the trend towards mainstream films being aimed at progressively younger audience members leaves most adult viewers out in the cold, the powers to be should drop into a local Cineplex and see the full seats of an all ages audience enjoying this jem. Might make them re-evaluate that unfortunate trend.

Rob Hudson
www.kingsspeech.com