From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman franchise, Kick-Ass) comes Argylle, a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-encircling spy thriller.

Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past.

Accompanied by Aiden (Oscar® winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.

The top-flight ensemble cast features Henry Cavill (The Witcher), John Cena (Fast X), Oscar® winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Grammy winning pop superstar Dua Lipa (Barbie), Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Emmy winner and comedy icon Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and the legendary Samuel L. Jackson. Alfie is played by Chip, the real-life cat of supermodel Claudia Vaughn (née Schiffer).

Argylle is directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jason Fuchs (I Still See You). The film is produced by Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling (Kingsman franchise), Jason Fuchs, and David Reid (Kingsman franchise). The executive producers are Adam Fishbach, Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres and Claudia Vaughn.

Apple Original Films presents, in association with MARV, a Cloudy production. Argylle is distributed by Universal Pictures.
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Colin Firth as Kingsman agent Harry Hart is flawlessly cast as our introduction to this world of perfect gentlemanly conduct and deadly killing precision. And in stark contrast to the recent proclivity of the Bond franchise to do away with all those cool spy gadgets, this film is littered with deadly hardware that would have made the old Q more than happy.

Underlining the cool technology on display is a story based on character development, honour and paying back impossible depts. Harry becomes a mentor to Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (played with emerging star power by Taron Egerton) who is the offspring of a fellow agent and friend to Hart that had made the ultimate sacrifice. His mentorship is put to the test as they clash with billionaire baddie Valentine (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who taps into mind control and has the world on the edge of chaos.

The film misses few chances to shock the audience and often times goes into directions that have you shaking your head, Big budget action films don’t usually play with the rules this fast and loose. The end result is a defiance of the norm that will leave you with a smile on your dial and give you the opportunity to recommend this to friends without any hesitations. Few films this year will provide more entertaining escapism.

Rob Hudson
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The film is spectacular looking while not being that memorable in hindsight. It’s main thrust is action not character development but as an intro to the previous monster mayhem from many years ago, it remains to be seen if they can capture the charm of the originals. It was a simpler time back them and what was once frightening, now needs to be ramped up to make an impression with current audiences.

Next classic to get the reboot is suppose to be the Bride Of Frankenstein and after that the stars are lining up to be involved. The list of potential or signed legends include Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem and Angelina Jolie. The Mummy comes across as a bit too serious and being a fan of the originals with their quaint and camp nature, one can hope they might find a bit more light in the future.

It is fun to be introduced to the characters from that rich past but please scale the CGI back a bit and rely more on the development of those beacons than just to wow with current level visuals. There was something so memorable about staying up late and watching those black and white midnight movies where you laughed as much as you were frightened.

Rob Hudson
www.mummythemovie.com.au

Sent alone into Berlin to retrieve a priceless dossier from within the destabilized city, she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) to navigate her way through a deadly game of spies.

Starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones and John Goodman, ATOMIC BLONDE is In cinemas August 3.
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Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.

Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.

Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television’s Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV’s American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator).

The creative team on this action-adventure event is led by director/producer Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan, who have been instrumental in growing some of the most successful franchises of the past several years—with Kurtzman writing or producing entries in the Transformers, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible series, and Morgan being the narrative engineer of the Fast & Furious saga as it has experienced explosive growth from its third chapter on.  Sean Daniel, who produced the most recent Mummy trilogy, produces alongside Kurtzman and Morgan.