Jojo Rabbit
This superb satirical black comedy is written and directed by New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, who brings his unique signature style of humour and pathos to this World War II satire.
Roman Griffin Davis portrays Jojo a Hitler Youth who finds out his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. He must then question his beliefs while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend, an idiotic version of Adolf Hitler (Waititi).
This hilarious and heartfelt “anti-hate satire” punctures the twisted beliefs that led to World War II while, at the same time, telling a deeply human tale about the victims of that conflict.
“Jojo Rabbit is a movie about love and acceptance,” says Waitiki. “There are kids the world over that get programmed in the ideologies of adults because kids are very easy to program. I think what’s cool about Jojo’s journey is that he’s able – through his influences, but also through his own will and what he experiences – to deepen himself and escape.”
It’s open season on Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) when her always unpredictable life spirals even more out of control following a particularly explosive break-up with her one true love, Mr J. For the first time, she’s unprotected and on the run with every thug in Gotham running after her – starting at the very top with crime-lord Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor).
But with an unexpected assist from three very unlikely sources – Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), the Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Harley and her newly contrived cadre just might survive this insanely wild, potentially (probably) deadly day to save Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from Gotham City crime lord Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).
This superhero film is based on the DC Comics team of the same name, it’s the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and a follow-up movie of 2016 film Suicide Squad, and is directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson.
“The film is a wild ride and a lot of fun – a taste of life from Harley’s point-of-view that’s unpredictable, out of order, funny, dangerous, heartwarming…a little bit of everything, like her,” says Margot Robbie.
This gripping urban drama marks the remarkable feature debut of rapper-turned-YouTube-sensation-turned-director Andrew Onwubolu aka Rapman.
Best friends Timmy (Stephen Odubola) and Marco (Micheal Ward) go to the same high school in Peckham but live in neighbouring London boroughs. When Marco’s beaten up by one of Timmy’s primary school friends the two boys wind up on rival sides of a never-ending cycle of postcode gang war in which there are no winners – only victims.
This British drama was written, directed and narrated by Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) through the medium of rap and marks his feature directorial debut and is based on his 2014 YouTube series of the same name.
“What I want to do with this film is to show people, the kids involved in gangs, that the decisions you make can affect not just your life but those around you. You might think that everything you’re fighting for is so important – but is it? Are the people you’re fighting for, dying for, are they even your friends? Why do you feel you need to bleed for an area? You’re not enlisted. You’re not a soldier fighting for the country.”
Read more about the latest and upcoming film releases.
