Cast: Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Brian J. White, Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy
Director: Tyler Perry
Analysis: The one man industry that is Tyler Perry continues with this eleventh directorial effort by the playwright and filmmaker who also has the leading male role this time out - one which doesn't require him to slip on his Madea garb.
The story follows an affluent man (Perry), groomed from birth to take over his family's multinational business, who develops complicating feelings for a single mom (Newton) on the eve of his wedding.
Like all of Perry's films it's a manipulative feel good morality tale that'll no doubt feature his usual over-the-top black character portrayals and melodrama - but at least it seems mildly restrained this time out judging by the trailer. Still, a film only for the faithful.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part Two
Opens: November 16th 2012
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Michael Sheen
Director: Bill Condon
Analysis: Love or hate Stephenie Meyer's saga, there's no denying the impact of both the "Twilight" books and the films on popular culture. Now however it's coming to an end with the last chapter in the 'vegan vampires and virginal vaginas' series set to cap off and likely outgross the $700 million worldwide that the most recent film hauled in over the past two-and-a-bit months.
Filmmaker Bill Condon was given the arduous task of adapting Meyer's downright strangest and certainly most adult book not just onto film but spread out over two movies. The resulting first part was very much a work for the fans, indulging itself perhaps a little too much in the moments they were clamouring for and resulting in some of the weaker reviews of the franchise thus far - an undeserved honour I think as I found it the second best in the series behind the first film.
The pacing stumbled a bit once it left Brazil, while the now infamous 'psychic wolf conference' scene was a sour note. Other flourishes however were most welcome and the three singularly biggest challenges - the imprinting, the sex and the birth scenes - were handled with both inventiveness and aplomb. With the next part of 'Dawn' though, he faces an altogether different challenge.
The rest of 'Dawn' the book is all about the gathering of vampire clans from around the world to face off with the Volturi who've come to kill Bella's daughter Renesmee. What should build to a large scale vampire on vampire fight ends up being a kind of anti-climactic "whoops we were wrong, lets get out of here" letdown, an ending that divided the fan base at the time of publication.
With the film though the question becomes if Condon has changed the source material to include a more cinematic and visually epic face-off. He also has to handle a raft of new faces and characters playing the assorted different coven members (keep an eye out for Erik Odom, big things ahead for that guy). The film is already on track to break box-office records, the real question is where, in fans minds, will it ultimately sit in this series when think back on it years from now.
