Maleficent

Thor dropped his mighty hammer to co-star alongside an armour-clad Kristen Stewart as Snow White and the Huntsman so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t see Maleficent, Disney’s latest fantasy adventure. Angelina Jolie’s dark majesty as Maleficent echoes her role in Beowulf, while Charlize Theron stars as Ravenna. If you’ve seen the movie trailer, you’ll know the parallels with Snow White & the Huntsman don’t end there.

Maleficent is bound to be spectacular thanks to Robert Stromberg. While a directorial debut, the Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor is responsible for the magic at the heart of Pan’s Labyrinth, The Hunger Games, Alice in Wonderland and Avatar.

Why watch?  To put an end to the nightmares after watching Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.

Kill Your Darlings

Daniel Radcliffe is trying to shake Harry Potter. Just like Connery’s lingering bond with Bond, it’s something that no amount of shadow boxing is going to jilt. That doesn’t stop him from trying though, since Kill Your Darlings stars Radcliffe as young American poet, Allen Ginsberg. The story follows a murder in 1944, in which Beat Generation poets Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs were united.

Potter’s not alone, supported by a notable cast including the Leonardo DiCaprio lookalike Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2). As funny as that combination sounds, this one’s dead serious, dealing with the forces that shaped Ginsberg’s sexuality, identity and art.

Why watch?  So that you don’t think the Beat Generation is a 90s Eurodance project.

Edge of Tomorrow

If Groundhog Day made an impression and Source Code blew you away, you’ve got to see Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. This live-action adaptation is based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s light novel, All You Need Is Kill. The story follows a military officer, inexperienced in combat, yet stuck in a time loop repeating the same mission.

Doug Liman directs a thought-provoking sci-fi actioner with a strong dose of dark comedy. He’s a great choice considering he’s best known for The Bourne Identity, Swingers and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and he’s already primed to direct Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy in 2015.

Why watch?  To erase your memory of the awful Oblivion…

Locke

A dedicated family man and construction manager is pushed to the edge after a phone call seems poised to destroy everything he’s worked so hard to achieve.  If you’ve seen Phone Booth, Buried or Brake… you’ll know what Locke is all about: one man, one phone, a claustrophobic scenario and escalating tension.

This is an edgy night ride that works thanks to a compelling performance from Tom Hardy and nail-biting tension from writer-director Steven Knight. We saw some glimmers of greatness from Knight with Jason Statham in Redemption. By zooming in and leveraging an actor like Tom Hardy, Locke ironically unlocks mystery and suspense.

Why watch?  For the price of a movie ticket, you get to ride shotgun with Tom Hardy.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Michael Bay doesn’t care if you liked Revenge of the Fallen or not. He’s cashing Transformer-sized cheques and still getting a $165 million budget to make movies about a line of toys. Now that he’s got Mark Wahlberg’s sequel virginity, it seems as though Bay is unstoppable.

In Transformers: Age of Extinction, he’s out of control… arming Optimus Prime with a sword, shield and saddling a Dinobot. Needless to say, the CGI and sound effects are going to be out-of-this-world and the story actually looks quite promising now that they’ve stopped relying on Sam Witwicky to save the world.

Why watch?  If this sequel makes it big, there’s a good chance we’ll see a live-action Dino-Riders movie.

MOVIE NEWS

Arrow, meet The Flash…

Can lightning strike twice? The Flash, DC’s spin-off to Arrow looks promising after they released a five minute trailer for the pilot episode. From X-Men: Days of Future Past’s treatment of Quicksilver, there are obviously a lot of creative ways to keep the speedster fresh and exciting. Grant Gustin plays the scarlet superhero and with some strong parallels with Peter Parker and Spider-Man, there’s potential for greatness. Expect an avalanche of ‘Flash in the Pan’ jokes if it fails.

Blade Runner 2 looking to move Ford

While a financial flop at the time of its 1982 release, Blade Runner has developed a loyal cult following and more traction with time. While it may contravene aspects of the original, Alcon Entertainment wants Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott back for the sequel. The 71-year-old Ford reprised his role as Indiana Jones, is set to return as Han Solo, and will probably be persuaded to return as Rick Deckard, after a series of box office misfires.

This article first appeared in TechSmart 129. Read it online now.