Film Screening 2nd June, 2018

Poster for Ready Player One

Ready Player One 

7:00 PM, 2nd June, 2018
No Guests

  • M
  • 140 mins
  • 2018
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke Ben Mendelsohn, Simon Pegg

Ready Player One is set in a dystopian future where all natural resources have been depleted. As a result, the people spend their time in OASIS, a virtual reality simulator where they can escape from their harsh world. Teenager Wade Watts (Sheridan) stumbles upon a clue for an Easter Egg (a hidden treat in computer games) which becomes even more important after the creator of OASIS dies and bequeaths his fortune to whoever finds the Easter Egg.

Of course, this interests a few people, including a man (Mendelsohn) who will stop at nothing to climb the corporate ladder and squash any rebellion (me thinks he’s being typecast after Rogue One).

The novel by Ernest Cline was a New York Times bestseller, for very good reason, and Cline co-wrote this screenplay. It is packed with homage to pretty much every piece of popular culture since the ‘80s. Plus Spielberg delivers a visually spectacular and exciting ride from start to finish. You may need to watch this a few times to pick every pop culture reference, but it’s these details which are the actual wonder of this film, much like the Easter Egg being hunted.

Steven Cain

Poster for Rampage

Rampage 

9:30 PM, 2nd June, 2018

  • M
  • 107 mins
  • 2018
  • Brad Peyton
  • Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

The Rock is back in another smash-em-up disaster flick featuring a giant ape, a giant wolf and a giant crocodile. Sound familiar? It should! For those not in the know, “Rampage” is a 1986 arcade game in which the player takes control of one of three gigantic creatures and tries to smash up a city while surviving waves of military forces. The game is simple – one might say primal – and this film adaptation doesn’t make things too complicated from there.

A genetic experiment has gone awry, and three animals have suddenly grown to the size of buildings. One of these monsters is an albino silverback gorilla named George. Davis Okoye (Johnson) is an animal handler with a deep, pre-experiment connection to George, and sets out to find an antidote that will prevent a global catastrophe and save the beast that was once his friend.

Rampage is a fun romp with plenty of disaster-movie spectacle, playfully revelling in the old ‘man is the real monster’ trope. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Josh Paul