• The film is inspired by the comic series Birds of Prey which was originally published by DC Comics in 1996.
• Black Canary and Huntress have been core members of the team throughout the series.
• Renee Montoya is a more recent addition to Birds of Prey comics; the character originated in the TV realm.
• While Harley Quinn has appeared in the comics from time to time, to date she has never been a part of the team. That will change this year as DC Comics writes her into the series in issues releasing later this year.
• All of the characters featured in the film (i.e., Harley, Canary, Huntress, Renee, Cassandra Cain, as well as the film’s villains Roman Sionis/aka Black Mask and Zsasz) are part of the Batman comic universe.
• According to comic lore, Cassandra Cain becomes Batgirl, but this is never alluded to in the film.

You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

Loaded with fun, dark and twisted humour that cheekily skewers pop culture archetypes and an action-packed roller coaster ride – Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is the origin story of the most unlikely girl gang. Infused throughout with a bold, subversive, sometimes surreal tone and over-the-top outrageousness – Birds of Prey turns the superhero genre inside out – delivering a strong message of empowerment via Harley’s particular brand of anarchic joie de vivre.

It is yet another shining light in DC Comics’ continued rise with this easily and possibly being their best movie yet, at least we think so. There’s literally nothing like the Harley Quinn character out there (except for maybe a certain Deadpool) and the uniqueness of it is what sets not only the character but also this movie apart from the rest of what we’ve seen in a live action comic book based movie. Birds of Prey is a thrilling ride full of fun, quirkiness, fantastic action and fighting scenes with a ridiculousness that is quite engaging and charming.

Built for the character perfectly, Margot Robbie was born to play this character and she brings one of the greatest and unassuming comic book villains to life in the most effective way possible. The supporting cast also does a fantastic job in making the whole package what it is with Ewan McGregor delivering an expertly done and humorous rendition of the Black Mask character, the villain of the movie. As you can tell we don’t have anything bad to say about this one because there really isn’t anything bad to mention.

The above should be enough to convince you to make a date to go see this one and if it wasn’t clear then, well, DO IT. In cinemas officially from today, Birds of Prey is a great way to kickstart the year, we reckon it will take some beating and is easily our fave and leading movie in 2020. DC has the best comic book characters and not only are they starting to get it right but they’re doing so by telling their villains stories (this being another great example) which is by far their greatest asset. Well played DC folk, Birds of Prey gets a fantabulous 8.5 out of 10 rating from us.  

Our thanks to Empire Entertainment for the great screening. 

A very welcome change is being seen when it comes to DC, after a rough start with most of its earlier movies, the studio is seemingly turning the corner with fantastic approaches to Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam, the highly anticipated Joker movie and now this one which also looks the part. In this one we find Harley Quinn, after splitting with the Joker (who again bears no relation to Joaquin Phoenix’s upcoming portrayal of the character), joining superheroes Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord, Black Mask in Gotham City.

This one looks colorful, silly, loud and violent which are the classic hallmarks of the character Harley Quinn. We could be set for another special one here from the studio that is clearly on the up, Birds of Prey is scheduled for release on 7 February 2020, mark the date.

He is back this time with a more than tentalising prospect, it comes in the shape of Once Upon a Time In Hollywood starring a blockbuster cast headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Brad Pritt, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino and more. We’ve been waiting for this one and thanks to Ster-Kinekor we were able to see if first during the opening of their revamped Cinema Nouveau at Rosebank Mall. A very classy and classic feel they have there now, we certainly approve of the changes made!

Cast – Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Al Pacino

Director – Quentin Tarantino

Genre – Drama/Thriller

Running Time – 2h 45m

Officially his (Tarantino) ninth feature film, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor…Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). We admit that the synopsis isn’t enough to drive excitement in anyone but if you are familiar with Tarantino and also look at the rich cast (and boy does this movie have this in abundance) then you would probably sense that there is something special about it regardless.

This is one weird and ridiculous movie, so yes classic Tarantino at his best. It may not be our fave work from him but it’s one he can be proud to have as part of his very overzealous but very impressive repertoire. It won’t be for everyone we can safely say that, you will either really like it or really dislike it (again, it’s as simple as that with no in between or middle). This was evident when not even midway through it some people started leaving the cinema and some remaining, staying right through to the end (us included).

The concept is something that has stuck with us and makes us wonder what goes on in Tarantino’s head and how he manages to come up with all of it. Some may call it madness, we call it genius. We keep on referring to him and less so on anything else mainly because it’s evident that this movie is him fulfilling his wildest edges. The movie is spread across with a very interesting way of shooting and cutting to different scenes. The performances are also fantastic, more so from the two leads, DiCaprio fully investing in the role (as he naturally does) and Pitt coming through in his cool and charming way (as he also naturally does).

Screening officially on 30 August 2019, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is a very interesting ride that will appeal to a certain type of movie watcher who appreciates different concepts brought to life through film. It’s a ride that includes a ton of cool features as well as all kinds of comedy done so in a not so classical blatant manner. It validates why we are huge fans of Tarantino films and why he will forever be unique in what he does, he’s not for everyone but he’s definitely for us. His latest work gets a 7.5 out of 10 rating from us.

Our thanks to Ster-Kinekor for the very classy screening at their equally classy revamped Cinema Nouveau cinema at Rosebank Mall. If anything, go there to just experience that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvjeZt1fyIg

For those who aren’t aware, Tarantino is known for being one of the most eccentric movie directors around with a particular flair for the dramatic most evident in almost anything and everything he’s involved in…strangely, that’s part of the reason why we are huge fans of his. His movies are easily not to everyone’s taste but they do work and have been huge successes in the box office, some of these include Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Pulp Fiction just to name a few. With a director like that complete with a blockbuster cast, you would be crazy for not wanting to see this one. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is set to hit cinemas on 26 July 2019.

Genre – Action

Director – David Ayer

Running Time – 123 mins

Was it the biggest movie of the year as anticipated?

Suicide Squad, one of the most anticipated movies of the year and we finally had a chance to see it. This is thanks to Ster-Kenikor who invited us to the official premiere hosted at the recently opened and impressive Mall of Africa. We’ve been to a couple now but nothing quite like this one, the spectacle was packed and just went to show that this was indeed an event and movie not to be missed. But was the movie really worth it and did it live up to the hype?

Interesting to note that production for Suicide Squad started back in 2009, the movie is DC Comics’ biggest bet for the year especially considering what happened with Dawn of Justice, which we personally liked but wasn’t to everyone else’s liking, so yes a lot is riding on it.

Before actually checking it out, we couldn’t help but check out some of the earlier reviews from the international and some of the local guys, to our surprise they were mostly negative. Would that deter us though? No. I specifically believe that those are opinion based, even this post, and we all have different opinions. Truth of the matter is some loved it and some, not so much and some, well, meh. My advice would be to read this sort of stuff for some context but don’t base your decision of whether or not to check something out (a movie in this instance) based solely on posts from ‘critics’. Ehm, ourselves excluded  

Ok, had to get that one out of the way.

But did we like it? Despite a few issues, we can firmly say yes, we did! The plot is based on intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) who decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Figuring it has nothing to lose, the U.S. government supplies weapons to Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) and other despicable inmates. Dubbed the Suicide Squad, the united criminals must defeat a mysterious and powerful entity while contending with the antics of the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto).

When reading all of that it all sounds good right? The director David Ayer certainly does his best to tell what was always going to be a tricky story. But, we couldn’t help but have a bit of an issue with the execution thereof, don’t get us wrong the action sequences (which there’s a ton) and the characters themselves do an excellent job but the story does present one with a few holes and a few questions such as the idea of recruiting these guys even before there’s an immediate threat. Probably just technical stuff which won’t deter you from having fun whilst watching.

What we like is that the movie is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s different, quirky, shameless and just about every other thing you can imagine that’s fun. It’s clear that the main focus is largely on certain characters who turn out to be the best and standout ones. We were pretty impressed with Deadshot, Amanda Waller and especially the quirky, fun and sexy Harley Quinn.

Maybe not quite what we expected originally but Suicide Squad definitely delivers and does the job. We liked it and wouldn’t mind seeing it again. We recommend going to see it and if possible, in IMAX! First time we’ve seen anything in that format, and it’s safe to say that there’s no better way (maybe Prestige) of watching a movie, take our word for it.

Suicide Squad gets an official 3.5 rating from us.