Culture -- 18 days ago
Words: Gentleman's Journal
With summer comes an abundance of activities that you can enjoy in the sunshine, but sometimes it’s nice to relax and watch a film with a bucket of salt-ridden popcorn and a ridiculously oversized drink. These three films should make it onto your To-See list this summer.
3 DAYS TO KILL
Friday 20th June saw the release of Kevin Costner’s new film, 3 Days To Kill. Playing a secret service field agent, Costner’s character discovers he has a terminal illness and retires from the CIA. But when Amber Heard, the agency representative, offers Costner an experimental life-saving drug in exchange for one last mission, he reluctantly embarks on his toughest assignment to date. The gripping action film watches Costner try to balance work with attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter, with light, comic quips throughout. We never thought we’d see Costner in such an action-filled role, but he does so with power, determination and humour.
CHEF
Written, directed and starring Jon Favreau, Chef is set to be one of the funniest films of 2014. Due to be released on 27th June, Chef sees a fun-filled, A-list cast create non-stop humour around a topic that we can all take a lesson or two from. Favreau plays a passionate chef who loses his job after a critic’s visit to his restaurant. Struggling with the restraints of working in someone else’s kitchen, he opens his own mobile food truck and takes his culinary adventures on the road. The new business venture also helps him to bond again with the family that once took second place to his job, making for a feel-good comedy for anyone. Favreau is joined onscreen by Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman and Sofia Vergara in this film you won’t want to miss.
JOE,
Having screened at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, Nicholas Cage’s newest film is due to hit UK screens on 25th July. Cage stars as Joe, an ex-con who is the foreman of a work crew in a wooded area. When a 15 year old boy comes looking for work for himself and his violent, alcoholic father, Joe can’t help but watch over him. The father quickly steps out of line and is fired, leaving the boy to fall under Cage’s wing. As the film unravels, Cage’s darker side slowly emerges, showing his lack of ability to control his temper. He has a choice to make between redemption and ruin, and it’s one that he struggles with. Said to be one of Cage’s best performances, this drama about unlikely role-models should be a winner for the summer.
