Alan Dee’s movie preview: Macho men and monsters dominate a trio of testosterone treats

Mark Wahlberg’s reinvention as everyone’s favourite everyman killing machine continues apace.
Mark Wahlberg in Lone SurvivorMark Wahlberg in Lone Survivor
Mark Wahlberg in Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor has one of those titles that indicate a high body count, and it doesn’t lie – our Mark is the only special forces op still breathing after a disastrous mission in Afghanistan.

It’s based on a true story and is told with a grim attention to keeping it rough and real. It’s not for the squeamish, but it’s certainly not as gung-ho as most American films featuring their boys on the front line.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Not a lot of laughs, either, in Out Of The Furnace, in which ex-con Christian Bale tries to keep little brother Casey Affleck out of trouble without much success.

Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitaker and Willem Dafoe add support in a gritty and brutal blue collar drama from writer/director Scott Cooper, whose last project was the Oscar-winning Crazy Heart.

What would happen if Dr Frankenstein’s monster still walked the earth 200 years on?

He hasn’t got the familiar bolt through his neck, but the creature, now looking a lot like Aaron Eckhart, is centre stage in the an age-old battle between supernatural entities.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I, Frankenstein bills itself as fast-paced gothic action movie and is adapted from a graphic novel by Kevin ‘Underworld’ Grevioux, so it’s slick , high fashion fare.

That Awkward Moment answers that nagging question: Whatever happened to Zac Efron?

The teen sensation is back in a ‘raunchy’ romantic comedy about three lads who, when one is dumped, vow to all stay single and pursue no-ties fun.

Of course it doesn’t work, or it would make for a pretty dull story – but Zac and co stretching for those grown-up gags doesn’t seem right, somehow.

Related topics: