(Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash)
Big bold intelligent blockbusters.
They are the perfect mix – epic in a way that makes going to the cinema to see them eminently worth it but full of clever ideas and compelling characters which means we’re not met with empty spectacle but thrills and spills that actually mean something and might even emotionally impact us.
Not what you expect from your modern blockbuster is it?
But in these two films, spectacle seems to indeed meet substance which should mean that next year will have at least two films worth our time, money and popcorn-chomping time …
(Courtesy Imp Awards)
SNAPSHOT
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), is directed by English filmmaker Gil Kenan, director of the films Monster House, City of Ember, Poltergeist, and A Boy Called Christmas previously. The screenplay is written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan. Based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters, an Ivan Reitman film written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis; and also a sequel to Afterlife. Produced by Jason Reitman and Jason Blumenfeld. (courtesy First Showing)
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire releases in Australia on 28 March and in UK and U.S on 29 March 2024.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(courtesy IMP Awards)
SNAPSHOT
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike. (courtesy Collider)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes releases in Australia on 23 May and U.S. on 24 May 2024.