It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.



[Report]

Here we are with the rare week when there are three big new movies opening in South Korea.

I try and provide as varied a sampling of movies as I can, and to that end The Hitman’s Bodyguard gets the cut. An action comedy with Samuel L. Jackson, and Ryan Reynolds, it works because of them, although it can’t break out of the dreaded cliche zone. Done.

We’re going to look more closely at Atomic Blonde and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - two movies that both offer something a little special and will get your filmic taste buds working overtime.

[Slug CG]

Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

[Slug CG]
Atomic Blonde (2017, David Leitch)
An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War.

Berlin - on the eve of the Wall's collapse and the shifting of superpower alliances. Charlize Theron is a top-level spy for MI6 who is dispatched to Berlin to take down a ruthless espionage ring that has just killed an undercover agent for reasons unknown. She is ordered to cooperate with a Berlin station chief, and the two form an uneasy alliance, unleashing their full arsenal of skills in pursuing a threat that jeopardizes the West's entire intelligence operation.

Charlize Theron easily holds her own in what is almost the first female-centric spy thriller, and the action set pieces are top-notch and fresh. Despite these, though, the plot is a little flimsy and seems a little ‘light’ on the whole.

Some think the movie overplays its stylistic cards to the bitter end and just doesn't have enough mortar up its sleeve to hold the whole house together. One thing that is certain, however, is that Atomic Blonde is worth the effort to find these answers for yourself.

[Slug CG]
Valerian and the CIty of a Thousand Planets (2017, Luc Besson)
Two special ops race to safeguard the vast city Alpha.

Valerian is visually spectacular - there’s really no debating that. From Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element and Lucy, and based on a comic book series, it would be hard to come up with anything else.

In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha - an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence, and cultures. But there is a mystery at the center of Alpha - a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

It sounds like the perfect sci-fi epic, but that would only be if you disregard the story. Instead, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses its sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome its narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose surreal pleasures often outweigh its flaws.