Movie of the week – The Square
Force Majeure director Ruben Ostlund continues to mine situation comedy from middle class Swedish mores in The Square, a hilarious look at the hapless life of a Stockholm art gallery curator. Close to two and a half hours long, it can feel like bingeing an entire season of a TV comedy. The movie nonetheless zips by, piling one outrageous scenario on top of another, and I doubt I’ll see a funnier movie all year.
Mary Magdalene
There aren’t too many laughs to be had in Mary Magdalene. Rooney Mara plays the titular biblical figure in this glum drama from Lion director Garth Davis. Eschewing the myth for a kitchen sink take on the story, the film is a lifeless slog, one that’s unlikely to satisfy either Christians or secularists. Should have printed the legend!
Tomb Raider
Video games notoriously don’t translate well to movie adaptations, so nobody was expecting much from a reboot of Tomb Raider. Surprisingly it’s not entirely unwatchable, boasting a charming lead performance from Alicia Vikander, who plays this version of Lara Croft as a curious but winning hybrid of Nancy Drew and John Rambo, and a couple of well mounted, physical action sequences.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
