Fair Play
Out now, Netflix
Stars: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan
Emily (Dynevor) and Luke (Ehrenreich) are in love. They get engaged and make plans for their lives together, while keeping their romance under wraps at the office, where they are colleagues. Then, one of them gets a call from the boss. On the face of things, when Emily gets promoted, this should be cause for celebration. But then, things are not so simple. Despite his protestations, Luke resents having lost out on the promotion himself and having to report to Emily. As tensions boil over, they threaten to destroy the young couple’s relationship.
Alden Ehrenreich: Things are alright for this Han-some star
Having performed for some of the best directors alive, and played an iconic Star Wars character, the up-and-coming actor has the potential to be the next big leading man.
It’s not an easy name to remember.
Alden Ehrenreich, however, might be easier to remember as that kid who played a young Han Solo in the 2018 film, Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Now 33, the Los Angeles-born actor was more recently seen in a supporting role opposite Robert Downey Jr in Christopher Nolan’s epic, Oppenheimer.
He played a naive Senate aide who learns that Downey Jr’s character, Lewis Strauss, is a shadowy antagonist towards Oppenheimer.
Having originally started his career in 2005 on the long-running television series, Supernatural, Ehrenreich has gone on to perform for some of the top directors around.
In 2009 and 2011, he appeared in two films by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, namely Tetro and Twixt respectively. (In between, he had an uncredited role in Sofia Coppola’s 2010 film, Somewhere.)
In 2013, he appeared in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine and Park Chan-wook’s Stoker. He then went on to play a moody cowboy-turned-leading man in the Coen Brothers comedy Hail, Caesar! (2016).
However, when he assumed the iconic role of Han Solo two years later, Ehrenreich was still a relative unknown. And while the film didn’t quite bring him into wider prominence, he did get positive notices, not least from Harrison Ford himself.
This year, besides Oppenheimer, Ehrenreich was also seen in the surprise hit comedy-horror flick, Cocaine Bear, playing the depressed son of a drug kingpin. He can next be seen in the thriller, Fair Play, as a young man whose life with his fiance is turned upside down after she gets the promotion at work that he had been coveting.
Breaking Point
Out in cinemas now (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Karam Singh, Kelvin Clark, Hannah John-Kamen
It’s difficult to tackle tough familial emotions, especially when two siblings haven’t seen eye to eye for years. For Trey and Benji, who have been estranged since their mother died, the answer isn’t an intervention or a visit to the therapist. It is, instead, a trip to the world championships of breakdancing, or breaking as the kids call it. Their bitterness towards one another is obvious as the teen brothers compete to be selected by the British breaking team. With their exceptional skills, however, both get closer to the top – and each other.
SAFRA members enjoy special discounts on MovieMax Member rates and Combo Sets at Shaw Theatres. For more info, go to safra.sg/promotions/shaw-theatres
Sana
Out in cinemas now (Available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Tomoko Hoshi, Hayami Akari, Generations from Exile Tribe
If you find yourself in a horror movie, particularly one directed by Takashi Shimizu of Ju-On: The Grudge fame, there are a few rules you need to remember to stay alive. Don’t find yourself alone in a spooky setting, don’t play a dubious-looking cassette tape, and stay away from any strange-looking children. In this story, a middle school girl named Sana (Hoshi) is the sender of the demo tape to a radio station, which contains an infectious tune. As more people listen to the song, more people begin to meet Sana and die.
Dumb Money
Out in cinemas 12 October (available at Shaw Theatres)
Stars: Paul Dano, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen
If you remember GameStop as a hot stock in 2021, you’ll be familiar with the premise of this account of events that made some people very rich, and others not so rich. Keith (Dano) is a regular Joe who starts a YouTube channel about stock tips. One day, he picks GameStop as one that is being targeted by Wall Street bigwigs to fall. He begins to sink his life savings into GameStop, triggering an influx of retail investors – many of whom are his fans – into the market. The result? The stock skyrockets, he makes millions and Wall Street tries to stop him.
Foe
Out now, Prime Video
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Aaron Pierre
Out on a remote farm, a married couple lead an uneventful life together. Junior (Mescal) loves his wife Hen (Ronan) and their simple but blissful existence. Then one night, a stranger (Pierre) arrives at their home, and announces that Junior has been selected to work in a large space station that is orbiting the Earth. His time away is expected to be two years. However, the stranger reassures him that all will be taken care of, as an android double of Junior will take his place beside Hen. The stranger proceeds to interview the couple about their lives.
Lessons In Chemistry
Out 13 October, Apple TV+
Stars: Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Stephanie Koenig
A woman’s place is in the kitchen, making a drink for her man after he’s had a long day at work. Told this, Elizabeth (Larson) asks, “Why can’t the man make the drink?” Living in the 1950s, Elizabeth is a skilled chemist with dreams of making scientific discoveries. Her dreams are crushed when she is fired from her lab and told she doesn’t belong there. One day, after she nearly runs a man over with her car, she is offered a job as a TV cooking show host. She then uses her newfound platform to teach more than just recipes to a nation.
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