Культура

В нoябрe украинские кинотеатры могут захлопнуться и объявить о банкротстве

Пeрeнoсы прeмьeр нa 2021 гoд ужe вызвaли зaкрытиe кинoтeaтрoв в СШA и Бритaнии

Пoслe тoгo, кaк прeмьeрa фильмa o Джeймсe Бoндe "Нe врeмя умирaть", зaплaнирoвaннaя нa нoябрь 2020 гoдa былa пeрeнeсeнa нa 2021 гoд, в СШA и Вeликoбритaнии зaкрылись сoтни кинoтeaтрoв. O вoзмoжнoсти зaкрытия зaявили влaдeльцы сaмoй крупнoй сeти кинoтeaтрoв Вeликoбритaнии Cineworld (128 кинoтeaтрoв). Бeз пoкaзa пoтeнциaльныx блoкбaстeрoв oни рaбoтaют в убытoк. В Укрaинe кинoтeaтры eщe oткрыты, нo пeрeнoс oсeнниx прeмьeр “Чeрнoй вдовы”, “Красота-женщины”, а теперь еще и случающийся серии "бондианы", очень всем сердцем их подкосили - уже в ноябре многие изо них могут закрыться.

В январе полноте негде показывать кино

Как сговорились статистики посещаемости кинотеатров, в (течение того времени залы не заполняются хотя (бы) на 50%. Билеты массово раскупались в какие-нибудь полгода на “Тенет”, но и сверху этих сеансах наполняемость была безлюдный (=малолюдный) больше 40%. Картина провалилась, даже если не окупив себя. В остальных фильмах кинозалы наполняются, в лучшем случае, в 20%.  

Пока все более чем плохо. Мы сейчас в ожидании комментариев голливудских студий и наших местных дистрибьюторов, затем чтобы понять сможем ли наша сестра работать в ноябре. - говорит гендиректор яруча кинотеатров “Планета кино” Наталья Байдан. - Для данный момент контента, с которым годится. Ant. нельзя работать, просто нет. Коль (скоро) Голливуд ничего не поменяет в своих планах, в таком случае нам придется очень пушкой не разбудишь задуматься, что делать ужо”.

По словам директоров кинотеатров, разве ситуация не изменится, ведь пострадают не только кинотеатры, однако и сами кино-производители и дистрибьюторы, которые массово приняли решения о переносах актер на 2021 и 2022 годы. Провал кинотеатров может вызвать спадение всей киноиндустрии. После веерного закрытия кинотеатров маловыгодный только в Украине, но США и Европе, дорогие фильмы сложнее хорош окупить, потому что величина залов заметно сократиться.  

Я общаюсь с американскими и британскими владельцами кинотеатров и и старый и малый мы надеемся, что Фабрика грез, все-таки, захочет поделить с нами нашу участь и безграмотный будет переносить так всесторонне фильмы из-за того, что-что они не окупаются, - говорит Наталья Байдан. - В силу того что что, когда они созреют выказывать их в 2021 году, так демонстрировать эти картины хорошего понемножку негде, разве что сверху стенах домов. Сейчас кр идет о том, что все на свете кинотеатры обанкротятся, а процедура каста длительная. Так что в следующем году да мы с тобой можем очень сильно обнаружить залов, кинотеатров и даже аж сетей!”.  

Ближайшие картины, в которых кинотеатры смогут нехило заработать, выйдут в прокат хоть в декабре - 17 числа “Копец на Ниле” и 24-го “Красота-женщина 1984”.

Мы полагаемся держи то, что аудитория подтянется в мультфильмы и отдельные спецпроекты. У нас попросту разлетались билеты на фотофильм-концерт группы BTS. Но, к сожалению, таких картин дистрибьюторы предлагают отнюдь не так много, чтобы затянуть ими расписание”, - говорит управленец кинотеатра Cinema-City Таня Ушакова.  

Украинское картина не спасет кинотеатры

В тайм, когда голливудских блокбастеров пропал и директоры кинотеатров не знают, нежели привлечь зрителя, в прокат примерно каждую неделю выходят украинские фильмы. Да только интерес к ним, клеймящий по кассовым сборам, мелкотравчатый. Лидером среди отечественных картин, выходивших в августе и сентябре, является “Толока” Михаила Ильенко - ее прибыльный сбор на данный время составляет 653 тысячи грн подле бюджете более 28 млн грн.

Вот п из украинских фильмов топ-менеджеры кинотеатров надеются всего на три картины - мультяшка “Гулливер возвращается”, снятый студией “Квартал 95”, а тоже на “Безумную свадьбу 3” компании Film.ua и кинохр “Звезды по обмену” с Олей Поляковой и Dzidzio в главных ролях. Хотя если “квартальцы” уже начали рекламную кампанию своей анимационной истории и анонсируют выхода 24 декабря, в таком случае продюсеры комедий пока молчат. Даром что, начиная снимать свои ленты, они рассчитывали нате показ в новогодние каникулы. Живей всего, мы увидим их безвыгодный ранее 2021 года.  

К сожалению, наш брат пока еще находимся получи и распишись том этапе, когда украинское большой экран только развивается. Нужно развивать. Ant. портить не только фильмы, только и их промокампании, потому что такое? пока они выглядят в (высшей степени банально и любительски. - говорит Наталья Байдан. - Слупать собственное кино мы тех) пор (пока(мест) не умеем. Такие а проблемы испытывают сейчас Великобритания и Франция. Карантин показал, ровно все мы в заложниках у Голливуда”.

Так-таки голливудские компании, снимающие фильмы соответственно комиксам Marvel и DC, заявили о новых переносах и консервациях своих крупнобюджетных проектов. Скажем так, “Бэтмен” с Робертом Паттинсоном сейчас перенесен на 2022 годик, а съемки “Черного Адама” с Дуэйном Джонсоном в отложены на неопределенный заключение. По прогнозам некоторых киноэкспертов, казна теперь будут больше придаваться в сериалы или картины, которые снимаются до заказу стриминговых платформ.

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Люля Лaгутeнкo и его “призраки” - забытую звезду возрождают рэперы

“Мумий Трoлль” выпустили мaкси-сингл с учaстиeм T.Fest и Скриптoнитa

К свoeму дню рoждeния, кoтoрый будeт 16 oктября, Люня Лaгутeнкo выпустил мaкси-сингл “Призрaки Зaвтрa”. Ужe скoлькo рaз “Мумий Трoлль” выпускaл врoдe бы нeплoxoй aльбoм, нo кaждoму нe xвaтaлo пeсни, кoтoрaя бы нaдoлгo зaдeржaлaсь в пaмяти. Нa этoт рaз таких скоро две - “Не целуясь” и “Кутить”, же в голове они застревают по причине неожиданным дуэтам. Лагутенко ес оба эти трэка с одними изо самых популярных сейчас рэперов T-Fest и Скриптонит. В целом а из его песен ушел оный рокерский задор, что был перед этим. Музыкант переквалифицировался в индирокеры, будто сделало его песни скучнее.

“Не целуясь”

Недостаточный случай, когда T-Fest обходится в песне не принимая во внимание ненормативной лексики и не кричит “своей сучке”, так чтоб она за ним мало-: неграмотный ходила. Лагутенко выложил песню в двух вариантах: центральный - для своих постоянных фанов, неважный (=маловажный) приемлющих русский рэп, второстепенный - предназначенный фанам T-Fest, исполнение) которых Лагутенко никогда никак не был авторитетом. Хотя клише “А если уже время упущено, поздно уже смеяться” в полном объеме может быть подхвачена и рокерами, и рэперами.  

“Кутить”

В “Кутить” со Скриптонитом Лагутенко (на)столь(ко) пропевает фразу “Выходите призраки будущие времена, будет кутить”, что складывается чисто обратное впечатление. Для него весь уже на “минималках”. Тех образов, которыми Илия шокировал и удивлял слушателей в избранные свои годы, уже вышел. Остались лишь попытки спародировать самого себя. А союз со Скриптонитом, даже и на одну песню, освежил сей пантеон призраков вставкой “Сплошные гуманитарии получай веранде и никаких пунктирных для экране… Может пресытился и побольше не скрывает балаклава меланхолия”.

И Дорн впридачу  

“Мумий Тролль” уж лет пятнадцать как перестал находиться (в присуствии) суперзвездой. Он перешел в ступень легенд, когда имя помнят тутти, но вокруг концерта ранее нет ажиотажа, и приходится ублаготворяться клубами на тысячу мест и маловыгодный более. Поэтому появление нового пальто-сингла с участием двух рэперов, отдельный из которых сейчас собирает залы сильнее, чем Лагутенко, вполне объяснимо. Ему нужно например как-то оживить занимательность к своей персоне, ведь о дворцах спорта “МТ” давнёшенько забыли. В день своего рождения - 16 октября - Иля будет праздновать еще и двадцатилетие альбома “Точно Живое) серебро Алоэ”. Поэтому попытка разворошить о себе с помощью артистов, которые незамедлительно - гораздо популярнее, кажется важнецкий затеей.  

“Точно Ртуть Столетник 2020” - это трибьют с участием многих звезд, которые исполнят близкие каверы на песни изо этого альбома. Кстати, Вотан из гостей - Иван Цилиндр. Шоу пройдет в интернете онлайн.

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Гaй Ричи снимет новых “Джентльменов”

Кaкиe eщe блoкбaстeры стaнут сeриaлaми

Гaй Ричи снимeт сeриaл “Джeнтльмeны” пo мoтивaм сoбствeннoгo одноименного фильма. Об этом сообщило сборник Deadline. Будет это расширенная разновидность комедийного боевика, приквел alias продолжение, продюсеры пока безграмотный говорят.  

Как оказалось, Ричи с самого вводные положения планировал сделать сериал, же в итоге ограничился фильмом с целью кинотеатров. Заказчик новых “Джентльменов” - Miramax TV. Напомним, главную цена наркобарона, решившего отойти ото дел и продать свой начинание, в оригинале сыграл Мэттью Макконахи. Кто именно сыграет в сериале, пока энигма.

По словам продюсеров канала, сие не единственный полнометражный жутик, который превратят в сериал. Miramax TV сделано подписали контракт с режиссером Полом Андерсоном - оный снимет сериал “Мутанты” согласно мотивам одноименного фильма ужасов Гильермо дель Торо. План напишет Джим Дэнджер Грей, я таких популярных проектов, якобы “Оранжевый – хит сезона” и “Ганнибал”.

Вдоль всей видимости, владельцев Miramax TV вдохновил новый успех Netflix: в 2020 году бражка выпустила сериал “Сквозь крупа”, снятый по мотивам одноименного фильма корейского режиссера Пон Чжун Хо.

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On The Rocks: Sofia Coppola tries her hand at a screwball caper

Reuniting with Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, Coppola sets her intimate story in New York City, relying on the easy charm between two appealing stars.

Writer Laura (Jones) is teetering towards an identity crisis of sorts. Creatively blocked and stuck in the rut of her children’s routines, she starts to suspect her Dean (Marlon Wayans) of infidelity with his younger business partner Fiona (Jessica Henwick).

When she confides in her father Felix (Murray) her suspicions, rather than soothe her anxieties, he fuels them. Felix convinces Laura to follow Dean around New York, tailing him from a work dinner in an attention-grabbing red convertible.

Not exactly a discreet car when sleuthing

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Felix is an antiquated lothario who casually wears a seersucker jacket with a floral lapel pin and brings caviar and blinis as a snack to a stakeout. He’s what people would politely call “a character” to describe someone who, on a bad day, could be overbearing.

Coppola has said that there are touches of her father, Francis Ford Coppola, and his friends in Felix, but the character certainly represents men of a certain generation, and privileged ones at that.

Felix takes Laura to old-school New York institutions such as 21 Club and the bar of the Carlyle Hotel (where Coppola shot A Very Murray Christmas in 2015 with Murray and Jones), while scoffing at the trendy Soho House.

He knows every person in town, from cops to doormen, and knows what’s hanging in his neighbours’ hallways.

He says things like “males are forced to dominate and impregnant all females” without a hint of irony, but also clearly loves and respects his daughter – and Murray brings so much charisma to all his endeavours it’s hard to ever really hate a character he plays.

We’re pretty sure Marlon Wayans doesn’t age

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In contrast, Laura doesn’t feel as tangible as Felix, perhaps a by-product of the character almost standing in her Coppola herself – we never know ourselves as much as we want to.

Or maybe it’s Laura’s quiet angst and vulnerability that makes her pale in comparison to her affable father.

Coppola has previously explored that father-daughter relationship before, in Somewhere, but this is a different dynamic, between two adults where the power balance isn’t so clear-cut.

On The Rocks is much more of a dialogue-driven story than Coppola’s usual fare, which tends to be focused on the aesthetic pleasures. And it’s in those screwball tete-a-tetes that their complicated relationship reveals itself – and what has maybe been left unsaid between them is eventually voiced.

Bill Murray and Rashida Jones previously appeared in Sofia Coppola’s A Very Murray Christmas

It doesn’t have the fire of many of her previous works but there is a contentment to hanging out with these characters in this bubble Coppola has created.

While On The Rocks has many markings of a personal film, many of the emotional beats feel broad rather than specific. There’s a distance to the movie so that you never feel 100 per cent invested in the story – because it feels like you’ve seen it before.

Rating: 3/5

On The Rocks premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, October 2 and there’s a limited theatrical run at Palace cinemas nationally (excluding Victoria)

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Sorry cat lovers, Max Greenfield is a dog person

Like many actors with small children – daughter Lilly and son Ozzie – Greenfield wanted to be involved because he wanted to work on a film he could share with his family.

“There are so few projects I’ve been a part of that my kids can actually watch,” he told news.com.au. “The idea that I can be in something that we can all watch together as a family was really, really exciting.”

But in the time since he recorded his role, there’s been a new addition to the family that makes Greenfield even more excited about the film – a Pitbull-cross-American Bulldog named Joey, rescued during the pandemic.

“My kids, but my daughter especially, have always wanted a dog very badly,” Greenfield said. “And with my schedule and my wife’s [casting director Tessa Sanchez] schedule, it didn’t really make sense.

“When this all happened and we found ourselves at home and we knew we were going to be at home for an extended period of time, we thought ‘Well, if we’re ever going to do this, this is the time to do it’.

“Joey is the best. We’ve had him for five months now and he’s been a wonderful upgrade to the family. Everyone’s here and Joey is never alone and with the quarantine, if someone is feeling annoyed by the rest of the family, that person can go be with Joey and feel very heard and seen.

“The joy Joey brings to our family – we’re complete and utter dog lovers now. To me, Cats & Dogs 3 is the type of content that is very necessary at the moment. Just animals, but specifically, dogs, and specifically, dogs talking. That’s all I want to see.”

Max Greenfield is best known for his role on New Girl (AP Photo/Fox, Patrick McElhenney)

While Greenfield is most recognised for his work as the lyrical and scene-stealing Schmidt in seven seasons of New Girl, his breakout role was in 2005 on Veronica Mars as Sheriff’s Deputy Leo D’Amato.

A love interest for Kristen Bell’s Veronica, and a helper to her sleuthing, Greenfield returned for both the Veronica Mars movie in 2014 and in the recent season four revival. His on-screen chemistry with Bell is off the charts.

“It’s always so much fun to come back to [Veronica Mars], and getting to see everyone I had originally worked with 12 years ago. Actually, it’s longer than that, I think it’s 16 years or something. Wow, I mean, that’s absurd.

Max Greenfield returned for the Veronica Mars revival series (Photo by: Michael Desmond/Hulu)

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“The opportunity to keep revisiting, not so much the character, but the people is really exciting. And I’m especially excited to jump in because I don’t have to do the full run of something.

“Kristen is so much fun to work with and we really had a blast on this one.”

Most of Greenfield’s work has been in comedies, including notable guest turns in Ugly Betty, The Mindy Project and The Neighbourhood, a multi-cam sitcom of which he is one of two lead stars, and which has just returned to production for its third season under COVID conditions.

But you’ll also spy him in dramas, such two Ryan Murphy series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace and American Horror Story: Hotel.

Max Greenfield will soon be seen on screen in Promising Young Woman (Photo: Alex J. Berliner /ABImages)

He said he doesn’t have a preference for comedy over drama or vice versa, rather that he’s attracted to “working with people”.

One of those people was Emerald Fennell, a British writer, director and actor who played Camilla Parker-Bowles in the third season of The Crown and wrote the second season of Killing Eve.

Fennell has an anticipated film due for release at some point soon, Promising Young Woman, after its original date earlier this year was scuttled due to the pandemic.

Starring Carey Mulligan, it’s said to be a sharp dramedy thriller about a young woman whose bright future is jeopardised, and then seeks to correct that wrong. Greenfield has a small role in the film, but it was one he was keen to sign on to do.

“I think Emerald Fennell is as talented as you can get,” Greenfield gushed. “I talked to Emerald on the phone and I thought she was so impressive and smart and I just wanted to be a part of whatever she was doing. That’s what motivates me.

“I can’t wait for people to see the movie, it’s very good. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”

Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite is in cinemas now

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Black Widow, other Marvel and Disney movies delayed again

Black Widow is among half a dozen titles Disney has rescheduled today in the US. Australian release dates have yet to be confirmed but it’s expected it will follow suit.

The Scarlett Johansson superhero action thriller was to be released on October 29 in Australia (November 6 in the US) but has now been delayed until May 2021.

While the change may disappoint fans, who were looking forward to Johansson’s first solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the decision at least reinforces Disney’s commitment to a cinema release instead of a streaming release, as it did when it shifted Mulan to Disney+.

Black Widow was originally scheduled for release in late-April this year before it was derailed by the pandemic.

Black Widow finished filming a year ago Photo: Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2020

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Soft box office results for Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Tenet, especially in the US, has spurred several movie studios to further push back its tentpole properties over fears the current economic climate means they won’t make their money back on expensive production budgets.

Cinemas are operating at limited capacity and audiences in key markets are reluctant to return to public spaces.

Two weeks ago, Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984 was pushed from early October to the end of December.

The Black Widow move has a run-on effect for two other Marvel movies that were scheduled for 2021, with Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings now pushed from May to July and Eternals from February until November 2021.

Shang-Chi is currently filming in Sydney.

Disney has also moved Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story from December 2020 to December 2021 while the Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas thriller Deep Water shifts from November to August 2021.

Death on the Nile has been pushed back to December

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Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, a follow-up to Murder on the Orient Express, moves from October to December.

Pixar movie Soul has not been moved, currently still slated for release in December in Australia.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry, disrupting release schedules and productions, which is only now starting to resume in pockets around the world.

The big-name films currently still looking to be released this year include the new Bond film, No Time To Die on November 12, Dune on December 17 and Wonder Woman 1984 on December 26.

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Dune moves release date in Australia

But, it’s good news! Dune has been moved up a week and some change, from its original Australian release date of December 26 to December 17.

The sci-fi epic, adapted by director Denis Villeneuve from Frank Herbert’s seminal novel, released its first trailer last week to wild excitement.

But when there was no release date on trailer, there was speculation the film’s release would be moved to 2021 to accommodate a potential shuffle for Wonder Woman 1984.

Wonder Woman 1984 was indeed moved to December 25 in the US, now confirmed as December 26 in Australia instead of October 1, but rather than bump Dune to next year, audiences will get to see it even sooner.

It seems that Dune will keep its original US release date of December 18. Thanks to that quirk where Australian distributors typically release new films on a Thursday and the Americans on a Friday, we will likely see it before those stateside.

Dune is now releasing on December 17 in Australia.

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Dune features an all-star cast with Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem and Jason Momoa.

The story of Dune is focused on Paul Atreides (Chalamet), the son of Duke Leto (Isaac), a nobleman who is asked to oversee Arrakis, a perilous desert planet with a precious and magical spice.

Paul is the heir to not just the Duke’s throne but also a great destiny, and Dune traffics in grand concepts including fate and power.

The movie industry has been up-ended by COVID which has seen cinemas worldwide shut down and productions halted.

Since March, movie studios have been delaying their big blockbuster releases and while some were originally rescheduled for later this year, many of them have been moved to 2021 when it’s expected audiences will be able to return to cinemas in something resembling normal capacity.

Oscar Isaac plays Duke Leto in Dune.

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was the first high-profile movie to be released in cinemas in late August and while its $US200 million ($A275 million) global box office sounds like a lot of money, it was expected to make much more under normal circumstances.

Tenet’s depressed box office, especially in North America where many key markets such as New York and Los Angeles remain closed, has led to movie studios re-evaluating whether they persist with opening big movies this year.

One tentpole which is forging ahead is the next James Bond instalment, No Time To Die, which is due for release in Australia on November 12.

Marvel movie Black Widow is still on the books for an October 29 release but there is no guarantee that will remain the case.

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Dune 2020 trailer: Denis Villeneuve, Timothee Chalamet and cast tease epic adaptation

We’re not being hyperbolic, that’s how big a project the upcoming cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune is, an iconic sci-fi tome which has not always had an easy time of it when it comes to transitioning to screen.

There have been two previous screen versions – David Lynch’s controversial 1986 film and a panned TV miniseries in 2000 – but there is much more excitement for this one.

After several aborted attempts, French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Sicario and Arrival) was announced as taking on the ambitious project.

The extremely stacked cast includes Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgard and Zendaya.

Due for release on Boxing Day in Australia, Warner Bros has released the first trailer overnight and it is exhilaratingly epic.

The three-minute video is full of big moments such as thrilling fights, characters being tested, and the enormous sandworms Herbert promised – plus the famous line, “fear is the mind killer”.

The production also a released an 18-minute cutdown of an hour-long virtual panel Stephen Colbert hosted with Villeneuve and the cast.

Timoth?e. Rebecca. Oscar. Josh. Zendaya. Sharon. Jason. Javier. Denis. DUNE TRAILER FIRST LOOK.

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Mulan 2020 movie review: Dazzling visuals pop on the small screen

And it would have looked spectacular because the scale of this movie can’t be overstated.

Full of sweeping wide shots of beautiful, snow-capped landscapes, the architecturally designed imperial city or military battalions decked out in scarlet red uniforms, Mulan is visually very impressive.

It never lets you forget that Disney invested $US200 million ($A275 million) into this film.

Luckily for Disney, given its choice to release it to streaming in markets where Disney+ is available, Mulan still looks incredible on a smaller screen because its blazing colour palette pops and dazzles – unlike poor Tom Hanks’ war movie Greyhound which had hues ranging from ash grey to murky blue and looked terribly flat on Apple TV+.

Making men out of all of them

RELATED: Donnie Yen wanted to sing in a musical version of Mulan

Mulan’s COVID-interrupted release plans aside, there was also the trouble with a fledgling albeit noisy boycott movement after comments made by its lead star Yifei Liu in support of Hong Kong police and a growing anti-China sentiment in a year of the pandemic, trade wars and increased crackdown on democratic freedoms by its authoritarian government.

Mulan is more politically tricky to release than it was six months ago. However, other than the film’s pro-military stance and reinforcing the mostly benevolent virtues of at least one imperialistic national ruler (the Emperor is played by Jet Li), there’s not too much to tie Mulan into modern day China.

What Mulan emphasises above all is loyalty and honour to your family. Ancestral fealty is familiar in many cultures, but this particular brand has a distinct Confucian tinge to it, even as it seeks to bust gender norms.

Yifei Liu sparked a boycott movement when she came out in support of Hong Kong police.

RELATED: How 2020 upended Disney’s Mulan plan

Adhering closer to the traditional legend of a female warrior who saves China than it does to the 1998 animated version – there is no Eddie Murphy-voiced talking dragon, for one thing – Mulan is directed by New Zealander Niki Caro (Whale Rider, The Zookeeper’s Wife).

Even from a young age Mulan (Liu) is a parkour princess, able to nimbly chase a chicken across the rooftop of her village’s round tulou. She seems to be in possession of an abundance of chi, the life force that flows through all living creatures in a balance of yin and yang.

In Mulan, chi operates somewhat like Star Wars’ mysterious “Force”, which makes our hero innately excellent in battle.

But her physical prowess is not a desired characteristic for how she’s expected to bring honour to her family – through a marriage match.

When the Rouran tribes led by warrior Bori Khan (Jason Scott Lee) invade from the north and threaten the Emperor’s life, every family in China is conscripted to send one male fighter.

Mulan’s father Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma) is a former war veteran but he is older and injured. However he still prepares to join the fighting. To spare him, in the middle of the night Mulan takes her father’s armour, sword and conscription scroll and takes his place, disguised as a man.

Mulan features lots of stunt riders.

Under the tutelage of Commander Tung (Donnie Yen), Mulan struggles to fit in with her fellow recruits which includes Chen Honghui (Yoson An). Her fear of being discovered swirled with her shame over the deception are suppressing her true gifts.

She yearns to live up to the three characters inscribed on her family’s sword – loyal, brave and true.

There are some truly remarkable and exciting action sequences in the film, which proves you can do big set pieces without a plethora of guns or making everything go boom (although there is fiery catapult action).

There are martial arts and sword fights that showcase the prodigious skills by cast members including Liu and Yen, who did many of their own stunts, bodies flying and twisting against the pull of gravity.

There are also several exciting sequences involving a stable of stunt riders on horseback while a multi-levelled fight sequence on a bamboo scaffolding set moves briskly as the camera’s movements twirl with the actors.

From the jawdropping production design and vibrant costumes to the lustrous cinematography by Australia’s Mandy Walker, it all looks rather breathtaking – and its textual depth looks about seven times better than Aladdin did.

New Zealand’s South Island stood in for China.

RELATED: Everything new to streaming in September

But – and it’s a big but – the story’s pacing doesn’t match the level of its spectacle. Most of Mulan moves along nicely, taking time out for character moments or scenes of contemplative rituals, but as soon as the training ends and the fighting begins, that final act whizzes past with little consideration for the story.

Which would work if it didn’t decide to take huge shortcuts, specifically characters who make unearnt decisions and have about-turns that don’t make sense contextually, but which serves the sole purpose of quickly moving onto the next set-piece.

It’s exasperating and takes you out of the story as you literally scream at the TV, “But that would never happen!”

The action sequences in Mulan are mighty impressive.

There’s not a lot of depth to the characters in general who are mostly archetypes, including villain Bori Khan, whose backstory is merely hinted at and not fleshed out – there’s a line about his people’s land being stolen and colonised by the Emperor, which could have made him a far more compelling baddie in the vein of Black Panther’s Killmonger than just an imposing screen presence.

The second villain is Chinese screen legend Gong Li’s Xian Lang, a witch who can shapeshift into a hawk and mimic the forms of other people.

There are several visual nods and musical cues to the 1998 animation, while Caro’s references to the work of filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and David Lean comes through. There’s enough here to please long-time fans, including Christina Aguilera’s new version of Reflection and a surprise cameo near the end.

Maybe Mulan won’t be everything audiences had hoped for – none of the Disney live actions have been – but it mounted a good effort.

Rating: 3/5

Mulan is available for premium video-on-demand rental for $34.99 on Disney+ from Friday, September 4

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Robert Pattinson reportedly has coronavirus as The Batman filming shuts down

Sources close to the set have said the highly-anticipated DC film has now been “thrown into chaos” as the lead star is said to be the one who came down with the virus, just days after filming resumed.

Warner Bros confirmed the news in a statement which read: “A member of The Batman production has tested positive for COVID-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols.

“Filming is temporarily paused.”

They would not confirm who had contracted the virus but Vanity Fair reported “through other highly placed sources that Pattinson was the individual who became sick.”

RELATED: Fans shocked as actor unrecognisable as Penguin in The Batman

Filming for the latest Batman-centered film, starring Robert Pattinson, has been halted in Britain after the actor reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, just days after shooting had resumed. Picture: Chris Delmas/AFP

An insider on the Leavesden set told Daily Mail that the cast and crew did not “know who has tested positive, but it has caused chaos to the schedule.”

Director Matt Reeves began filming with the Twilight star in the lead role as the Caped Crusader in early 2020 but by mid-March, production was put on hold as the coronavirus pandemic swept the country.

Reeves previously told fans they had at least another three months of shooting and they hoped to be finished by the end of 2020.

The Batman is currently set for release on October 1, 2021.

In late August, the first trailer dropped for fans, showing Pattinson’s character taking on foes Catwoman and The Riddler.

He faces off against Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman as he catches her in the middle of a crime. The pair fight but end in a stand off, whereas The Riddler’s (Paul Dano) thugs don’t fare as well as Bruce Wayne beats them to a pulp.

The trailer also gives fans a glimpse of Commissioner Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright for the first time.

Jurassic World: Dominion was the first major movie to restart production in the UK at Pinewood Studios, with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard back on set in July.

Universal Pictures have revealed their extensive measures to ensure the set will remain coronavirus-free, including routine temperature checks to renting out a hotel for the cast and crew for 20 weeks.

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