Summer 2017 gave film lovers plenty to celebrate: four blockbusters landed one after another at Le Colisée and Le Palace cinemas between 26 July and 2 August. A raucous comedy between friends, a space opera from Luc Besson, the long-awaited “Planet of the Apes” sequel and the return of Lightning McQueen. Here was our selection at the time, with something for everyone.
Rough Night
The film released in France as “Pire soirée” came to Le Palace from 2 August. Directed by Lucia Aniello and starring Scarlett Johansson, Zoë Kravitz, Kate McKinnon and other well-known actresses from the stand-up circuit, “Rough Night” follows five friends who met at university and reunite ten years later in Miami for one of their hen parties. The stripper invited for the evening dies by accident, and a wild night begins. Somewhere between “There’s Something About Mary” and “Hangover”, “Rough Night” was the summer comedy to catch without delay.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Booked for 26 July at Le Colisée, this was the latest big production from the French director Luc Besson (The 5th Element, Léon, Nikita, Joan of Arc…). The story unfolds in the 28th century. Valerian and Laureline, brother and sister, work as space-time agents keeping order across human territories. Sent by the Minister of Defence, the pair set off for the extraordinary intergalactic city of Alpha, a metropolis where species from every corner of the universe have settled over the centuries. But a terrible threat hangs over Alpha, and over the future of the universe itself. Starring Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne and Rihanna, “Valerian” was a space opera to see on any pretext.
War for the Planet of the Apes
Out at Le Colisée on 2 August. Who has not read, at least once, the famous science-fiction novel published in 1963 by the French writer Pierre Boulle under the title “Planet of the Apes”? Who was not marked for life, shaken even, by that distant planet so like Earth, where apes rule and humanity is reduced to an animal state? Everyone remembers the scene in the film adapted from it, where Charlton Heston, on his knees before the Statue of Liberty, curses mankind for its greed. “The fools, they did it!” he cried. In 2011, Hollywood producers set out to dust off what had become a myth. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” were huge hits. In this third instalment, directed by Matt Reeves, Caesar and the apes come up against a bloodthirsty human colonel (played by Woody Harrelson) leading an army bent on wiping them out. The outcome decides the fate of each species, and the future of the planet with it. Action, adventure, an epic score and impressive effects were all there — a novel that, like other science-fiction classics, has inspired great films.
Cars 3
Also booked for 2 August at Le Colisée, “Cars 3” was the 138th film produced by the Walt Disney studio. Lightning McQueen was back, to the delight of children and adults alike. The little red racer, who had become a genuine phenomenon in the space of two films, now found himself outrun by a new generation of ultra-fast cars. Getting back in the race would take ingenuity. He trained with a young mechanic named Cruz Ramirez to take on his new rival, Jackson Storm. Directed by Brian Fee, “Cars 3” promised a colourful adventure that would not be forgotten in a hurry.
Shock comedy, space opera, cult science fiction and family animation: that week of releases had enough to satisfy every appetite.
