What you need to watch this weekend

A Melissa McCarthy comedy that is both funny and poignant, Zac Efron as a manipulative serial killer and Keanu Reeves in what could be the most beautiful bludgeon-fest ever filmed. Here’s what to watch.

A Melissa McCarthy comedy that is both funny and poignant, Zac Efron as a manipulative serial killer and Keanu Reeves in what could be the most beautiful bludgeon-fest ever filmed.

Here’s what you need to watch this weekend.

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POMS A GRINNY GRANNY GROANER

THE HUSTLE HATHAWAY’S WORST MOVIE YET

ZAC EFRON EXCELS AS SERIAL KILLER

Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

THE ONE THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT MELISSA MCCARTHY

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? (M)

****

GOOGLE, ITUNES

This fascinating (and sharply amusing) true story of an audacious literary hoax got a little lost in the Christmas rush when it hit Australian cinemas recently. Be sure to find it soon, as its two fantastic, Oscar-nominated lead performances deserve to be enjoyed by a wider audience. Melissa McCarthy (a clear career-best for this divisive comic) plays Lee Israel, a prolific but unsuccessful author who has just lost the last book deal keeping her head above water. To make some quick money, Lee begins forging and selling letters from celebrities of yesteryear. While the fraud reconnects Lee with her distinct flair for writing, her prolific output soon draws the attention of the FBI. The flamboyant drinking buddy (Richard E. Grant echoing his much-loved work in the cult classic Withnail & I) who becomes Lee’s accomplice makes it all the more impossible to cover her tracks. The movie as a whole is funny, poignant, insightful and surprisingly endearing, considering the bleak places it must visit along the way.

Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler in The House.

THE ONE WHERE WILL MAKES A WINNING WAGER

THE HOUSE (MA15+)

***

STAN

The last good Will Ferrell movie comedy in living memory. Ferrell and Amy Poehler (TV’s Parks and Recreation) play a cash-strapped couple who start an underground casino in their neighbourhood. The movie can get very funny very quickly when its goes off-script, and lets loose with the silly and surreal stuff that has long been Ferrell’s strong suit. There are also some very amusing sequences about cramming the usual trappings of a gambling den (including slot machines, standover men and, umm, unsanctioned boxing bouts) into a suburban lounge room. Just don’t go trying any of this at home, OK? Nothing classic happening here, but an easy kill for laughs if dumb escapism is what you’re hunting.

Zac Efron excels as Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile

THE ONE MOUNTING A SURPRISE ZAC ATTACK

EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE (MA15+)

***1/2

NETFLIX

Last year the internet lost yet another set of marbles when news dropped that Zac Efron would be starring in a movie as Ted Bundy, one of the biggest serial killers in American history. Let the record show that the fuss made by those thrown by this curveball casting was completely pointless. Efron excels beyond all expectations as Bundy, a heinous murderer of more than 30 women throughout the 1970s. By all reports, Bundy was well aware of both his suave good looks and superior intellect, and used them to completely cover his terrifying tracks for a bewilderingly long time. Efron subtly captures the warm charm and chilling cunning of the man with a precision that is quite disarming. The movie, based on a long-forgotten memoir penned by Bundy’s long-term girlfriend Liz Kendall (well played by Lily Collins), avoids any gruesome depiction of Bundy’s crimes. Instead, it uses Efron’s performance to explore how a seemingly everyday young man became a once-in-a-lifetime monster. Co-stars John Malkovich.

Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 2 which is a trashy triumph.

THE ONE WHERE KEANU RULES IN STYLE

JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2 (MA15+)

***1/2

FOXTEL NOW

In their heart of hearts, most action fans had 2014’s surprisingly good John Wick marked down as a bit of a fluke. Those same folks would have expected the sequel to be a bit of a let-down. Nothing can be further from the truth. In fact, the return of Keanu Reeves as the title character — a black-suited, blank-faced assassin — is nothing short of a trashy triumph. When we last saw him, Johnny W was about to retire, having satisfactorily reduced the ranks of the Russian Mafia for killing his dog and stealing his car. Now he’s back in the game at the behest of a fellow assassin to whom he owes a favour. What John must do is not nearly as important as how he does it. All you need to know is every heavy-duty henchperson he helps to an early grave had it coming. Alluring visuals and audacious combat choreography are impeccably fused together, to the extent this could be the most beautiful bludgeon-fest ever filmed. Oh, and if you like what you see, Chapter 3 hits Australian cinemas next week!

Sandra Huller and Peter Simonischek in the Oscar-nominated film Toni Erdmann

THE ONE PUSHED TO THE BRINK OF DADNESS

TONI ERDMANN (M)

****

FOXTEL NOW

A wonderfully unconventional, highly enjoyable comedy. Rattled by the death of his beloved dog, an eccentric gent (Peter Simonischek) mistakenly assumes the time is right to visit his semi-estranged, work-obsessed daughter (Sandra Huller). The delicate interplay of the two leads — which starts out strained, yet soon becomes strangely affecting — is a winning card that a highly perceptive screenplay plays repeatedly. The end result is not just a movie that gradually grows on you, but continually grows all around you.

Woody Harrelson in LBJ.

THE ONE THAT POLITICALLY CORRECTS THE RECORD

LBJ (M)

***

SBS ON DEMAND

You wanna go all the way with LBJ? Woody Harrelson is gonna do his level best to get you there. This is two stories for the price of one: how the jowly, scowly bear of a Texan that was Lyndon Baines Johnson (Harrelson beneath a few kilos of makeup and a whopping set of latex ears) handled being overlooked for the job of 35th President of the United States, then handled himself as the 36th in tragic, trying circumstances. While the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy (played by Jeffrey Donovan) is the obvious dramatic linchpin of the movie, it is Johnson’s effort as JFK’s unintended replacement to pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 that ultimately gives proceedings a measure of memorable weight.

I Kill Giants depicts a child’s very personal form of grief that will speak to many the same age.

THE ONE THAT THINKS BIG AND GOES DEEP

I KILL GIANTS (PG)

***1/2

NETFLIX, AMAZON

A highly atmospheric adaptation of the 2008 graphic novel by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura. Madison Wolfe (The Conjuring 2) is a revelation as Barbara, an angsty loner who believes her sleepy seaside town could soon be destroyed by monsters from parts unknown. Barbara’s utter conviction she is the only one that can stop the coming oblivion has alienated her from both her peers and family. Will a sympathetic school counsellor (Zoe Saldana) get her to see the light? Or will Barbara’s prediction of a dark end be proven right? The sophisticated manner in which the movie depicts a child’s very personal form of grief will speak to many around the same age as the young protagonist.