19 November 2020
Paradise Hills (2019)
Emma Roberts leads the rebellion in this gorgeous film set on a magical island. As amnesiac Uma, she’s been sent there to be reformed and more obedient. Think a watered-down Handmaid’s Tale (there’s no sexual abuse) in a world as pretty as the heaven in What Dreams May Come.
Paradise Hills is more likely to win a Raspberry Award than an Oscar, but it’s still decent. Don’t think too much about the plot holes. Rather fawn over the gorgeous colours of Paradise Island and the actors, including Milla Jovovich.
Monica Castillo at rogerebert.com comments, “When done well, sci-fis give filmmakers the chance to explore earthly problems through fantastical situations. The setting can be a futuristic world, the villains perhaps benevolent machines went bad or a society that turned technology against itself. Here, the costumes can be over the top as The Fifth Element and the design, dusty and dingy as Tatooine in the Star Wars.”
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M'tase Khaya, now streaming
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