Movie picks: Paradise Lost

Poor Josh Hutcherson.

He's always having his thunder stolen by his co-stars, even when stories revolve around him.

Paradise Lost sees The Hunger Games star as Nick, a young Canadian surfer in Columbia who's helping his elder brother run a surf camp.

However, a chance meeting with a pretty girl (Claudia Traisac) changes his life when she introduces him to her beloved uncle Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro), Columbia's notorious drug kingpin.

This is not a typical Hollywood drug movie where you get a lot of shoot-'em-ups.

Here is a character study between two men and the loss of innocence when one crosses over to the dark side.

While this may be Hutcherson's movie and he does a decent job, he stands no chance against Del Toro, the charismatic powerhouse. The latter may always be typecast as a kingpin, but he never fails to make his characters riveting.

Check out other movies that are opening in cinemas on July 2 here.

This article was first published on July 1, 2015.
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