As French forces gather on England, King Lear (Anthony Hopkins) divides his land among his three daughters (Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Florence Pugh). The most memorable cinematic version of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy is still Kurosawa’s Ran (1985); this TV movie places the story in an alternate modern, militarized Britain, but it’s not enough to make … Continue reading King Lear
NO HAMMER. NO PROBLEM. After being imprisoned by a fire demon, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learns that Asgard is about to be destroyed and the one responsible will be his sister, Odin’s firstborn, Hela (Cate Blanchett). The third film in the franchise has Thor and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) colliding on a faraway planet and then teaming … Continue reading Thor: Ragnarok
An account of the last days of the Nazi leadership as they were hunkering in a Berlin bunker, waiting for the end – and for Adolf Hitler to understand that the war was lost. Based on the findings of journalist James P. O’Donnell, the first American to enter the bunker after the war, the film … Continue reading The Bunker
RETHINK YOUR HEROES. Optimus Prime and Megatron are long gone, but new Transformers keep coming back to Earth; Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) finds new allies in his quest to learn why. The fifth and worst of the franchise (so far) relies on a lot of comedy that falls flat (including a butler bot voiced by … Continue reading Transformers: The Last Knight
THE MEN OF THE LUDLOW FAMILY. A WOMAN’S GRACE BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER. THEN HER PASSION TORE THEM APART. At the start of World War I, retired colonel William Ludlow’s (Anthony Hopkins) three sons all go against his wishes and join the Canadian Expeditionary Force to fight the Germans in Europe… A handsomely produced epic that … Continue reading Legends of the Fall
FREEDOM IS NOT GIVEN. IT IS OUR RIGHT AT BIRTH. BUT THERE ARE SOME MOMENTS WHEN IT MUST BE TAKEN. In 1839, enslaved Africans take over La Amistad, a Spanish ship heading into American waters, and kill some of the crew; after being caught by the Navy, the Africans end up in court. After making … Continue reading Amistad
THE END OF THE WORLD… IS JUST THE BEGINNING. The story of how Noah (Russell Crowe) came to build the ark that saved two of all species from the wrath of God gets its Hollywood blockbuster treatment. Effects-laden, majestic and sometimes completely absurd, director Darren Aronofsky’s film is nevertheless packed with visual treats and a … Continue reading Noah
After the events of The Avengers (2012), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is brought back to Asgard in chains, but Thor (Chris Hemsworth) soon faces another formidable enemy – a dark elf looking for revenge. Helmed by a new director, this sequel to Thor (2011) nevertheless maintains the same tone, successfully blending comedy and action in imaginative, … Continue reading Thor: The Dark World
THE BEST NEVER REST. Just as he’s settling down with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) once again finds himself in danger; soon, they’re both joining old friends in the search for a mysterious Cold War-era weapon. This sequel to Red (2010) pales a bit in comparison and begins to resemble an Expendables movie, … Continue reading Red 2
It happens, although not very often, that a filmmaker creates two masterpieces in a row. James Ivory and his team had barely released and received Oscars for Howards End (1992) when they made The Remains of the Day. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that virtually everyone who was involved in the E.M. Forster adaptation … Continue reading Remains of the Day: Duty Above All
One of director Woody Allen’s films that are set in Britain, this one following multiple characters and their romantic tribulations. A fortune teller is at the center of it all and we get to ponder the foolishness of thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, illustrated to greatest effect by Josh Brolin’s … Continue reading You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
BEHIND EVERY PSYCHO IS A GREAT WOMAN. Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) is on top of his game, but when he decides to turn a real-life story about a deranged murderer who shared a bed with his dead mother into a movie, he’s in for a challenge. The story of how Psycho (1960) risked ending the … Continue reading Hitchcock
In 1949, New Yorker Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) is on the hunt for rare books and contacts a bookseller (Anthony Hopkins) in London; it is the beginning of a long-lasting friendship expressed in letters. Not a film for all tastes, but perhaps romantics, Anglophiles and literary buffs. Inspired by real-life events and borrowing elements from … Continue reading 84 Charing Cross Road
