YOU CAN’T PINCH A DIAMOND WITHOUT STEALING A FEW HEARTS. After losing all the money they invested for their pension plan, divorcees Richard and Kate Jones (Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson) intend to get back at the businessman responsible by stealing a $10 million diamond in his possession. The director reunited with Thompson after Last Chance … Continue reading The Love Punch
THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS THE HOLOCAUST HAPPENED. NOW SHE NEEDS TO PROVE IT. After declaring the British historian David Irving (Timothy Spall) a Holocaust denier, American professor Deborah Lipstadt (Rachel Weisz) has to defend herself in court in London. After The Reader (2008), writer David Hare returned to the Holocaust as a theme in a … Continue reading Denial
MEET THE TRIBE ROCKING THE STONE AGE. When a rabbit-hunting tribe of cavemen are driven out of their valley by Bronze Age warriors, young Dug is taken to the invaders’ city and learns all about a mysterious game that’s popular there. Another stop-motion adventure-comedy from Aardman Animation, this time depicting a clash between two eras, … Continue reading Early Man
EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND DANCE. During her husband’s retirement party, Sandra Abbott (Imelda Staunton) learns that he’s been cheating on her with another woman for the past five years; her life in pieces, Sandra turns to her older sister (Celia Imrie) – who is nothing like her. A comedy-drama for older viewers in the vein … Continue reading Finding Your Feet
A COMEDY OF TRAGIC PROPORTIONS. After being announced as shadow minister for health, Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) is having a group of friends and allies over to celebrate, but some of them have startling news. A well-received comedy from Sally Potter that satirizes politics by arranging a dinner that turns into a farce even before … Continue reading The Party
A former art student himself, Mike Leigh and his veteran cinematographer Dick Pope planned this epic portrait of the masterful 19th century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner for many years. The final results look gorgeous, with British scenery as dramatically and beautifully captured by Pope as if he was the “painter of light” himself. All the … Continue reading Mr. Turner
IT ALL ENDS. There are people who enjoy the Harry Potter books and films… and then there are Potterheads, the fanatics. I’ve always belonged in the former category. I read the first novel, then concentrated on the movie adaptations. I did care about what would happen to Harry and his friends, but never had the … Continue reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2: Closing the Book
IT TAKES LEADERSHIP TO CONFRONT A NATION’S FEAR. IT TAKES FRIENDSHIP TO CONQUER YOUR OWN. After watching this brilliant drama, I knew I had to consult YouTube for the speech King George VI made after Britain’s declaration of war against Germany. Sometimes, historical events portrayed in films absurdly seem a bit small in comparison with … Continue reading The King’s Speech: Royal Pains
NOWHERE IS SAFE. The treacherous Snape (Alan Rickman) is now running Hogwarts while Harry, Ron and Hermione (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson) try to find and destroy the Horcruxes, objects that control Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) powers. The seventh film in the series has razzle-dazzle to spare as always, a majestically staged first part of the … Continue reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
YOU’RE INVITED TO A VERY IMPORTANT DATE 3/5/10. 19-year-old Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) is being set up to marry a dull English nobleman, but is rescued by falling into a hole in the ground that takes her to a bizarre place called Underland. Lewis Carroll’s books are fused into one story in Tim Burton’s hands and … Continue reading Alice in Wonderland
THIS FAIRYTALE PRINCESS IS ABOUT TO MEET A REAL PRINCE CHARMING. A fairy-tale princess is about to marry a handsome prince, but a wicked queen throws her down a well that leads to modern-day Manhattan… This parody (and celebration) of the animated Disney classics starts out as a meticulously, lovingly animated film, but when the princess … Continue reading Enchanted
FEELINGS GET YOU KILLED. In 1882, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch (Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen) are hired to protect a New Mexico town from a vicious rancher (Jeremy Irons) and his men; a woman (Renée Zellweger) complicates the mission. Harris’s second effort as a director almost looks like a one-man job considering the degree of … Continue reading Appaloosa
A FEW GOOD HEN. Ginger, the most optimistic chicken on a Yorkshire farm, spends every waking minute plotting her escape; when a rooster, Rocky Rhodes, accidentally joins the chickens Ginger sees her chance. The folks behind the brilliant “Wallace & Gromit” shorts accepted the challenge to make a feature film with clay animation, and the results … Continue reading Chicken Run
