Warcraft

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Poster for the movie "Warcraft"

Warcraft

Two worlds. One home.

20162 h 03 min
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Overview

The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.

Metadata
Director Duncan Jones
Runtime 2 h 03 min
Release Date 25 May 2016
Details
Movie Status —
Movie Rating Very good
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No images were imported for this movie.
Actors
Starring: Paula Patton, Travis Fimmel, Ben Foster, Robert Kazinsky, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Daniel Wu, Clancy Brown, Ruth Negga, Daniel Cudmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Ryan Robbins, Burkley Duffield, Donnie MacNeil

In spite of the dire reviews from the critics I really enjoyed seeing WoW come to life on the big screen at Hinckley Cineworld.  Full disclosure:  I’ve been a WoW player off and on for over 10 years so may be biased, but I was really curious how this would pan out and had a horrible sinking feeling after reading the professional critics reviews, but maybe they’re not gamers.  During the first couple of minutes, as we were introduced to the Orc heroes I was like hmmm…not sure I can root for the Horde.  (I’m an Alliance girl through and through) but then we switched to the sight of a familiar fortress hewn from stone.  Ironforge! my spiritual home (dwarf/hunter).  Then onto Stormwind, Goldshire, Elwyn Forest – all so familiar.  Although this has obviously been made to appeal to the widest audience there are lots of nods to WoWers – the portals, the gryphon flights (that land in the right place at Stormwind) and even the fleeting sight and sound of a Murloc!  The storyline was okay, the CGI was pretty impressive and overall a good time was had by all, well me at least.  I’ll be interested to see if non-WoWers find it entertaining but I got a kick out of it and from the ending it looks like it was set up for a sequel.

For Azeroth! For the Alliance!

As I leaving I was greeted by the manager, jokingly telling me I should be barred (I’m there so often), at least I hope it was a joke – yes, I’m sure it was a joke!

Alice Through The Looking Glass

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Poster for the movie "Alice Through the Looking Glass"
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Alice Through the Looking Glass

It's time for a little madness.

20161 h 58 min
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Overview

In the sequel to Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland", Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.

Metadata
Director James Bobin
Runtime 1 h 58 min
Release Date 25 May 2016
Details
Movie Status —
Movie Rating Not rated
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Actors
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen, Sacha Baron Cohen, Andrew Scott, Toby Jones, Rhys Ifans, Timothy Spall, Ed Speleers, Stephen Fry, Lindsay Duncan, Matt Lucas

redqueen

This sequel to Tim Burton’s earlier foray into the world of Lewis Carroll was a visual treat.     Excellent casting in a story centered around time.  I loved all the corny ‘time’ jokes and was relieved to see Sacha Baron Cohen bouncing back from the horror that was Grimsby   We discovered that the Red Queen was a bitter and vindictive woman with an over developed sense of entitlement because of a personality change after a head injury and the Mad Hatter had never got over being a disappointment to his father.   I guess it’s good for kids to see that behind every weird and/or nasty person there is usually a reason.

Florence Foster Jenkins

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Florence Foster Jenkins

20161 h 50 min
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Overview

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.

Metadata
Director Stephen Frears
Runtime 1 h 50 min
Release Date 6 May 2016
Details
Movie Status —
Movie Rating Not rated
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Actors
Starring: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Helberg, Nina Arianda, John Kavanagh, Josh O'Connor, Mark Arnold, David Haig, Neve Gachev, John Sessions, Christian McKay, Elliot Levey, Paola Dionisotti

 

florencefosterjenkins

I can’t make my mind up about Florence Foster Jenkins. Was she the likeable, vulnerable if eccentric character portrayed by Meryl Streep? Or was she the entitled, arrogant woman who was rich enough to surround herself with sycophants and never learned the truth until it killed her?
However, that aside and remembering that this is a film review and not an investigative report, the movie itself is great.   Meryl Streep is almost boring these days in her brilliant portrayals of a myriad of characters and FFJ is no exception.
If you’ve never heard of Mrs Jenkins, she was the rich socialite who decided she wanted to be an opera singer even though she couldn’t hold a note and eventually she sang at Carnegie Hall.  Since her death in 1944 her recordings have become classics, although for their comedic rather than their musical value.
There are many examples of her songs on the Internet and listening to them I was impressed with Meryl Streep’s accurate (if painful) renditions which must be difficult when you can actually sing.
Hugh Grant gave a charming performance as Florence’s common law husband and the relationship between them was as touching as it was unconventional. The strangely named Cosme McMoon (played by The Big Bang’s Simon Helberg) was her pianist who couldn’t believe his luck at being paid so much and couldn’t believe his ears at the noise he was being asked to accompany.
A warm and funny film but if you’re like me and need to dig deeper after watching any ‘based on a true story’ film I suggest that AFTER you’ve seen it you watch the full length documentary about Mrs Jenkins that can be found on YouTube.

A View From The Bridge

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Poster for the movie "A View from the Bridge (National Theatre Live)"

A View from the Bridge (National Theatre Live)

20151 h 55 min
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Overview

The great Arthur Miller confronts the American dream in this dark and passionate tale. In Brooklyn, longshoreman Eddie Carbone welcomes his Sicilian cousins to the land of freedom. But when one of them falls for his beautiful niece, they discover that freedom comes at a price. Eddie’s jealous mistrust exposes a deep, unspeakable secret – one that drives him to commit the ultimate betrayal. The visionary Ivo van Hove directs this stunning production of Miller’s tragic masterpiece.

Metadata
Director Ivo van Hove
Runtime 1 h 55 min
Release Date 7 April 2015
Details
Movie Status —
Movie Rating Masterpiece
Images
Actors
Starring: Mark Strong, Phoebe Fox, Nicola Walker, Emun Elliott, Luke Norris, Richard Hansell, Michael Gould, Padraig Lynch

viewfromthebridge

 

Wow.  This was a seriously stunning piece of theatre.  You know when you see a production be it theatre, film or TV drama and you can’t stop thinking about it for days afterwards?  This was A View from the Bridge, the undercurrents just kept on rippling.  I can’t praise the actors enough, Mark Strong, Nicola Walker and Phoebe Fox were amazing in a pared to the bone production.  Few props and costume changes, played on a stripped back stage, it was just us and them.  The bloody end piece was shocking and amazing.  If you get the chance to see this National Theatre production, just do it!

Eye in the Sky

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Poster for the movie "Eye in the Sky"

Eye in the Sky

Welcome to the new front line

20161 h 42 min
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Overview

A military officer in command of a drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya sees her mission escalate from “capture” to “kill” just as a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone.

Metadata
Director Gavin Hood
Runtime 1 h 42 min
Release Date 11 March 2016
Details
Movie Status —
Movie Rating Excellent
Images
Actors
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Iain Glen, Barkhad Abdi, Phoebe Fox, Kim Engelbrecht, Jeremy Northam, Meganne Young, Carl Beukes, Monica Dolan, James Alexander, Armand Aucamp, Babou Ceesay, Francis Chouler, Kenneth Fok, Daniel Fox, Olga Gainullina, John Heffernan, Graham Hopkins, Jessica Jones, Tyrone Keogh, Lex King, Kate Liquorish, Richard McCabe, Zak Rowlands, Julian Stone, Luke Tyler, Aisha Takow, Ebby Weyime, Mondé Sibisi, Gavin Hood, Michael O'Keefe

helenmirren

It’s been a while since I went to see this film but I’m still thinking about it.

A modern morality tale, I was initially drawn to the spectacle of awesome technology. Wow, a drone in an artificial flying beetle that could spy in the most inhospitable places, all controlled by a smartphone with an attached joystick. My inner geek started dancing!

However, this intense and thoughtful film quickly shifted the focus to the ethics of modern drone warfare with the attendant impossible questions. The ability to kill people from a cosy office complete with tea and biscuits was fully explored with cowardly politicians desperate to climb aboard the McPasstheBuckyface.

Excellent performances from Helen Mirren as the hard bitten colonel in charge of the operation to capture a group of terrorists in Nairobi and the late Alan Rickman as lieutenant general leading the deliberations in a cosy government office in London.

Call me cynical but I was slightly unconvinced by the emotion of the drone ‘pilot’ (Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul). Was this a device to make the Americans appear more sympathetic? I also felt there was an attempt at manipulation when the little girl at the centre of the story was shown to belong to a family that was more ‘western’ than her peers. I felt uncomfortable and insulted. Can we really only feel sympathy if the victim is more like us?

Overall a brilliant, thought-provoking film that worked in the ‘action-adventure’ genre, nail-bitingly tense but also a haunting examination of modern warfare.