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The Last Samurai (2003)
7.2
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Movie Watch
The Japanese monarchy has decided to replace the hired samurai warriors, who have been relied upon...
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
7.5
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Movie Watch
Evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) lusts for the beautiful wife of a London barber (Johnny Depp) and...
Chicken Run (2000)
7.3
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Movie Watch
The Tweedys are a grumpy middle-aged couple who run a chicken farm in Yorkshire, England. The coop...
The King's Speech (2010)
8.2
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Movie Watch
The Idea of a film about a stuttering King doesn't sound like gripping viewing, but you would be...
Electric Dreams - Season 1
8.0
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TV Season Watch
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is a sci-fi anthology series of ten epic, ambitious and moving...
Science fiction
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Finding your feet (2018) in Movies
Jan 30, 2019
Delightful
Contains spoilers, click to show
Finding Your Feet is a sweet movie with endearing characters. The stellar cast consists of Celie Imrie, Imelda Staunton, Joanna Lumley, Timothy Spall, and David Haymen. Staunton plays an up middle-class snob, who after finding her husband in the arms of another woman, moves in with her bohemian sister, Imrie, who lives in a council house and who occupies herself with dancing with other seniors. Her sister convinces her to join the class; she had previously been a dancer but gave it up for marriage and motherhood, and slowly, the snobbery gives way to living her best life and having fun, making new friends, and finding romance and adventure. It's a feel-good, hopeful movie, full of laughter and dance.
What I love about the Brits is that unlike Hollywood, actors are allowed to look like the average person on the street in both face and figure, with gray hair, wrinkles, moles, and a paunch. It's about talent and acting, not whether or not they look like gods and goddesses. It's so refreshing.
What I love about the Brits is that unlike Hollywood, actors are allowed to look like the average person on the street in both face and figure, with gray hair, wrinkles, moles, and a paunch. It's about talent and acting, not whether or not they look like gods and goddesses. It's so refreshing.
Naked Cinema: Working with Actors
Book
Sally Potter has been renowned for her rapport with actors, and for the luminous performances she...
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Early Man (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
From the creators of Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit comes the “true”
story of the origin of the world’s most popular sport-football (or soccer
as we call it in the U.S.). A charming film that takes us back to the dawn
of man, The Stone Age, where a motley band of cavemen and women live an
archaic lifestyle foraging and hunting for their food.
Their way of life
is shattered as the Bronze age approaches, and mining for metal becoming
superior, along with the love of football (soccer) playing second. The
leader of the Bronze Age conquerors Lord Nooth strips the cavemen from
their land to mine for more metal and for smelting. Eager to keep their
way of life and get their home back, the Cavemen challenge Lord Nooth to a
game of football.
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? As you can guess, it’s hysterical
slapstick humor and sheer silliness of epic proportion. In true Wallace
and Gromit fashion, Aardman animation create a movie with an underlying
sweetness that makes the audience fall in love with such delightful
characters.
Featuring an all-star British voice cast featuring Tom
Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Tom Redmayne, and Timothy Spall, Early Man may
not be your typical run of the mill bright, boisterous, tug at the
heartstrings type of movie, but it definitely provides enough physical
comedy to keep the audience laughing and a great message about teamwork and
learning to coexist.
story of the origin of the world’s most popular sport-football (or soccer
as we call it in the U.S.). A charming film that takes us back to the dawn
of man, The Stone Age, where a motley band of cavemen and women live an
archaic lifestyle foraging and hunting for their food.
Their way of life
is shattered as the Bronze age approaches, and mining for metal becoming
superior, along with the love of football (soccer) playing second. The
leader of the Bronze Age conquerors Lord Nooth strips the cavemen from
their land to mine for more metal and for smelting. Eager to keep their
way of life and get their home back, the Cavemen challenge Lord Nooth to a
game of football.
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? As you can guess, it’s hysterical
slapstick humor and sheer silliness of epic proportion. In true Wallace
and Gromit fashion, Aardman animation create a movie with an underlying
sweetness that makes the audience fall in love with such delightful
characters.
Featuring an all-star British voice cast featuring Tom
Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Tom Redmayne, and Timothy Spall, Early Man may
not be your typical run of the mill bright, boisterous, tug at the
heartstrings type of movie, but it definitely provides enough physical
comedy to keep the audience laughing and a great message about teamwork and
learning to coexist.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Corrupted (2019) in Movies
Jun 20, 2020
The first thing you notice about The Corrupted is that it's filmed like a TV crime drama. The atmosphere, the style, everything screamed mini-series. It's an interesting story and I enjoyed it, but it gives a very different vibe to a "normal" film. It's difficult to explain. It's something you'd watch while ironing or when you've got a take away coming. It's the perfect accompaniment to doing something else not sitting in silence in the dark, it needs interaction, someone to discuss with while it's on.
Timothy Spall makes a pretty good villain in this, I probably would have also accepted Tim Roth in this role. Spall did seem to be channelling some of his mannerisms.
Sam Claflin as Liam brings the interesting mix of warmth and no-nonsense in his character to life. He turns on a knife edge from family man to criminal, although the latter is more of a protective quality than criminal endeavour.
It's been a long time since I've seen a film where I thought all the acting was excellent, The Corrupted has a fantastic bunch of actors and actresses in it. At the same time as being excited about them all though, I'm sad. This probably would have got more notice as a TV series. I went in with no real knowledge of this, I hadn't even seen it advertised anywhere apart from checking upcoming listings. It was criminally under publicised considering how much marketing King Of Thieves got and didn't deserve.
Noel Clarke as a detective really works for me. He seemed very comfortable in the role and it was nice to see him without a dubious accent... I'm looking at you Fisherman's Friends. I can't say I liked where his story went but the journey there was fantastic. I've been trying to find a listing online of character names, I can only find things listing him as Beckett but I'm sure I heard him call himself "Noel" but at another point his partner calls him "Neil"... of course I can't guarantee my hearing wasn't shot.
Loosely based on real events, The Corrupted offers a surprisingly gritty crime drama. While it does have the odd moments that make you wonder how it made the cut, those are greatly outweighed by the good points. I'll definitely be watching this again at some point, I'm also seeing a potential gift for my dad coming up.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-corrupted-movie-review.html
Timothy Spall makes a pretty good villain in this, I probably would have also accepted Tim Roth in this role. Spall did seem to be channelling some of his mannerisms.
Sam Claflin as Liam brings the interesting mix of warmth and no-nonsense in his character to life. He turns on a knife edge from family man to criminal, although the latter is more of a protective quality than criminal endeavour.
It's been a long time since I've seen a film where I thought all the acting was excellent, The Corrupted has a fantastic bunch of actors and actresses in it. At the same time as being excited about them all though, I'm sad. This probably would have got more notice as a TV series. I went in with no real knowledge of this, I hadn't even seen it advertised anywhere apart from checking upcoming listings. It was criminally under publicised considering how much marketing King Of Thieves got and didn't deserve.
Noel Clarke as a detective really works for me. He seemed very comfortable in the role and it was nice to see him without a dubious accent... I'm looking at you Fisherman's Friends. I can't say I liked where his story went but the journey there was fantastic. I've been trying to find a listing online of character names, I can only find things listing him as Beckett but I'm sure I heard him call himself "Noel" but at another point his partner calls him "Neil"... of course I can't guarantee my hearing wasn't shot.
Loosely based on real events, The Corrupted offers a surprisingly gritty crime drama. While it does have the odd moments that make you wonder how it made the cut, those are greatly outweighed by the good points. I'll definitely be watching this again at some point, I'm also seeing a potential gift for my dad coming up.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-corrupted-movie-review.html
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Spencer (2021) in Movies
Nov 11, 2021
Diana hits rock bottom… as does the script.
Discordant strings sound as the royal party arrives at Sandringham for Christmas. “Is she here yet” intones the Queen. “No ma’am” her major domo replies. “Then she’s late”. Cut to a soulful choral version of “Perfect Day” as Diana Princess of Wales (née Spencer) arrives via a dramatic aerial shot. Hugs go to her sons William and Harry before she unhappily stalks through the corridors like a hunted animal.
This is the second movie in a row that I’ve intro’d via a positive emotional response to a great trailer. In the last case – for “Last Night in Soho” – the movie more than lived up to my high expectations from the trailer. But here – oh dear! It comes to something where the very best thing about the film is the trailer.
For, unfortunately for me, this came across as pretentious, vaguely insulting and with a dreadful script.
Plot Summary:
It’s Christmas 1991 at the Sandringham estate. Diana (Kristen Stewart) is the black sheep of the royal family, flouting tradition and always late for every formal event. She sees conspiracies at every turn, suspecting the household coordinator Major Gregory (Timothy Spall) of plotting against her. Her only allies that she can talk to are head chef Darren (Sean Harris) and her dresser Maggie (Sally Hawkins).
Mentally unstable, bulimic and self-harming, Diana must survive a tumultuous three days without destroying the Christmas spirit for her two sons and irreparably damaging her relationship with the wider royal family.
Certification:
US: R. UK: 12A.
Talent:
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris.
Directed by: Pablo Larraín.
Written by: Steven Knight.
“Spencer” Review: Positives:
Kristen Stewart does a simply fabulous job of impersonating Diana. She’s clearly studied a lot of video of the lady in getting to mimic the way she looks, walks and dances. Although I didn’t rate the film, the performance is a cut-above.
It’s an ironic touch that in all of her driving scenes, Diana never wears a seat-belt.
Negatives:
Oh man, Steven Knight’s dialogue here I found to be simply atrocious. Head-in-the-hands bad. I decided about half way through this monstrosity that “The Room” had had its day as a cult student classic, and that “Spencer” should take over in that role.
These things evolve organically over time, but I came up with the following basic rules for a student showing:
Every time Kristen Stewart does a ‘simp’ look to camera, down a shot;
When Darren utters the line “What are you going to do with wirecutters?” the audience yells as one “CUT WIRE!” **;
When Diana intones “Beauty is useless. Beauty is clothing”** the audience should strip to their underwear;
Every time a member of the hunt shouts “PULL!” you throw a stuffed pheasant in the air. Otherwise you keep the stuffed pheasant next to you, and engage in studious conversation with it as the film progresses;
Whenever Anne Boleyn appears, shout “OFF WITH HER HEAD”;
When a character says to Diana “I love you. And yes, in that way”**, the audience must shout “Aye aye” and every female audience member needs to passionately kiss another female audience member; and finally…
When Diana says “Leave Me. I want to masturbate”**, the audience throws dildos at the screen.
** I’d really like to pretend that I made these lines up. They might be paraphrased a bit, but honestly, that’s the gist!
Oh yes. It’s a sure-fire student classic of the future. You read it here first folks! I can see the filmmakers lauding me with praise for turning their movie into a post-release sleeper hit. “WHAT A CULT” they shout at me. “WHAT A CULT”!
The rest of the cast do a good enough job with what they have, but have the general vibe of being embarrassed to deliver the dialogue they’ve been given. Sean Harris – a fine actor – inexplicably spouts Shakespeare like Christopher Plummer in “Star Trek VI”! And one can only assume that Timothy Spall was given direction to act as if he had a whole lemon stuck inside his mouth for the whole movie.
I’ve been a fan of Jonny Greenwood’s music in other movies like “Phantom Thread“. I’ve seen Mark Kermode describe this soundtrack as “fantastic”. But, for me, the intrusive atonal strings and laid-back jazz vibe just didn’t work for me at all.
Summary Thoughts on “Spencer”
As you can probably tell, I hated this one. And the illustrious Mrs Movie Man 100% agrees with me in this assessment. The trailer promised a lot, but the movie delivered very little for me. It just all felt to me like an affront to the memory of Diana. Making a highly fictitious “fable based on a real life tragedy” just feels wrong. This seems particularly the case when the Queen, Prince Charles and (particularly) William and Harry are alive to watch it. What must they think if and when they get to view this?
I was a big fan of Larrain’s 2017 biopic on Jackie Kennedy – “Jackie” – which really covered the very similar ground, of a lady in the focus of publicity struggling with mental illness. But at least that had the benefit of historical distance.
I seem to be swimming against the critical tide here, since the movie currently has an IMDB rating of 7.4/10. But frankly, for me, I thought the recent series of “The Crown” did this so much better.
This is the second movie in a row that I’ve intro’d via a positive emotional response to a great trailer. In the last case – for “Last Night in Soho” – the movie more than lived up to my high expectations from the trailer. But here – oh dear! It comes to something where the very best thing about the film is the trailer.
For, unfortunately for me, this came across as pretentious, vaguely insulting and with a dreadful script.
Plot Summary:
It’s Christmas 1991 at the Sandringham estate. Diana (Kristen Stewart) is the black sheep of the royal family, flouting tradition and always late for every formal event. She sees conspiracies at every turn, suspecting the household coordinator Major Gregory (Timothy Spall) of plotting against her. Her only allies that she can talk to are head chef Darren (Sean Harris) and her dresser Maggie (Sally Hawkins).
Mentally unstable, bulimic and self-harming, Diana must survive a tumultuous three days without destroying the Christmas spirit for her two sons and irreparably damaging her relationship with the wider royal family.
Certification:
US: R. UK: 12A.
Talent:
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris.
Directed by: Pablo Larraín.
Written by: Steven Knight.
“Spencer” Review: Positives:
Kristen Stewart does a simply fabulous job of impersonating Diana. She’s clearly studied a lot of video of the lady in getting to mimic the way she looks, walks and dances. Although I didn’t rate the film, the performance is a cut-above.
It’s an ironic touch that in all of her driving scenes, Diana never wears a seat-belt.
Negatives:
Oh man, Steven Knight’s dialogue here I found to be simply atrocious. Head-in-the-hands bad. I decided about half way through this monstrosity that “The Room” had had its day as a cult student classic, and that “Spencer” should take over in that role.
These things evolve organically over time, but I came up with the following basic rules for a student showing:
Every time Kristen Stewart does a ‘simp’ look to camera, down a shot;
When Darren utters the line “What are you going to do with wirecutters?” the audience yells as one “CUT WIRE!” **;
When Diana intones “Beauty is useless. Beauty is clothing”** the audience should strip to their underwear;
Every time a member of the hunt shouts “PULL!” you throw a stuffed pheasant in the air. Otherwise you keep the stuffed pheasant next to you, and engage in studious conversation with it as the film progresses;
Whenever Anne Boleyn appears, shout “OFF WITH HER HEAD”;
When a character says to Diana “I love you. And yes, in that way”**, the audience must shout “Aye aye” and every female audience member needs to passionately kiss another female audience member; and finally…
When Diana says “Leave Me. I want to masturbate”**, the audience throws dildos at the screen.
** I’d really like to pretend that I made these lines up. They might be paraphrased a bit, but honestly, that’s the gist!
Oh yes. It’s a sure-fire student classic of the future. You read it here first folks! I can see the filmmakers lauding me with praise for turning their movie into a post-release sleeper hit. “WHAT A CULT” they shout at me. “WHAT A CULT”!
The rest of the cast do a good enough job with what they have, but have the general vibe of being embarrassed to deliver the dialogue they’ve been given. Sean Harris – a fine actor – inexplicably spouts Shakespeare like Christopher Plummer in “Star Trek VI”! And one can only assume that Timothy Spall was given direction to act as if he had a whole lemon stuck inside his mouth for the whole movie.
I’ve been a fan of Jonny Greenwood’s music in other movies like “Phantom Thread“. I’ve seen Mark Kermode describe this soundtrack as “fantastic”. But, for me, the intrusive atonal strings and laid-back jazz vibe just didn’t work for me at all.
Summary Thoughts on “Spencer”
As you can probably tell, I hated this one. And the illustrious Mrs Movie Man 100% agrees with me in this assessment. The trailer promised a lot, but the movie delivered very little for me. It just all felt to me like an affront to the memory of Diana. Making a highly fictitious “fable based on a real life tragedy” just feels wrong. This seems particularly the case when the Queen, Prince Charles and (particularly) William and Harry are alive to watch it. What must they think if and when they get to view this?
I was a big fan of Larrain’s 2017 biopic on Jackie Kennedy – “Jackie” – which really covered the very similar ground, of a lady in the focus of publicity struggling with mental illness. But at least that had the benefit of historical distance.
I seem to be swimming against the critical tide here, since the movie currently has an IMDB rating of 7.4/10. But frankly, for me, I thought the recent series of “The Crown” did this so much better.