Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Kenneth Branagh Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Lydia Wilson, Kathryn Wilder, Jack Colgrave Hirst, Phil Dunster. Shakespeare in retirement? In 1613 William Shakespeare (played here by Kenneth Branagh) was the most famous writer in England. But then his beloved Globe Theatre burned to the ground during a performance of his final play Henry VIII after a prop misfired. Shakespeare retired following that disaster and returned home to Stratford-upon-Avon. There he pottered around the house and tried his hand at Continue reading
MR HOLMES
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Bill Condon Stars: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan, Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour, John Sessions, Nicholas Rowe. Ever since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first created the fictitious character of Sherlock Holmes in 1887, he has become one of the most enduring and popular character in detective fiction. Holmes has become a staple of the big screen, where he has been played by the likes of Basil Rathbone (who gave us arguably the definitive portrayal in 15 film appearances), Nicol Continue reading
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Peter Jackson Stars" Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace, Orlando Bloom, James Nesbitt, Billy Connolly, Aidan Turner, Ryan Gage, John Bell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Graham McTavish, Ken Stott, Dean O'Gorman, Stephen Fry, Ian Holm, Manu Bennett. While The Hobbit may not quite match The Lord Of The Rings trilogy for its epic sense of grandeur and action, at least here Peter Jackson brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. This epic film Continue reading
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Bryan Singer Stars: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Halle Berry, Marc Carmaro, Shawn Ashmore, Anna Paquin, Josh Helman, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing. Much like Star Trek: Generations brought together two franchises of the popular sci-fi series, so too does the latest X-Men film bring together the stars of the two franchises. Bryan Singer brought the comic book characters to the screen in 2000 with the first Continue reading
APT PUPIL
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Bryan Singer Stars: Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, Joe Morton, Joshua Jackson, David Schwimmer, Jan Triska, Michael Byrne, Heather McComb, Ann Dowd. There were high expectations for Bryan Singer's follow up to his Oscar winning crime thriller The Usual Suspects (1995), and Apt Pupil doesn't disappoint. Apt Pupil is the third story from Stephen King's Different Seasons anthology to be filmed, following both Stand By Me and the brilliant The Shawshank Redemption. This is a superb and unsettling psychological Continue reading
