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New Mary Magdalene Trailer – Rooney Mara stars as Jesus’ infamous follower

17th February 2018 By Tim Isaac

Who is Mary Magdalene? She’s probably best known for being a prostitute – although the problem with that is that it doesn’t actually say she was in The Bible. Her lady of the night reputation came along much later. More recently Dan Brown decided she was Jesus’ wife. But who was she really?

Well, a new movie seems keen to give a different take on her, presenting her closer to being a bit of a revolutionary.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘MARY MAGDALENE is an authentic and humanistic portrait of one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood spiritual figures in history. The biblical biopic tells the story of Mary (Rooney Mara), a young woman in search of a new way of living. Constricted by the hierarchies of the day, Mary defies her traditional family to join a new social movement led by the charismatic Jesus of Nazareth (Joaquin Phoenix). She soon finds a place for herself within the movement and at the heart of a journey that will lead to Jerusalem.’

Mary Magdalene is released in the UK on March 16th 2018. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor  

Mary Magdalene Trailer – Rooney Mara stars as Jesus’ infamous follower

29th November 2017 By Tim Isaac

Who is Mary Magdalene? She’s probably best known for being a prostitute – although the problem with that is that it doesn’t actually say she was in The Bible. He lady of the night reputation came along much later. More recently Dan Brown decided she was Jesus’ wife. But who was she really?

Well, a new movie seems keen to give a different take on her, presenting her closer to be a bit of a revolutionary.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘MARY MAGDALENE is an authentic and humanistic portrait of one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood spiritual figures in history. The biblical biopic tells the story of Mary (Rooney Mara), a young woman in search of a new way of living. Constricted by the hierarchies of the day, Mary defies her traditional family to join a new social movement led by the charismatic Jesus of Nazareth (Joaquin Phoenix). She soon finds a place for herself within the movement and at the heart of a journey that will lead to Jerusalem.’

Mary Magdalene is released in the UK on March 16th 2018. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor  

Una (Cinema Review)

30th August 2017 By Tim Isaac

Starring: Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Ruby Stokes
Directed by: Benedict Andrews
Written by: David Harrower
Certificate: 15
Running time: 93 mins
UK Release Date: September 1st 2017

Our Score

In 2006, Jodhi May and Roger Allam starred in a West End play called Blackbird, which was a sensation. David Harrower’s play was an intense, claustrophobic two hander about the effects of an affair between a 12-year-old girl and an adult man 15 years on. He went to prison, she cannot move on, and she turns up to his workplace to – well, what? Find closure? Thump him in the face? Tell him she still loves him? All of those things?

Blackbird took one of the biggest taboos in our country and looked at it from every point of view. It’s unthinkable, but maybe, just maybe, a man can genuinely love a 12-year-old girl, and perhaps she can love him back. It’s clearly illegal, and he ends up in prison, but he seems to have pieced his life back together – what about her? Is he even interested in the adult version of her?

There is a huge problem with this film adaptation of Harrower’s play, which is the use of flashbacks. In Blackbird we were in a room with May and Allam, and that was it – no escape, no easy way out. When they talked about their affair we had to imagine a 12-year-old girl. Here we get to see her, all too often, and it breaks the spell, as well as making for a very queasy feeling. The film even risks an obvious Lolita homage, when she turns around from her sunbed and smiles. No fault of the excellent Ruby Stokes, but when we actually see the 13-year-old Una smiling at Ray (Ben Mendelsohn) while wearing a bikini, it means the complex relationship spelled out in the play is reduced to a far more simplistic atmosphere. One scene, where we see Una hide in a bush in the park, shortly followed by Ray, is truly stomach-churning.

Ironically these flashbacks never help overcome the other main weakness – the obvious staginess of the film. The main action takes places in a bleak break area of a factory, and despite the action being moved around into various meeting rooms and toilets it never feels more than a play put on screen, despite those flashbacks. It’s hardly the most visual of settings (even the flashbacks look harsh) with both characters living in grubby houses near the sea with a permanently grey sky, and the local pub looks like it’s straight from the 1970s.

Rooney Mara plays the adult Una, who we quickly learn is a deeply troubled woman, possibly alcoholic and prone to brief sexual encounters in club toilets. She still lives with her mother in her childhood home, has a rubbish job and no boyfriend. She tracks down the man with whom she had a three-month affair when she was 13 (changed from the play’s 12 for some reason) and decides to confront him in his factory.

Ray is now called Pete, is married and has a new life, a house and a wife. His face crumples when Una turns up, and they relive their ‘affair’. The brilliant thing in the writing is that Ray is clearly wrong in every way – he was an adult, he knew it was wrong to have sex with a girl, he organised their liaisons, but he is never presented as a mere monster. He continually points out he was “never one of them” – predatory paedophiles, presumably – and insists he was attracted to her and her only, no other girls. His plan for them to run off together on the ferry to Calais is ill-conceived and clearly doomed, but appears to be genuine.

She on the other hand counters that he must have merely wanted her for her body – “there was nothing else”. At 12 she was probably right, but he insists she was special. She also wants to know why he ‘left her’, why he disappeared at the story’s crucial juncture, and keeps repeating this mantra, even in court. She even tells the whole court she still loves Ray.

This argument continues, getting deeper and more detailed, towards what we assume will be a resolution of sorts, but cleverly it never does. There is no resolution, both lives are ruined, in very different ways.

By the end, in which minor characters such as Ray’s wife and factory worker Riz Ahmed are drafted in as plot points, the intensity has deflated, although there is still one trick left up the writer’s sleeve to remind us who really has the power in this pairing.

Overall Verdict: Disappointing film version of a ground-breaking play, which never rids itself of the staginess. Excellent performances by the leads can’t overcome the structural problems with the film’s use of flashbacks.

Reviewer: Mike Martin

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Ruby Stokes  DIRECTORS: Benedict Andrews  

A Ghost Story Trailer – Casey Affleck & Rooney Mara star in David Lowery’s Sundance success

28th March 2017 By Tim Isaac

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints helmer David Lowery went full-on Hollywood last year with a reimagining of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. After that though he’s snuck in something rather more low-key, A Ghost Story, which got a tremendous reception when it debuted at Sundance.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Prematurely taken from this Earth, a spectral figure who was once a man (Casey Affleck) makes his way toward his former home, where he is fated to remain forevermore. Shrouded in a white sheet, he observes the lament of his grief-stricken lover (Rooney Mara). Bearing unseen witness to her pain, the wisp stands sentry for years to come, interacting only with time as it hurtles further and further forward, the remnants of his humanity quietly evaporating.’

The trailer for the movie has now arrived, which you can see below. It should be in cinemas this summer. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara  DIRECTORS: David Lowery  

The Discovery Trailer – Robert Redford, Rooney Mara & Jason Segel find the afterlife

23rd February 2017 By Tim Isaac

Recently Robert Redford he intends to retire completely from in front of the camera, but before then he’s decided to go into the afterlife with The Discovery. It certainly sounds like it could be an interesting one.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘What would you do if there was proof of an afterlife? The answer to this question is rivetingly explored in The Discovery, where world-renowned physicist Doctor Thomas Harber (Robert Redford) is able to scientifically prove the existence of an afterlife—but with dire consequences. His estranged son, Will (Jason Segel), tries to confront the situation by returning to the New England–esque island where he grew up. He crosses paths with Isla (Rooney Mara), who’s returning to the island for mysterious reasons of her own. The tale unfolds over the ensuing days as the regret of past choices forces these lost characters to reflect on how they’ve gotten to where they are.’

The Discovery is one of the high-profile purchases Netflix has made in their attempt to bring big-name movies to the streaming platform, without going through a cinema release first. It’ll be available on the streaming platform from March 31, 2017. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Jason Segel, Robert Redford, Rooney Mara  

Song To Song Trailer – Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender & Natalie Portman star in Terrence Malick’s latest

18th February 2017 By Tim Isaac

Never one to do the conventional thing, director Terrence Malick shot Song To Song (until recently known as Weightless) back to back with Knight Of Cups. While that movie came out in 2015, Malick decided to work and rework Song To Song, while also working on his documentary Voyage Of Life.

Now though the film is finally on its way, with a trailer released.

Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, and Natalie Portman play the central roles, with Benicio del Toro, Haley Bennett, Clifton Collins Jr., Holly Hunter, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Angela Bettis also making appearances. It’s known the likes of Trevante Rhodes and Boyd Holdbrook also filmed scenes, although a no one has seen the finished version yet, it’s not clear if they’ll make the final cut.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Natalie Portman) — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.’ Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman  DIRECTORS: Terrence Malick  
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