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Victoria & Abdul Trailer – Judi Dench is back as Queen Victoria, but no longer Mrs. Brown

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20 years ago, Judi Dench scored an Oscar nomination for Mrs. Brown, about Queen Victoria’s (platonic) relationship with her servant, John Brown, following the death of how husband. Now Dench is stepping into Vicky’s shoes again for Victoria & Abdul.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.’

The movie is directed by Stephen Frears, who already has a bit of experience with regal movies, as he directed Helen Mirren in The Queen. The film will be in UK cinemas on September 15th. [Read more…]

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Florence Foster Jenkins Trailer – Meryl Streep & Hugh Grant tell the true tale of a legendarily terrible singer

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florence-foster-jenkins-poster-slideSynopsis: ‘The comedy drama directed by Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen) tells the inspirational true story of the eponymous New York heiress who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. The film celebrates the human spirit, the power of music and the passion of amateurs everywhere.

‘The voice Florence (Streep) heard in her head was divine, but to the rest of the world it was hilariously awful. At private recitals, her devoted husband and manager, St Clair Bayfield (Grant), managed to protect Florence from the truth. But when Florence decided to give her first public concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, St Clair realised he had perhaps bitten off more than he could chew.

‘The film’s supporting cast members include Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) as Florence’s long suffering piano accompanist, Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) and Nina Arianda (Midnight in Paris).’

The film hits UK cinemas in May, but before that you can take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

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The Program (Blu-ray Review)

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the-program-review-slideStarring: Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd, Jesse Plemons, Lee Pace, Guillaume Canet
Directed By: Stephen Frears
Running Time: 103 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: February 15th 2016

Our Score

Over the years, numerous movies about Lance Armstrong have been in the works but never got made. Indeed, one was about to move forward just as he admitted he had doped for his entire career. It’s almost a shame we don’t have a movie from when he was almost universally admired as a hero, so we could compare it to the darker world of The Program.

At the start of the movie Lance (Ben Foster) is an okay but unexceptional cyclist, who few think will ever do anything special. After overcoming testicular cancer, he returns with a passion to win, and knowing the world of cycling is riddled with cheats taking performance-enhancing drugs, he decides he will do the same, enlisting the help of Michele Ferrari (Guillaume Canet) to allow him to set up a ‘Program’ that will help him win, as well as arranging to have a team built around him that will ensure a Tour de France victory. [Read more…]

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