Film Review: In The Heart of The Sea

Directed by Ron Howard, In The Heart Of The Sea is based on Nathaniel Philbrick‘s 2000 novel of the same name, which tells the true of the sinking of the Essex, an 1820s New England whaling ship, which inspired the classic novel, Moby-Dick. The story of the crew – Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), First Mate Owen (Chris Hemsworth), Second Mate Matthew (Cillian Murphy), and cabin boy Thomas (Tom Holland) – their whaling voyage and the disaster that followed, is well-known. But that’s only half the story.

Beginning in 1850, the film opens with novelist Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) visiting an innkeeper, an older Thomas (Brendan Gleeson), seeking the true story of the Essex and the mythical monster that took it down. Telling the story for the first time, Thomas reveals his encounter of a mammoth-sized monster with a human sense of vengeance, and the harrowing aftermath that followed as the crew is pushed to their limits braving storms, starvation, and despair.

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Film Review: Edge of Tomorrow

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Directed by Doug Liman and adapted from the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Edge of Tomorrow is set in a near future where Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is forced to fight in a war with an unbeatable alien race which has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault. Dying within minutes of battle, a special alien power is transferred over to Cage as he inexplicably finds himself caught in a time loop, meaning that he must face the same brutal combat scenarios over and over again, fighting and dying, again and again, only to wake up on the same morning every time that he is killed. But the more he dies, the more Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, and with the help of warrior Sergeant Rita Vratask (Emily Blunt), his union and training slowly but surely gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy.

Four New Production Videos & New Clip For Aardman Animations’ ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’

(Written for BritScene)

Aardman Animations’ family adventure The Pirates! Band of Misfits has three new behind-the-scenes videos, a new clip and a B-roll video of British actor Martin Freeman in the recording studio, this week, including footage of the cast in their voice recording sessions and the film’s animation team showing how the characters go from paper to moving visuals on-screen.

Brits At The Box Office: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, David Tennant, Mark Strong & More!

(Written for BritScene)

With not a lot of British-related news going on at the box office over the last couple of weeks, things are starting to heat up again with a couple of new releases this week. It’s actually quite a good week for a number of Brits including Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, David Tennant, and Irish comedy actor Chris O’Dowd, with a great selection of films for the next seven days, and we know that you will be happy to see a couple of these in particular on the big screen at last.

Brits At The Box Office: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy & More!

(Weekly feature written for BritScene)

There’s not much going on film-wise this week, with only two films being released with a couple of British actors in and one animated re-telling of a British classic, but a couple of films have made it to the top of the Box Office from last week and we are likely to see them carry on doing well. So fear not, there’s still something for all to see at the theater this week featuring some brilliant British actors, so carry on reading to see what you can see on the big screen over the next seven days.

Two Full-Length Trailers for ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’

(Written for BritScene)

Today we have two full-length trailers for Aardman Animations’ family adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, following The Pirate Captain, voiced by British actor Hugh Grant in his first animated role.

The film is based on the first two of Gideon Defoe’s The Pirates! novels, The Pirates! in an Adventure With Scientists and The Pirates! in an Adventure With Whaling.

New Trailer For Aardman Animation ‘The Pirates!’, Me Hearties

(Written for BritScene)

The latest trailer for Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists, the first film based on a series of novels from Gideon Defoe‘s The Pirates! series, has been released this week, following The Pirate Captain, voiced by Hugh Grant (Did You Hear About the Morgans?), and his crew of pirates.

Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists is based on the first two of Defoe’s novels, The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists and The Pirates! in an Adventure with Whaling. The Pirate Captain is on an adventure to beat his rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven – TV’s Entourage) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek – Puss in Boots) in the Pirate of the Year Award, and along the way must battle Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton – Arthur Christmas) and meet a young Charles Darwin (David Tennant – Fright Night).

Trailer For ‘Albert Nobbs’ Starring Glenn Close as a Cross-Dresser

(Written for BritScene)

Directed by Rodrigo García (Mother and Child), Irish drama Albert Nobbs already has a US deal and has this week been given an official trailer.

The film tells the compelling and inspirational tale of a struggling woman living in 19th century Ireland, played by Glenn Close (TV’s The Shield), who has to pose as a man to work as a butler in Dublin’s most prestige hotel. Some thirty years after having to hide her true form to maintain any independence, she looks to escape the lie that she has been living after meeting a handsome painter.

Film Review: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (Part 1)

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final book of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise. Directed by David Yates, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) drop out of Hogwarts to seek the remaining Horcruxes in order to defeat Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). On their journey, the trio learn about The Deathly Hallows, three sacred objects that together could also help them on their way. Following Voldemort’s return and Dumbledore’s death, they must sneak into the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts itself whilst having to remain hidden from the dark takeover of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Film Review: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Directed by David Yates and based on the sixth book in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter series of novels, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince sees Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) enter their sixth year at Hogwarts, as both the muggle and wizarding world are under Voldemort’s tightening grip. Meanwhile, Dumbledore enlists the aid of resourceful yet unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) as we learn more about the dark past of the boy who grew up to become Lord Voldemort. Does Slughorn hold the key to their enemy’s Achilles’ heel?

Film Review: Harry Potter And The Order of The Phoenix

Directed by David Yates and based on the fifth book in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter series of novels, Harry Potter And The Order of The Phoenix sees Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) return for their fifth year at Hogwarts, only to find that the magical community is in a state of denial about his recent encounter with the sinister Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Suspecting that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) may be fueling the rumours, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) entrusts newly arrived Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) with the task of keeping a protective watch over the wizarding school. With the school failing to provide the students with the tools that they will need to defend Hogwarts against the powers of the Dark Arts, the trio takes it upon themselves to recruit a small group of students to form “Dumbledore’s Army”.

Film Review: Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire

Directed by Mike Newell and based on the fourth book in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter series of novels, sees Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) return for their fourth year at Hogwarts as Harry’s famous lightning-bolt scar begins aching and causing him mysterious visions. Introduced to yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, former dark wizard catcher Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson), Harry’s wishes for an uneventful school year are almost immediately shattered when he is unexpectedly chosen, along with fellow student Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson), as Hogwarts’ representative in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Worse still, Harry doesn’t realize that the most feared wizard in the world, Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), is anticipating the tournament, as well.