Film Review: Murder On The Orient Express

Directed by Kenneth Branagh and based on Agatha Christie‘s train-set 1934 whodunnit, Murder On The Orient Express centres on the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh). When a passenger is murdered in his compartment aboard the Simplon-Istanbul Express, Poirot has to work out who did the dirty deed on the snow drift-stalled train.

DVD Review: Jack Ryan – Shadow Recruit

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Directed by Kenneth Branagh and based on the character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit follows a young covert CIA analyst, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), who uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a financial terrorist plot. Set in the present day, the story follows him from 9/11 through his tour of duty in Afghanistan and into his early days in the Financial Intelligence Unit of the modern CIA. Under the guardianship of his handler, Harper (Kevin Costner), Ryan must go from analyst to spy in order to save his own life, as well as the lives of countless others, while also trying to protect the thing that’s more important to him than anything, his relationship with his fiancée Cathy (Keira Knightley).

Kate Winslet to Reunite With Director Kenneth Branagh

(Written for BritScene)

British actress Kate Winslet is set to star in Kenneth Branagh‘s latest project The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, it has been reported this week.

Winslet, who previously played Ophelia in Branagh’s Hamlet in 1996, is set to play the role of Juliet Ashton in adaptation of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows‘ 2008 novel of the same name.

Film Review: My Week With Marilyn

Directed by Simon Curtis and based on two books by Colin Clark, My Week With Marilyn depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) and Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). During this time, 23-year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant and documented the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. Desperate to get away from her retinue of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work, Colin escorts Marilyn around and introduces her to some of the pleasures of British life.

Behind-The-Scenes Featurette For ‘My Week With Marilyn’

(Written for BritScene)

A new behind-the-scenes featurette for Simon Curtis‘ My Week With Marilyn has been released this week, which includes commentary from leading lady Michelle Williams and some of the British cast, Judi Dench and Emma Watson.

Based on Colin Clark’s two diary accounts of his time on set for The Prince and the Showgirl with Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier in 1957, My Week With Marilyn focuses on the week in which Clark spent his week escorting Monroe around England after her husband, Arthur Muller, left the country. Introducing her to British life, Monroe begins to escape from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work, letting Clark see a side of her that the cameras didn’t know.

First Trailer for ‘My Week With Marilyn’

(Written for BritScene)

My Week With Marilyn has had very little promotion despite its intriguing hype. Premiering at the New York Film Festival this weekend, we have finally been given a trailer to show us non-press folks what we will be missing out on.

Based on Colin Clark‘s two dairy accounts of his time on set for The Prince and the Showgirl with Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier in 1957, the film focuses on the week in which Clark spent with Monroe after her husband, Arthur Miller, left the country.

An American actress, and a worldwide icon, the film is set in England where Clark, an assistant on the set, spends the week escorting Monroe around, introducing her to British life as she begins to escape from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work.

Film Review: Thor

The fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor follows the Asgardian god of thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who is banished to Earth by his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the ruler of Asgard, and stripped of his powers and his hammer after reigniting a dormant war. As his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) plots to take the Asgardian throne, Thor must prove himself worthy. But when the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero as he must protect his new human allies (Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, and Stellan Skarsgård).

Film Review: Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets

Directed by Chris Columbus and based on the second book in J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter series of novels, Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets sees the return of young wizards Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) for their second year at Hogwarts with a new Defense against the Dark Arts, Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh). But it’s not long before the trio find themselves in trouble again, as a mysterious presence begins stalking the corridors of a school of magic and leaving its victims paralyzed. It seems that someone has opened the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, letting loose the monster and all its calamitous powers.