Book, Film & TV Reviews
Directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on the novel of the same name by Jo Nesbo, The Snowman follows Detective Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) who is sent to investigate the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.
Based on M.L. Stedman‘s 2012 debut novel and directed by Derek Cianfrance, The Light Between Oceans follows war veteran Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), who returns home to Western Australia after fighting in the western trenches of World War I in Europe. After meeting and quickly falling in love with the young Isabel (Alicia Vikander), the newly married couple move to an isolated island where Tom maintains the upkeep of a working lighthouse, and Isabel gets used to married life away from her family. But as Tom struggles with his numb emotions from serving in the war, and after the heartache of not being able to start a family of their own, the couple rescue a baby girl who has washed up on an adrift rowboat.
Believing their prayers may have finally been answered, Isabel encourages Tom to informally adopt her as their own but, as a man of principle, Tom is torn between reporting the lost child and pleasing the woman he loves. Against his better judgement, he agrees to let Isabel keep the child, naming her Lucy and informing their families that she is their own. But when Tom and Isabel return to the mainland a few years later, they soon discover that their actions may have had devastating consequences for the lives of others.
“There are still more days to travel in this life. And he knows that the man who makes the journey has been shaped by every day and every person along the way. Scars are just another kind of memory. Isabel is part of him, wherever she is, just like the war and the light and the ocean. Soon enough the days will close over their lives, the grass will grow over their graves, until their story is just an unvisited headstone. He watches the ocean surrender to the night, knowing that the light will reappear.”
Based on M.L. Stedman‘s 2012 debut novel and directed by Derek Cianfrance, The Light Between Oceans follows war veteran Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), who returns home to Western Australia after fighting in the western trenches of World War I in Europe. After meeting and quickly falling in love with the young Isabel (Alicia Vikander), the newly married couple move to an isolated island where Tom maintains the upkeep of a working lighthouse, and Isabel gets used to married life away from her family. But as Tom struggles with his numb emotions from serving in the war, and after the heartache of not being able to start a family of their own, the couple rescue a baby girl who has washed up on an adrift rowboat.
Believing their prayers may have finally been answered, Isabel encourages Tom to informally adopt her as their own but, as a man of principle, Tom is torn between reporting the lost child and pleasing the woman he loves. Against his better judgment, he agrees to let Isabel keep the child, naming her Lucy and informing their families that she is their own. But when Tom and Isabel return to the mainland a few years later, they soon discover that their actions may have had devastating consequences for the lives of others.
“There are still more days to travel in this life. And he knows that the man who makes the journey has been shaped by every day and every person along the way. Scars are just another kind of memory. Isabel is part of him, wherever she is, just like the war and the light and the ocean. Soon enough the days will close over their lives, the grass will grow over their graves, until their story is just an unvisited headstone. He watches the ocean surrender to the night, knowing that the light will reappear.”
The Light Between Oceans is a 2012 debut novel by M.L. Stedman, which follows war veteran Tom Sherbourne, who returns home to Western Australia after fighting in the western trenches of World War I in Europe. After meeting and quickly falling in love with the young Isabel, the newly married couple move to an isolated island where Tom maintains the upkeep of a working lighthouse, and Isabel gets used to married life away from her family. But as Tom struggles with his numb emotions from serving in the war, and after the heartache of not being able to start a family of their own, the couple rescue a baby girl who has washed up on an adrift rowboat.
Continue reading “You Should Be Reading: The Light Between Oceans”
The ninth instalment in the X-Men film series, following on from 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and again directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men: Apocalypse is set in 1983 when the first and most powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur a.k.a. Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), awakens after thousands of years. Amassed with the powers of many other mutants, which has enabled him to become both immortal and invincible, Apocalypse plans to wipe out modern civilisation and take over the world, and recruits a team of powerful mutants – including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Angel (Ben Hardy), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) – to help him cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Professor X (James McAvoy), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), return to lead a team of young X-Men – including Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) – to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
Directed by Justin Kurzel, Macbeth is based on the Shakespearean play of the same name, and follows the title character, the Thane of Glamis (Michael Fassbender), who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife (Marion Cotillard), Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself. Wracked with guilt and paranoia, Macbeth becomes a tyrannical ruler, forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from suspicion, a bloodbath which swiftly takes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness, and death.
Most recently known for his role as a young Magneto in the latest X-Men franchise, Michael Fassbender is most credible for his compelling performances in a number of hard-hitting true stories, most notably alongside directed Steve McQueen. It certainly took a few bad films to get him there, but he is now one of the best working actors around.
Here is my ranking of his performances (not of the films themselves) to date:
From the director of X-Men 1 and 2, Bryan Singer, X-Men: Days of Future Past sees the ultimate X-Men ensemble fight a war for the survival of the species across two time periods. As the characters that began our X-Men infatuation from the original trilogy of films – Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Storm (Halle Berry), Kitty (Ellen Page), and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) – join forces with their younger selves from the excellent prequel X-Men: First Class – Professor X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), and Beast (Nicholas Hoult) – when Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is sent back in time, they must change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save both humans and mutants.
Based on a true story and in part on Solomon Northup‘s memoirs of the same name, 12 Years A Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, follows the remarkable true story of a free black man from upstate New York, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is abducted and sold into slavery. Forced to work on a plantation in New Orleans in the 1800s, experiencing the brutalities of those who believe they have the right to abuse their slaves such as Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and carpenter John Tibeats (Paul Dano), and ignorances of the population, including that of plantation owner William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), will Solomon ever make it back to his family and home?
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
Set to star in this month’s Bin Laden drama Zero Dark Thirty and in next year’s anticipated adaptation of The Great Gatsby, Joel Edgerton is the latest to join the cast of Lynne Ramsay’s upcoming western, Jane Got A Gun.
Continue reading “Joel Gets A Job: Joel Edgerton Joins Lynne Ramsay’s Western ‘Jane Got A Gun’”
(Published in Issue 11 of my publication In Retrospect)
Directed by Ridley Scott, Prometheus follows a pair of archaeologists, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), who discover a star map to the origins of mankind on Earth. Boarded on a ship called Prometheus that is run by Captain Janek (Idris Elba), android David (Michael Fassbender) and Meredith (Charlize Theron), a team of explorers are lead a journey to the darkest corners of the universe where age-old questions are answered and new horrors force the team to face a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
(Written for BritScene)
We’ve already had news over the past few weeks that British actor Michael Fassbender is to star in Ronan Bennettas’ Irish Myths and Ridley Scott‘s upcoming drama The Counselor, reports this week confirm that the Shame actor is now in final talks to star in Gerardo Naranjo‘s adaptation of Charles Martin’s romantic drama novel, The Mountain Between Us.
Continue reading “Michael Fassbender To Star In Romantic Drama ‘The Mountain Between Us’”
(Written for BritScene)
We’ve already had news this month that British actor Michael Fassbender is to star in Ronan Bennettas’ Irish Myths, and now reports this week confirm that the Shame actor is set to star in Ridley Scott‘s upcoming drama, The Counselor.
Continue reading “Michael Fassbender Confirmed to Star in Ridley Scott’s ‘The Counselor’”
(Written for HeyUGuys)
This week MTV got to talk to Simon Kinberg about writing and producing the X-Men: First Class sequel.
Again to be directed by Matthew Vaughn, Kinberg told MTV that the sequel will focus largely on the character of Magneto, who is again to be played by Shame‘s Michael Fassbender, and that it would be an in-depth portrayal of Magneto’s journey to becoming the franchise’s villain.
Continue reading “X-Men: First Class Sequel Will Focus on Michael Fassbender’s Magneto”
(Written for BritScene)
British actor Michael Fassbender is to take the lead in a new project written by Ronan Bennettas and based on Irish myth stories, it has been reported this week.
Fassbender, who was last seen in British director Steve McQueen‘s highly acclaimed Shame, has been developing the project with writer Bennett (Public Enemies) who has been working on the project since last year.
Continue reading “Michael Fassbender to Star in ‘Irish Myths’”
(Published in Issue 6 of my publication In Retrospect)
Directed by Steve McQueen, Shame follows a successful man living in New York City who, behind closed doors, is living a carefully cultivated life as a sex addict. From picking up women with his charming persona in nightclubs, to paying for physical encounters with just about anyone, Brandon (Michael Fassbender) struggles on a day-to-day basis trying to find where his next night, or even minutes, of passion will come from. That is until his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) turns up to live with him indefinitely. Looking for only comfort, Sissy throws her brother’s life into a world of uncertainty as he must deal with each of their damaged lives, whilst also trying to hide and feed his own shameful appetite for sex.
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
Michael Fassbender has revealed that another X-Men prequel is likely to be made to follow last year’s box office hit, X-Men: First Class.
Fassbender expressed his hopes to ComingSoon’s SuperHeroHype who caught up with the actor earlier this month at the National Board of Review Gala in New York, where he received the Spotlight Award for his roles in four 2011 movies, which also including the first prequel.
Continue reading “Michael Fassbender Still Talking An ‘X-Men: First Class’ Sequel”
(Weekly feature written for BritScene)
From thrillers to vampires to an adaptation of Shakespeare, we have some great films set to be released over the next week which include some brilliant British actors. With Kate Beckinsale making it to the top of the box office from last week in Contraband, we see her turn to a much darker world in a new release with Underworld: Awekening, whilst there’s a bloody battle ongoing between Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler in Coriolanus and an action-packed Haywire starring Ewan McGregor and Micheal Fassbender as well.
Continue reading “Brits At The Box Office: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Ewan McGregor & More!”
(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)
A new batch of images for Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller Haywire have been released today, showing Ewan McGregor pointing a gun, a worried-looking Channing Tatum and a face-painted Gina Carano looking ready for a mission.
(Weekly feature written for BritScene)
This week has seen the overall box office suffer its worst weekend since 2008, but one British movie has enjoyed robust numbers whilst another two are continuing their successful theatrical runs. There’s also some great new films set to be released over the next week that feature a number of Brits in their cast, including the Sherlock Holmes sequel, Roman Polanski’s Carnage, Mission Impossible 4 and David Fincher’s English adaptation of The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo.
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