Film Review: Little Women (2019)

Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott which was originally published in 1868, this 2019 adaptation of Little Women, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, is the seventh film adaptation of the widely loved story, in which Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) reflects back and forth on her life. She tells the beloved story of the March sisters, four young women – Jo, Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh), and Beth (Eliza Scanlen) – who are each determined to live life on their own terms.

Film Review: Lady Bird

Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird follows artistically inclined seventeen-year-old Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), a senior at a Catholic high school in Sacramento in 2002, who is desperate to move on from her hometown and fights against everything her deeply opinionated and strong-willed mum (Laurie Metcalf) encourages. With her mother working double shifts as a nurse and her father (Tracy Letts) having lost his job, such real-world problems aren’t really on Lady Bird’s radar, especially when there are boys like Danny (Lucas Hedges) and Kyle (Timothée Chalamet) to chase after.

Book v Film: The Host

“This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds – the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions…the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached.”

Adapted from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer‘s science fiction romance novel of the same name, The Host introduces an unseen alien race known as Souls, which take over Earth and its inhabitants’ bodies. Directed by Andrew Niccol, the film follows 17-year-old Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) who has been taken over by a Soul known as Wanderer. Melanie refuses to just fade away, however. When Wanderer starts hearing Melanie’s voice inside her head and experiencing memories of her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and boyfriend Jared (Max Irons), she sets out to risk everything to find Melanie’s loved ones, as she struggles to put aside the strong human emotions that are refusing to let her cooperate.

Book v Film: Brooklyn

“None of them could help her. She had lost all of them. They would not find out about this; she would not put it into a letter. And because of this she understood that they would never know her now. Maybe, she thought, they had never known her, any of them, because if they had, then they would have had to realise what this would be like for her.”

Based on the 2009 award-winning novel of the same name, written by Irish author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a historical period drama directed by John Crowley and screenplay written by Nick Hornby.

Set in 1950s Ireland, Brooklyn follows Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish girl who reluctantly moves to Brooklyn with the promise of a job. Although Eilis didn’t want to leave the comfort of her quaint hometown and the company of her mother and sister, the initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish when she is swept into a fresh romance with Italian plumber Antonio “Tony” Fiorello (Emory Cohen). But when tragedy forces Eilis back to Ireland, she is faced with temptation when the charming Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) enters her life. With her new vivacity disrupted by her past, Eilis must now choose between two countries and two loves.

Film Review: Brooklyn

Based on the 2009 award-winning novel of the same name, written by Irish author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a historical period drama directed by John Crowley and screenplay written by Nick Hornby.

Set in 1950s Ireland, Brooklyn follows Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), a young Irish girl who reluctantly moves to Brooklyn with the promise of a job. Although Eilis didn’t want to leave the comfort of her quaint hometown and the company of her mother and sister, the initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish when she is swept into a fresh romance with Italian plumber Antonio “Tony” Fiorello (Emory Cohen). But when tragedy forces Eilis back to Ireland, she is faced with temptation when the charming Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) enters her life. With her new vivacity disrupted by her past, Eilis must now choose between two countries and two loves.

Actor Ranked: Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan made her acting debut at the age of only 10 years old, and over the years we have watched her transform from a promising child star in films including Joe Wright’s Atonement and Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, to an elegant and super talented young woman in films such as Brooklyn and Lady Bird.

Here is my ranking of her performances (not of the films themselves) to date:

Stunning New Trailer & Poster for ‘Brooklyn’

(Written for Filmoria)

Lionsgate has released a brand new trailer and poster for the critically acclaimed Brooklyn this week, and they couldn’t be more beautiful.

Another one of the most anticipated novel adaptations of 2015, this time from author Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn is a heart-breaking story set in the early 1950s, and stars star Saoirse Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Emory Cohen (The Place Beyond The Pines), Jim Broadbent (Iris), and Julie Walters (Billy Elliot).

DVD Review: Byzantium

Directed by Neil Jordan, Byzantium follows modern-day mother and daughter vampires, Clara (Gemma Arterton) and Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan), who seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. When Noel (Daniel Mays) provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium, Eleanor befriends Frank (Caleb Landry Jones). But their secret, that they were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood, doesn’t stay hidden for too long, as their past soon catches up on them with deathly consequences.

Rating:

Film Review: The Host

(Published in the April edition of Sage)

From Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, The Host is a science fiction romance novel that introduces an unseen alien race known as Souls, which take over Earth and its inhabitants’ bodies. Adapted and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film version, released this month, follows 17-year-old Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) who has been taken over by a Soul known as Wanderer. Melanie refuses to just fade away, however. When Wanderer starts hearing Melanie’s voice inside her head and experiencing memories of her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and boyfriend Jared (Max Irons), she sets out to risk everything to find Melanie’s loved ones, as she struggles to put aside the strong human emotions that are refusing to let her cooperate.

New International Trailer For Neil Jordan’s Vampire Thriller ‘Byzantium’

This month sees the release of the new international trailer for Neil Jordan’s vampire horror-thriller Byzantium, and it’s looking a lot better than you might have first imagined.

Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novel, The Graveyard Book, and scripted by Moira Buffini (Jane Eyre) from her own stage play, the film follows Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan as a mother-daughter vampire team who sometimes pose as sisters.

From The Creator of ‘Twilight’ – The Host Gets A Full Trailer

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

This month we have an interesting new trailer for The Host, an adaptation of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi romance.

Directed by Andrew Niccol, the new trailer does a great job of setting up the film’s plot, which is about the survival of love and the human spirit in a time of war, set in a futuristic world that has been invaded by an unseen enemy that host themselves in humans.

Saoirse Rona To Lead Wes Anderson’s Latest

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

With an ensemble cast already checked in to Wes Anderson’s upcoming The Grand Budapest Hotel, news this week confirms that Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan is set to play the female lead in the period picture.

Already starring Anderson regulars Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, and Jason Schwartzman, as well as a number of brilliant new additions including Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp, The Grand Budapest Hotel is shaping up to look pretty fantastic.

First Image Of Saoirse Ronan In WW3 Drama ‘How I Live Now’

(Written for HeyUGuys)

This week we have the new image for the latest feature effort from Kevin Macdonald, How I Live Now.

Adapted from Meg Rosoff‘s award-winning young adult novel of the same name that was first published in 2004, the film follows Diasy (Saoirse Ronan), a New Yorker staying with English cousins when World War III breaks out. As the country becomes occupied, she falls for her cousin, Edmond, and has to protect her younger cousin Piper from the invading troops.

Vampire Pic ‘Byzantium’ Gets New Still and Expanded Plot

(Written for HeyUGuys)

Neil Jordan’s Byzantium gets a new still and expanded plot this week, so now we can say with confidence that it both looks and sounds great.

Jordan (Interview With the Vampire) is attached to direct the project which is an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel, The Graveyard Book, which has been scripted by Moira Buffini (Jane Eyre) from her own stage play. What a great combination of filmmakers and writers to bring this story to life.

Casting Catch-Up: Tom Felton, Saoirse Ronan, Tom Hiddleston, Emma Thompson, Dominic Cooper & More!

(Weekly feature written for BritScene)

There has been a lot of casting news over the past couple of weeks, so we thought we’d narrow it down a little for you with a short list of the most exciting stories involving which British actors have been recently attached to what. With upcoming films and TV series that we’ve heard a lot from, to a film that has been off the radar for nearly three years, take a look below to see the ongoings of Tom Felton, Nonso Anozie, Matt Milne, Saoirse Ronan, Tom Hiddleston, Leslie Manville, Emilia Clarke, Emma Thompson, and Dominic Cooper.

Saoirse Ronan to Lead ‘The Order of the Seven’

(Written for Lost In The Multiplex)

Saoirse Ronan is set to lead Walt Disney’s The Order of the Seven, it has been reported this week.

Formerly titled Snow and the Seven, the film was originally planned to be a re-telling of the fairytale classic Snow White And The Seven Dwarves that, set in 19th Century China, would deal with an English woman who is protected by a band of international warriors.

More ‘Byzantium’ Set Pictures, Now Including Saoirse Ronan and Caleb Landry Jones

(Written for HeyUGuys)

Following the first set pictures of Gemma Arterton in the horror-thriller Byzantium, a handful of images of Saoirse Ronan and Caleb Landry Jones filming their scenes in Dublin, Ireland, have now been released online too.

The film follows Arterton and Ronan as a mother-daughter vampire team who sometimes pose as sisters. Directed by Neil Jordan, the script is written by Moira Buffini as an adaptation of her own stage play.

Jake Abel and Max Irons to Lead In ‘The Host’

(Written for HeyUGuys)

Jake Abel and Max Irons have been confirmed to play the two lead roles in an adaptation of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer‘s, The Host, reported FirstSource this week.

The Host is a science fiction/romance novel by Stephenie Meyer that introduces an alien race called the Souls, who take over the Earth and its inhabitants by inserting themselves into a human body. One Soul, who is fused with a woman named Melanie Stryder, becomes overwhelmed by the vividness of human memories and emotions and begins to lose control over its possession over her body. The soul, who renames herself as Wanda, chooses to seek out human contact instead of following her race’s master plan.

Book v Film: The Lovely Bones

“Murderers are not monsters, they’re men. And that’s the most frightening thing about them.”

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and tells the compelling story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus finding herself trapped in the ‘in-between’, haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she sits in her “own perfect world” in heaven, watching her family – her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), and her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon) – fall apart in dealing with their despair.

Film Review: The Lovely Bones

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and tells the compelling story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), a 14-year-old girl in suburban 1970’s Pennsylvania, who is raped and murdered on her walk home from school. Susie’s body is never found, thus finding herself trapped in the ‘in-between’, haunted by the man who ended her life. Susie must now accept her fate as she sits in her “own perfect world” in heaven, watching her family – her father Jack (Mark Wahlberg), her mother Abigail (Rachel Weisz), and her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon) – fall apart in dealing with their despair.