The Girl in the Cafe

I finally saw the Girl in the Cafe and really enjoyed it! I do not know why it still surprises me, but I am constantly amazed by the number of versatile characters that Bill Nighy is able to flawlessly create.

The film came out in 2005 and focuses on the relationship between Lawrence, a civil-servant currently preparing for a G-8 summit that will determine how much time, effort and money will be used to reduce extreme poverty  and Gina, a young Scottish girl with nothing but time on her hands.

Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald were both amazing, and as usual I can only expect the best from director David Yates (State of Play and the Way We Live Now) and writer Richard Curtis (The Boat that Rocked, Love Actually, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Blackadder). I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

Gideon's Daughter

I just saw Gideon's Daughter and absolutely loved it! People are probably tired of hearing me go on and on about how much I love Stephen Poliakoff as both a writer and director, so suffice it to say that he definitely did not disappoint (here is a link to my reviews for other Poliakoff films).

The film tackles many issues including the idea of family, grief and celebrity and takes place in the tumultuous summer of the New Labour election victory and Princess Diana's death.

As usual, Poliakoff delivered an excellent screenplay, but this particular film was really a character piece. The more important moment were the ones when nothing was being said at all. There were three key performances that made this film so wonderful and managed to make everything come together and work. No particular performance stood out. Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson and Emily Blunt were all fantastic (though at this point, I believe that I would be much more surprised if one of them gave a performance that was anything less than absolutely fantastic).

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

Glorious 39

I just saw another excellent film by Stephen Poliakoff (see my other reviews of Poliakoff films). It is called Glorious 39 and takes place in England, in the summer of '39. The film follows the Keyes family. The eldest sibling's name is Anne and her life begins to unravel as she stumbles upon a secret involving a movement in favor of making a deal with Hitler.

As with all Poliakoff films, it was very character driven, but this film was more than simply characters. In addition to wonderful performances, the film itself was absolutely stunning. Jeremy Northam, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, David Tennant, and Julie Christie all gave really good performances, but I was extemely impressed with Bill Nighy and especially Romola Garai. This was probably my absolute favorite performance of Garai's.

This film is DEFINITELY a must-see! I have already added it to my amazon wishlist, posted the trailer to facebook and recommended it to nearly everyone the I know!

State of Play

I'm not sure how many of you saw State of Play when it came out last year. I still haven't gotten a chance to see it, but a little while ago, I was able to see the BBC miniseries that it was based on. I am not sure how true this new adaptation stayed to the original. Having not seen the new version, I can only comment on the original.

The series takes place over six episodes. I cannot say much without giving away plot developments. The film follows the lives of several journalists and one member of Parliament and his family as they all uncover a huge story. It all begins one morning when two seemingly unrelated events occur. The MP's research assistant is killed on the London underground and that same morning a teenage drug dealer is shot.

The series was directed by David Yates and written by Paul Abbott. It is an extremely intense, edge-of-your-seat thriller. I found myself unable to stop watching from episode to episode. Luckily, I first saw this over winter break, and was able to completely stop everything else.

The ensemble cast in this film was AMAZING! Polly Walker, Marc Warren, James McAvoy, and Kelly Macdonald were all pretty good. I had seen all of them in other roles before, so I wasn't very surprised.  I was extremely impressed with David Morrissey and Bill Nighy. They constantly seem to raise the bar. This project was no different. The person that I was most impressed with was John Simm. He was especially good! I had previously only seen him as the Master. This was a completely different role for him. It was really interesting to see him develop this whole new character.

I would definitely recommend this film to anyone and cannot wait to see the remake! It really is a must-see!

Pirate Radio / The Boat that Rocked

I just finished watching The Boat that Rocked (Pirate Radio -US title), and it was AWESOME! It came out a while ago in the UK and was recently released in America. It takes place in 1966. As the beginning of the film states, it was a period of time when some of the best Rock and Roll was being made, but only about 45 minutes was played every day on BBC radio. The film focuses on one radio station that chose to defy the government...Rock Radio!

The film itself was very simple. What makes it awesome is the wonderful soundtrack and the amazing ensemble cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman played the Count, Bill Nighy played Quentin, Kenneth Branagh played Sir Alistair Dormandy, Gemma Arterton played Desiree, Jack Davenport played Dominic Twatt, Rhys Ifans played Gavin Cavanagh, Talulah Riley played Marianne, and Emma Thompson played Charlotte. I was really pleased to see a lot of actors that are relatively unknown in the States. Tom Sturridge played Little Carl, Rhys Darby played Angus Nutsford, and Tom Wisdom played Mark. Some of my favorite actors from British television also made appearances. Nick Frost played Doctor Dave, Katherine Parkinson played Felicity, and Chris O'Dowd played Simple Simon.

I would definitely recommend this film to anyone. It is definitely a must-see!

The Lost Prince

I just finished watching the Lost Prince by Stephen Poliakoff (click here to see my past Stephen Poliakoff posts).  It came out in 2003 and originally aired in England. The film centers on the true story of Prince John (son of King George V and Queen Mary). Many forget about Prince John. He suffered from epilepsy and autism. He was locked away and isolated starting at a young age and kept out of the sight of the general public.

The film takes place during a very important time in history. It intertwines several stories that all take place at the very start of the first World War. At the time, most of the European houses were connected in some way. Below is a family tree (click to enlarge) that I created. It shows the connections between some of the very powerful figures of the time.

This film was very interesting to watch. These real stories were truly compelling, but it was the ensemble cast that truly made it worth watching. Miranda Richardson did a wonderful job as Queen Mary (it is funny since as just saw her in the Young Victoria as this character's Great-Grandmother-In-Law). Michael Gambon played Edward VII. Tom Hollander played King George V. Two of my favorite characters in the film were also played by two of my favorite actors. Bill Nighy played Stamfordham and Gina McKee played Lalla. They were both wonderful in the film.

I was probably most impresses by the young actors in the film. Daniel Williams and Matthew James Thomas both played Prince John. Brock Everitt-Elwick and Rollo Weeks both played Prince George. I was very impressed by Rollo Weeks. I have seen him in several roles (my favorite is Berkeley Square), but this was the first time when he was really able to grow as an actor and to show this to the audience.






I would definitely recommend this film to anyone. It is definitely a must-see!

Deathly Hallows Casting

As most of you know, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I and II are currently being filmed. I have been looking at the cast list for all of the new characters and am pretty excited about the film. Here are some of the actors that will be joining the cast:




















Perhaps one of my favorite casting decisions is Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeor. I am sure that you all recognize him, but in case you don't, you may remember him from Love Actually and Underworld.













Jamie Campbell Bell (RocknRolla, Sweeney Todd) will be taking on the role of Gellert Grindelwald.

















Ciaran Hinds (another favorite casting choice) will be taking on the role of Aberforth Dumbledore. You may recognize him from the television show, Rome and the recent film, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

Toby Regbo will be taking on the role of teenage Dumbledore.





















Rhys Ifans will be taking on the role of Xenophilius Lovegood (perfect casting in my opinion). He has been in a lot of different films, but every time I think of him, the very first role that comes to mind is the weird roommate from Notting Hill.



















David O'Hara will be taking on the role of Albert Runcorn. He has been in many films including the Matchmaker, Made and the Departed, but my favorite role of his is Stephen from Braveheart.





















Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) will be taking on the role of Scabior.








Guy Henry will be taking on the role of Pius Thicknesse. You may remember him as the creepy Mr. Collins form Lost in Austen or as Cassius from the television show, Rome.