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The Death Of Stalin Review

Very Good

Fans of the film In the Loop and the TV series Veep will definitely not want to miss this raucously hilarious political satire from the same creator, Armando Iannucci. This time he has gone back in history to 1953, giving his snappy dialogue to the Russians jostling for control after the Soviet leader's sudden demise. The setting makes it a lot darker than Iannucci's previous work, but it's packed with unforgettable one-liners, visual gags and pointed observations on politics today.

 

In the wake of Stalin's death, his successors aren't sure whether they should continue with his campaign of terror against Russian citizens. Dopey deputy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor) wants to maintain the status quo, while more progressive Krushchev (Steve Buscemi) is looking for change. Their main rival is Beria (Simon Russell Beale), a thug who likes young girls. Then the enthusiastic General Zhukov (Jason Isaacs) charges in, deciding that they need to push Beria out and go in another direction. Meanwhile, Stalin's spoiled children (Rupert Friend and Andrea Riseborough) are determined that they should have a say in any new government, but everyone else knows that their days are numbered.

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The Death Of Stalin Trailer


It's 1953 and our story takes place in Russia - then known as the Soviet Union - a nation terrorised by their communist leader Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin). But this is not a story about the inhumane acts of oppression and cruelty in his regime that resulted in the death of millions, it's about the events that occurred both immediately prior and following his shocking death from an apparent stroke at the age of 74.

Of course, this movie is as loosely based on the real events as it possibly could be - but it's certainly how we'd want to imagine events transpiring. There becomes an intense power struggle between several members of the Council of Ministers including Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) - who would later go on to be the First Secretary of the Communist Party - Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale), Vyacheslav Molotov (Michael Palin), Lazar Kaganovich (Dermot Crowley), Anastas Mikoyan (Paul Whitehouse) and Nicolai Bulganin (Paul Chahidi).

Meanwhile, Marshal Georgy Zhukov (Jason Isaacs) is throwing a spanner in the works - not being the best of friends with Malenkov - and of course Joseph Stalin's renegade son Vasily (Rupert Friend) needs to be kept a close eye on. But nothing compares the chaos that they face from the public when they find out that their 'great' leader is dead.

Continue: The Death Of Stalin Trailer

The Girl With All The Gifts Review

Good

Like a 10-years-later follow-up to 28 Days Later, this small British thriller takes a refreshingly original approach to the zombie genre. The most engaging difference is the fact that the central character is infected with a brain-eating virus, so the question has to be whether it's all bad. This introspective approach gives the movie a strong kick, and it looks great despite a small budget. So the film is involving and gripping even if, ultimately, there isn't much to it beyond a cool central idea.

The film opens with a school in an underground encampment, where soldiers guard children who are as heavily restrained as Hannibal Lecter. Their teacher Helen (Gemma Arterton) is friendly and open, as opposed to the sceptical Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine). Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close) casually experiments on these youngsters to learn more about the virus, arguing that they're no longer human. But Helen has her doubts, especially with her super-smart pupil Melanie (Sennia Nanua). When the compound is overrun by "hungries", it's Melanie who helps Helen, Caldwell, Parks and guard Kieran (Fisayo Akinade) escape. And as they travel across a wasteland into London, they begin to wonder if there's any hope left for humanity as they knew it.

Director Colm McCarthy and writer Mike Carey keep these five survivors at the centre of the film, giving us people we can identify with as things get increasingly desperate. At each juncture, they make yet another grim discovery about this virus, forcing them to revamp their plan. This means that the film has a series of escalating set-pieces that are cleverly designed and very nicely shot and edited to build suspense and sometimes horror. It's also rare for a movie to take such an thoughtful approach to this genre, but then its three lead characters are strong, interesting women.

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Macbeth Review

Very Good

Shakespeare's Scottish play returns to the big screen with earthy energy, visual style and roaring performances. Acclaimed Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) takes an artistic approach that makes terrific use of sweeping landscapes and harsh weather, which allows the cast to put their guts into their roles. Yet while the film looks absolutely amazing, the sound mix is so muddled that anyone unfamiliar with the play will find it difficult to follow.

Michael Fassbender plays Macbeth, an 11th century general who has just triumphed on the Highland battlefield but is struggling internally after he and Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard) lost their infant child. So when three witches tell him that he is destined to become king, his wife encourages him to make it happen sooner rather than later. In secret, Macbeth murders King Duncan (David Thewlis) and pins the blame on his son Malcolm (Jack Reynor), who flees in fear, raising suspicion. Now on the throne, King and Queen Macbeth are overwhelmed by paranoia about any hint of a threat to their power, raising distrust of loyal friends like Banquo (Paddy Considine) and Duncan's defender Macduff (Sean Harris). Meanwhile, Malcolm has raised an army in England and is coming back to claim his title.

This is one of Shakespeare's bleakest, leanest plays, and Kurzel gives it an intriguingly expansive tone by setting most of the action outdoors in the elements rather than in shadowy castle corridors. In addition to adding a gritty, muddy kick, this allows the battle sequences to take on a Lord of the Rings-scale intensity. So the effect of this violence on the characters is that much more resonant. Lady Macbeth turns inward, tormenting herself in an extended dream sequence, while Macbeth goes the other way, killing anyone who seems even remotely shifty. But of course they also understand that their ambition and guilt are causing these extreme reactions.

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Miss You Already Review

Excellent

This may be a drama about breast cancer, but it's astutely written and played with a jagged sense of humour that makes it thoroughly entertaining. Anchored by energetic, emotionally resonant performances from Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette, the film is also a sharp depiction of lifelong friends who travel through some enormous events together. And by keeping everything so funny and honest, it's even more moving than expected.

Jess and Milly (Barrymore and Collette) have grown up together in London, outsiders who always had each others' backs. Their respective spouses Jago and Kit (Paddy Considine and Dominic Cooper) have become part of their extended family, as are Milly's two sparky kids (Honor Kneafsey and Ryan Lennon Baker) and Milly's diva mum (Jacqueline Bisset). Jess has never been able to get pregnant, so she and Jago are undergoing fertility treatment. And just as Jess finds out that she's pregnant, Milly is diagnosed with cancer. Both are understandably nervous about sharing their news. Then things get even more strained when Milly's relationship with Kit falters, and she starts flirting shamelessly with a local barman (Tyson Ritter).

Morwenna Banks' screenplay may have a fairly standard structure, but its details are fresh and unusually balanced, cleverly deepening the characters and never letting the movie fall into sentimental sappiness. Indeed, as the emotions get more intense, the interaction gets edgier and the jokes dirtier. Both Barrymore and Collette shine in their roles. With the showier, more wrenching character, Collette brings a raucous feistiness that's utterly infectious, even when Milly does something she knows is wrong. She is certainly not a cancer "victim"! And Barrymore digs much deeper than usual as Jess, deploying her impeccable comic timing to draw out the character's inner yearnings. Opposite them, both Considine and Cooper are excellent in roles that are more textured than the usual long-suffering husbands.

Continue reading: Miss You Already Review

Miss You Already Trailer


Milly has rather a modest life as a community gardener, living on a boat in London with her long term boyfriend Jago with whom she is trying for a baby. And while her relationship with Jago is at its peak, Milly's real soulmate is in her best friend Jess; a rather more outspoken woman with a booming career, husband and two children, and who has been by Milly's side since they were very small children. They have always been there for each other despite how different they are, but their friendship is about to be tested for the first time when Jess is suddenly diagnosed with breast cancer. Now with mortality threatening to break the duo apart, they must find a way to keep on smiling even when things get even harder with Jess' treatment, and the stress that comes with having a potentially terminal illness.

Continue: Miss You Already Trailer

Macbeth - Clips


Macbeth is a Scottish Duke who is greeted by three witches following a victorious battle. They reveal to him a prophecy which speaks of him one day becoming King of Scotland, and not only that, but he shall not be killed by any of woman born. Poisoned by greed, he confides in his wife Lady Macbeth, who is equally consumed with fantasies of riches and royalty. She convinces him to kill the current King to gain power and succeeds, though not without a price. From that moment on, this noble man transforms into a tyrant bound by guilt and paranoia and willing to do anything to maintain his throne and keep his dark secret hidden. But the more he tries to find peace within himself, the more danger he is faced with.

Continue: Macbeth - Clips

Macbeth - Teaser Trailer


After a long, hard battle, a Scottish Thane learns of a prophesy that will change his life forever. Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) is confronted by three witches, who inform him that he shall one day be king, and that no man born by a woman shall ever kill him. When another of their prophecies comes true, he confronts his wife (Marion Cotillard), who convinces him that he must murder King Duncan (David Thewlis). From there, Macbeth falls into the darkest depths of the human soul, as he betrays those he loves for power, and abandons his friends for the love of prophesies.

Continue: Macbeth - Teaser Trailer

Child 44 Review


Good

A meaty, fascinating story is splintered into three plot strands that battle for the viewer's attention, so while the film is never boring, it's also oddly uninvolving. Fortunately, it has an excellent cast and is shot with skill and a relentless intensity to feel like a big, epic-style dramatic thriller with heavy political overtones.

After a scene-setting prologue, the story starts in 1953 Moscow, where Leo (Tom Hardy) is a war hero now working in the military police, purging the city of its spies. Or at least its suspected spies. In the Soviet socialist utopia, crime officially doesn't exist, but Leo finds it difficult to tell his best pal Alexei (Fares Fares) that his 8-year-old son was killed in a train accident when he was so clearly tortured and murdered. Ordered by his boss (Vincent Cassel) to let it go, and menaced by his rival colleague Vasili (Joel Kinnaman), Leo continues investigating, resulting in a reprimand that sees Leo and his wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace) relocated to the the grim industrial city of Volsk. But when another young boy's body appears here, Leo gets his new boss (Gary Oldman) to see the connection.

There are at least three main plots in this film, and the filmmakers oddly never allow one to become the central strand. There's the mystery involving this brutal, unhinged serial killer (Paddy Considine) stalking boys along the railway. There's the thriller about Leo being brutally taunted by Vasili, who has a thing for Raisa and is trying to crush them for good. But the only emotionally engaging strand is Leo and Raisa's complex marriage relationship, which takes a couple of unexpected turns. Along the way, there are several action sequences shot with shaky cameras and edited so they're impossible to follow. And there's a sense that the film also wants to be a grandiose Russian epic with its expansive cinematography and big orchestral score.

Continue reading: Child 44 Review

Child 44 Trailer


During the Second World War, many Russian men were able to make a name for themselves as heroes. Returning home to their victorious country, many discovered that the Communist utopia they had fought to defend may have been more fictitious than they originally thought. For Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy), this truth comes harshly. Having become a hero for his efforts in the war against Germany, Demidov is given the job as a secret policeman. But when he comes across the case of a potential serial killer that hunts children, his superiors refuse to acknowledge the crime, maintaining that they live in a perfect world. After being exiled from Moscow for refusing to drop the case, Demidov must search for the real truth behind the killings, despite knowing that the truth could be dangerous.

Continue: Child 44 Trailer

Paddy Considine

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Paddy Considine Movies

The Death of Stalin Movie Review

The Death of Stalin Movie Review

Fans of the film In the Loop and the TV series Veep will definitely not...

The Death Of Stalin Trailer

The Death Of Stalin Trailer

It's 1953 and our story takes place in Russia - then known as the Soviet...

Advertisement
The Girl With All the Gifts Movie Review

The Girl With All the Gifts Movie Review

Like a 10-years-later follow-up to 28 Days Later, this small British thriller takes a refreshingly...

Girl With All The Gifts Trailer

Girl With All The Gifts Trailer

Melanie is no ordinary girl. She spends her days locked away in a cell and...

Macbeth Movie Review

Macbeth Movie Review

Shakespeare's Scottish play returns to the big screen with earthy energy, visual style and roaring...

Advertisement
Miss You Already Movie Review

Miss You Already Movie Review

This may be a drama about breast cancer, but it's astutely written and played with...

Miss You Already Trailer

Miss You Already Trailer

Milly has rather a modest life as a community gardener, living on a boat in...

Macbeth - Clips Trailer

Macbeth - Clips Trailer

Macbeth is a Scottish Duke who is greeted by three witches following a victorious battle....

Macbeth - Teaser Trailer

Macbeth - Teaser Trailer

After a long, hard battle, a Scottish Thane learns of a prophesy that will change...

Child 44 Movie Review

Child 44 Movie Review

A meaty, fascinating story is splintered into three plot strands that battle for the viewer's...

Child 44 Trailer

Child 44 Trailer

During the Second World War, many Russian men were able to make a name for...

Pride Movie Review

Pride Movie Review

Based on a true story, this crowd-pleasing comedy-drama is such a joy to watch that...

Pride Trailer

Pride Trailer

During the UK miners strike between 1984 and 1985, working families are in desperate need...

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