Anna Maxwell Martin
Occupation
Actor
'King Lear' At The National: Is Simon Russell Beale Britain's Finest Actor?
By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 24 January 2014
Simon Russell Beale is winning plaudits for his unnerving portrayal of King Lear.
Simon Russell Beale turns in an arguably career best performance in Sam Mendes' latest production at the National Theatre, King Lear.
Beale plays Lear as a hunched, thuggish leader - similar to the way in which Kevin Spacey played Richard II - though as his power begins to slip, he becomes frantic and nonsensical. In his review of the show, Henry Hitchens of the Evening Standard writes, "There is perhaps no actor better at conveying the shapes and sounds of grief."
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Philomena Review
By Rich Cline
Excellent
Based on a true story, this warm drama uses sharp humour to keep from tipping over into sloppy sentiment. It's still hugely emotional, but in a shamelessly entertaining way. And it gives Judi Dench and Steve Coogan characters they can really sink their teeth into as the twists and turns of the real events unfold.
In 2002, cynical London journalist Martin Sixsmith (Coogan) has just been sacked from his job as a government spin doctor, so his editor suggests he try a human interest story to get back to work. He hates the idea until he meets Philomena (Dench), a retired Irishwoman who was raised by nuns in a workhouse, where she was forced to give her baby son up for adoption some 50 years ago. She'd like to know what happened to him, so Martin accompanies her back to Ireland and then on to America, where the babies were sold. But their search doesn't go as expected, and what they discover is startlingly moving.
As he did with The Queen, director Frears gives the film a gentle, light tone that helps balance the intensely serious subject matter. He also encourages his cast to deliver understated performances, which is especially effective for the usually broad Coogan. And of course Dench is simply wonderful as a feisty straight-talker who isn't thrown by anything she encounters. Gurgling under everything is an astute look at religious heritage: Martin is a lapsed Catholic who can't understand why Philomena still has a devout faith, because of what the church has done to her. And as the story continues, he begins to understand the strength this gives her.
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Philomena - Teaser Trailer
Judi Dench stars as Philomena Lee in the emotionally moving and shocking true story based on Martin Sixsmith's novel: The Lost Children of Philomena Lee released in 2009.
In a controversial pregnancy during the 1950's, Lee was sent to a Catholic home for unmarried mothers where she gave birth to her son before authoritarian, religious nuns forced the mother to give up her only child who was sent for adoption in America.
After 50 years of searching for her son she achieved very little but instead found political journalist Martin Sixsmith (Coogan) who would end up taking her to America to find the truth about her son in a heart gripping and extraordinary story that celebrates human love, loss and the celebration of life.
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Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa Review
By Rich Cline
Extraordinary
In bringing his iconic 1990s radio and TV character to the big screen, Coogan refreshingly refuses to play to American audiences: this film is purely British in its story, setting and characters. And as it gleefully redefines almost every action movie cliche imaginable, it's also one of the funniest films of the year. This is party due to the hilariously astute script, but also because Alan Partridge is both riotously embarrassing and utterly loveable.
As we meet him this time , Alan (Coogan) is trying to save his job at North Norfolk Digital when the radio station is bought by a corporation and turned in to Shape ("The way you want it to be"). In the process, Alan gets his colleague Pat (Meaney) sacked, and at the Shape launch party Pat goes postal with a shotgun, taking the staff hostage. As the police close in around the station, Alan becomes the chief negotiator, realising that this can only help boost his fame. But as he works on increasing his own publicity, Pat is menacing his on-air sidekick Simon (Key), while his offbeat security guard friend Michael (Greenall) finds a place to hide and his assistant (Montagu) has her own encounter with the media.
After all these years, Coogan is able to completely vanish into Alan's distinctive personality, saying all the wrong things at the wrong times while constantly getting distracted by irrelevant details. He only ever does the right thing by mistake. Yes, Alan is a buffoon, but he isn't stupid. Coogan plays him so perfectly that we can't help but like Alan even with his distinctive flaws. And the film actually generates a real sense of menace in this mini-Die Hard siege scenario, blending real danger with inspired physical comedy. And virtually every line of dialog has a joke in it.
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Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - Clips
Alan Partridge is a fatuous, egocentric radio host that has been one of telly's most famous fictitious comedy icons for several years. He now makes a return to screen as his employers, North Norfolk Digital based in Norwich, are about to be taken over by rival media company, Gordale Media, and branded the new name, 'Shape'. People's jobs are now on the line but Alan and his sidekick Simon look like they'll be able to save their shows; one thing's for sure, he's certainly trying to get on the good side of new top boss Jason Tresswell. However, when one DJ is sacked, there's more conflict in the company than they could ever have imagined when they are thrown under siege and brutally held hostage.
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Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa Trailer
Alan Partridge makes a return as the superficial radio nitwit we all love in the upcoming next instalment of the Partridge franchise 'Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'. The trailer now released shows Alan discussing movie titles with his associates, being particularly drawn to the title 'Colossal Velocity'. When the title 'Alpha Papa' is suggested, appropriately representing his initials in the radio alphabet and loosely meaning 'top daddy', he is underwhelmed, sticking as usual to his own thoughts. The film takes place in Norwich, Norfolk where his employer North Norfolk Digital is about to be taken over in a brutal siege by a major media company and given the new name, Shape.
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