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In The Heart of The Sea - Teaser Trailer


In August of 1819, The Essex set sail from New England. The whaling ship set out beyond the edges of the map to hunt in unknown waters. What the 21-man crew discovered, was far from what they could ever have imagined. A sperm whale - absolutely gigantic and hell-bent on destroying their comparatively tiny ship. While battling the demon of a sea beast, the ship was destroyed, and many of the crew were killed. As the few survivors struggled to find land and make their way back to South America, they faced a harrowing adventure, and fought insanity, storms, starvation and despair. All with the great whale fresh in their minds. The crew referred to it as Moby Dick.

Continue: In The Heart of The Sea - Teaser Trailer

Stonehearst Asylum Trailer


Stonehearst Asylum follows the plot of Edgar Allen Poe's short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether. It is a story about Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) - a medical school graduate in the 19th Century who travels to the titular Asylum to gain 'clinical experience'. It is here that Newgate meets Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley) and Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale), the latter of which he becomes instantly infatuated with. Almost at once, things start to creepy as Edward encounters some of the inmates and realises that perhaps his new colleges are not entirely concerned with following regulations. As the plot thickens and Edward finds himself spiralling further down the rabbit hole, the questions seem pile up. Why does one of the inmates claim to be the asylum's superintendent? Why are the doctors so gleeful when using such barbaric 'treatments'? And why does the man in charge seem so adamant that 'we're all mad'?

Continue: Stonehearst Asylum Trailer

Edge Of Tomorrow Review


Very Good

A smarter-than-expected script turns this noisy sci-fi action movie into something remarkably entertaining. A-list stars, solid actors and whizzy effects aside, the dialogue is packed with clever observations that are both mind-bending and unexpectedly hilarious. And director Doug Liman (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) lets his cast have a lot of fun with it.

In the near future when aliens called Mimics have rampaged across Europe, Cage (Tom Cruise) is a military media spokesman suddenly sent into the front-lines from London, battling the fearsome creatures on the beaches of Normandy. He's killed fairly quickly, but wakes up that same morning and is again sent through battlefield prep with harsh Sgt Farell (Bill Paxton) and a rag-tag team. Again and again. Eventually he breaks out of the pattern and discovers another soldier, Rita (Emily Blunt), who seems to understand why he is living this day over and over only to die each time. So he uses the repetition to figure out what's really going on, and he and Rita plot a way to stop the aliens for good.

Yes, the premise is a direct riff on Groundhog Day, as Cage makes the most of each day, learning something new that will get him further the next. And the film's script knowingly plays with the set-up, offering witty comments and some genuinely suspenseful set-pieces along the way, all sharply edited into a relatively coherent narrative, although the ending will generate a lot of post-screening debate. Liman packs the film with kinetic, intense action sequences that are rendered with strikingly realistic effects that occasionally have some extra fun with the 3D.

Continue reading: Edge Of Tomorrow Review

The Grand Seduction Trailer


Murray French is a resident in a seaside village that is struggling desperately in the face of unemployment. They have only one hope; they can have a factory built which will provide the majority of the townsfolk with income. However, to secure the permission for it to be built, they must have a doctor living nearby. Luck seems to come their way when a young medic named Dr. Paul Lewis makes his way over to the town for a month-long stay and Murray and the other villagers set about trying to indirectly convince him to stay permanently; whether that is trying to get the local postlady to flirt with him or leaving him welcome gifts. But the more they try to give him reason to stay there, the more Paul starts to feel it's not his idea of home.

Continue: The Grand Seduction Trailer

'Calvary' Rises To The Challenge Of Tackling Religion On Film


Brendan Gleeson Chris O'Dowd John Michael McDonagh

After teaming up for the hit Irish action-comedy The Guard, actor Brendan Gleeson and writer-director John Michael McDonagh made the unexpected decision to set their next film around a priest.

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson [L] and Kelly Reilly [R] in 'Calvary'

"After we made The Guard, we were talking over drinks about the idea of making a film about a good guy for a change," says Gleeson. "At the time there was a lot of talk about priests accused of paedophilia, but what if this one was innocent?"

Continue reading: 'Calvary' Rises To The Challenge Of Tackling Religion On Film

Is Brendan Gleeson's 'Calvary' The Best Movie Of 2014?


Brendan Gleeson Chris O'Dowd Kelly Reilly

John Michael McDonagh's Calvary is an early contender for best independent movie of the year, while Brendan Gleeson's lead performance as a good priest facing a death threat is perhaps unrivalled as the year's finest.

Brendan GleesonBrendan Gleeson [L] and Kelly Reilly [R] in 'Calvary'

Gleeson's Father James Lavelle is the flip side to Sergeant Gerry Boyle in McDonagh's critically acclaimed The Guard - a good man intent on making the world a better place. However, one day, is life is threatened during confession and the forces of darkness begin to close in around him.

Continue reading: Is Brendan Gleeson's 'Calvary' The Best Movie Of 2014?

Calvary Review


Excellent

After the 2011 black comedy The Guard, Brendan Gleeson reteams with writer-director John Michael McDonagh for a darker comical drama grappling with issues of faith and forgiveness. McDonagh's usual jagged dialogue and snappy characters are on-hand in abundance while the film digs deep through a rather meandering, episodic plot.

In rural Ireland, Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is quietly enduring confessionals when one of his parishioners says he's going to kill him next Sunday. Shaken, James begins to explore his faith and mortality over the coming week. His daughter Fiona (Kelly Reilly) arrives following another suicide attempt, and he consoles a grieving French visitor (Marie-Josee Croze) and visits an imprisoned killer (Domhnall Gleeson). But almost anyone in the village could be the aspiring murderer: the over-emotional butcher (Chris O'Dowd), drug-addict doctor (Aidan Gillen), ladies-man African (Isaach De Bankole), shifty millionaire (Dylan Moran), eccentric fisherman (M. Emmet Walsh).

Intriguingly, it never really matters who issued the threat (James has a pretty good idea), because that's not the point of the film. McDonagh is exploring bigger ideas here, adeptly mixing riotously funny dialogue with startlingly bleak emotions. The film's languid pace nearly lulls us to sleep, then wakes us up with another sparky scene-stealing performance from the gifted cast. Gleeson is wonderfully muted, expressing more with an exhausted sigh than most actors can manage with a Shakespearean monologue. His moments with Reilly crackle with honest emotion, and the deceptively simple scene between father and son actors Brendan and Domhnall is a heart-stopper.

Continue reading: Calvary Review

Calvary Reviews: Michael McDonagh's Film About A 'Good Priest' Impresses The Critics


Brendan Gleeson John Michael McDonagh Kelly Reilly

Michael McDonagh wrote ‘Calvary’ while filming ‘The Guard’ with Brendan Gleeson towards the end of 2009. Almost five years later, the black Irish comedy is hitting cinemas in the U.K, and ahead of that release, the critics are in a doting mood, to the tune of a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes

CalvaryGleeson, Reilly and dog in Calvary 

Gleeson plays Father James Lavelle, a priest trying to do his best in a world of moral deprivation and cultural bankruptcy. “Continually shocked and saddened by the spiteful and confrontational inhabitants of his small country town,” Lavelle’s life is thrown upside down when a member of that fragmented community threatens his life during a confession.

Continue reading: Calvary Reviews: Michael McDonagh's Film About A 'Good Priest' Impresses The Critics

New Dark Comedy 'Calvary' Features A Stellar Irish Cast [Trailer + Pictures]


Brendan Gleeson Chris O'Dowd Dylan Moran Kelly Reilly John Michael McDonagh

The trailer for dark Irish drama Calvary (with black comedy twists) has hit the net, giving us a better look at John Michael McDonagh’s follow up to The Guard. Featuring an immensely talented cast, weaved into a compelling, dangerous plot, it’s got us excited for sure.

Brendan Gleeson and Kelly ReillyBrendan Gleeson, Kelly Reilly and dog in Calvary

The story follows good natured and widely-liked priest James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) who receives an odd confession, in which a man says he will kill him, a week on Sunday, once he has his house in order. The rules of the 'Seal of the Confessional' mean he can’t go to the police with his newfound information, and must embark on a quest to discover who has murderous intentions for him – if anyone at all.

Continue reading: New Dark Comedy 'Calvary' Features A Stellar Irish Cast [Trailer + Pictures]

Calvary Trailer


Father James Lavelle is a good-natured priest whose life is thrown into confusion and disarray when an anonymous man tells him in confession that he will kill him in a week's time - the only reason being because Lavelle is an innocent man. Of all the shocking things he's ever heard in confession, none have thrown him quite as much as this. Unable to go to the police under the rules of the 'Seal of the Confessional', Lavelle consults his church peers pondering whether it was merely an idle threat, or whether his life really is in danger. In his apparent last week in existence, he scrutinises the corrupt individuals of his sin-filled parish, wondering along the way why people seem to focus more on their vices than their virtues, but when his beloved church is burnt to the ground, his views on good and evil become distorted.

'Calvary' is the darkly comic drama about the timeless story of good and evil, and guilt and innocence. It has been directed and written by BAFTA nominated John Michael McDonagh ('The Guard', 'Ned Kelly') and is set in Ireland's beautiful West Coast countryside. The film is set to be released on April 11th 2014.

Click here to read - Calvary Movie Review

Smurfs 2: I'm Too Smurfy - Clip


The Smurfs are back in a brilliant movie sequel that sees them take on evil magician Gargamel for a second time as he makes another attempt at harnessing the blue power of the Smurf people. This time, he has successfully created a group of similar creatures called Naughties, which he has plans to use to lure the impressionable Smurfette to him in order to finally win their potent magic. Aware of the kidnapping, the rest of the Smurfs band together on a rescue mission alongside their human acquaintances Patrick and Grace Winslow who agree to help them get to Smurfette and convince her that she belongs at home.

Right Said Fred, the nineties duo responsible for the number one 1991 hit 'I'm Too Sexy', has got involved in the promotions for the new film, marking the celebrations of Global Smurfs Day on June 22nd 2013, the day after 'The Smurfs 2' is released on the 21st. They have recorded a brand new track called 'I'm Too Smurfy', which isn't too dissimilar from their debut hit as you'd imagine, in a video featuring people in Smurf costumes getting funky and the duo painting their faces blue in honour of the Smurfs' return.

The Smurfs 2 Trailer


The Smurfs return following a harrowing experience lost in New York while being pursued by the evil wannabe wizard Gargamel in 'The Smurfs'. Their plight is not over, however, as Gargamel will stop at nothing to harness the power of the blue creatures. Currently an icon of sorcery in Paris, he creates two Smurf-like creatures called Naughties who he uses to tempt the impressionable Smurfette in a life of mischief as she holds the valuable secret of the spell to turn the Naughties into real Smurfs. After she is kidnapped, her family and friends embark on a mission to save her, whether she wants to be or not, and enlists the help of their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow to take down Gargamel once and for all and lead Smurfette back on the straight and narrow.

Continue: The Smurfs 2 Trailer

The Company You Keep Trailer


Ben Shepard is a young and ambitious reporter determined to make a name for himself in the media world. When Sharon Solarz, a member of the radical left organisation Weather Underground, is arrested for her involvement in a bank robbery and subsequent murder 30 years ago, Ben smells an important story that could be his big break. Meanwhile, attorney Jim Grant, a single father of an 11-year-old daughter named Isabel who was also involved in the crime, is forced on the run from the FBI as Ben sparks a new manhunt, but on the way he changes course in an effort to expose the truth and prove his innocence. Ben discovers that the whole story is more complicated than he initially thought, particularly as not everyone appears to be who they say they are.

Continue: The Company You Keep Trailer

Albert Nobbs Review


Good
Based on a true story, this introspective film seems to suggest that these events aren't perhaps as extraordinary as they appear. But the strong premise is weakened by writing and direction that never get a grip on the story.

In 1898, Albert (Close) works at an upscale Dublin hotel, and no one suspects that he's actually a woman. Quietly going about his work while saving to open a tobacco shop, Albert is unassuming and relentlessly polite. Then he's asked to share his room with visiting painter Hubert (McTeer), who learns his secret and reveals one of his own: he's a woman too. But Hubert has managed to have a normal married life. This inspires Albert to pursue the hotel maid Helen (Wasikowska), which is complicated by her lusty relationship with handyman Joe (Johnson).

Continue reading: Albert Nobbs Review

The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! Review


Very Good
Aardman returns to hand-crafted clay-mation for this riotous seafaring romp.

The film is almost too crowded with witty visual and verbal gags to catch on a single viewing. Although it's also too corny to be a real classic.

The Pirate Captain (voiced by Grant) never gets any respect, especially with the Pirate of the Year competition gearing up. But his first mate (Freeman) and rag-tag crew (Tovey, Gleeson and Jenson) are fearlessly loyal. While accumulating plunder to win the award, they accidentally hijack a scientific ship and then travel with Charles Darwin (Tennant) to win a science prize in London. But this means that the crew needs to get dangerously close to venomous pirate-hater Queen Victoria (Staunton).

Continue reading: The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! Review

Safe House Review


Good
With a cool Cape Town setting and constant sweaty, kinetic violence, this entire film plays like a wildly thrilling segment from a Bourne movie. It's sharply well-made and acted, but nothing about it remotely scratches beneath the surface.

Matt (Reynolds) is a low-level operative watching over the CIA's Cape Town safe house. After months of sitting around waiting, he finally gets to host a notorious guest: most-wanted rogue agent Tobin (Washington). Then violent thugs assault the place and Matt takes Tobin on the run, calling his handler (Gleeson) in Langley to get help from senior agents (Farmiga and Shepard). But there's clearly a leak in the ranks, and Tobin is obviously carrying something both the good guys and bad guys want.

Continue reading: Safe House Review

Safe House Trailer


Matt Weston is a young CIA agent who, for the past year, has been bored by his inactive post in Cape Town. Matt is a "housekeeper" who aspires to be a full-fledged agent, a loyal company man who is waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. That opportunity seems to present itself when Matt's new 'guest' proves to be the most dangerous man he's ever met.

Continue: Safe House Trailer

The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists Trailer


The Pirate Captain, although relentlessly optimistic, has never won the Pirate of the Year Award. Perhaps it has something to do with his crew - many of them are pirates but some aren't (and one is a fish dressed in a pirate hat). Or maybe it's because he doesn't have much of a success rate when it comes to stealing treasure.

Continue: The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists Trailer

The Raven Trailer


One dark night in 19th century Baltimore, a woman and her young daughter are found brutally murdered. The girl was stuffed into the chimney, while her mother's throat had been slashed. Upon inspecting the crime scene, the police are astonished to discover that the murder is exactly like a murder in a story by an unpopular citizen and struggling author, Edgar Allen Poe.

Continue: The Raven Trailer

The Guard Review


Excellent
Writer-director McDonagh brings to this film the same blend of black comedy, dark emotion and grisly violence as his brother Martin's gem In Bruges. And it's also another terrific character for Gleeson.

Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) is an unpredictable policeman in a small Irish town. When a local murder is linked to an international drug-smuggling case, he's assigned to work with FBI Agent Everett (Cheadle), who like everyone else can't quite figure out if Boyle's a genius or an idiot. As they track down three notorious traffickers (Cunningham, Strong and Wilmot), the case gets increasingly complicated. But Boyle doesn't let it affect his private obsessions with hookers and drugs. More troublesome is his ill mum (Flanagan) and a young Croatian woman (Cas) whose husband is missing.

Continue reading: The Guard Review

Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson Quick Links

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Brendan Gleeson

Date of birth

29th March, 1955

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.88


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Brendan Gleeson Movies

Paddington 2 Movie Review

Paddington 2 Movie Review

The first Paddington movie in 2014 is already such a beloved classic that it's hard...

Hampstead Movie Review

Hampstead Movie Review

Deliberately appealing to older audiences, this undemanding comedy-drama comes with a hint of social relevance...

Paddington 2 Trailer

Paddington 2 Trailer

Since being adopted into the Brown family, Paddington bear is now a big part of...

Hampstead Trailer

Hampstead Trailer

It's been one year since Emily's husband Charles passed away, but she has very mixed...

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Trespass Against Us Movie Review

Trespass Against Us Movie Review

With an extra dose of attitude and energy, this Irish comedy-drama hits us like a...

Trespass Against Us Trailer

Trespass Against Us Trailer

Chad Cutler is an Irish traveller who entered a life of crime at a young...

Live By Night Movie Review

Live By Night Movie Review

Ben Affleck launched his directing career 10 years ago with his film of Dennis Lehane's...

Assassin's Creed Movie Review

Assassin's Creed Movie Review

Hopes were high that this film might finally crack the curse of movies based on...

Assassin's Creed Trailer

Assassin's Creed Trailer

Callum Lynch is a criminal facing the death sentence but is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...

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Live By Night Trailer

Live By Night Trailer

Joe Coughlin was born and raised in a good family, his father was the police...

Assassin's Creed Trailer

Assassin's Creed Trailer

Assassin's Creed sees Michael Fassbender cast as the protagonist Callum Lynch, in this action adventure...

Secret Cinema Presents: 28 Days Later Movie Review

Secret Cinema Presents: 28 Days Later Movie Review

Expectations are a problem with this year's Secret Cinema event. After the jaw-dropping, goosebump-inducing surprises...

In the Heart of the Sea Movie Review

In the Heart of the Sea Movie Review

With a huge budget and a relatively small story, this is an intriguingly offbeat blockbuster...

In The Heart Of The Sea Trailer

In The Heart Of The Sea Trailer

In The Heart Of The Sea is the true seaman's tale based on the last...

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