Hugh Dancy

Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return Review

Good

Despite substandard animation, this brightly coloured sequel has a strong enough sense of both its story and characters to hold the audience's attention. And kids might not mind the quality, as they are re-introduced to classic characters in an all-new adventure based on the book Dorothy of Oz by Roger S Baum (great-grandson of L Frank).

It starts the morning after Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michele) gets back home to Kansas after her iconic adventure. Her panicky friends Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion (Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer and James Belushi) summon her back to Oz, where considerable time has passed while a crazed Jester (Martin Short) kidnaps good witch Glinda (Bernadette Peters) so he and his army of flying monkeys can launch their reign of terror. On her long journey back to Emerald City, Dorothy has a series of adventures with Wiser the owl (Oliver Platt), Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy), the China Princess (Megan Hilty) and the old tree Tugg (Patrick Stewart), who all help her take on the Jester.

Yes, the plot is rather simplistic (the Jester merely seems evil for evil's sake), but the real problem is that the animation is badly under-developed. Characters are painfully thin, with no gravity to them at all, which makes it impossible for them to properly interact visually. Fortunately there are some clever touches to the design work, such as the way everything in Oz looks battered and broken, which adds a badly needed dark edge to the otherwise sunny silliness.

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Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return - Teaser Trailer

Dorothy Gale is barely back in her Tornado-ravaged hometown in Kansas five minutes than she is whisked off over the rainbow back to the topsy-turvy land of Oz once more to rescue her friends, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Glinda, and the rest of Oz's innocent residents from a terrible peril. At the helm of this new evil is the Jester, more frightening than funny, who plans to turn the leaders of Oz into puppets controlled for his own nefarious means. Along the way Dorothy and her beloved dog Toto meets a string of new and unusual characters including Wiser the Owl, China Princess, Marshal Mallow and former tree Tugg the Tugboat, as she sets off on another exhilarating adventure to find her friends.

'Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return' is a new animated fantasy based on both L. Frank Baum's 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' and his great-grandson Roger Stanton Baum's sequel 'Dorothy of Oz'. It has been directed by Will Finn ('The Road to El Dorado') and Dan St. Pierre ('Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey') and written by Adam Balsam, Randi Barnes ('Imagination Movers') and Barry Glasser ('Skateboy') with a film score by Oscar nominated singer Bryan Adams. This enchanting family movie with hit the US on May 9th 2014.

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Claire Danes Needed A Vodka Shot After Meeting Barack Obama

By Elinor Cosgrave in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 16 November 2013

David Letterman Claire Danes Hugh Dancy Damian Lewis

Claire Danes showed off her recently dyed red locks on The Late Show with David Letter on Thursday (14th November).

Claire Danes appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on Thursday wearing an abundance of red and discussed meeting President Barack Obama.

Claire Danes outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre before The Late Show with David Letterman.

Danes shone through with her strawberry blonde hair and red Giambattista Valli dress, matched red coat and red Christian Louboutin shoes. She looked extremely health, having gained something of a tan, presumably whilst wrapping up filming the third season of Homeland in Morocco.

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Renewed At Last: NBC's 'Hannibal' Will Return For Season 2

By Victoria Pavlova in Movies / TV / Theatre on 31 May 2013

Mads Mikkelsen Hugh Dancy

The network gods have finally smiled on the series.

It’s coming up to the end of review season and NBC’s “Hannibal” has made the cut. The news of the series, based on the Hannibal Lecter character popularized in Silence of the Lambs, being renewed comes in quite late, with the network having announced the rest of the shows on its fall roster no less than three weeks ago, but better late than never, right?

The belated announcement could have something to do with the fact that the series, though popular with its core audience, has only been averaging about 4.7 million viewers, including delayed DVR viewing, for each episode. On the other hand though, Hannibal is a favorite with critics, with the Bryan Fuller series receiving praise left and right. This is probably why NBC is reluctant to let the show go after just one season – after all, we know from shows like Community and Arrested Development that critical acclaim, plus a commited audience of fanboys and girls, usually equals massive backlash against a show’s cancellation. Network execs are confident in Hannibal as well.

"We're so proud of Bryan's vision for a show that is richly textured, psychologically complex, and very compelling," said NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke, in a statement. "There are many great stories still to be told."

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Video - Claire Danes, Connie Britton And Amy Poehler At The 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner - Part 3

There was a huge diversity of movie stars arriving at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton including 'Nashville' star Connie Britton, 'Homeland' star with her husband Hugh Dancy and 'Parks and Recreation' actress Amy Poehler.

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Lena Dunham And Frank Ocean Among TIME 100 Gala Honourees For 2013 [Photos]

By Holly Williams in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 24 April 2013

Lena Dunham Frank Ocean Jimmy Fallon Jimmy Kimmel Bryan Cranston Christina Aguilera Michael Kors Claire Danes Hugh Dancy Arianna Huffington Roma Downey Padma Lakshmi Amy Poehler

TIME'S 100 Most Influential People In The World and other famous faces take to the red carpet at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Frank Ocean at the TIME 100 Gala in New York

It was the annual TIME 100 Gala on Tuesday night (April 23rd 2013) celebrating this year's most influential faces from world leaders to movie stars and the red carpet was full of stars waiting to congratulate the 2013 list.

Grammy winning superstar Christina Aguilera dazzled at Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York looking classy and much trimmer than she has been in recent months and making the TIME'S 100 Most Influential People In The World list in the Artists category. She was joined by 2013 Grammy and BRIT artist Frank Ocean who has dominated the R&B industry with his spectacular debut album 'Channel Orange' and his rather inspiring love life confessions. Talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon (of 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon') and Jimmy Kimmel (of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!') were also present, as was 'Breaking Bad' star Bryan Cranston whose crime drama has won him a Primetime Emmy. Lena Dunham landed a place in the Icons category for her comedy show 'Girls' which has won her a Golden Globe. Other honourees included Perry Chen, the founder of Kickstarter - a creative project fund-raising website, who reached the Pioneers list, and fashion designer Michael Kors who hit the list of influential Titans of the world.

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Welcome, Cyrus Michael Christopher Dancy: It’s A Boy For Claire Danes And Hugh Dancy

By Hayley Avron in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 20 December 2012

Claire Danes Hugh Dancy

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy have had a baby boy! The Homeland actress and her husband have named their first child Cyrus Michael Christopher Dancy. We’re guessing that he wasn’t name after Miley Cyrus… or indeed Billy Ray Cyrus but so far there’s no word on why they chose the name.

The couple’s rep confirmed the good news about the baby’s safe arrival into the world, to People magazine. Claire and Hugh have kept the finer details of her pregnant life very private but she did tell People magazine recently that she and Hugh are excited to be “getting to know our new Dancy” once the baby arrives. Well, now she can do just that and we look forward to learning more about the new arrival when news comes in.

Claire, 33 and Hugh, 37, married each other in a private ceremony in France, back in 2009. In September, Danes won an Emmy for her performance as the CIA agent Carrie Matheson on the hit Showtime drama Homeland, which has been a huge success both in the USA and the UK. Hugh is an English actor, now living Stateside with his wife. Next year, he will star in a TV adaptation of the story of Hannibal Lecter. He is due to play the role of Special Agent Will Graham.

Hysteria Review

By Rich Cline

Good

There's probably a fascinating, complex story behind the invention of the vibrator in 19th century London, but this silly farce isn't it. Instead, this is a comical romp that just happens to be set against the birth of the most popular sex toy in history. It's nicely assembled, with a strong cast, but the tone is so goofy that it never breaks the surface.

It's the late 1880s when young doctor Mortimer (Dancy) takes a job in London with Dalrymple (Pryce), who specialises in treating hysteria, considered a serious medical condition at the time, even though it seems to only afflict women whose husbands are neglecting them socially and sexually. As Mortimer courts Dalrymple's placid younger daughter (Jones), lining himself to take over the practice one day, it's the feisty older daughter (Gyllenhaal) who continually challenges his worldview. And as he treats his patients, Mortimer works with his friend Edmund (Everett) to create a mechanical vibrating device that has an immediate effect on his patients.

Everything in this story is played broadly, as if it's frightfully hilarious to talk about sex in such a straightforward way. But this prudish approach only trivialises everything about the story, from the premise to the characters themselves. And it doesn't help that the script never gives any of these people more than one or two key personality traits. The actors do what they can with them, adding moments of effective drama and comedy while hinting at the serious themes underneath the story. But it's so silly that we never really care about anything that happens.

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Martha Marcy May Marlene Review

By Rich Cline

Excellent

With a disturbing tone and skilful filmmaking, this insinuating drama completely unsettles us as it delves into the mental life of its central character. And it has a lot to say about how relationships affect us.

After going missing for two years, Martha (Olsen) phones her sister Lucy (Paulson) for help, then goes to stay with Lucy and her husband Ted (Dancy) in a lakeside house. Martha says she's been living with a boyfriend, but actually she was in a cult-like commune with her friend Zoe (Krause), working a farm under the leadership of the charismatic Patrick (Hawkes). Renamed Marcy May, she was coaxed into sharing everything there, including her body, and now she's not quite sure what's real and what isn't. And also whether she actually got away.

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Confessions Of A Shopaholic Review

By Bill Gibron

Good

Hollywood has found a new cash cow, though the use of the latter term might get more than a few supposedly chauvinistic critics in trouble. The modern woman, sick of the same old sloppy rom-com rationalizations, has decided to go gourmand. Like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, she wants it all and she wants it now. Oh course, back in the '70s, said little girl was considered a brat. Today, she is the reigning glamour queen of conspicuous consumption.

A perfect example of this ideal is Rebecca Bloomwood. The heroine of P.J. Hogan's adaptation of Sophia Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic, this spunky career gal wants a cushy job, a suave boyfriend, an understanding best bud, and an unlimited credit line... and that's just for starters. Only problem is, Rebecca (played with real drive by Isla Fisher) is neck-deep in debt. She just can't stop spending. When her job as a writer for a gardening rag falls through, she applies at the nation's number one fashion magazine. Named after its editor, Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas), the job represents the completion of all our heroine's career goals. Sadly, she has to settle for a gig writing at Successful Saving, a financial magazine. Oh, irony! Luckily, it's managed by the humble British hunk Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy).

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