John Lithgow Page 2

John Lithgow

John Lithgow Quick Links

News Video Film Footage Quotes RSS

Interstellar Review


Very Good

Brainy blockbuster maestro Christopher Nolan heads into deep space with this epic adventure, which is packed with thoughtful ideas and big emotions even if the plot wobbles badly in the middle. But although it ultimately feels somewhat forced, the film is still a mesmerising exploration of parenthood and survival, bending time and gravity in ways that keep our brains spinning. And the seamless visual effects combine with some wrenching performances to make it unmissable.

It opens in a future America where a desperation for food has overtaken the need for technology and innovation. Which is a problem for Nasa pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), who is now working a massive corn farm that he runs with his father (John Lithgow). Then Cooper and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) discover a gravitational anomaly that leads them to a secret base run by father and daughter scientists Brand and Amelia (Michael Caine and Anne Hathaway), who are looking for a new home planet for humanity since Earth is dying. So Cooper joins up and heads through a wormhole with Amelia and crew (Wes Bentley and David Gyasi). Meanwhile, Murph (who grows up to be Jessica Chastain) gets involved in the project back on earth, wondering if her dad will ever return home as he promised.

The first act of the story is a beautiful depiction of yearning for discovery, that innate curiosity that drives people to do crazy things in the hopes of pushing the humanity forward (or in this case, saving it). Nolan directs this section beautifully, with sharp editing propelling the story out into space with real energy and passion. But once they begin visiting other planets, there are some extended episodes that feel oddly contrived, including an encounter that leads to unexplained violence, explosions and melodrama. These kinds of things undermine the characters' motivations to the point where the audience just has to take Nolan's word for it and ride it out, even as the underlying ideas begin to lose their weightiness.

Continue reading: Interstellar Review

Interstellar Trailer


Mankind is doomed. Following generations of neglect and a lack of care, the planet Earth is a polluted mess and food supplies have all but run out. Only one hope remains for humanity if it is to survive into its next generation - they must leave Earth behind. Cooper (Matthew Mcconaughey), is a widowed engineer, living in a time where engineers are no longer needed. He also happens to be one of the world's best pilots. He is offered the choice to stay with his children and except the fate of the human race, or captain a mission through a newly discovered wormhole in search of a new, habitable planet which can sustain the prolonged existence of our species. He chooses the latter option, and begins his interstellar travels in search of a new home. 

Continue: Interstellar Trailer

The Homesman Trailer


George Briggs is a claim jumper who has only ever known a dishonest life. When he finds himself in serious trouble (sat astride an impatient horse with his hands bound behind his back and a noose around his neck tied to a branch), he starts to think this could finally be the end for him. That is until he is found by a lone woman with a wagon named Mary Bee Cuddy who agrees to free him from his plight in exchange for a favour. Living alone, she is struggling to carry out an important personal mission; she wants to take three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa now that their husbands can now longer cope with them. Thus, she asks Briggs to help her on the dangerous five week journey and, despite his serious reservations, he agrees to act as her aide and protector against the brutalities they may face along the way.

Continue: The Homesman Trailer

Opening Night Of 'King Lear' At The Delacorte Theater [Pictures]


Oscar Isaac John Lithgow F Murray Abraham King Lear

Celebrities including Oscar Isaac and F. Murray Abraham attended The Delacorte Theatre for the opening night of Daniel Sullivan’s “fast-moving if stiff-jointed” production of “King Lear” on Tuesday evening (Aug 5).

John Lithgow plays King Lear while Annette Bening, Jessica Collins and Jessica Hecht star as his daughters Goneril, Cordelia and Regan. The reviews so far have been mixed-to-positive – Newsday’s Lina Winer said: “We do feel all degrees of temperature in Lithgow's Lear, a performance in which hot and cold both burn.”

In attendance for the special opening night was Oscar Isaac, who broke through with his performance as the titular character in Inside Llewyn Davis – The Coen Brothers excellent fictional biopic of a struggling folk singer trying desperately to navigate the Greenwich Village scene one freezing winter in America’s freewheeling 60s.

Continue reading: Opening Night Of 'King Lear' At The Delacorte Theater [Pictures]

Interstellar Trailer


Cooper is a pilot and engineer with a huge ambition to save the world. With little discoveries left to be made on Earth and the development of pioneering technology ever slowing down, mankind's only chance of survival is to take to the stars - though there's a chance there's nothing out there either. But human endeavour once again proves fruitful as a team of space explorers discover a wormhole in the void of the universe. Cooper decides to join them on their intergalactic expedition to find out if there are any other habitable worlds out there. However, he has a big decision to make as the trip means leaving his beloved family behind with the possibility that he might never return. This is a dangerous mission unlike anything mankind has ever done before, but is it worth it to find a way to save the world?

Continue: Interstellar Trailer

Love Is Strange Trailer


Ben and George have been together for four years and finally decide to get married. While their matrimony may have touched the hearts of their friends and family, the archdiocese soon hears about it and George is subsequently fired from his job as a teacher at the local catholic school. The pair can't afford to live in the area any longer with only Ben's pensions and George's profits from private piano lessons as income, and so they must sell their apartment and set out on a search for cheaper housing. However, the tough New York housing market means they are forced to stay with their separate families and friends. It's not the most ideal of situations for anyone; George and Ben are struggling to cope with their separation and neither are dealing with their strange new home environments. 

Continue: Love Is Strange Trailer

Interstellar Trailer


With the Earth facing a bleak future, pilot and engineer Cooper wants to know how it can possibly be saved from its inevitable demise. The world seems to be slowing down in terms of technological advancement and important discovery, but one group of scientists and explorers are determined to keep pushing the boundaries of human endeavour in the hope that human beings can learned enough to save themselves. When an unusual wormhole like void is discovered in space, the scientists prepare to embark on an interstellar voyage of wisdom to unlock the hidden mysteries of the universe and uncover the key to time travel. It's an expedition that faces great danger and has never before been undertaken by man, and while Cooper is concerned about his separation from his family, he can't pass up this opportunity to explore the stars.

Continue: Interstellar Trailer

Keith Richards, Billy Crystal, The Fonz: The Celebrity Children's Book Author Club


Keith Richards Bill Cosby Whoopi Goldberg Billy Crystal Julianne Moore John Lithgow Will Smith Henry Winkler

OK, so Keith Richards has released a children’s book called ‘Gus & Me: The Story of My Granddad and My First Guitar’, which was inspired by his own childhood and first experiences with music. There are lots of things that we think of Keith Richards as being, a children’s author is certainly not one. That said, we’re sure that the book will be magical and the sneak peek at illustrations indicate they will be beautiful, but it’s got us thinking about which other celebrities have written children’s books. And wow. You would not believe some of the celebs that have!

Keith RichardsKeith Richards Has Penned A Children's Book

Bill Cosby wrote a book for children. Yep, the Bill Cosby, from The Cosby Show fame. The one who is always been accused of being inappropriate in a manner of ways. Cosby’s book is called ‘The Day I Was Rich’ and purports to teach children the value of friendship over money. When Little Bill (nothing Freudian to see here) discovers what he thinks is a huge diamond, which turns out to be a glass paperweight, he and friends are momentarily deflated before returning to the fun they had before they discovered the ‘treasure’. Heartwarming stuff.

Continue reading: Keith Richards, Billy Crystal, The Fonz: The Celebrity Children's Book Author Club

Interstellar Trailer


At a time where scientists and explorers are on the verge of reaching a stalemate with making new discoveries and extending the limits of human endeavour, a group of ever-curious space explorers uncover a wormhole in the universe that can allow them to make critical shortcuts through spacetime. The team set out on an intergalactic expedition never before untaken by man, to find whole new worlds of new discoveries, hidden dimensions and unearth the key to time travel.

Continue: Interstellar Trailer

'Once Upon A Time In Wonderland': Prepare For A 'Kickass' Alice In 'Psychedelic Romance'


Naveen Andrews John Lithgow Roger Daltrey

This October, ABC will premiere a brand new television fantasy series, expanding on Lewis Carroll's original fiction as well as the countless movie and television adaptations that have been inspired throughout the last century. So what makes Once Upon A Time In Wonderland so different?

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
The Cast (L-R): Naveen Andrews, Sophie Lowe, Emma Rigby, Michael Socha & Peter Gadiot.

For a start the premise is pretty interesting; rather than just a rehash of the adaptation of the same story, producers are taking the viewer through the looking glass, so to speak, and into a world where Wonderland is brought together with Aladdin.

Continue reading: 'Once Upon A Time In Wonderland': Prepare For A 'Kickass' Alice In 'Psychedelic Romance'

Stars And Fans Of 'Dexter' Say Their Emotional Goodbyes At Comic-Con


Michael C. Hall Jennifer Carpenter John Lithgow

Dexter has always had some of the most attached fans of any television series, but the love was even more apparent during the cast’s emotional goodbyes at the show’s Comic-Con panel this year. "Everything is a series of lasts." "We're going out the way we want to go out." Those are the words of stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter in the farewell video that opened Dexter's final session at the massive entertainment convention. Not only did the show’s current stars say their goodbyes and thank-yous to the roaring crowd, but the panel even featured some favorite Dexter characters, left behind over the years. Hall H played host to an emotional reunion, featuring showrunner Clyde Phillips, Lauren Velez (LaGuerta), Erik King (Doakes) and Julie Benz (Rita), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Dexter Cast, Showtime Wrap Party
The cast of Dexter celebrated wrapping the final season.

During the talk, John Lithgow, who played one of Dexter’s most chilling antagonists – the Trinity killer – also made an appearance, bringing quite a lighthearted note to the talk – especially for a famed serial killer.

Continue reading: Stars And Fans Of 'Dexter' Say Their Emotional Goodbyes At Comic-Con

This Is 40 Review


Very Good

This overlong comedy is so episodic that watching it is exactly like sitting through five episodes of a sitcom back-to-back. It's funny and enjoyable, with characters we enjoy watching, but they continually spiral back to where they started, and in the end we feel like there's been a lot of fuss about nothing. Even so, the script offers plenty of hilarious observational humour, and the cast is thoroughly entertaining.

Reprising their roles from Knocked Up, Rudd and Mann play Debbie and Pete, who turn 40 within a week of each other. But Debbie isn't coping very well with it, and her emotions swing wildly from steamy lust to fiery rage while Pete just tries to hang on. Their daughters (played by Apatow and Mann's real daughters Maude and Iris) each have their own issues to stir into the mix. And then Pete's needy father (Brooks) turns up with problems of his own, forcing Debbie to think about her own distant father (Lithgow). Meanwhile, the economic crunch is causing problems for both of their businesses.

Yes, both of them own businesses. This is not the typical struggling 40-something couple, so it's not easy to sympathise with many of their issues. Fortunately, Apatow's dialog is packed with brazen honesty and an appreciation for rude gags that keep us laughing even in the absence of an actual storyline we can get involved in (although there's one major plot point along the way). Rudd and Mann were arguably the best thing in Knocked Up, so it's great to let them take the spotlight here, making the most of their sparky interaction. And aside from experts like Brooks and Lithgow, there is a continual stream of superb side roles, including Fox as Debbie's oversexed and possibly embezzling employee and McCarthy as a furious school parent (her big scene is expanded into a brilliantly improvised outtake riff in the closing credits).

Continue reading: This Is 40 Review

John Lithgow In 'The Magistrate' Leaves A Hung Jury Among Critics


John Lithgow

You’d think with renowned thespian John Lithgow in the line-up, The National Theater’s Christmas production The Magistrate would be a shoo-in for a glut of storming reviews, the actor after all does tend to light up whatever it is that he appears in.

Yet, surprisingly, critics aren’t quite so sure over this latest festive offering, an update on a play that first opened at the Court Theater in London way back in 1885 (we don’t believe Lithgow was starring in it at that point). The Daily Telegraph admitted that they struggled for laughs at the comedy, though they did praise Lithgow’s co-stars, writing “Nancy Carroll … proves genuinely touching as his wife whose innocent lie leads to a spiral of chaos, while the diminutive Joshua McGuire is both funny and more than a touch creepy as the boy who doesn't realize he's a man.”

The Guardian meanwhile picks holes in the music, reckoning “it's the persistent musical interludes, performed by joke-Victorians in curly wigs and striped trousers, that irritate. Farce, they say, is sped-up tragedy; but here the songs both slow the action down and pointlessly adorn Pinero's still-viable, time-proof play.” The Evening Standard is a little more generous though, proffering “There's a certain clunkiness, and a few of the jokes are inane. But the more Wildean lines and jolts of wit mean The Magistrate remains likable seasonal fare.” A hung jury, then, for The Magistrate.

The Campaign Review


Very Good

Will Ferrell's funniest movie in years, this is a silly comedy with a terrible sentimental streak, but the political satire running through it is dead on. In fact, the film's opening act is razor-sharp as it lampoons election campaigning with knowing jabs at corporate sponsorship, incumbent laziness and the difficulty of being an honest candidate. So it's disappointing when the film becomes soppy and stupid.

Ferrell creates a memorable comical character in Cam Brady, a five-term North Carolina congressman up for re-election. He's sure he will coast his way back into office, and is only mildly worried when naive local goofball Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) runs against him. Marty certainly isn't ready for the slick attacks orchestrated by Cam's campaign manager (Sudeikis). But two wealthy brothers (the underused Lithgow and Aykroyd) are bankrolling Marty's campaign in the hopes of turning the district into a Chinese sweatshop, so they hire a ruthless press officer (McDermott) to whip Marty into shape. And the game is on.

Even though the characters are cartoonish, what they do is eerily authentic. Cam is a smooth operator with strong hair and a womanising streak. He also believes he can do whatever he wants as long as he mentions "America, Jesus and freedom" in every speech. By contrast, Marty is camp and silly, with a plump wife (Baker) and kids, plus a pair of pet pugs that Cam instantly labels as "Communist Chinese dogs!" Their clashes are a riot of parody and slapstick, some of which is sharply pointed (neither says anything substantial) and some is just ridiculous (including a hilarious cameo from Uggy, the dog from The Artist).

Continue reading: The Campaign Review

The Campaign Trailer


Prior to the unopposed congressman Cam Brady's fifth term election, two affluent CEOs decide enough is enough after Brady commits a major public faux pas. They bring in a second candidate to rival Brady and allow them to gain control over North Carolina. Their candidate, Marty Huggins, though less charismatic than Brady but equally as much of an intellectual vacuum, is the na<ve local Tourism Center director who, with the help of his new supporters and a ruthless campaign manager, quickly becomes a genuine competitor incurring many more of Brady's public indiscretions.

Continue: The Campaign Trailer

New Year's Eve Trailer


On New Year's Eve, there is no better place to be than New York. All over the city, thousands are preparing for the most magical night of the year.

Continue: New Year's Eve Trailer

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Review


Excellent
Rebooting this franchise seemed somewhat iffy until we heard it would involve Weta performance-capture technology (complete with Serkis). And indeed, it's an eye-popping, involving summer movie that manages to layer thoughtful substance with the lively action.

Will (Franco) is a San Francisco scientist experimenting with a new Alzheimer's medication he hopes will cure his father (Lithgow). But things take an unexpected turn when his greedy boss (Oyelowo) gets rid of his lab-test chimps, leaving Will to raise infant ape Caesar (Serkis) in secret. But Caesar's super-human intelligence can't keep him out of the clutches of the nasty father-son animal controllers (Cox and Felton), who badly underestimate him.

Can Will and his chimp-expert girlfriend (Pinto) sort out the mess before a furious Caesar takes matters into his own capable hands?

Continue reading: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Review

Confessions Of A Shopaholic Review


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).

Continue reading: Confessions Of A Shopaholic Review

Shrek Review


Very Good
Computer animation's "WOW" factor bar has just bumped up another notch. Shrek, a fairy tale of sorts, is the raiser of that bar, giving us a tale that revolves around an ogre who makes candles out of his earwax, a talking donkey who's afraid of the dark, a princess who likes "Piña Coladas and getting caught in the rain," and a "vertically challenged" lord who looks a bit like Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

With WWF-style wrestling, vivid color schemes, a scary ogre who's not that scary, psychological evaluation by a talking donkey, loads of humor, and a simple and straightforward plot, Shrek zings along, providing fun and thrills at every turn. But the real treasure lies in Shrek's ability to subtlety poke fun at the mega-mouse corporation of Disney en route to providing a quick 85 minutes of pure entertainment. Torturing the Gingerbread Man? I'm sold.

Continue reading: Shrek Review

Homegrown Review


OK
Movies about marijuana are historically slapsticky, funny romps (see the Cheech and Chong oeuvre). Homegrown probably started out that way, then turned into a typical drug thriller, only set in the northern California hippie community. Message to producers: Hank Azaria is a comedian, not a gun-toting action hero.
John Lithgow

John Lithgow Quick Links

News Video Film Footage Quotes RSS

John Lithgow

Date of birth

19th October, 1945

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.93




Advertisement
Advertisement

John Lithgow Movies

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

Pitch Perfect 3 Trailer

Pitch Perfect 3 Trailer

It has been a few years since the Barden Bellas graduated from college, and while...

Advertisement
Daddy's Home 2 Trailer

Daddy's Home 2 Trailer

It’s part of modern life that divorce and separation is part of many families and...

Beatriz At Dinner Trailer

Beatriz At Dinner Trailer

Beatriz is a holistic healer trained in massage, reiki and other therapies who is invited...

The Accountant Movie Review

The Accountant Movie Review

While this slick dramatic thriller plays with some intriguing ideas and themes, it never actually...

Advertisement
Miss Sloane Trailer

Miss Sloane Trailer

Elizabeth Sloane is a lobbyist and often finds herself facing off against some of the...

The Accountant Trailer

The Accountant Trailer

Ben Affleck is cast as Christian Wolff in this new action thriller film The Accountant....

Best of Enemies Trailer

Best of Enemies Trailer

When an influential and forward-thinking writer locks horns with a conservative author, things get a...

The Good Dinosaur - Teaser Trailer

The Good Dinosaur - Teaser Trailer

Luckily for the human race, dinosaurs were wiped from the face of the Earth millions...

Love Is Strange Movie Review

Love Is Strange Movie Review

In this pointed and involving New York drama, the snap of realistic dialogue more than...

Love Is Strange - Clip Trailer

Love Is Strange - Clip Trailer

After living together for 39 years, Ben (John Lithgow) and George (Alfred Molina) are able...

The Homesman Movie Review

The Homesman Movie Review

Strong characters and a vivid sense of life in frontier America give this film a...

Interstellar Movie Review

Interstellar Movie Review

Brainy blockbuster maestro Christopher Nolan heads into deep space with this epic adventure, which is...

Interstellar Trailer

Interstellar Trailer

Mankind is doomed. Following generations of neglect and a lack of care, the planet Earth...

Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews