Brian (Earl) is an inventive soul whose house in Wales looks like a laboratory made from whatever he can find and bring home.  He’s even made a cuckoo clock that can fly so the townspeople can check out the time in the sky wherever they are.  Then one day he decides to make a robot to help […]
This is a strangely seductive movie, showing a British family with a rather daft though good-hearted Kempton Bunton (Broadbent), his wife Dorothy Bunton (Mirren), and younger son Jackie (Whitehead) not communicating very well with one another.  Dorothy is extremely critical of Kempton (for some good reasons), which makes him more secretive at times, and Jackie torn
The real aftermath here is the bad aftertaste James Kent’s new adaptation leaves with the viewer. He delivers an ending that I found personally offensive, highly debatable, and utterly misogynistic. The Aftermath, based on the novel by Rhidian Brook, seems to suggest that both of the film’s male decision makers have a narrow view of women’s
In 2011 Brother and sister duo Jesse and Evgenia Peretz made a film called Our Idiot Brother and it was very bad. They return with yet another quirky comedy, but this time, the script and direction are genuinely entertaining. Evgenia’s script examines the different aspects, responsibilities, and regrets of middle-age dating. She also explores idol obsession and
This might be a film about the origins of Winnie the Pooh, but it’s ultimately about the failures of parenthood. Goodbye Christopher Robin depicts the accidental creation of one of the greatest children’s book characters. Make-up caked performances by Gleeson (Ex Machina, The Revenant) and 2017 it girl Margot Robbie (I Tonya, Suicide Squad) don’t
Zombie movies are a dime a dozen these days, but this British production offers something slightly off the beaten path. Mike Carey’s novel and screenplay takes ideas from superhero films like “X-Men” and expects the audience to already know quite a bit of zombie history from other films. There is an appreciated balance here between
Silly, silly women! I can’t imagine women of today making a film like this that shows the worst of women—foolish, vain, oblivious of consequences, hysterical—I could go on. Absolutely Fabulous is a movie based on an apparently popular British sitcom. The main stars of the TV series are in the film: Jennifer Saunders as Edina,
With back to back films focusing on unconventional sports journey’s to the Olympics, “Eddie the Eagle” stands out, not only because of its whimsical British charm, but focusing on a misfit or underdog. Following his introductive turn last year as an action star in “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, 26-year-old Taron Egerton is making all the
The comedic drama The Lady in the Van, gives 80-year-old Maggie Smith another opportunity to show off her seemingly endless talent. The year of the senior actress continues with Dame Maggie Smith (Harry Potter, Gosford Park) reprising her stage character on the big screen. Based on writer Alan Bennett’s own experience with a lady who
    Man Up opens like an installment of Bridget Jones, complete with another American actress hurling an English accent. Whether it’s the talent of Lake Bell (In A World) as a comedian, or the goofy charm of Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible), Man Up is enjoyable because the script jumps outside the expected often enough to