Tolkien is the new biography/drama about J. R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit.
Starring Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins and Mimi Keene; director Dome Karukoski’s film will explore the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among fellow outcasts at school.
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
On account of fantasy not being my favourite genre (though I am quite curious about this Tolkien story), I’m more excited for big fans of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit movies.
I just need to find out if I react to Tolkien the same way I did to The Lord Of The Rings movies. By which I mean, I was, dare I say, underwhelmed.
The story of the The Favouriteis set in the 18th century and centres on England’s Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), whose close friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) steps in to govern England because the queen is too frail.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’s film starts off relatively pleasantly, even though the atmosphere is quite tense. The tension continues, and things take a darker turn as the true motivations of the key players surrounding the queen begin to emerge. As a result, I found myself feeling increasingly sorry for Anne. Especially in her unfortunately frail state, and considering the tragedies she’s already endured.
Woven in with the tension and darkness is humour, which I enjoyed, and a noticeable amount of gratuitous but well-placed profanity. I liked the central performances by Coleman, Weisz and Emma Stone. I’ve never seen Stone’s generally very sweet-looking face and big, beautiful eyes take quite the less-than-sweet look they do in this movie. As for Coleman, I always knew she was capable with comedy, thanks to Peep Show, my favourite sitcom of all time. And, she does well in this heartbreaking, dramatic role. No wonder she’s already won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture.
The makeup and 18th-century costumes on both the men and women did well in delivering some fun and entertainment. Especially considering that many men walked around in massive wigs, quite a lot of makeup and ladies, especially the queen, wore dresses with comically puffy sleeves and skirts.
The Favourite is not at the top of my list as far as movies about British royalty are concerned, but I did have a good time. Watch it because it’s generally good, and who knows, you might love it even more, particularly if you like rabbits.
Starring Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa, Newness is the Drake Doremus-directed drama/romance about two millennials navigating a relationship affected by the challenges that come with today’s social media-driven hookup culture.
As I watched this trailer, the last Doremus movie I saw and liked came to mind. Namely, Like Crazy (2011), which stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones.
I found myself thinking, didn’t Doremus already explore this ‘young love’ theme in Like Crazy? However, as I watched some more, I eventually noticed what’s different. This time, he’s exploring open relationships, not long-distance relationships. As such, I am slightly intrigued. I just don’t yet know if I’m curious enough to take the chance and watch. The amount revealed in this trailer certainly doesn’t help matters.
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, The Current War is the story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. A race to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult and Tom Holland star.
I find this trailer somewhat over stylised. Nevertheless, there’s just too much impressive talent involved. And I definitely don’t just mean the actors. I can’t wait to see how people battled for market share back then compared to the tech giants of today.
I wonder if The Current War will come close to replacing The imitation Game (2014)as my favourite Benedict Cumberbatch movie. I think not but I’m open to pleasant surprises.
Ekow Quartey, Tuppence Middleton and Matthew Macfadyen make up additional supporting cast.
Rebel In The Rye tells the story of celebrated author, J.D. Salinger, the man responsible for one of the most widely loved books ever written, The Catcher In The Rye.
Directed by Danny Strong; Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson and Zoey Deutch are among the key cast.
The Catcher In The Rye happens to be one of my favourite books. I’ve read somewhere that it’s also incredibly difficult if not near impossible to turn into a movie. As such, I guess fans have to settle for a movie about the the films writer and the events that lead to his most famous book.
I’d happily watch this movie right now if I could. Especially since I recall what happens in The Catcher In The Rye, only vaguely at this point.
The Movie My Life 