Directed by Kenneth Branagh and written by Ben Elton, All is True is a take on the life of Shakespeare during his golden years. We are honored with a chance to take a good look at the final days of William Shakespeare. The movie presupposes the renowned playwright’s last days as Shakespeare.
There is not much written, yet, about the movie but it appears to be a frolic and comedy of errors. I am sure innuendos and slight references to Shakespeare’s great work will be presented.
By watching the trailer, it appears the great scribbler dealt with some demons relating to his past transgressions. His wife is aware of them in her own right and speaks of their relationship as it has evolved. I am curious though about his relationship with his daughter. The movie hits at something, but I am not sure what to make of it yet. Also, I am not sure this is based on any real facts about Shakespeare’s final days. Hence, the title is sarcasm?
Branagh has directed Shakespeare movies before and even played some characters on stage and in the movies. Elton is also an actor and starred in Branagh’s Much to Ado About Nothing.
The cast is stellar including Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Kathryn Wilder
Breakthrough is based on the inspirational true story of one mother’s unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds. It’s a story that is so hard to believe but it is true.
When Joyce Smith’s, played by Chrissy Metz, adopted son John, played by Marcel Ruiz, falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost. But as John lies lifeless, Joyce refuses to give up. Her steadfast belief inspires those around her to continue to pray for John’s recovery, even in the face of every case history and scientific prediction.
According to IMDB, when he was 14, Smith drowned in Lake St. Louis and was dead for nearly an hour. According to reports at the time, CPR was performed 27 minutes to no avail. Then the youth’s mother, Joyce Smith, entered the room, praying loudly. Suddenly, there was a pulse, and Smith came around.
Dawson is known better as an actress on Broadway and television.
The screenplay is by Grant Nieporte, who wrote Seven Pounds, from Joyce Smith’s own book of the same name. A faith-based story that is so enthralling, and a reminder that faith and love can create a mountain of hope, and sometimes even a miracle.
The rest of the cast includes Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, Sam Trammell, and Dennis Haysbert.
The Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming are available. The packing shows the son, John, hugging his mother, who saved his life by praying and bringing the community together in prayer.
The featurette interviews the true boy who was dead for at least 45 minutes and came back to life on the community praying. The movie is truly a faith-based story that all religions draw a celebration of the spirit.
The movie clip is amazing. This is a story about the will to live through religious means. An amazing story is a true miracle.
The following movie clips tell us more about the movie, a true story, and a faith-based production. The movie’s focus is the miracle of John Smith surviving an accident that clearly should have killed him.
The importance of the supreme being, divinity or God is the message. You can’t discount stories like this one as happenstance. Something more powerful happened in the lake, in the hospital, and in the community that saved this boy’s life.
The three interviews posted include the producer and director, Chrissey Mitz, Marcel Ruiz, and John Smith. Smith is the boy who lived after falling through the ice and being on life support when the mother and the community prayed for him to survive.
Directed by Brian A. Miller, writing about movies with a low-budget and former box office draw actors is an interesting proposition. Sylvester Stallone and Matthew Modine are legends in their own right. Yet, I ponder the worth of producing a movie that, most likely will go straight to On Demand, Blu-ray, and DVD.
Backtrace follows MacDonald, played by Modine, after suffering a brain injury from a bank heist gone wrong. He develops amnesia and is put into a prison psychiatric ward, any psychiatric ward needs to be closed down, The system doesn’t work.
Following his seventh year in an evaluation, he is coerced by an inmate, played by Ryan Guzman, and a doctor, played by Meadow Williams, to break out of prison. After breaking out they coerce him into taking an injection of serum that forces him to relive the life he’s forgotten.
MacDonald must now elude a local detective, played by Sylvester Stallone, a toughened FBI agent, played by Christopher McDonald, and the drug’s dangerous side effects in order to recover the stolen money all while confronting his past.
Modine is best known for the current Netflix hit – Stranger Things. Stallone is making a name for himself in the Creed movies.
Written and directed by Christopher Landon, Happy Death Day 2U follows, once again, Jessica Rothe’s character Tree as she leads the returning cast of Happy Death Day.
The first Happy Death Day movie was a surprise hit, so Blumhouse decided to produce a sequel. The film is a horror version of Ground Hog Day. The main character lives her day repeatedly until she finds her killer.
The movie is available online. The theme moves with interesting, repeating twists and comic turns. This time, our hero, Tree, discovers that dying over and over is surprisingly more natural than the dangers that lie ahead. That means there are more dangers in the second movie.
I fell in love with Beary McCreary’s music for the popular Outlander series on Starz. He’s behind composing music for the time-traveling series since the first season.
As you listen to his interview, he calls the Happy Death Day franchise a “horror time travel movie.” I am sure he came up with that description from the Outlander storyline. It’s good to know he loves time-travel-themed projects.
After watching the second trailer, I admit the sequel looks better than the original movie. I figure we acclimated to Tree solving the mystery of who her killer is while dying repeatedly. The comedy of the situation is taken up a notch.
The third trailer, Trailer 2R, is fun to watch if you need a good laugh. It’s hilarious. Blumhouse produced a winner, but horror fans will miss the blood and gore.
The movie clip is a big teaser. The killer wears the baby face mask that comes off, revealing who it is. The characters get to see who it is, but we don’t. I am not even sure when it gets shown in the movie. Still, the film comes across well, and the scenes are intense.
Jessica Rothe, as Tree Gelbman, talks about the movie’s storyline and how the sequel differs from the original film.
Interview with Jessica Rothe & Israel Broussard shows the chemistry between these two actors. They share what happens in the sequel.
Written and directed by Wilson Coneybeare, American Hangman is a thriller starring Donald Sutherland and Vincent Kartheiser.
The story is focused on a relentlessly ticking clock and a rapidly approaching deadline and verdict. A kidnapping, broadcast live on social media, turns into the trial of a judge, played by Sutherland, who presided over a botched criminal case.
This time, however, the audience gets to play judge and jury, deciding if the judge himself gets to live or die.
Coneybeare is best known for writing episodic television in the early 2000s.
It is a low-budget movie, and the screenplay is written with that in mind. The story is centered on three locations – elementary sets. Watch the trailer, and you will see what I mean.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Artemis Fowl is based on a popular book series by Eoin Colfer. It appears all the actors in the movie are from the UK.
Ferdia Shaw plays Artemis Fowl II, a young Irish criminal mastermind who kidnaps the fairy LEPrecon officer Holly Short, played by Lara McDonnell, for ransom to fund the search for his missing father.
Michael Goldenberg, Adam Kline, and Conor McPherson scripted the fantasy, action, and adventure movie. Goldenberg’s credits include Peter Pan, a great movie and a secret gem, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Contact.
Shaw is a newcomer, but McDonnell has starred in other movies. The movie also stars Judy Dench, Miranda Raison, and Hong Chau.
The following trailer shows a lot more about the movie. If you read the books, hopefully, the story stays the same as much as possible.
It is not your typical kid story; the featurette explains how it came to the movie screen.
Directed by Jon S. Baird, Stan & Ollie follows Laurel and Hardy, played by John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan. Some consider them the world’s most famous comedy duo.
The two comedians take a stab at reigniting their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song – a grueling theatre tour during post-war Britain.
Baird is best known for directing episodic television. The screenplay is by Jeff Pope who also wrote for many episodic television shows and the movie Philomena, which he won BAFTA Best Adapted Screenplay 2015 with Steve Coogan.
Watch the trailer and if you are familiar with the comedy duo, then you will see some great acting, and it’s uncanny how both actors look like Laurel and Hardy.
The movie also stars Stephanie Hyam and Shirley Henderson.
Watching the following movie clips and featurette, I honestly say these Reilly and Coogan created Laurel and Hardy. Sure, the make-up and hair designers along with the costumes and set designs are instrumental as well.
Watching Laurel and Hardy’s wives play off each other is fun. I hope the rhythm of the scenes performs better within the movie.
In the featurette, Reilly mentions how much Laurel and Hardy loved each other, so he and Coogan became friends and truly love each. They remain good friends to this day.
The featurette about Stan and Ollie’s relationship covers more than what went on between them. It is about the relationship they have without culture at large. They are an iconic comedy team forever embedded in our minds.
Directed by Jon Favreau, The Lion King is the same as the original Disney The Lion King. But this time, the production is taking the CGI and re-imagining the 1994 Disney classic. Both are from Disney, and Favreau directed The Jungle Book, which did great at the box office, and reviews were positive.
Some of you may be happy to know the voices are also being redone with James Earl Jones, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, and Beyonce.
The movie hasn’t even been released yet. The movie’s soundtrack is nominated for a Grammy as well.
Look at the movie trailer and see that the story is no different from the original. The only difference is it’s not a cartoon. It looks totally real.
The second trailer shows what to expect from the movie—a real-life version of the animated The Lion King. The technology in filmmaking and animation arrives at a whole new level with Disney productions. I wish for original stories and new adventures in all this fantastical technology. There are classics untouched, like The Count of Monte Crisco or Treasure Island. Even Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea is a great story to animate. I hope Disney will broaden their scope of future movies.
Still, I am impressed with the CGI; the movie will delight children of all ages. The box office will prove fruitful.
The TV spot is incredible because it shows us that the movie is like the original, but the computer-generated characters are more realistic.
The following three publicity clips show us the CGI and characters we know. The “Circle of Life” looks real, with all the African animals celebrating the birth of the Lion King. That clip is blocked, and you can only see the image from the video.
The two featurettes show the cast and director working together to make a new, different movie but the same movie.
Directed by Josie Rourke, Mary, Queen of Scots, is based on the book by John Guy called “Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart”. Mary Stuart’s, played by Saoirse Ronan, attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, played by Margot Robbie. Stuart finds herself condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.
The second trailer shows how fierce each woman gets over winning the throne. I posted some behind the scene clips on My YouTube Channel. The clips show details in the costumes, amazing.
Watch the trailer and clips. You will see some fine acting.
Mary, Queen of Scots appears to be Rourke’s first movie, but her theatrical experience is quite extensive. She is the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, and her productions have transferred to Broadway, the West-End and won Olivier Awards.
The two featurettes are put together showing how the two women interrelated with each other and their times. Rourke shares the difference between the two queens while Ronan talks about Mary Stuart as a dynamic woman. Robbie talks about how the two women were influenced by men who influenced and ruled the culture at the time.
Directed by Deon Taylor, The Intruder follows a young married couple, played by Michael Ealy and Meagan Good. They buy their dream house in the Napa Valley.
They found the perfect home to start a family and live happily together. But, the former homeowner, played by Dennis Quaid, is a bit strange. He continues to infiltrate their lives. It becomes obvious he is out to do some wacky stuff to the couple.
The screenplay is written by David Loughery, who wrote Lakeview Terrace and Tom and Huck. Taylor holds many directing credits, including Traffik and Meet the Blacks.
Dennis Quaid looks pretty creepy in this next trailer. I like how he transforms – becoming more and more deranged.
The second poster is pretty simple and shows the couple in danger and distress over Quaid’s presence.
The movie clip is called “He’s Cutting Our Grass” but should be called “It’s Hard to Let Go.” Quaid is doing an excellent job of being creepy.
This is looking intense, and having an intruder like Quaid is nerve-wracking. It is hard to communicate with people like this because they have an agenda. His agenda is to get them both.
