Clouds of Sils Maria

Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is a world famous leading actress who was made known throughout the world by starring in both the play and film versions of Maloja Snake by Wilhelm Melchior, a recently departed Swiss playwright. Maria is offered a role in the play once again, however, instead of playing Sigrid twenty years on Maria is now set to play Helena, the women who is driven to suicide by Sigrid. The film follows Maria and her American assistant, Valentine (Kirsten Stewart), as they prepare for the role.

Thursday Movie Picks #50: All in the Family Edition: Sibling Relationships (Biologically Related)

When I walked out of the screening for Jurassic World I said to my younger brother (who'd accompanied me) that if we were at Jurassic World and the dinosaurs escaped it would be every man for himself. He agreed and then told me a story about how he was watching this review for a gun and the reviewer said the gun saved him from a bear with just a single shot. What happened was he was walking through the woods with his girlfriend when a bear suddenly appeared. What he did was shoot his girlfriend in the leg and run away as fast as he could thus saving him from the bear with just a single shot. Check out the instigator of this meme- http://wanderingthroughtheshelves.blogspot.co.uk/

It Follows

Jay Height (Maikia Monroe) is a young, pretty college girl on a second date with this guy called Hugh (Jake Weary). The couple have sex but something is passed to Jay and the only way to rid herself of the curse is to have sex with somebody else. Easy enough, especially if you're as pretty as Maikia Monroe's Jay. In fact even if you're a guy as ugly as sin it's easy as you could fork out a bit of money and hire an escort. However, passing on the curse doesn't rid you entirely of it. If the person you passed the curse on to dies, you are target of evil entity and process will commence once again.  

Mr Holmes

Mr Holmes is based on the 2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind (the film's original and more interesting title) by Mitch Cullin. It's about an elderly and ill Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen - reuniting with Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon) reflecting upon his life and his final case which Watson's adaptation left Sherlock greatly unsatisfied. Much of the film is about Sherlock trying to remember the details of case so that he can gain an inner peace within himself.

Selma

Selma is based on the famous marches from Selma to Montgomery to protest against the lack of civil freedoms experienced by black people during the 1960s. The film follows Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) as he leads a group of people willing to face extreme violence to achieve their goals and the film also closely follows his battles with American President Lyndon Baines Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) in a bid to push his demands into American law.

You might be taken ill by Taken III

In the third film of the Taken franchise, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is framed for the murder of his wife. He must evade capture, bring the real killer to justice and clear his own name.

Thursday Movie Picks #49: Animated Movies

It's not really a genre I watch regularly, but here are my three picks. Make sure to check out - http://wanderingthroughtheshelves.blogspot.co.uk/

Bypass

After the arrest of his brother (Benjamin Dilloway) and the death of his mother Tim's (George MacKay) responsibilities have increased dramatically. Tim must care for his younger sister (Lara Peake), girlfriend (Charlotte Spencer) and deal with bailiffs bashing at the door. Tim's only source of income is petty crime, but his life among criminals leads him down a potentially dark and dangerous route.

Jurassic World

Twenty or so years ago Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill) refused to endorse Dr John Hammond's (the late, great Richard Attenborough) park. However, somebody did decide to endorse the park, get it off the ground once more and turn into the most popular theme park attraction in the world. However, attendance is falling and younglings are becoming slightly less impressed by the beasts that ruled the world over 65,000,000 years ago. So a new super dinosaur is cooked up in a lab and she, unsurprisingly, makes her escape by using trickery because she's a clever girl. So, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her team, featuring Chris Pratt's raptor keeper Owen Grady, track down the escaped dino that's about to cause a massive lawsuit.

United Passions

For as long as I can remember I have always loved football, particularly international football. In fact, my first football memory (at about six years old) is eagerly standing up when the head teacher asked for anyone who wishes to watch England play Tunisia at the 1998 World Cup to stand up - England won 2-0 with both goals coming at the end of each half. I love the World Cup, for me it's the best sporting spectacle on the planet, I love the passion, the excitement, the heartbreak, the emotion, the intensity, the tension and I love it despite the inevitable English disappointment. There is one problem, and it's a biggie, which is the World Cup is organised by FIFA who are the subject of United Passions.

Mortdecai

Art dealer and part time crook Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) is drafted in by MI5 to investigate the whereabouts of a missing Goya painting. As Charlie is in a dire financial position, Charlie agrees to a 10% fee if the painting is found and sold, however, he is not the only one who wants to get their hands on it as some Russians also want the painting as does an American, Milton Krampf (Jeff Goldblum), and Charlie's own wife, Joanna (Gwyneth Paltrow) who wants to find the painting to sort out her and her husband's terrible finances. 

Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015)

Sir Christopher Lee was an actor of outstanding gravitas, he had a booming voice and an astonishing presence every time he appeared on screen. Christopher Lee was an exceptionally versatile actor with a knack of playing diabolical villains from vampires to wizards and cult leaders to Jedi Knights who crossed the path over to the dark side but whenever the script called for him to do so he could play heroes and sympathetic characters with great pathos.

Thursday Movie Picks #48: Movies Set in a High School, Secondary School or the Equivalent

 I couldn't do Thursday Movie Picks last week because I was busy trying to conquer and defeat ancient armies in battle on Age of Empires.

Anyway, this week it's Movies set in High School, Secondary School or the equivalent - http://wanderingthroughtheshelves.blogspot.co.uk/

Insidious: Chapter Three

Set a few years before the Lambert Haunting, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) is out of the psychic business and trying to avoid any trips into The Further. However, when Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) arrives on her doorstep wishing to speak to her recently departed mum, Elise becomes dragged into a conflict she desperately tried to avoid, and when things begin to get deadly serious Elise must venture into The Further once more to rescue Quinn from the clutches of an evil demon.

Ex Machina

Celab (Domhall Gleeson) is a talented coder working at the prestigious  Bluebook,  the world's largest search engine. Celab is the lucky winner of the lottery that invites the winner to meet the reclusive, billionaire owner of Bluebook. There Bluebook's CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), is building an advanced AI robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander) and asks Celab to test whether Ava passes the Turing Test. However, Celab begins to fall for Ava and that affects the job at hand also Ava reveals that there is more to Nathan that what meets the eye.