She Said: Based on the book of the same name, it tells the heart-pounding story to uncover the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. NY Times reporters Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) take on Weinstein and the Hollywood machine in a way that is jaw-dropping.
Elvis: Austin Butler transforms himself into Elvis Presley, adding new layers to the music icon.
Call Jane: Elizabeth Banks plays a housewife whose pregnancy is not going well in the days before Roe v. Wade. Denied an abortion by the local hospital, she finds an underground group and soon joins them in their mission to help women.
Hocus Pocus 2: After 29 years, the Sanderson sisters are back. It has enough of its predecessor while holding its own in the best way possible.
Mr. Malcolm’s List: Based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Allain, Mr. Malcolm is the most coveted bachelor in this Jane Austen-inspired narrative. In order to fend off marriageable young ladies and their match-making mamas, he creates a list of qualities that his wife should have. Little does he know that it will soon be moot.
Downton Abbey: A New Era: This second film in the franchise opens the door to new stories while closing old ones in perfect fashion.
We all want to be loved for who we are. But that is not always easy when we believe that we are unworthy of the one(s) we love.
The new movie, Cyrano, is a musical adaptation of the Edmond Rostand play Cyrano de Bergerac. Peter Dinklage plays the title character. Cyrano is charming, a master swordsman/soldier and wordsmith, and in love with Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Without a penny to her name, Roxanne (like many women living in the pre-modern era), knows that she must marry. But she will only marry for love. That love comes in the form of Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.).
Unable to tell her how he feels due to his insecurities, Cyrano uses Christian for his conventionally handsome looks to express what he cannot say in person. Christian is equally tongue-tied, believing that his words are not enough to convey his own passion for her. They are joined by a third man, De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn), a nobleman who covets Roxanne for her beauty.
As this love triangle becomes more complicated, it becomes obvious that both Cyrano and Christian will have to come clean. What is unknown is how Roxanne will react and how the ripple effect of the lie change the course of their lives?
Directed by Joe Wright ( the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, etc) and written by Erica Schmidt (the significant others of Bennett and Dinklage respectively), this film is an unexpected treat. I’m not usually a fan of movie musicals, but this one is worth watching.
With only one female lead character, it would be easy to box Roxanne into a corner. But she is so strong and so determined to make her own choices (as limited as they are), that it is easy to forget that her life is dictated by the men around her.
The heart of this narrative is the inability to love ourselves and be open to the people that are important to us. It’s why I believe we can all relate to Cyrano. Whether we are of short stature, have an unusually long nose, or another feature that we dislike, we all want to be loved for our authentic selves. It is just a matter of taking that leap and trusting that we will land on our feet.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely. If I may be so bold, I would say that Cyrano will be on quite a few “best of” lists come the end of the year.
Game Of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage has a powerful message on life and dreams.
In his 20’s he had a regular office job and dreamed of being an actor. But like many of us, logic stepped in and said that acting is not a reliable job. So he worked at his 9-5 job and dreamed of the day that he would be an actor.
Then at age 29, he made a decision. He decided to go after what he wanted instead just dreaming about it.
The message I get from his story is that it is ok to go after what we want. Is it scary? Of course. Does it bring a large amount of uncertainty to our lives? Yes.
But at the same time, living our authentic lives and doing what we want to do instead of doing what we need to do is sometimes the only way to live.
Curses are a funny thing. What we think of as curses can often be blessing in disguises.
In Penelope (2006), the title character, played by Christina Ricci was born into a wealthy family. But money, as the Beatles said, cannot buy me love.
Penelope is cursed. As with all fairy tales, the curse is only broken by true love. Penelope’s parents (Catherine O’Hara & Richard E. Grant) invite several young men to their isolated estate to break the curse, but the curse still holds. A tabloid editor, Lemon (Peter Dinklage) sends a down on his luck gambler, Max (James McAvoy) to find out the secret for Penelope’s disappearance from the world. But Max’s job becomes difficult when he realizes that his feelings for Penelope have become real.
What I like about this movie is that is more than the standard fairy tale with the standard happy ending. There is an aspect of self love and appreciating yourself before anyone else can. The message of self esteem and self worth is an important one, regardless of who we are or what we believe.
In the future, a war has killed millions, both mutant and humans. To prevent this future from happening, Professor Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to the early 1970’s. Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) is creating Sentinels that are targeting mutants. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is going to kill Dr. Trask, starting the war. If Wolverine can prevent Dr. Trask’s assassination, the war will not happen.
This movie is everything everyone has said and more. All of the characters from the X-Men universe are included, even those that had been killed off in previous films. It’s funny, it’s gut wrenching, it is truly the best comic book movie ever.
Hugh Jackson does the full monty (backside only) for a few moments. I’m not ashamed to say that it was a very enjoyable few moments.
Stay after the credits, there is a very interesting scene.
Writergurlny 
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