Belfast

Belfast

The beginning of The Troubles in Northern Ireland is shown from the point of view of a young child living with his middle-class Protestant family in Belfast. Nine-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill) lives in a working-class neighbourhood in North Belfast with his Ma (Caitriona Balfe), older brother Will (Lewis McAskie), and grandparents Granny (Judi Dench) and…

Victoria and Abdul

Victoria and Abdul

Queen Victoria begins an unlikely friendship with her Indian servant in Victoria and Abdul. 29 years into the British rule of India, Indian clerk Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) is sent along with his friend Mohammed (Adeel Akhtar) to present a mughal coin to Queen Victoria (Judi Dench). Victoria takes a fancy to Abdul and ask that he be…

Off the Rails

Off the Rails

A man with Asperger’s Syndrome spent more than 30 years impersonating train conductors in Off the Rails. Since childhood, Darius McCollum has loved trains. Trains were a place where he could find solace from the bullying he experienced in school. He befriended the subway operators in New York City and at the age of 15 he drove…

Off the Rails

Off the Rails

A man with Asperger’s Syndrome spent more than 30 years impersonating train conductors in Off the Rails. Since childhood, Darius McCollum has loved trains. Trains were a place where he could find solace from the bullying he experienced in school. He befriended the subway operators in New York City and at the age of 15 he…

Philomena

Philomena

Finishing off my catching up of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture, I checked out this true story directed by Stephen Frears. When she was younger, Irish woman Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) was forced by nuns to give up her son, born out of wedlock, for adoption, with her also being forced into labour at…

Skyfall

Skyfall

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the James Bond franchise and with it comes the new film Skyfall.  It was a decade ago when the Bond series fell victim to excess, including invisible cars and a heavy use CGI stunts.  This resulted in the series to strip back and reboot the Bond franchise as…

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

I guess it can agreed that the James Bond series would seem a little dated with newer action-packed spy films like the Jason Bourne films showing up. However, I never expected the producers to try and combine the two. There are many times throughout the film that seems to borrow from the Bourne films (including…