Dan Stevens fans who are mourning his departure from “Downton Abbey” can find consolation in his role in “Summer in February,” the new period drama playing in Cosford from Friday to Sunday. Based on the novel by Jonathan Smith, the story paints a realistic portrait of the dangers of confusing love for an artist with…
As simple as a storyline could ever be, “Last Night” is, for the same reason, an insightful portrait of the delicate line between loyalty and infidelity. With four stars of varying ethnicity, the film has a decidedly foreign feel. With Keira Knightley’s British self-composure, Sam Worthington’s Australian non-nonchalance, Guillaume Canet’s French flare, and Eva Mendes’s…
The comedic historical drama, Saving Mr. Banks brings to light the true story of Walt Disney’s attempts to persuade Ms. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins to surrender the rights. Played by Tom Hanks, Disney, who had promised his daughters two decades before that he would turn their favorite bedtime story into a movie, sought…
“Kon Tiki” – Norway – Netflix Instant Watch “Kon-Tiki” chronicles the odyssey of a Norwegian hero, Thor, but unlike the one from Norse myths or from the Marvel franchise, Thor Heyerdahl revolutionized the scientific world and inspired a wave of pioneers. Based on the true story of Heyerdahl’s 5,000 mile expedition from Peru to Polynesia, this…
The semester’s last Jerry Herman Ring Theater production, She Loves Me, a musical about love and its whims in a parfumerie in the 1950’s floats as sweetly as the lofty, pink scents that the store promises its snobby, Parisian customers. In the musical, one of the store’s salesmen exchanges love letters with a correspondent, who…
The New York Times best selling novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, makes its way onto the big screen this November, adapting this love story for books into a moving film about German girl, Liesel who finds courage in the fear-stricken world of WWII to steal books. Though set during the war, the film…
“Valentin” – Argentina, France, Italy – Netflix instant watch The daily joys and woes of nine-year-old Valentin are genuinely recounted in this artistic film that is built on a narrative frame made up almost entirely of the boy’s disarmingly charming voiceovers. Living in 1960s Buenos Aires, he resourcefully fights to maintain his youthful optimism while…
“The Book Thief” is part of the literary tradition of kids growing up in the ordered chaos of the Holocaust. But unlike most of those stories, author Markus Zukus’s protagonist is not Jewish. Liesel Meminger, observes the horrors of WWII while living with her adoptive family, hiding a Jewish refugee in their basement. The film…
“The Women on the 6th Floor” (France) – Netflix Instant Watch and Amazon Prime Instant Video While it could easily have indulged in cartoony stereotypes about the nature of women from Spain, “The Women on the 6th Floor,” a French comedy about Spanish domestic workers in Paris in the 1960s, proves remarkably refreshing. Granted in…
“Flame and Citron” -Denmark – available on Netflix instant watch and Amazon Prime By showcasing the efforts of two Danish resistance assassins who risked their lives to sabotage the Nazi occupation of Denmark, Flame and Citron elegantly reverses the typical WWII movie in this action drama based on true events. With short, expertly-timed breathing moments,…
Jaimie Alexander is not your typical female superhero. The whiskey-swilling, motorcycle-riding, 5-foot-9-inch actress is anything but the predictable choice for a role in Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World.” But it’s the unexpected castings that give the film personality and attitude, carrying the sequel. Alexander’s character, the warrior Sif, saves the Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth)…
“Le Populaire” // France – available for instant streaming on Netflix Set in the 1950s, when the typewriter revolutionized the meaning of the modern woman, “Le Populaire” follows the comic turn of events that lead a clumsy, small-town girl to compete for the title of fastest typist. Thanks to its charming tribute to the ’50s…