Once again no British movies are released in the US this week but before you get your panties in a twist Jane Eyre is out next week. This weekend British stars will still be filling up the screens in two new wide releases.
British actress Emily Blunt has come a long way since she starred in The Devil Wears Prada, she is now a headline act. This weekend she teams up with Matt Damon in the romantic thriller The Adjustment Bureau. She plays a ballerina whose affair with a politician and is affected by mysterious forces, keeping the lovers apart.
Having only been on our screens a couple of weeks back in I Am Number Four, Stevenage born Alex Pettyfer is back again but this time looking very different in Beastly. It is a modern day take on Beauty and the Beast in which Brit Pettyfer plays an arrogant New York teenager who is transformed into a hideous monster in order to find true love.
Over in the UK be careful were you walk as you are likely to trip over a British Movie there are so many being released. First up is Ironclad which will be coming to the US later this year. Starring James Purefoy with a host of other British stars (Brian Cox, Jason Flemyng, Charles Dance) it is the very violent story of a determined group of Knights Templar as they defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John.
Next up we have Archipelago which was written and directed by Joanna Hogg in her follow-up to the critically acclaimed Unreleated. It stars Tom Hiddleston (who will be playing Loki in next years Avengers movie) as a young man who accompanies his doting mother Patricia (Kate Fahy) and his sister Cynthia (Lydia Leonard) on a family holiday in the Scilly Isles before he heads over to Africa on a volunteer trip. Hogg and star Hiddlestone are both seen as emerging voices in British cinema, so this one should be well worth seeing.
Patagonia is next on the list and it is described as a “Parallel road movies through Wales and Argentina”. The movie inspired by the Welsh immigrants that settled in the inhospitable land of Patagonia has been receiving a fair amount of attention in the UK as it marks the acting debut of singer/songwriter Duffy in a small role.
The most intriguing release for me of the week is Terry starring Nick Nevern. The Film is a (fake) documentary pitched with the synopsis of In the summer of 2009, Charlie Ruez made a documentary. 6 months later the footage was seized for evidence by the Metropolitan Police Department. In 2010, the footage was released. I get the feeling based on the trailer and past movie going experiences that it will be one of those movies that is either going to be brutally “can’t take your eyes” off the screen great or absolutely dreadful.
Finally if none of those movies take your fancy, you can still get your British actor fix as The Adjustment Bureau starring Emily Blunt, The Tempest starring a fleet of Brits (Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Tom Conti, Alan Cumming) and The Age of Dragons staring Vinnie Jones are all opening this weekend.
Take a look at the Trailers and Synopsis from all the movies mentioned below.
Ironclad – The year is 1215 and following the signing of the Magna Carta King John rallies together a band of ruthless mercenaries to reclaim his powers over England and exert merciless revenge against those that betrayed him. Standing in his way of victory are a group of rebel barons led by Baron Albany and a formidable Templar Knight, Marshall, who take control of one of the most strategic and powerful fortresses in the land, the mighty Rochester Castle. If they are to defend the rights of England against this power crazed King, they must defend the Castle, but there are only 10 of them against a powerful army. With the castle surrounded and food supplies running low it takes all their strength to remain true to the cause. What ensues is an epic struggle of wit, determination and true daring in one of the longest and bloodiest sieges in English history.
TRAILER
Archipelago -The quietly devastating portrayal of a family in emotional crisis. Edward (Tom Hiddleston) is preparing to leave for a year of voluntary service in Africa. His mother Patricia (Kate Fahy) and his sister Cynthia (Lydia Leonard) decide to gather the family together, on a remote island, as a farewell trip to say goodbye to Edward. Hired cook Rose (Amy Lloyd) and painting teacher Christopher (Christopher Baker), though bought in to help, only serve to bring the family’s anxieties into sharper focus. When Edward’s father is delayed, the unspoken forces of absence and loss bring the family’s buried anger and repressed tension to the surface.
TRAILER
Terry – In the summer of 2009, Charlie Ruez made a documentary… 6 months later the footage was seized for evidence by the Metropolitan Police Department… In 2010…….The footage was released. Terry - Whatever Happens….Just Keep Filming………..
TRAILER FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY
Patagonia – narrates the journeys of two women – one looking for her past, the other for her future. The film intercuts between their stories, in which one of them travels south to north through the Welsh springtime and the other east to west through the Argentine autumn.
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Beastly – When a spell is cast on a handsome egocentric young man (Alex Pettyfer) that physically transforms him into everything he despises, he has one year to find a young woman (Vanessa Hudgens) who will love him despite his hideous form or the spell will last forever.
TRAILER
The Adjustment Bureau – Matt Damon and Emily Blunt headline this romantic sci-fi drama based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, and detailing the troubled love affair between a rising congressman and a gorgeous ballerina. The closer these two lovers get, the harder shadowy forces work to drive them apart by altering the very fabric of time and space.
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The Tempest – In her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s mystical thriller “The Tempest,” Academy Award-nominated Julie Taymor (“Across the Universe,” “Frida,” “Titus”) brings an original dynamic to the story by changing the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera, portrayed by Oscar winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”). Prospera’s journey spirals through vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island, cares for her young daughter, Miranda, and unleashes her powers against shipwrecked enemies in this exciting, masterly mix of romance, tragicomedy and the supernatural.
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The Age of Dragons – Age of the Dragons is a re-imagining of Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick. Set in a mythical realm where Captain Ahab and crew hunt dragons for the vitriol that powers their world, Ishmael, a charismatic harpooner joins their quest. Ahab’s adopted daughter Rachel, beautiful and tough, runs the hunting vessel. Ahab’s obsession is to seek revenge on a great “White Dragon” that slaughtered his family when he was young and left his body scarred and mauled, drives the crew deeper into the heart of darkness. In the White Dragon’s lair Ahab’s secrets are revealed and Rachel must choose between following him on his dark quest or escaping to a new life with Ishmael.
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