Tag Archives: UK

Attack the Block (2011) Joe Cornish, John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Attack the Block (2011)
Joe Cornish writes and directs this British sci-fi comedy action adventure starring Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadaway and Nick Frost. While being robbed by a gang of thugs outside the South London tower block where she lives, trainee nurse Sam (Whittaker)’s hooded attackers suddenly break off their assault when a meteorite hits a nearby carpark. As Sam flees the scene, the gang members fend off an attack from a small alien being that has emerged from the crash-site, killing it in the process, and carrying off their prize to their rooftop lair. But now, as Sam and the police search for the gang, a new wave of meteorites fall. With the gang emboldened by their latest victory, they prepare to face their new-found enemy, only to be confronted with an army of much larger, savagely vicious alien monsters, hellbent on finding their comrade.
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Killing Me Softly (2002) Chen Kaige, Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Killing Me Softly (2002)
London website designer Alice was happy in a stable relationship with reliable, somewhat boring Jake, but quickly dumps him after falling in love at first sight and having wild sex with an overbearing hot hunk, even before she discovers it’s the famous mountaineer Adam Tallis, a studly celebrity about whom a book is just being promoted. In no time they get married, despite anonymous warnings not to trust him. In Adam’s presence she enjoys being his slavish sex-toy, but when alone at his place can’t resist snooping into his past, thus finding out about women falling out of love with him and concluding her climbing rescuer is scarily, dangerously jealous, but she has no proof.
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The Sex Thief (1974) Martin Campbell, Jennifer Westbrook, David Warbeck, Henry Rayner, Comedy

The Sex Thief (1974)
GoldenEye and Casino Royale director Martin Campbell’s first film was a low-budget sex romp called The Sex Thief, intended as an homage to the James Bond series. Irresistible to women, the roguish title character (David Warbeck) channels his inner Connery, muttering witty double entendres, relishing the danger of his secret mission, forever sidetracked by beautiful women.
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Les Poupées Russes / Russian Dolls (2005) Cédric Klapisch, Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou, Comedy, Drama, Romance

Les Poupees Russes (2005)
A French writer finds his life is once again being turned sideways by his footloose European friends in this sequel to the international hit L’Auberge Espagnole. Five years after we last saw him, Xavier (Romain Duris) has given up his aspirations of a career in international finance, but his new path as a writer isn’t going as well as he hoped; his novel about his experiences in Spain has yet to be published, and lately he’s been writing scripts for a French soap opera. When his French producers enter into a co-production agreement with a British network and Xavier lands an assignment ghost-writing a tell-all autobiography for famous fashion model Celia Shelburn (Lucy Gordon), he finds himself spending plenty of time traveling between Paris and London…
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Callas Forever (2002) Franco Zeffirelli, Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, Joan Plowright, Biography, Drama, Music

Callas Forever (2002)
The partially fictionalized film is set in 1977, the year in which Callas died, and centers on the making of a movie of Georges Bizet’s Carmen. The diva, whose now-ragged voice is well past its prime, is persuaded to star in it by longtime friend and former manager Larry Kelly, who abandoned classical music to become a rock impresario. He insists by lip-synching to her old recording she will recapture her lost youth and leave behind a priceless legacy for her admirers, and his theory is supported by Callas confidante and journalist Sarah Keller.
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8 Minutes Idle (2012) Mark Simon Hewis, Ophelia Lovibond, Antonia Thomas, Paul Kaye, Comedy

8_minutes_idle
Based upon Matt Thorne’s award-winning novel about life in a call centre, “Eight Minutes Idle” is a warped urban comedy about what it really means to put your life ‘on hold’! Dan Thomas has always taken the path of least resistance – in his work life, home life and love life! But when Dan finds himself kicked out of the family home, he’s faced with no option but to secretly move into the call centre where he works. Suddenly, everything that he’s previously taken for granted – a well-stocked fridge, clean clothes, his friends, his self respect, even his beloved cat – are either disappearing or conspiring against him. As Dan’s work/life balance spirals dangerously out of control, he’s forced to break out of old habits and to dare to do something he has never had to do before – really care about someone other than himself.
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Flying Blind (2012) Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, Helen McCrory, Kenneth Cranham, Tristan Gemmill, Drama

flying_blind
A stylish mix of erotic love story and political thriller. Helen McCrory stars as a brilliant aerospace engineer who is drawn into a passionate affair with a younger male student while working on a government contract for an aircraft destined for military use. As the contract deadline nears, her doubts about her new lover mount, and she comes to understand the shadowy sides of her professional career and her personal life.
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The Music Lovers (1970) Ken Russell, Richard Chamberlain, Glenda Jackson, Max Adrian, Drama, Biography, Music

The Music Lovers (1970)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is given the Ken Russell treatment in The Music Lovers, which means that there is plenty of music, plenty of passion, plenty of debauchery, and plenty of excess. Tame by Russell’s later standards (Lisztomania), The Music Lovers nevertheless thrives on creative and sexual anguish. Richard Chamberlain plays Tchaikovsky with a bug-eyed intensity as a composer consumed by his art – so consumed that his romantic attachments become bisexual and irrational. He falls in love with Nina (Glenda Jackson), the hysterical trollop he marries with dire consequences. As he explodes emotionally, his public performance of Piano Concerto in B flat minor becomes a cue for flashbacks to a series of discomforting childhood events that suggest incestuous relations with his sister. Back in real time, Tchaikovsky has to deal with Nina’s outbursts while juggling his homosexual urges and his almost hidden desire for Count Anton Chiluvsky (Christopher Gable). The film also details the curious relationship between Tchaikovsky and his rich patroness, the middle-aged widow Madame Nadedja von Meck (Isabella Telezynska), who loves Tchaikovsky deeply, but refuses to meet him – their only communication being through letters, even though he lives on her estate. Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra perform Tchaikovsky’s music.
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Richard III (1955) Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen, Biography, Drama, History, War

Richard III (1955)
Richard’s military skills have helped to put his older brother Edward on the throne of England. But jealousy and resentment cause Richard to seek the crown for himself, and he conceives a lengthy and carefully calculated plan using deception, manipulation, and outright murder to achieve his goal. His plotting soon has tumultuous consequences, both for himself and for England.
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The Four Musketeers (1974) Richard Lester, Michael York, Raquel Welch, Oliver Reed, Action, Adventure

The Four Musketeers (1974)
D’Artagnan has become a Musketeer. Protestants hold La Rochelle, and the Queen loves Buckingham, who’ll soon send ships to support the rebels. Richelieu enlists Rochefort to kidnap Constance, the Queen’s go-between and D’Artagnan’s love. The Cardinal uses the wily, amoral Milady de Winter to distract D’Artagnan. But soon, she is D’Artagnan’s sworn enemy, and she has an unfortunate history with Athos as well. Milady goes to England to dispatch Buckingham; the Musketeers fight the rebels. Milady, with Rochefort’s help, then turns to her personal agenda. Can D’Artagnan save Constance, defeat Rochefort, slip de Winter’s ire, and stay free of the Cardinal? All for one, one for all.
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