Young Winston
After his directing debut, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Richard Attenborough turned his attention to Winston Churchill and a David Lean-style epic blending politics with military battles. We learn…
Henry V: Branagh and the Bard
Photo: Renaissance Films When I was a teenager, my class was treated to a performance of Shakespeare’s ”Hamlet”. It was not a bad production; the young leading actors later became…
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The dragon Smaug flies to Esgaroth to destroy the town, but greater challenges await in the shape of a coming battle for Lonely Mountain. The final part of this trilogy…
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Gandalf the wizard (Ian McKellen) convinces a hobbit, Bilbo (Martin Freeman), to join his party of 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim a treasure that was stolen by a…
A Life Less Ordinary
Robert Lewis (Ewan McGregor) loses his job as a janitor and kidnaps the boss's daughter (Cameron Diaz); two fallen angels (Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo) try to make them fall in…
Chariots of Fire: For God and Honor
Photo: Allied Stars I have taken up running recently and discovered that it is easy to get hooked. It’s tough in the beginning but some days it is as if…
Ratatouille: The Little Chef That Could
Photo: Pixar When creating the concept for Ratatouille, director Brad Bird got help from Thomas Keller, a distinguished chef. He advised the director on what goes on in the busy…
From Hell: The Ripper Unmasked (Again)
Johnny Depp. Photo: 20th Century Fox When I was 16 years old, I wrote a paper on Jack the Ripper. I suspect my teacher worried about my choice of subject,…
Return of the King: At Journey’s End
Elijah Wood. Photo: New Line Cinema We've reached journey’s end. Peter Jackson’s final chapter of his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy won almost everything at the 2004 Academy Awards and…
Fellowship of the Ring: The Beginning
Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Sean Astin. Photo: New Line Cinema Once upon a time, there was a maker of films called Peter Jackson. This rotund, bearded man…