Benedict Cumberbatch – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF HENRY SUGAR – Review by Susan Granger

October 16, 2023October 26, 2023 Susan Granger Ben Kingsley, Benedict Cumberbatch, dev patel, netflix, ralph fiennes, Richard Ayoade, Roald Dahl, The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson

Netflix has quietly launched Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar and three additional Raoul Dahl short stories. This whimsical cinematic anthology is the creation of Wes Anderson, who became intrigued by the emotional truths in Roald Dahl’s work after adapting his novel into the Oscar-nominated, stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Each is a fanciful fable drawn from the extensive ‘idea’ files that eccentric, cardigan-clad, curmudgeonly storyteller Dahl (Ralph Fiennes) kept in Gipsy House, his isolated ‘writing hut’ adjacent to his home in Buckinghamshire, England. Stumped on how to translate Dahl’s jottings to the screen, Anderson decided to have the four principal actors (Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade), playing various characters, narrate the author’s adroit descriptions and their actions directly into the camera at a rapid pace with deadpan directness.

Interviews

Casting Director Nina Gold on Intuition and Happy Accidents – Emma Badame interviews

May 23, 2023May 28, 2023 Emma Badame Benedict Cumberbatch, casting directors, chernobyl, Game of thrones, jane campion, mike leigh, nina gold, olivia coleman, sally hawkins, star wars, the crown

British Casting Director Nina Gold, a veteran of more than three decades in the industry, began her impressive career casting extras in rock music videos and before long found herself working alongside her countryman, auteur Mike Leigh. From there she’s gone on to collaborate with award-winning filmmakers like Jane Campion (Bright Star and The Power of the Dog), Steven Spielberg (The BFG), and Sam Mendes (1917 and Empire of Light). Her full filmography reads like a “best of”, with the casts of audience and critical favourites like Bad Sisters, Game of Thrones and Chernobyl down to her. Her most recent project, Firebrand, just premiered in competition at Cannes 2023.

Reviews

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS -Review by T.J. Callahan

May 5, 2022May 6, 2022 T. J. Callahan Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, elizabeth olsen, IMAX, marvel comic universe, Sam Raimi

Benedict Cumberbatch left his Montana ranch, tossing away his Power of the Dog, to rekindle his super powers as Stephen Strange in part of Phase 4 and the 28th film in the Marvel Comic Universe. It’s the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange and picks up a few months after the events of last year’s Spider-Man No Way Home.

Reviews

THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN – Review by Susan Granger

February 1, 2022February 3, 2022 Susan Granger Benedict Cumberbatch, biopics, claire foy, Louis Wain, Olivia Colman, Suzie Davies, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, Will Sharpe

While Academy voters are weighing Oscar votes for his performance in The Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch made another 2021 film that somehow slid under the radar. Narrated by Olivia Colman, this story revolves around British artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) who became famous for his brightly colored drawings of anthropomorphized cats. He was also an eccentric who believed electricity could transform everyday life.

Reviews

SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME – Review by Susan Granger

January 3, 2022January 9, 2022 Susan Granger amy pascal, Benedict Cumberbatch, jk simmons, marisa tomei, mcu, spiderman no way home, Tom Holland, zendaya

Spidey swings again! The new sequel Spiderman: No Way Home topped $600 million, becoming the biggest hit in Sony Pictures history and ranking as one of the 10 top-grossing domestic hits of all time. In this third go-round as the teenage web-slinger, Tom Holland’s likable Peter Parker loses his anonymity when malevolent muckraker J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) reveals his identity as a Queens, New York, high school student.

Movie of the Week Reviews

MOVIE OF THE WEEK December 3, 2021: THE POWER OF THE DOG

November 27, 2021December 15, 2021 Jennifer Merin Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Marquis, jane campion, jennifer merin, jesse plemons, kirsten dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, Marilyn Ferdinand., motw, nell minow, netflix, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, the power of the dog. movie of the week

It has been 12 years since film titan Jane Campion released a feature film. Now, with The Power of the Dog, the New Zealand director shows she has lost not a step. Her adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 Western novel offers the vivid landscapes and hothouse emotions reminiscent of the film that put her on the world map, The Piano (1993). A piano even serves as an important plot point.

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT December 2021: Ari Wegner, Cinematographer, THE POWER OF THE DOG and ZOLA

November 27, 2021November 29, 2021 Karen Peterson ari wegner, australian cinematographer, Benedict Cumberbatch, florence pugh, jane campion, Janicza Bravo, jesse plemons, kirsten dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, lady macbeth, night shift, Riley Keough, spotlight, Taylour Paige, the power of the dog, The True History of the Kelly Gang, zola

While she won’t speculate on her own awards prospects, Ari Wegner recently told me how happy she is to see the way women are now being more welcomed in the field of cinematography. She hopes this will continue to increase as female DPs start to see the recognition that has eluded them for so long. She discusses both the art and science of filmmaking with such a degree of passion and poetry, that her love for the medium is contagious. She is a leader, a champion, and a gifted artist, giving the world not only beautiful images, but a sense of hope and fascination too.

Reviews

THE POWER OF THE DOG – Review by Sherin Nicole

November 23, 2021November 25, 2021 Sherin Nicole Benedict Cumberbatch, jane campion, jesse plemons, kirsten dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, motw, netflix, the power of the dog. movie of the week

You’ll keep waiting for the axe to fall…and it doesn’t…and it doesn’t…and the tension builds to the bursting point. Perfectly benign moments take on sinister hues in The Power of the Dog, you know something is deadly wrong, tensions hang over your head, and when the axe finally falls it’s a hell of a payoff.

Reviews

THE POWER OF THE DOG – Review by Wendy Ide

November 20, 2021December 18, 2021 Wendy Ide Benedict Cumberbatch, jane campion, jesse plemons, kirsten dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, motw, netflix, the power of the dog. movie of the week

Jane Campion takes a tactile approach to exploring her characters. But in this milieu, not given to gentleness and intimacy, a glimpse of hands working with strips of woven cowhide can take on a transgressive charge.

Reviews

THE POWER OF THE DOG – Review by Susan Granger

November 19, 2021November 21, 2021 Susan Granger Benedict Cumberbatch, jane campion, jesse plemons, kirsten dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, netflix, the power of the dog

Utilizing myriad metaphors, writer/director Jane Campion (Oscar-winner for 1993’s The Piano) subtly crafts a kinky, compelling thriller, working with cinematographer Ari Wegner, who transforms New Zealand’s barren South Island into stark, sparsely populated Montana in 1925. Tt’s visually stunning with a spine-chilling score by Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood.

← Previous