matt smith – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: Creating Mythic Characters – Jennifer Merin interviews

June 13, 2024June 17, 2024 Jennifer Merin Bethany Antonia, emma d'arcy, eve best, fabien frankel, hbo max, House of the Dragon, matt smith, Ryan Condal, Steve Toussaint, tom glynn-carney, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

HBO Max’s series House of The Dragon creates its own fantastic universe around a cast of mythic characters who weave themselves into the fabric of an immensely complicated and twisting history. The series doesn’t shoot in sequence, so Keeping track of where they are in the tale and in their personal character arcs must be a daunting task for the actors. At a recent press conference, I had the opportunity to ask them about the choices they’ve made to help them with their journey.

Reviews

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON – Review by Susan Granger

August 23, 2022August 27, 2022 Susan Granger hbo, House of the Dragon, matt smith, Miguel Sapochnik, Milly Alcock, Rhys Ifans, Ryan Condai

So many people wanted to see HBO’s debut of House of the Dragon that they crashed the streaming service! Set in Westeros nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, this pulpy, 10-episode prequel is based on George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood – both of which it offers in abundance. The plot revolves around an earlier civil war for the Iron Throne, waged largely among various factions of the silver-haired, incestuous Targaryan dynasty, ancestors of Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryan, played by Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones. It’s all about family rivalry.

Reviews

MORBIUS – Review by Susan Granger

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 Susan Granger Jared Leto, marvel comic universe, matt smith, Morbius, vampire

Just how bad is the Marvel origin story of Dr. Michael Morbius, the conflicted scientist with a rare blood disorder who mixes his plasma with that of vampire bats? Pretty bad… Michael (Jared Leto) and his best friend Milo (Matt Smith) share this mysterious illness which has left them debilitated, forced to walk with canes. Determined to find a cure, Mobius takes off for Cerro de la Muerte in the misty mountains of Costa Rica, where thousands of vampire bats dwell. Flimsily scripted by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the formulaic saga is directed by Daniel Espinosa, who stages overly shadowy action sequences.

Reviews

MORBIUS – Review by T. J. Callahan

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 T. J. Callahan Jared Leto, marvel comic universe, matt smith, Morbius, vampire

Jared Leto is in disguise again. He’s been The Joker and Paolo Gucci and now he’s part of the Marvel Comic Universe as Morbius — Dr. Michael Morbius, that is — a biochemist who is on a mission to cure a rare blood disorder with which he, himself, is afflicted. He develops a serum that’s a mix of human and bat DNA that looks like it’s going to be a miracle cure, but there’s one really noticeable side effect.

Reviews

OFFICIAL SECRETS – Review by Susan Granger

September 23, 2019September 28, 2019 Susan Granger 0 Comments katherine gun, kiera knightly, martin bright, matt smith, official secrets

While South African writer/director Gavin Hood is best known for “X-Men Origins” and “Wolverine,” he relishes ethical dilemmas like “Eye in the Sky” about drone strikes and this story of a government official who decides that the public’s right to know about deception is worth breaking the Official Secrets Act.

Reviews

OFFICIAL SECRETS – Review by Laura Emerick

August 30, 2019August 30, 2019 Laura Emerick 0 Comments Gavin Hood, katherine gun, Keira Knightley, martin bright, matt smith, official secrets

In 2003, while the American media batted around the possibility of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and some outlets even helped to advance the Bush administration’s march to war, Britain faced its own press-related crisis that didn’t receive much coverage outside the United Kingdom.

Reviews

OFFICIAL SECRETS – Review by Martha K Baker

August 26, 2019August 30, 2019 Martha K. Baker (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments Gavin Hood, katherine gun, kiera knightly, martin bright, matt smith, official secrets

With a mostly crackerjack cast and an important recent history story to tell, Official Secrets should be better. Seeing it matters, for it speaks about lies, governments, wars based on lies, and a whistleblower with integrity. It must be watched with one eye on its significance, another on its weakness.

Reviews

OFFICIAL SECRETS – Review by Jennifer Merin

June 22, 2019 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments Cinema Citizen, Gavin Hood, katherine gun, kiera knightly, matt smith, official secrets, truth-based narratives

If you like spy scenarios and courtroom dramas, and are interested in sorting out truthful reporting from fake news, Official Secrets, a truth-based narrative about English security whistleblower Katherine Gun, will surely satisfy. It’s entertaining and informative, and its release is quite timely.

Movie of the Week Reviews

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 10, 2019: Mary Harron’s CHARLIE SAYS

May 5, 2019July 2, 2019 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, charles manson, charlie says, guinevere turner, hannah murray, liz whittemore, loren king, marianne rendon, Marilyn Ferdinand., marina antunes, mary Harron, maryann johanson, matt smith, Merritt Wever, motw, movieof the week, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, shiela roberts, sosie bacon

Bringing a female gaze to one of the 20th century’s most notorious criminals and the influence he exerted over his zealous followers Mary Harron’s Charlie Says is a compelling look at the power of community and the need to belong. By focusing her film on the women around Charles Manson, rather than directly on Manson himself, Harron shows us how that need can lead to delusion, denial, and destruction.

Reviews

CHARLIE SAYS – Review by Loren King

May 1, 2019July 2, 2019 Loren King 0 Comments charles manson, charlie says, hannah murray, marianne rendon, mary Harron, matt smith, Merritt Wever, morw, Movie of the Week, sharon tate, sosie bacon, the family

Two new feature films mark the 50th anniversary of the still- disturbing, endlessly fascinating Tate/LaBianca murders that shook the tony enclaves of Los Angeles to the core in August, 1969. Quentin Tarantino’s star studded Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will get more attention. Mary Harron’s Charlie Says, with its focus on the women in Charles Manson’s “family” who committed the heinous murders, may be the more interesting.

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