- Susan May
What's on at the movies Nov 17 2016?
Bargain price book from me!
A few bookish items to mention. I have Deadly Messengers on sale for a few days at 99c in USA and 99p in the UK. Sorry to everyone outside those territories but I'm running Kindle Countdowns and Amazon only allows those two.
If you enjoy Audibles then for only an extra $1.99 you can add the Deadly Messengers audible narrated by Anne Johnstonbrown who was Audible female voice of the year in 2013. That is a mad ... $2.98 for an ebook and audible. Say what?
Click on the cover to go to the store or read a preview.
Deadly Messengers sale ends on November 22nd midnight. So what are you waiting for? One buck for ten hours of entertainment.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ✪✪✪✪✪ Opened November 17
Remember the first time you saw Star Wars in 1977? How original and enchanting the characters were? How immersive the world? What a thrill ride the film was because you didn't know where the story was going? And the first Harry Potter film in 1991? Not as surprising because we all had read the books but still fabulous, mesmerizing and oh so entertaining. Prepare yourself for the same experience with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. English director David Yates helms this wild and immersive tale, which is a side story of the wizards and witches world created by J.K. Rowling. Yates directed Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2 so, of course, he brings that wealth of experience to the project. The film was produced and written By J.K. Rowling (her screenwriting debut) and the tale is inspired by her book of the same name written in 2001 under the pseudonym of Newt Scamander (the now lead character of the film played by Eddy Redmayne). The book was mentioned in the novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone or Philosopher's Stone for UK. Yes, the special effects and 1920s New York sets are the big stars but without Eddy Redmayne's portrayal of the shy, magical-creature-loving wizard this film would be so much less. The supporting cast of Colin Farrell, the charming Dan Fogler as the nomaj (muggle) who is dragged into the adventure and reasonably unknown actors such as Katherine Waterston, Samantha Morton and Ezra Miller, all add so much to this that there isn't a moment where you are not under the spell of the story. Four more films have been announced, releasing in two year intervals (darn, I can't wait). The book of the screenplay is published today (18th November). And the J.K. Rowling juggernaut rolls on, deservedly so. An interesting aside is that J.K. Rowlings is a hybrid author. She actually owns the ebook rights to her books in many territories only cutting deals with publishers for paperback releases. Everything goes through her brand Pottermore. This is one smart woman and the reason she is reportedly worth $1.0 billion. The Harry Potter brand is valued at $15 Billion and the films have grossed $7.7 billion. How could anyone have foreseen this future back in the early nineties when the publication rights for the first book went for $4,000. Did I mention this film is enchanting. I'm seeing it again as soon as possible.
Interesting facts:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was made on a budget of $180 million, with an additional $150 million spent on marketing. Worldwide, the film is expected to earn around $160–205 million on its opening weekend from around 64 markets.
Principal photography on the film commenced on 17 August 2015, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden. After two months, the production moved to St George's Hall in Liverpool, which was transformed into 1920s New York. Filming concluded on 28 January 2016.
Initially, in October 2014, the studio announced the film would be the start of a trilogy.
Film Blurb
The magic of Harry Potter lives on in this Warner Bros. spin-off penned by {J.K. Rowling}, and intended as the first chapter in a whole new fantasy film franchise. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
I, Daniel Blake ✪✪✪✪ Opens November 17
A man who is on sick leave while he recovers from a heart attack, who learns the difficulty of navigating the English (and probably most first world countries') welfare system, with all its bureaucracy laid bare, does not sound like a riveting film.
Don't be fooled. This is like the 2014 Oscar winning film Whiplash; a simple human challenge studied in glorious and perceptive detail. You will love this film and cry hopelessly at the end.
Dave Johns', who plays Daniel Blake, only previous acting role has been as a comedian. That is surprising considering how well he portrays a man who sees clearly the absurdity in rules for rules sake. Not surprising then is the humor and poignancy he infuses into Daniel Blake. Hayley Squires, another newcomer, who plays the single mum also caught up in the system, and who Daniel befriends, is also quite incredible despite being a newcomer.
This is a quality independent film from Ken Loach who mostly chooses social commentary stories to tell and does a darn good job of it.
Film Blurb
Daniel Blake (59) has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie's only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn't know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man's land, caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of 'striver and skiver' in modern day Britain.
I hope you are enjoying my new website. You can subscribe now and receive an alert whenever there is a new post. So you never need to miss out on the weekly film reviews or any news.
If you've arrived here as a fan of my stories, please join my Wonderful Readers' Club.
