I sit with Deb Hiutton on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest entertainment stories and movies playing in theatres. We talk about how influencers and Onlyfans models dominate elite US artist visas, Spencer Pratt’s run for mayor of Los Angeles, how “Once Battle After Another” broke an awards season record and I review Ralph Fiennes in “The Choral.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChanel to talk about the Lucy Liu heartbreaker “Rosemead,” the historical drama “The Choral” and the family dynamics of “Father Mother Sister Brother” and the feelgood divorce movie “Is This Thing On?”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the Lucy Liu heartbreaker “Rosemead,” the historical drama “The Choral” and the family dynamics of “Father Mother Sister Brother.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “The Choral,” a new historical drama starring Ralph Fiennes, and now playing in theatres, a controversial choirmaster takes the reigns of a Yorkshire choir, whose ranks have been devastated by World War I conscription.
CAST: Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, and Simon Russell Beale. Directed by Nicholas Hytner.
REVIEW: “The Choral” is an old-fashioned, often witty diversion about music’s ability to bridge societal gaps, buoyed by a terrific lead performance by Ralph Fiennes.
Set in 1916 Yorkshire, the story is set against the backdrop of World War I, and the bloody battles of the Western Front. Their ranks depleted by conscription, the Choral Society in (the fictional town of) Ramsden is determined to continue, but first they’ll need new members and a new choirmaster.
As the locals and patients from a nearby military hospital audition for a spot in the choral, the Ramsden elders make a controversial choice by recruiting Dr. Henry Guthrie (Fiennes) as choirmaster. A gay atheist, his worst trait is that he’s also a Teutonophile; a fan of German culture.
When he chooses a piece by Bach for the choir he’s greeted with a brick is thrown through the rehearsal room window with a note calling him a “Hun muck.”
Shifting gears, Guthrie suggests staging Elgar’s oratorio “The Dream of Gerontius” instead. Although usually performed with 200 singers and a full orchestra, Guthrie persists, casting a Salvation Army worker (Amara Okereke) with a beautiful voice and Clyde (Jacob Dudman), a war veteran and talented tenor.
As the war rages, and choir members are called to battle, the choral society overcomes difficulties to provide Ramsden with a much-needed sense of harmony, both musical and societal.
There is much to enjoy in “The Choral.” As an ode to the redemptive power of art to create community and bring people together, it hits the right notes. “A man should hear a little music,” Guthrie says,” read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful that God has implanted in the human soul.”
It’s a lovely message, one at the heart of the film’s story, but when Alan Bennett’s screenplay expands to include repressed emotion, sexual awakenings and class divisions it becomes bloated with underdeveloped ideas.
Luckily, Fiennes, in a restrained but powerful performance, is the glue that holds everything together. His presence at the center of the story acts as a sounding board for the film’s various themes. Through him “The Choral’s” thoughts on community, human connection and repression come into focus, grounding the story with his humanity.
“The Choral” may try and play too many notes thematically, but when it sticks to the power of music, it strikes a chord.
“The Lost King” is not the alternate title for Prince Harry’s recent tell-all book or a “Where’s Waldo” style game. It is the mostly true story of amateur historian Philippa Langley and her quest—some would call it an obsession—to find the remains of the last English king to die in battle, Richard “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” the III.
A lowkey dramedy, now playing in theatres, “The Lost King” stars Sally Hawkins as Langley, a divorced sufferer of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, who, becomes inspired to research the much-maligned monarch’s life and death after taking in a stage production of Shakespeare’s royal tragedy.
She reads everything there is on his life, joins a group of eccentric Ricardians, argues with historians and even converses with a vision of the King himself (Harry Lloyd). She feels he was judged unfairly in life, and is determined to find his remains and give him a proper burial.
In the course of tireless study, she determines that the King’s resting place is in a nondescript carpark in Leicester, once the home of a Franciscan Friary. Through sheer force of will (and considerable fund-raising ability) she manages to convince the naysayers, including the Deputy Registrar of the local university, to OK an excavation.
In September 2012 Langley’s theories were proved correct and the remains of the long-lost king were uncovered. “He was right where I said he’d be,” she says with amazement as the university experts scramble to take credit for her work.
“The Lost King” is a lowkey “National Treasure” style movie. Langley’s quest to rehabilitate King Richard’s dastardly reputation isn’t nearly as action packed as the Nic Cage movies, but her deep dive into history brings with it a determination that makes up for the lack of thrills.
Instead, it’s a personal story about an underdog, who, despite her intelligence, is passed over for promotions at work and treated like an outsider by academia. Langley’s journey to expose the truth about a misunderstood monarch is a lightweight human tale of empathy given heft by a compelling performance from Hawkins. Her work is grounded in reality, even during the magic realism scenes when she turns to King Richard for guidance.
“The Lost King” is the kind of Brit pic that is a little too black-and-white in its portrayal of the condescending bullies who tried to derail the plucky Langley, but as a portrait of a person who refused to be trampled on, who finds her voice, it is a warm and often funny feel-good flick.
