dlmiley

The Critic" stars Sir Ian McKellen in the titular role as the drama critic for a fictional newspaper in 1934 London. McKellen's acerbic reviews and a run-in with the police soon get him sacked by the new owner of the paper (Mark Strong). But McKellen soon develops a plan to return his job at the paper (and take revenge) by blackmailing the beautiful Gemma Atherton who is an actress that Strong's character has designs on. Ben Barnes also stars as Atherton's married lover. I don't want to say more to avoid spoilers. The movie is well acted, particularly, of course, by the great Sir Ian McKellen whose delivery of sardonic (and sarcastic) comments is wonderful. The rest of the cast all do a credible job. The production values and recreation of 1930's London are very good. Direction by Anand Tucker is adequate but not extraordinary. Although the plot strains credulity at times, I would still recommend the film for fans of drama (and McKellen's performance is worth the price of admission!). A solid 7/10.

"Reagan", this biopic stars Dennis Quaid in the titular role. Penelope Ann Miller co-stars as Nancy Reagan. Dennis Quaid tries hard to be Reagan, but his performance is more mimicry rather than acting. Miller's performance appears much too much nice to be the steely Nancy. The rest of the cast including Jon Voight as a fictional Russian analyst are adequate but not revolutionary. And being a movie biopic, it necessarily gives short shrift to a long and varied life. And you know most of the story (although there are few portions that surprised me, so I won't spoil them here). Weakly recommended for those nostalgic for the Reagan era. 6/10.

This is writer/director Steve McQueen's story of the London Blitz in WWII. Saoirse Ronan stars as a "Rosie the Riveter" type of character who sends her mixed-race son (a standout performance by newcomer Elliott Heffernan) to safety aboard one of the evacuation trains for children. Or so she thinks, the boy soon jumps off the train and experiences adventure and hardships worthy of a Dickens story. The production values and recreation of wartime London as well as the effects of the bombing are all first rate. Ronan's performance is very good, but McQueen tries a bit too hard to interject modern day racial perspectives into a WWII story and it becomes preachy as well. In addition, much of the great cast including Harris Dickenson are wasted in minor roles. Therefore, I can only give this one a weak positive rating as a 6/10.