Running Time: 99 mins Directed By: Simon Curtis Starring: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Dougray Scott, Dominic Cooper, Julia Ormond Screenplay: Adrian Hodges
UK Release Date: 25th November 20111 - UK
Quick Plot: In 1956, the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe arrives in the UK to shoot The Prince And The Showgirl, directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. A young production assistant, Colin Clark, gets a life changing week when he becomes a close friend of Miss Monroe.
Review: For me, I was always interested in seeing My Week With Marilyn as I am a huge fan of Michelle Williams and the lady herself, Marilyn Monroe. I can't say I've seen enough Monroe films for my liking, but I've seen enough to know what a talent and inspiration she was and still is.
Based upon two memoirs by Colin Clark, the film centres around Monroe's insecurities behind the camera and her relationships during 1956. Sir Larry soon realises that asking Marilyn Monroe to star in his film was a mistake after she is constantly late on set, incredibly dependent on her acting coach and highly prone to sick days. As expected, Branagh nails his performances as Sir Laurence Olivier who at first hopes to woo the gorgeous showgirl but instead is aggravated by her and her acting coach. With a few outbursts both funny ('but why can't you get here on time for the love of fuck!') and not so much, he gives a remarkable performance and is sure to wrap up a nomination for two in a few months time.
Without the press that circulated films back in the 50s compared to today, it's not fully certain what is and what isn't true about Marilyn Monroe's career and life style, so for some, My Week With Marilyn is heartbreaking discovery about one of the most famous actresses ever. Absolutely perfect casting was done for Williams as Monroe because not only does she look the part, she plays is beautifully. By going all out into perfecting each character inside the woman, Williams successfully wins over the audiences in the film and us with the glamorous, passionate actress and the lonely, frightened little girl Marilyn was. Michelle Williams obviously set out to faithfully portray the role but she also added her own charm Monroe. Meanwhile, Eddie Redmayne isn't necessarily a stand out performance in My Week With Marilyn, but he should not be forgotten as he has come a long way for his role Colin Clark. Clark's innocence begins to disappear when he falls in love with the show girl, but of course, the naivety is still there and Redmayne's portrayal of Clark is magnificent.Other British talents such as Dench, Ormond and an American Cooper give as great a job as always as well as Watson's small, pretty appearance in a few scenes.
One of the memoirs cleverly titled 'The prince, the showgirl and me' is proof alone that the relationship between Clark and Monroe was something similar to a fairytale. It's a tragic love story. It's a true account but it's something a lot of films storyline are based on. Unknown man/lady...big Hollywood actor/actress and a love affair. There are no sex scenes, but the passion shown between Monroe and Clark's affair is enough for the film to be a believable, true, love story. Williams and Redmayne's chemistry helps push the beauty of this relationship onto the screen and in the end it falls into a heartbreak.
It's not spectacular and nothing major happens as most things are either well known or seen coming but the performances are all extremely charming and keep you interested. It's definitely a film for critics and film lovers and it's going to have a lot of award nominations in the next few months. No doubt for Branagh and Williams.
Stunning performances which draw you into a very complicated yet important part of Marilyn Monroe's life and career. 3.5/5
Running Time: 124 mins Directed By: Joe Johnston Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan Screenplay: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely UK Release Date: 29th July
Quick Plot: It's the birth of the first Avenger in 1942 World War II America. Small and weedy Steve Rogers is declined as being unfit for the US army but when Rogers undergoes a transformation for a top secret project to become a new brand of super-soldiers he gains powers he'd only dreamed of. Evil Red Skull leads the HYDRA organisation, threatens to take over America with his scientific experiments and who better to stop him than Captain America?
Review:THE AVENGERS..two small words that mean a great deal to little fan girl me, every single Marvel fan and the majority of all film fans. If you haven't heard anything about it yet then you've got to keep up, especially if you're a film fan. For newbies, The Avengers film is due for release next year and involves a few superheroes from the Marvel universe, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor etc. This isn't a post about The Avengers you'll have to research the rest if you really don't know. Thor was fantastic and one of the best films I have seen this year, it really came out of nowhere considering the reception it received!X-Men: First Class I enjoyed a lot too, but probably more because of my fangirling. Instead Thor was a whole lot more entertaining, powerful and got Marvel back onto top form for their films. Captain America The First Avenger is obviously a different film that Thor and shouldn't be compared but as it stands Captain America is awfully long, making some scenes drag and although the acting, cinematography, story is great the film isn't exactly awesomely epic.
I remember when the film was announced. I wasn't excited until Chris Evans was attached and I probably got more excited after being within 3 metres of him last year. Last August, when I went to the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World premiere I saw Edgar Wright mention online that Evans was to attend because I had my doubts he'd be able to make it as Captain America was in production. He showed up and everyone screamed, even better his friend (possibly publicist) had a top with the Captain America/America flag on it. Sadly Chris didn't sign anything near where I was or take pictures but I saw him in the flesh and that is enough for me. Oh boy, this is irrelevant. I'll post a picture at the end of this review.Back to the film. I remember seeing pictures from the set and thought it looked fair but it was the first trailer that got me interested in the film. Then of course The Avengers announcement at last year's Comic-con helped a little too. Either way I was adamant to see this film. It starts off with a great and indulgent first scene which to all Marvel fans will know it links to the last scene. Then after the eye catcher, the film moves to 1942 with an irritatingly long introductory scene which can't be blamed on the acting, instead the script. It's not a horrible script at all, the dialogue is good and it helps makes the characters likable, relatable and developed though I found the first half of the film extremely dull compared to the last half. Although entertaining, somewhat to understand the film as a whole and some great scenes for us to get a look into the protagonist's life and his transformation, it's still a little spiritless. The war theme is absolutely fantastic and works so well, although extremely unconvincing (fighting a evil Red Skull obviously isn't accurate to the War, but a few other factors fault it). But Captain America is a superhero film so I definitely think Joe Johnston and the team ought to have focused more on the superhero side than the War although the action isn't bad at all, in fact entertaining and adequate. Steve Rogers played by the ever so perfect Chris Evans is now one of my most liked Marvel film protagonists. His story, though not as mighty as Thor, is emotional and impassioned, completely believable and relatable. When he's declined to be in the army, you know he's heartbroken and you feel for him, Evans gets your attention and you feel sorry for him. After the transformation, well..as a girl I probably enjoyed the transformation a little more than I should have but again it's emotional. He's got it, he can now help the world even more because that's what he wants. I'm a sentimental person and I found the message, especially between scientist Erskine and Rogers heartwarming and just right on the level of emotion for the film. Just after the transformation when Rogers makes his first heroic deed, you realise the action is about to begin for the film. I can think of no one more perfect to be Captain America at all. Though now of course Chris Evans has the responsibility of being both the Human Torch and Captain America for fans, I think he is the most perfect person to be them both. Evans is a great actor as it is, but he deserves a lot of recognition for his work as both small, weak Steve Rogers and bold, muscular Captain America. It's even as if he is playing Steve Rogers but then Chris Evans IS Captain America. It works that perfectly. A little after him being Captain America there is some really unnecessary scene that is meant to be funny but personally I could have done without it. It focuses on creating the 40s theme but I found it long winded. Later though is probably my favourite scene from the film, it's a quick shot snap of a scene- blink and you'll miss it- but when Steve Rogers gets into his gear, shield included, the theme of it is perfected and I'm going to be honest..I had shivers.
Peggy Carter by Hayley Atwell is sweet and likable, she's fierce and justified. Her and Rogers have their cute moments though their combine storyline is cliché, her character is developed enough that she's not typical or predictable. Dominic Cooper's Howard Stark has a small role but it's clear that Cooper has done his research into the character but also made Howard Stark his own. Stanley Tucci continues to prove he can play a wide range of characters, though his role is short it's great a meaningful similarly with Sebastian Stan and Roger's best friend. Hugo Weaving does what comes naturally to him and gives a great performance of Red Skull, purely evil and a top class villain.
The cast is utterly brilliant and I can't praise Chris Evan's as Captain America enough. But other than that, the film certainly isn't the best it could have been. Instead of the long beginning, the end could have maybe been longer with more screen time for Captain America showing off his agility and combat. But it's enjoyable nonetheless. Like I previously said, nothing on Thor but Captain America: The First Avenger is a great Marvel film. There have definitely been worse but it's not one of the greats. All I hope for is Steve Rogers story is handled cautiously in The Avengers with a sensitive hold on the fact that the guy has been stuck in time for a while. All great Marvel things as per, Stan Lee has a really great cameo which I think is probably up in his best ones and the film has it's funny parts, maybe not as humorous as most marvel films but it's witty enough.
3.5 / 5
Captain America: The First Avenger first trailer
Here are the pictures I got of the beautiful Chris Evans at last years Scott Pilgrim vs. The World european premiere.
