LGBT films are becoming more widely accepted among audiences

Hello readers,

Sorry that this is my first post in many weeks. I was on holiday at Easter so I didn’t go to the cinema that much and I have been very busy with finals at university, but I have now finished for the summer.

So let’s begin with a question:

Why are LGBT films becoming more widely accepted among audiences?

Recently, Hollywood and other film industries have been green lighting more LGBT themed films for wider releases. Audiences have wanted them for decades and whilst there have been some great LGBT films in recent years such as Blue is the Warmest Colour, Brokeback Mountain, I feel that in the last couple of years, more films and TV shows have been featuring LGBT characters and I want to explore why.

As Hollywood is the biggest and most widely broadcast film industry, I thought I would start there. In the USA, homosexuality was legalised in 2003 in all 50 states but this did not spark a sudden movement in the big production companies such as Paramount and Universal.

What helped kick-start changes was the legalisation of gay marriage in 2015. Personally, I think that this is what drove the movement forward in the American Film Industry.

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Legalisation of gay marriage in 2015, USA

There is a higher demand for films featuring these themes as worldwide acceptance is becoming more wide spread. Here are some popular LGBT films:

Carol (2015)

A film about the love between an older and a younger woman in the 1950s. It’s set in Manhattan, New York and as it was illegal for anyone to be gay, the two have a complicated relationship. The film received many awards nominations at the Oscars (six), the Golden Globes (five) and the BAFTAs (nine). It also competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Cate Blanchett, who is the President of the Jury for Cannes 2018 starred and her love interest was Rooney Mara, both accomplished actresses. It has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and other glowing reviews. The film did moderately well at the box office also grossing $12.7 million domestically and $27.6 million worldwide. I think this film shows that audiences want LGBT films and will honour them with awards and great reviews.

Grandma (2015)

This film doesn’t have LGBT issues at its core but instead focuses on the relationship between a teenager and her lesbian grandmother. The girl is pregnant and needs money for an abortion. Her grandma, still grieving the death of her partner, helps her do this. Other relationships portrayed are between the girl and the father of her child, the grandmother and a man she almost married and the girl’s mother. This sweet film portrays being gay as a normal part of life. It was set in modern day so there were no secret relationships here. I have seen this film and really enjoyed it. The titular ‘Grandma’ is played by Lily Tomlin who is amazing in the role.

There have also been some other great LGBT films since then. One of my personal favourites from last year was Call Me By Your Name. I have talked about it many times on this blog so if you have read my other posts, you know of my love for the film.

It is a beautiful tale of two guys, Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet. Even though it only made $16 million in the US Box Office, it had four Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Some audiences feel like it was robbed of nominations for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor and it only won Best Adapted Screenplay – James Ivory, who is, in fact, gay. The fact that this film was even nominated for four Oscars is a step in the right direction for Hollywood becoming more accepting of LGBT themes.

A Fantastic Woman (2017)

The film featuring a trans lead which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was a step towards trans equality. Hollywood has become more accepting of homosexuality in recent times but trans equality is only just becoming accepted.

Moonlight (2016)

The tale of two black gay men living in LA which won Best Picture was really the first of its kind. It was a beautifully made film and explored many issues with drug abuse, adolescent violence and grief. It also won two other Oscars and was nominated for eight in total.

Recently I saw Love, Simon which inspired this post as it is the first big studio film with a main character who is gay.

This film played like a typical coming-of-age high school film but with a gay character leading it. It had all the typical plot points of a high school film but with the character of Simon falling for an anonymous guy instead of a girl.

TV series are also becoming more diverse, two of my favourites in particular are listed below:

Brooklyn 99

This comedy show about a Brooklyn cop precinct has a very diverse cast, one of the best on TV today. It features a black gay man as the captain, two Latina detectives, one now a sergeant, another is bi and another black sergeant. There are straight white males and one female but the diversity of this show is wonderful. The cast are all great in their roles and it is one of my favourite shows.

Sense8

This show about 8  people from around the world being telepathically connected features a trans character, a gay Latino guy, a black guy, a black lesbian and two Asian women. The cast are also very good in their roles. The show also features two straight white guys and one straight white woman. It is very good and I would highly recommend a watch. It does feature a lot of nudity though.

I hope you enjoyed this post and my first foray into a different kind of post. I will carry on doing film reviews but I also want to write about topics that matter to me like LGBT rights.

I will be posting an Infinity War review in a couple of weeks as I want to talk spoilers!

Happy Watching,

Robyn 🙂

Oscar Winner Reviews

Hello readers,

Apologies for not posting in so long, I was preoccupied with university and other commitments but I’m back and in this post I am going to review the Oscar winning films of 2018 that I have seen.

Best PictureThe Shape of Water

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This film by Guillermo Del Toro is a fantasy adventure set in the 1960s in Baltimore, US. It stars a mute women who cleans at a top secret government facility every night. They bring in a new asset, a humanoid fish creature that she becomes friendly with.

The film stars Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) as the mute cleaner Elisa, Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) plays her chatty and loyal fellow cleaner and friend Zelda, Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) plays Elisa’s neighbour who is an artist and her best friend, Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals) plays the twisted man in charge and Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) plays a scientist who appears to be on Elisa’s side.

The beautiful cinematography, soundtrack and acting in this film are what won it Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Personally, I think Call Me By Your Name or The Post should have won but The Shape of Water still deserved this win. 4/5.

Best Actor – Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour

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Gary Oldman’s performance as Sir Winston Churchill at the beginning of his reign as British Prime Minister during the Second World War was a well deserved recipient of this award. The makeup department did a great job making him look like Churchill but it was Oldman’s mannerisms, voice, timing and overall ability that ultimately won him this Oscar.

Personally I think Timothée Chalamet for his role as Elio in Call Me Your Name was a potential winner as was Daniel Day-Lewis for his role in Phantom Thread. I have not seen Get Out which I have read is also deserving of every Oscar it was nominated for or Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Best Actress – Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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Frances McDormand’s performance was the best of this film. Her face held so many expressions that you could always tell her mood or what she was thinking even though she didn’t vocalise it. The content of this film is hard to think about but is very much in our lives. McDormand’s reactions to the other character’s opinions on what happened to her daughter also show her emotions and she continues to fight for justice.

Personally I think this award could have gone to any of the other nominees: Sally Hawkins for The Shape of Water, Meryl Streep for The Post, Margot Robbie for I, Tonya or Saoirse Ronan for Lady Bird. I have not seen Lady Bird yet but I have heard many good things about the film, directed by Greta Gerwig. However, Frances McDormand did deserve to win.

Best Supporting Actor – Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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Sam Rockwell’s performance as a racist cop who later redeems himself was award worthy. I am a fan of Rockwell’s and he played this character with enough heart to make the audience sympathise with him even though some of the lines he says are very offensive. His care for his mother and McDormand’s character also shows his softer side.

Personally  I think Woody Harrelson from Three Billboards as well or Richard Jenkins from The Shape of Water also gave winning performances. Willem Dafoe from The Florida Project was good but not of the same level and I have not seen All the Money in the World so I cannot comment on Christopher Plummer’s performance.

Best Supporting Actress – Allison Janney for I, Tonya

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Allison Janney’s performance as Lavona Harding, Tonya’s abusive, pushy mother was definitely deserving of this award. Her blunt, perfectly timed delivery of her lines and her random acts of violence as Tonya’s mother really gave Lavona life. Tonya’s mother was a big influence on her success and character and she would not have had success without her.

Personally, I think Allison Janney was the best in her category but Octavia Spencer’s performance was also brilliant as Zelda in The Shape of Water and Lesley Manville in Phantom Thread was also perfection. I have not seen Lady Bird or Mudbound.

Best Writing Adapted Screenplay – James Ivory for Call Me By Your Name

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As you may have gathered, Call Me By Your Name is one of my favourite Oscar nominated films this year so I was really pleased that it won this award. The script of the film was one element that made Call Me Your Name a standout for me. The acting, cinematography and music was just as brilliant but the writing definitely made this film Oscar worthy. Elio and Oliver’s gradual move from dislike to love was portrayed really well by Ivory as was what many people feel is the best scene of the film between Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and his father (Michael Stuhlbarg). The monologue Stuhlbarg delivers was inspiring to many audiences around the world.

Personally, I think Call Me Your Name deserved this win but Molly’s Game and Logan were also brilliantly written and deserved greater recognition this year. I have not seen The Disaster Artist or Mudbound but have heard they were noteworthy.

Best Director – Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water

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Guillermo Del Toro did the directing, writing and producing for the Shape of Water, it was his vision. The actors in the film responded well to his direction and portrayed his vision accurately. I could tell it was a Guillermo Del Toro film because of the fantasy feeling and the mythical creature. Del Toro has worked hard in the industry for many years but this is his first Oscar. His other films have been in Spanish but this film was out of his comfort zone, dealing with communism in 1960s America and for that departure from his normal genre, he deserves this award.

I think The Shape of Water was the best in this category out of the two I have seen. Paul Thomas Anderson has also been in the industry for many years but yet to win an Academy Award. I have heard that Jordan Peele, Christopher Nolan and Great Gerwig were also all deserving.

Best Original Music Score – Alexandre Desplat for The Shape of Water

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The score for The Shape of Water definitely helped emphasise the plot and added to the whole look and feel of the film. A soundtrack can really make or break a film and this one definitely helped it win Best Picture. Even though the film was set in Baltimore in the 1960s, the score along with the cinematography and acting helped transport you to a fantasy world in certain scenes.

The scores for Phantom Thread and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri were also a great match for their films. I think The Shape of Water did deserve this win but I have not seen Dunkirk or Star Wars: The Last Jedi so I can’t be sure.

Best Original Song – Kristen Anderson – Lopez, Robert Lopez for Remember Me from Coco

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This song was a worthy winner and was pinnacle to the plot of Coco. It was sung as a lullaby and a more upbeat version at different points and both are beautiful. It is about remembering someone even after they have died or moved away. In Coco, the performance of this song by Miguel and Hector voiced by Anthony Gonzalez and Gael García Bernal respectively was a highlight of the film. Other notable songs from the soundtrack are Un Poco Loco and The World Es Mi Familia.

Personally I love the song ‘This is Me’ and the rest of the soundtrack from the Greatest Showman and the song ‘Mystery of Love’ from Call Me By Your Name was also beautiful but Remember Me was very well deserving and was an important for the Latino American community. I have not seen Mudbound or Marshall so I do not know how the songs nominated fit into the films.

Best Animated Feature Film – Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson for Coco

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Coco was a beautiful animated film. The attention to detail was crazy amazing especially in the afterlife. Disney/Pixar films have been getting better and better in recent years and Coco is definitely my favourite for a while. All the characters fit well into the story and even though there were quite a few, none of them were overshadowed. Miguel the main character, a 12 year old boy who wants to be a musician despite his family’s history of no music, was a great character. Through his voice (Anthony Gonzalez) you could hear all his emotions. The film is centred around the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and the songs on the soundtrack all have a Mexican feeling and some are in Spanish. I think this film is really important for Hollywood in the US’ current political climate and the films itself was just amazing.

I have not seen any of the other nominees but Coco was a stand out film of the year and not just in the animated film category. Any child or adult would love this film.

Best Cinematography – Roger Deakins for Blade Runner 2049

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While I did enjoy Blade Runner 2049 as a whole as much as others have, the cinematography was beautiful for this film. Some of it was Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) which some people in the cinematography community feel should not win but the other non-CGI parts were also brilliantly filmed. Roger Deakins himself has been in the business since the 1970s and this is only his first Oscar win despite working on great films such as Sid and Nancy, Fargo, A Beautiful Mind, and Sicario.  His win was well deserved and I am pleased that his talent has finally been recognised by the Academy.

The cinematography of The Shape of Water was one of the best parts of the film for me so I would not have minded if this film won and Darkest Hour also had award-deserving cinematography. Again I have not seen Dunkirk or Mudbound so I couldn’t possibly comment, although I have heard that Dunkirk is a cinematic masterpiece.

Best Visual Effects – John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer for Blade Runner 2049 

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The visual effects of Blade Runner 2049 were amazing and next level and even though I did not enjoy the plot so much, it did look stunning. The sunrises and sunsets were particularly wonderful and the colour palettes of orange and reds but also greens and blues was well thought out. I do not know much about visual effects but the film looked visually other worldly and futuristic which was the idea.

Personally, I think Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had better visual effects and CGI and considering two major characters are CGI, I think this film should have won but Blade Runner 2049 was a worthy winner. I have not seen the other nominees.

Best Costume Design – Mark Bridges for Phantom Thread

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The costumes for this film was one of the best parts. The beautiful couture dresses that Reynolds creates from scratch are very important in the film and are breathtaking to look at. Mark Bridges was very deserving of this award. I would have loved to have worn a Woodcock dress.

Darkest Hour also had some wonderful period costumes, especially the women in Churchill’s office and Churchill (Oldman) himself. The Shape of Water also had some very American outfits but I wouldn’t have nominated them for this award. The outfits in Victoria and Abdul were also wonderful and fit for a queen like Victoria. I would have given the award to either Phantom Thread or Victoria and Abdul. I have not seen Beauty and the Beast but from photos the costumes do look very lovely.

Best Production Design – Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau for The Shape of Water

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The production design of The Shape of Water was also amazing and transported you to the world of the film. Elisa and Giles’ apartments were particularly well done as were Giles’ drawings, the diner and the top secret government facility. The fact that Elisa lived above a cinema was a lovely added touch.

I think the Shape of Water was very deserving of this award. Blade Runner 2049 and Darkest Hour also had great sets, Darkest Hour particularly had some great 40s details. The Shape of Water did have the best production design in my opinion but I haven’t seen Beauty and the Beast or Dunkirk.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick for Darkest Hour

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The makeup and hair styling for Gary Oldman to transform him into Winston Churchill was definitely award worthy. Whilst watching the film I had to constantly remind myself that it was Gary Oldman and not Winston Churchill. It was a real accomplishment in prosthetic makeup and hair styling.

Victoria and Abdul also was a worthy contender as Judi Dench looked much older than she is and like a long-reigning queen. I have not seen Wonder but from pictures of the prosthetic makeup used on Jacob Tremblay who plays the main character Auggie (August), it was also worthy of this award.

And that’s all folks!

This review contains all my own opinions and I have only reviewed the films I have seen. Another reason why this post was delayed is because I only saw the Shape of Water a few days ago and as it won four Academy Awards, I wanted to review it.

Anyway thank you for reading,

Happy Watching

Robyn 🙂

Review: The Post and Oscar Nominations

Hello readers,

I recently saw The Post starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep so I am going to write my review and talk a bit about the context of the film and what it means in today’s climate in the USA. Also I am going to share my opinions on some of the Oscar nominations.

The Post (2017)

The Post is set in 1971 and tells the story of the Washington Post trying to print the Pentagon Papers – around 7,000 pages of government secrets about the relations between the United States and Vietnam for over 20 years. The information was kept quiet by the government to protect themselves until Dan Ellsberg, who worked for the Department of Defence, leaked the papers to the New York Times. The paper was told not to print any more of the secret documents unless they wanted to be taken to court by the US government. The Washington Post who wanted to be taken seriously as a national newspaper, found the source and decided to also print the Pentagon Papers. They all have to face decisions between obeying federal law and avoiding jail or fighting for the freedom of information and letting the public know what their government had been doing.

The Vietnam War had many casualties including over 50,000 American soldiers. 100,000 men were sent to fight by President Kennedy. Four US Presidents from Eisenhower to Nixon were involved in the Vietnam War and authorised thousands of troops being sent to fight in a war they knew they could not win.

Apart from Government secrets being kept from the people and freedom of the press, another issue addressed in The Post was sexism. Although Katharine Graham was the publisher of the Post, she still had to prove herself worthy enough of being on the board of the paper. She was the only woman on the Post’s board. For example, at an important meeting for the Post, when she was trying to get investors to back selling stocks for The Washington Post, Ms Graham had prepared her speech and another man next to her took over her speech. She did eventually manage to command the room and the decision to print the Pentagon Papers came down to her and not a man.

Overall I think the Post was a great film and very relevant to today’s US Government and the ideas of ‘fake news’ and the rigging of elections. I give the Post 5/5.

Also in other film news this week is the release of the Oscar nominations for this year’s awards. Many great films, actors, directors and other crew members were nominated.

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The biggest award of the night, Best Picture has many great contenders. I have only seen Call Me By Your Name (which I wrote about in November) and The Post but I hope to see a few more before the awards are handed out on March 4th. Personally, I think Call Me By Your Name was one of the best films of the year in terms of storyline, the actors, the setting, the director and the score. It has been nominated for 4 Oscars in total including Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet, Best Adapted Screenplay, James Ivory and Best Original Song – ‘Mystery of Love’ by Sufjan Stevens.

Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Other great films in the Best Picture category are Darkest Hour, about Winston Churchill and how he helped to win WWII; Dunkirk, about the famous battle of Dunkirk in WWII and the rescuing of over 300,000 troops from France; The Shape of Water which has a staggering 13 nominations and is about a woman connecting with an alien in the 1950s; and Get Out, a horror film about an interracial couple visiting the woman’s white parents for the weekend.

All of these films have received high praise so far, and have done well in other award shows. Darkest Hour directed by Joe Wright has a total of 6 Oscar nominations including Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Make Up and Hairstyling. Gary Oldman has already won the Golden Globe and SAG Award for his role as Churchill. This year was the first time he has won any awards.

Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Lily James in Darkest Hour (2017)

The war film Dunkirk directed by Christopher Nolan has 8 Oscar nominations including Best Sound Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Director, Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Score.  Starring in the film is Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, James D’Arcy, Harry Styles and Mark Rylance. Christopher Nolan has also been nominated for the David Lean Award for Direction at the BAFTAs this year.

Fionn Whitehead in Dunkirk (2017)

The Shape of Water has nominations in many categories including Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score and Screenplay, Best Sound Editing and Mixing and Best Cinematography. This comeback from Guillermo Del Toro, is set in the Cold War and stars women as the important characters.

Doug Jones and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (2017)

Get Out has 4 Oscar nominations in total including Best Director and Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya. Kaluuya has also been nominated for an EE Rising Star BAFTA Award for his breakthrough role.

Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (2017)

The other Best Picture nominations are Lady Bird, Phantom Thread and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

I hope that Timothée Chalamet wins Best Actor, but I predict that Gary Oldman will win as he has already won a Golden Globe and SAG Award for his outstanding portrayal of Winston Churchill.

I would like Margot Robbie or Meryl Streep to win Best Actress for their roles in I, Tonya and The Post. I think any of the nominees, also including Sally Hawkins, Saoirse Ronan and Frances McDormand could win.

For Best Director, I would like to see Greta Gerwig win as she is the only female nominee and her work is outstanding or Jordan Peele, for Get Out, his amazing debut. I feel like Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk or Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water may win the Oscar.

The other awards are still important but I have picked a select few to comment on. If you feel inclined, please leave a comment below with who you want to win at this year’s Oscars.

Happy Watching,

Robyn 🙂

My Weekly Recommendations 27th November

Hello readers,

I know it is Monday but I went home from university this weekend so I was extra busy with my parents so apologies for the late post. I will be doing some different posts soon but for now here is another rendition of what I have been watching this (last) week.

Cinema:

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

This film charts a story of two men meeting in 1980s Italy, they initially dislike one another but then they migrate to lovers. Sounds simple, which the plot is, yet it is 100% effective. The beautiful scenery of a hot Italian summer, the French language combined with Italian and English, the sensual soundtrack and costumes all come together to create a romantic love story that also explores being gay in the 80s and lusting after someone older then having to lose them. The main character Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a 17 year old who is a gifted musician at first dislikes the loud all American student that comes to stay for the summer, played by Armie Hammer. He gradually realises his feelings for Oliver(Hammer) are not hate but love. Chalamet’s performance is stand out, his emotions are always written all over his body unless he is trying to hide them. He looks French, his parents holiday in Italy but is American. His accent and piano playing are also spot on. Hammer is also great in his role, knowing when to be forward and play hard to get. Also starring are Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) as Elio’s father, a professor of archaeology who invites Oliver to be his student; Amira Casar (Versailles) as Elio’s mother; Esther Garrel (17 Girls) as Marzia, Elio’s girlfriend who he gradually drifts away from as he becomes closer to Oliver and Victoire Du Bois (From the Land of the Moon) as Chiara, a girl who dances with Oliver and proceeds to lust after him.

A gorgeous film that made me smile and empathise with Elio even though I am not a boy in 1980s Italy. Chalamet made you feel Elio’s jealousy, fear, excitement, sadness, happiness and boredom. He truly brought Elio alive. Overall I give Call Me By Your Name 5/5.

DVD

Two Weeks Notice (2002)

This charming little rom com set in New York City starring Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and Sandra Bullock (Miss Congeniality) is definitely a feel good movie if you need to be reminded what it is like to love and not be loved back. Sandra Bullock plays Lucy, a lawyer who uses her Harvard education to fight against social injustice. She is offered at random a position as lawyer by George Wade (Grant) who is the face of Wade Corporation, a development company trying to knock down every old building in the Big Apple for their own gain. Lucy, who regularly protests against George’s company accepts the job deciding she can do some good from the inside. She excels at her job and becomes the one George turns to for everything, what outfits to wear to his divorce settlement. Lucy decides he is too demanding and quits for her own health. During her two weeks notice, whilst seeing her replacement, June cosy up to George, Lucy starts to feel one emotion for George she never thought she would: love. She continues to be professional and not let her rare feelings get in the way of quitting. A classic Hugh Grant film in which his character has some shocking similarities to Donald Trump pre 2016 who incidentally turns up for a surprise cameo during a benefit. I liked this film, definitely one to watch if you love Hugh Grant in Love Actually or Sandra Bullock in The Proposal. Also starring are Alicia Witt (88 Minutes) as June Carver, Lucy’s replacement; Dana Ivey (The Adams Family) as Lucy’s tough talking mother; Robert Klein (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) as Lucy’s dad; Heather Burns (You’ve Got Mail) as Meryl, Lucy’s friend and David Haig (My Boy Jack) as Howard, George’s business partner and brother. Overall I give this film 4/5.

Amazon Prime

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

C.I.A agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill, Superman) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer, The Lone Ranger) a KGB operative are forced to work together to reach a common goal in the 1960s when the tension between Russia and the US is at a high point. Both agents have no choice but to work for the mysterious organisation. The film starts with an epic car chase through the streets of Berlin, where Solo and Kuryakin fight each other but are then forced to be a team. They meet Gaby (Alicia Vikander) a car mechanic who’s uncle has connections to the Vinciguerra family. Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki) is building a nuclear bomb and Solo, Kuryakin and Gaby must work together to stop their common enemy from destroying the world as they know it. This film is cheesy and a parody to movies of the time, adapted from a television series of the same name but ultimately a good watch. The blossoming romance between Vikander and Hammer who pose as a couple to be wed gives the film a softer edge. There is also violence but it is more comic and entertaining than gruesome. Hugh Grant also appears as a British agent bringing in reinforcements for the final mission. The dynamic between Cavill and Hammer also gives some classic masculinity that Guy Richie, the director is famous for. Also starring are Luca Calvani (When in Rome) as Alexander Vinciguerra, Victoria’s husband and Sylvester Groth (Inglorious Basterds) as Gaby’s Uncle Rudi. Overall I give The Man From U.N.C.L.E. 4/5.

Hope you enjoy my 3 picks this week, other honourable mentions include Sleeping with Other People (2015) and What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012).

Happy Watching,

Robyn