Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, and Mark Strong are featured in the new trailer for the dramatic film The Imitation Game based on a true story. Directed by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters) and based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, The Imitation Game will be arriving in theaters on November 28, 2014.
The Plot:
In The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.
Silas Weir Mitchell as Monroe in ‘Grimm’ (Photo by: Chris Haston / NBC)
Grimm season four finds Nick (played by David Giuntoli) having to rely on his detective skills after losing his Grimm powers. The current season also finds Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) and Rosalee (Bree Turner) dealing with the news of their inter-Wesen marriage getting out into the Wesen population at large.
There’s a lot going on this season in the relationships between all the key players, and in a conference call in support of season four, Mitchell talked about what’s going on with Monroe and what fans of the popular NBC series can expect in the upcoming episodes.
Silar Weir Mitchell Grimm Interview
In the third episode of season four, we saw a couple of troublemakers sitting outside of the Spice Shop. What can you tell us about those guys and what their intentions might be?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “Well, you know, I mean it’s been pretty sweet for me and the lady. The only hiccup really was my parents being a little old school as far as the inter-Wesen relationship and we got over that hump pretty well. But I think what went down at the wedding has sent a kind of a bad signal out in the Wesen world. They know what’s going on and I think there’s a lot of people who have issues with it. And I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as it was convincing (these) people that we’re okay as it was to convince my parents. So I think there’s a target on our backs, basically.”
What are some of the challenges of being on a show in its fourth season?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “I would say mostly it’s great stuff. […]Primarily, it’s that we’re a pretty well-oiled machine now so there’s not a lot of distractions. You can economize the way you work in the sense that you know where all the locations are. You know the city, to get around the city. The crew is really at the top of their game. So when the machine is humming along it makes it easier to do better work. That’s one of the great things about it. And the only real challenge about it – and this isn’t a challenge that I face – it’s for the writers to keep the thing fresh. I think they’re doing a bang-up job of that, but that’s not my problem so to speak. I take what they give me and I do my best to make it real and have fun with it. But I don’t have to worry about storylines. I just live the life they give me to live. So for me it’s really all upside.”
What are your feelings about Wu and how he’s beginning to question what’s going on with Nick, Monroe, and the rest of the gang? Do you think that they should tell him what’s been going on or do you think they should try to keep him in the dark about it?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “Well, that’s a good question. I mean I think in a lot of ways Wu – he’s already been through the wringer, you know, pretty big time as far as having his mind really messed with when the Aswang was the [involved], when they were dealing with that because of the Filipino nature of that myth that he always thought it was a fairy tale and then he starts to see that maybe it’s actually true. So in some ways there’s a fertile ground there for him maybe being able to deal with these things in a way. But, on the other hand, it could send him over the edge. So I just think that whatever happens Nick and Hank will have to be very deliberate as far as how they handle it with Wu. He obviously keeps pushing, then they’re going to have to make a decision. And the decision’s going to be based on what’s going to be best for Wu. Will he lose his mind completely or will he be able to handle it, because he’s already sort of been down that road?”
The writers teased for a long time with Wu’s name. Are we ever going to find out if Monroe is the first or last name?
Silas Weir Mitchell: [Laughing] “If I knew I wouldn’t tell you. How’s that for a riddle?”
Is it difficult to have to play Monroe while he’s being persecuted for this inter-Wesen marriage?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “No, it’s not. It’s exciting because it’s a different. It’s a different life experience that I’m getting to live and that’s the fun of the whole game. It’s just living different life experiences. I mean, that’s the fun of being an actor. So to me it was looking forward to things getting sticky and difficult because I think the only real hiccup last year on the way to the altar was my dad being a jerk. And that’s not that big of a deal, and this is a much bigger deal. I tell you, a lot of things that are smaller in magnitude than having a Grimm be on the altar with you at the wedding have happened that have led to terrible things. So I think, you know, that’s a big deal. When that gets out in the world not only the inter-Wesen thing but the fact that we’re friends with a Grimm and if that gets known it’s trouble. I think it’s just going to be ugly and I’m excited about it because that’s fun to play.”
Grimm has had some pretty gnarly holiday episodes in the past. What does the show have coming up for us with the Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “Pretty gnarly episodes. You know, I still miss Krampus. I think he was just one of the best. I loved that guy. I thought he was awesome. I think that Christmas is interrupted by other events than a Christmas-oriented Wesen this year. I mean there’s still Christmas and it’s big, god knows. It can’t be otherwise. But the complications involved aren’t specifically Christmas related.”
Is there somebody in particular on the cast who you haven’t had a lot of scenes with that you’d like to work with more?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “Yes, definitely, and the two would be Sasha [Roiz] and Reggie [Lee]. I’ve worked even more with the Captain than I have with Sergeant Wu. I remember the first scene that the Captain and I had together and it was so much fun to get these two people with completely different energies who’ve never been in the same room together practically – when he came to the Spice Shop, I don’t know if it was year two or three. It’s all sort of blurred together. But he came to the Spice Shop to get some stuff to keep him from being in love with Bitsie [Tulloch’s] character – with Juliette. It was a delight to get to have Monroe and the cast in the room dealing with that. It was really fun.
And I think that it would be fun to get more with Wu and Monroe just because Reggie’s fantastic and we work in similar ways and we haven’t had a lot of stuff to do together. We were actually in the same class in Los Angeles when we both got this job. We were working together on a scene from a play so we know each other pretty well, and it would be fun to actually get to work with him more.”
What’s it been like to play the dynamics between Monroe and Nick with him not being a Grimm? Has that been fun to play as well?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “It’s been totally great because so many issues arise in the absence of his powers for me and Rosalee. I mean, he got me into all this crap and now he can’t protect me. I love the guy but now I’m kind of out on a limb, you know? He feels bad and I feel bad for feeling angry. And, I feel bad for him. But I’m also scared and angry, and it’s great. There’s a lot of stuff swirling around in the soup.
Again, it’s just the writers are finding ways of re-imagining things that are still fresh. They’re still fresh and they’re still interesting for us and hopefully for you guys too. And definitely I enjoy playing the dynamic of Nick as a broken man at this point.”
I love the relationship between the characters Monroe and Rosalee, but I also just love the chemistry between you and Bree Turner. It’s great. Cant you talk about working with her and how that’s actually developed over these four seasons?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “Well it’s just one of those things where you’re lucky to get to work with someone who you work similarly. We’re both invested in having a real experience, and the story is the most important thing. It’s fun to play pretend at a high level, and we play pretend until it becomes real on a certain level and it’s just nice to have a partner who shares that ethic.
And, you know, that’s just the luck of the draw, really. But it’s been delightful. It’s one of those things where it could have gone either way, and luckily it went the way of two people who work well together. That’s just luck, really, and you’ve got to credit casting. They put a group of people together that do well together. I mean all of us do well together. You know what I mean? There’s no strife. People show up to work and have fun doing it and we respect each other. It’s a nice brew of psyches in there.”
Why do you think Grimm is so popular for so many different cultures?
Silas Weir Mitchell: “I think there are two main reasons why Grimm has a global following, if one could say it in those terms. First of all, it deals with universal themes because everybody has these elements of their psyche. Grimm deals with mythical issues in a very, very detailed and human way. So that’s one reason; that the themes are mythical and universal.
The other reason is it’s using fairytales from different cultures. Every culture has its own myths. Every culture has its own fairytales. Every culture has its own spooky stories; its own creature stories. And so, again, this is sort of the sub-set of the universal thing. Everybody has it. It’s not a show about the fashion industry on the Upper East Side of New York City which only a certain sub-section of society knows or cares about. It’s dealing with something that every culture deals with which is myth and storytelling. It’s appealing for that reason to a pretty large set of the human population.”
Columbia Pictures has released the first trailer for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 starring Kevin James as Paul Blart. James also co-wrote the comedy sequel with Nick Bakay, with Andy Fickman directing (Steve Carr directed the original Paul Blart). The cast of the sequel to the 2009 film also includes Raini Rodriguez, Neal McDonough, and Shirley Knight.
Columbia Pictures will release Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 in theaters on April 17, 2015.
The Plot:
In this sequel, in which Kevin James reprises the role of Paul Blart, the security guard is headed to Las Vegas to attend a Security Guard Expo with his teenage daughter Maya (Raini Rodriguez) before she departs for college. While at the convention, he inadvertently discovers a heist – and it’s up to Blart to apprehend the criminals.
Felicity Jones stars as Jane Wilde and Eddie Redmayne stars as her suitor Stephen Hawking in Academy Award-winning director James Marsh’s THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, a Focus Features release (Photo Credit: Liam Daniel/Focus Features)
“I have two years to live,” says Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne). “I want us to be together for as long as we’ve got,” replies Jane (Felicity Jones), his first love who’s determined to be his wife and love him until his dying days in the dramatic film The Theory of Everything based on the true story.
When he’s just 21 years old and attending Cambridge, Stephen Hawking meets the girl of his dreams – Jane Wilde – at a Cambridge party. Stephen and Jane have an almost instant connection; the sparks fly, and the couple quickly fall deeply in love. It’s during this time in his incredible life that Hawking receives the horrible diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease and is told by the doctor he has about two years to live. Depressed, scared, and angry, Stephen withdraws from his best friend, his classes, and even from Jane.
Jane believes their relationship was moving along smoothly and doesn’t understand why Stephen’s refusing to see her. After being told by his friends about his condition, Jane confronts Stephen and admits to him she’s in love with him. Thinking it’s hopeless, Stephen still tries to end the relationship, but Jane refuses to give up, telling him she wants them to be together for as long as they have. Even when Stephen’s own father tries to talk Jane out of staying with Stephen for her own sake, she is adamant that she will remain by his side until the disease ultimately takes his life.
Together, Stephen and Jane tackle an extremely hard life, breaking barriers in medicine and science, with Stephen studying the one thing he believes he has little of: time. Focusing on the beginning of time and black holes, Stephen becomes a renowned astrophysicist doing more and living longer than anyone would have ever hoped for, with Jane right by his side.
The Theory of Everything is both a biography and a moving romantic tale that shines mostly due to the stellar performances by the film’s two leads. Eddie Redmayne gives an unforgettable performance as young Stephen Hawking, capturing the man’s lengthy battle with a devastating disease as well as the man’s wit and brilliance. The way he twists and contorts his body and even his voice is truly mesmerizing and worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Felicity Jones is dynamic and flawless in her performance as Jane, Hawking’s wife who is much more than just a pretty face but a strong, determined, and passionate young woman who refuses to give in or give up on her love when everyone around her is encouraging her to quit. Redmayne and Jones have wonderful chemistry together on screen, especially in the early part of the film when they first meet. The scenes showing how their relationship began and built toward marriage capture marvelously the infatuation and nervousness that come when falling for someone.
The supporting cast is solid, with standouts including David Thewlis as Dennis Sciama, Stephen’s professor and mentor at Cambridge, and Harry Lloyd as Brian, a friend to both Stephen and Jane.
It’s unfortunate, however, that in the second part of the film, the tone and writing change from being an engaging romantic drama to a melodramatic big-screen soap opera with a few clichés. The pacing also becomes painfully slow and, at times, tedious. However, overall this story of strength, hope, determination, and love is an inspirational film that should not be missed due to the extraordinary performances by Redmayne and Jones.
GRADE: B-
The Theory of Everything is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and suggestive material.
Starz is debuting one of the best drama series of the 2014 season with the November 15th at 9pm ET/PT premiere of The Missing. Starring James Nesbitt, Frances O’Connor, and Tcheky Karyo, The Missing follows a couple’s desperate search for their son after he was abducted while the family was on vacation.
Nesbitt and O’Connor play the parents while Karyo tackles the role of respected police detective Julien Baptiste who helps the family in their search for their missing son.
Tcheky Karyo The Missing Interview:
What drew you in reading the first script?
Tcheky Karyo: “It was very well written. Two heads, two brothers wrote that, Harry and Jack Williams. It was really compelling and I was immediately attracted to it.”
How were you initially approached? Did they give you all the episodes at once or did you just get a pitch at first?
Tcheky Karyo: “No, they gave me everything and then they had to rewrite some moments. They were constantly working while we were shooting. They were very near the director, Tom Shankland, who is really amazing and a real guide for all of us. He directed the whole series which gives to it coherence. It’s compact and strong because it had one really strong person directing those episodes.”
Did your character change in the rewrites?
Tcheky Karyo: “No. What they were rewriting was the plot, the intrigue, the suspense, and all those things. How the truth would be revealed and how late it would be revealed. It was interesting the way it worked. Yes, it was really nice to follow that.”
Was there anything in particular about Julien that you latched onto? Was there one aspect of this character that you really connected with more than anything else?
Tcheky Karyo: “You know, I’m a grown-up man even though I feel like I’m 30 or 25, sometimes six years old…”
We all feel that way.
Tcheky Karyo: [Laughing] “Yes. When you arrive to a point where you can turn your head and say, “Hmm, there is quite a long road that I just went through.’ You’re like, ‘What is left?’ You start to be maybe a little bit wiser, maybe have more patience, maybe take more time to listen to people and understand where you are, where you’re from, things like that. This is something where I really relate with the character and was happy to share and give to this character.”
When you’re working on a series like this that goes back and forth between two distinct time periods is it difficult for you as an actor to remember where your character is?
Tcheky Karyo: “Yes, yes, you are absolutely right. It is a real challenge. As I told you it’s also collegial work. Is that the word? I will look in my dictionary.”
Do you really have a dictionary with you?
Tcheky Karyo: [Laughing] “Yes, Rebecca, on my iPhone. I’m using it a lot and it’s fantastic. Also, this is one of the challenges of the series was for me to have everything in English. That’s why sometimes when I may be lost there is somebody on the side helping me, Tom, the director. He was a really nice man, really good. It was a great experience to share with him.”
How difficult at this point in your career is it for you to do a film or series in English?
Tcheky Karyo: “As much as I’m happy to be able to share this conversation with you and look for some words in my dictionary, it was a real challenge for me. That’s why I needed someone to put the gloves on…you know, like sports people, you need a sparring partner. I do it also even in my own language, it’s not just because it’s not my own language, I do it in French also. It’s a great opportunity with the English, actually, to be to improvise sometimes. To be able to dream in English. To come to a point where I start dreaming in English. I speak in English in my dreams now.”
Did you get more out of playing him at the younger age or at the older age?
Tcheky Karyo: “I like him when he’s young but I like him also when he’s old. I have the same pleasure. It’s really great. As an older man it’s interesting to hold your body a little different, maybe I’m limping or maybe I’m slower. There’s a bit more inertia. And when I’m younger I play with the body, actually.”
Did you do any outside research on the police or detectives? Was that even necessary?
Tcheky Karyo: “No, I didn’t need it actually. The script was so well written I didn’t need to. I’ve met a lot of detectives. I’ve spent a lot of time with police people and I feel comfortable with it.”
With the script this tight, were you allowed to throw anything in?
Tcheky Karyo: “Yes, yes. I was allowed to. Since I’m French and I lived with this English woman, sometimes I could make up my lines. I didn’t change the meaning, even though sometimes I could discuss it and have an exchange about the meaning of things. I would make it my own language in a way sometimes.”
I would imagine overall with The Missing it was emotionally challenging work. Is this a character you were easily able to put aside at the end of the day?
Tcheky Karyo: “I didn’t put it aside. It may be more difficult for Jimmy Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor to put it aside because they had to go through deep, deep emotions. The loss of a child…I can’t even think of it. It’s so incredible. For them, they had some moments of emotion that were really shaking.
With my character I was in character all the time, actually. I was really trying to be myself, not to portray or compose. I was really trying to be authentic and true. So I related to this work 24 hours a day.”
You mentioned earlier that the writers were working on when to reveal what was happening and how to time that perfectly. Without giving anything away, do you believe that they’ve got it perfectly timed?
Tcheky Karyo: “I would think so, yes. I didn’t see the whole series. I saw two episodes, but I think so. Also, what is very important as you know is that it’s really character-driven so the suspense is also the inner life of each of those characters and the way they are structured.”
When you’re playing a character, in general do you create a detailed back story for him?
Tcheky Karyo: “Yes I do, but this one I jumped in it. I came on board quite late. We’re so lucky to have those guys; they are so talented. Also, the team around – the stars, the BBC and and the director. They are an amazing team.”
Would you have preferred to have been brought in a little bit earlier just so you could have created more of a back story?
Tcheky Karyo: “I mean it’s a bit of my fault. I have to say that it took me time to go on board because I was so moved. I had also my music going on. I had some projects going on and I knew that when I get hired in this project I have to dedicate myself 24 hours a day. At first I was not wanting to go but then I realized I made a mistake and I was lucky they came back to me. There is something special with that project.”
You’ve done television before but we seem to be in a new golden age of television. There’s a new renaissance in which the writing is actually better than feature films. Do you believe that?
Tcheky Karyo: “Well, it looks like television has the potential and it looks like the teams who are going there find real spaces for creation. That’s why I think there’s a real freedom. They want to be creative, inventive. They are not trying to recreate some recipe for success. They are more adventurous, I would say.”
Do you find as an actor it’s a greater challenge to be involved in a television series than it is to take a character through the course of a movie?
Tcheky Karyo: “Well, what is interesting is the time. When you do a series you work five, six, seven months and then you get to know people more near. There is a real human adventure also. You have time to develop things. It’s really nice. It’s really a good feeling.”
The star of The Imitation Game Benedict Cumberbatch was asked by MTV to impersonate 10 actors and 1 female singer, and he pretty much nailed it. So what if he flubbed Christopher Walken by giving him a sort of Jamaican-ish accent. Cumberbatch was only given 60 seconds to make it through all 11, and the fact he completed the task was impressive.
Here’s the list of who Benedict Cumberbatch had to impersonate:
John Malkovich
Alan Rickman
Sean Connery
Jack Nicholson
Tom Hiddleston
Owen Wilson
Michael Caine
Christopher Walken
Bane
Matthew McConaughey
Taylor Swift
Jimmy Fallon and actor Josh Hutcherson play Beer Hockey (Photo by: Douglas Gorenstein / NBC)
What do you get when you combine Beer Pong with Air Hockey? Beer Hockey, of course. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 star Josh Hutcherson stopped by The Tonight Show and was ready to battle host Jimmy Fallon in a wild game of Beer Hockey. The object: whoever gets three pucks into their opponent’s cup first wins.
You know those movies that ruin their funniest gags by including them in the trailers? Dumb and Dumber To is one of those movies.
It’s been 20 years since the release of the Farrelly Brothers’ Dumb and Dumber and while this sequel is set in 2014, it feels like it’s straight out of the ’90s. Sequels are incredibly tricky, and when you throw into the mix the fact that the original came out two decades ago, back before the target audience for the second film even learned to walk, the odds of Dumb and Dumber To being fondly remembered in 20 years like its predecessor are slim.
The original film featured Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas and Jeff Daniels as Harry Dunne, and the two now 50+ year-olds gamely attempt to recapture the goofiness and slapstick comedy of the 1994 film from Bobby and Peter Farrelly. In fact, the two can still pull off the physical comedy stunts, and neither shies away from making complete fools of themselves in the hunt for laughs. But fond remembrances of the sheer silliness of their performances in the original film aside, Daniels and Carrey aren’t capable of making the material feel fresh and worth the lengthy wait.
The story, this time around, kicks off with Lloyd in a mental hospital, uncommunicative and unable to care for himself. Harry faithfully visits his friend, even changing his BFF’s diapers (and yes, there’s a disgusting scene of him performing that task) and helping to feed his buddy who’s incapable of doing anything for himself. But then one day, Harry announces he won’t be visiting for a while, leading Lloyd to confess it’s all been one big joke and that his 20-year stay in the mental hospital was an elaborate prank.
Back at their apartment where Harry’s new roommate cooks meth (a scene straight out of Breaking Bad but featuring a surprise cameo by a Farrelly brother player), Harry lets Lloyd know that he needs a kidney transplant or else he’ll die. Lloyd doesn’t volunteer his own but does volunteer to set out on a search to track down the daughter Lloyd never knew he had in hopes of talking her into donating a kidney to the dad she’s never seen before.
Dumb and Dumber also found the clueless buddies on the road tracking down a stranger, so the sequel’s plot is traversing very familiar territory. The gross-out comedy, fart jokes, and potty humor are also all familiar, although the tone in the sequel is more mean-spirited than the original film’s. It took six writers to develop the screenplay, a bizarre fact given that the sequel feels like a reworked retread of everything that worked in Dumb and Dumber. Unfortunately, the sequel’s many writers relied far too heavily on lifting and shifting gags from the ’94 comedy.
However, the first half of the film does offer a few jokes that work well, including a bit with Harry learning he was adopted, a fact which, given the nationality of his parents, should have been apparent to him from the get-go. Also working in the sequel’s favor are scene-stealing performances by Rob Riggle and Rachel Melvin, the perky actress who plays Harry’s dimwitted but adorable daughter.
Carrey and Daniels are still fun to watch on screen playing off of each other; it’s just too bad they weren’t given a better script to work with. Try as they might, they can’t make this one generate many laughs.
GRADE: C+
Dumb and Dumber To is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, partial nudity, language and some drug references.
Jessica Chastain and David Oyelowo are featured in the first clip released from the R-rated drama A Most Violent Year. Directed by J.C Chandor (All is Lost), the cast also includes Oscar Isaac, Alessandro Nivola, and Albert Brooks. The film will open in limited release on December 31, 2014 followed by a wider release in early 2015.
The Plot:
J.C. Chandor’s third feature examines one immigrant’s determined climb up a morally crooked ladder, where simmering rivalries and unprovoked attacks threaten his business, family, and – above all – his own unwavering belief in the righteousness of his path. With A Most Violent Year, Chandor journeys in a bold new direction, toward the place where best intentions yield to raw instinct, and where we are most vulnerable to compromise what we know to be right.
Beyonce’s “Haunted” helps set the mood in the new trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey starring Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele. The just-released trailer reveals new footage from the sexy drama based on the first book in EL James’ bestselling series, including more scenes of Christian and Dakota exploring their sexual relationship.
Opening on Valentine’s Day 2015, the cast of Fifty Shades of Grey also includes Victor Rasuk, Max Martini, Callum Keith Rennie, Jennifer Ehle, and Luke Grimes.
