Future Film Prospects

The Matrix (1999)

The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis.  It is the first installment in The Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, which intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias “Neo”, uncovers the truth, he “is drawn into a rebellion against the machines” along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.

The bold film is an example of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. The Wachowskis’ approach to action scenes was influenced by Japanese animation and martial arts films, and the film’s use of fight choreographers and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema influenced subsequent Hollywood action film productions. The film popularized a visual effect known as “bullet time”, in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera appears to move through the scene at normal speed, allowing the sped-up movements of certain characters to be perceived normally.

Link to Wikipedia

Link to IMDb Site

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Running Time – 2hrs 16mins (136 minutes)

UK Classification – 15

The Father (2020)

The Father is a 2020 drama film co-written and directed by Florian Zeller, in his directorial debut; he co-wrote it with fellow playwright Christopher Hampton based on Zeller’s 2012 play Le Père. A French-British co-production, the film stars Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, and Olivia Williams, and follows an aging man who must deal with his progressing dementia. It is the second adaptation of the play after the 2015 film Floride.

The Father had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2020, and was released by Sony Pictures Classics in the United States on 26 February 2021, in France on 26 May 2021 by UGC Distribution and in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2021 by Lionsgate UK. It grossed $28 million on a $6 million budget and was acclaimed by critics, who lauded the performances of Hopkins and Colman, as well as the production values and its portrayal of dementia.

At the 93rd Academy Awards, Hopkins won Best Actor and Zeller and Hampton won Best Adapted Screenplay; the film received six nominations in total, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Colman).  At the 78th Golden Globe Awards, the film received four nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, and it received six nominations at the 74th British Academy Film Awards, winning Best Actor (Hopkins) and Best Adapted Screenplay. In addition, Hopkins and Colman were nominated for Outstanding Leading Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actress respectively at the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Link to Wikipedia

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Running Time – 1hrs 36mins (96 minutes)

UK Classification – PG

The Josephine Baker Story (1991)

The Josephine Baker Story is an American television film that first aired on HBO on March 16, 1991. It stars Lynn Whitfield as Josephine Baker, who was an international African-American star, who was especially successful in Europe. The film was generally well received by critics and has become a success on home video and DVD. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue. The film was nominated for several awards and won 5 Emmy Awards for art direction, costume design, hairstyling, directing by Brian Gibson and for acting by Lynn Whitfield.

Born into a poor family in St. Louis, Josephine Baker struggles to make a name for herself on the vaudeville circuit. As her career progresses, so does her resentment of racial prejudice, motivating her to move to Paris—where in a short time, her exotic dance routines make her the toast of the town. Swayed by the influence of her manager, she takes the act back to America. It fails, but Josephine perseveres, proving herself as much humanitarian as entertainer.

Link to Wikipedia

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Running Time – 2hrs 10mins (130 minutes)

UK Classification – U

The Help (2011)

The Help is a 2011 period drama film written and directed by Tate Taylor and based on Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast, including Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Cicely Tyson, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Octavia Spencer, and Emma Stone. The film and novel recount the story of a young white woman and aspiring journalist Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan. 

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids’ point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

The story focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. In an attempt to become a legitimate journalist and writer, Skeeter decides to write a book from the point of view of the maids, exposing the racism they face as they work for white families. Black domestic workers in 1960s America were referred to as “the help”, hence the title of the journalistic exposé, the novel and the film.

Link to Wikipedia

Link to IMDb Site

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Running Time – 2hrs 26mins (146 minutes)

UK Classification – 12

Hidden Figures (2016) – Our April 2022 Study – 10th April 2022 @ 19:30

Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder. It is loosely based on the 2016 non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about African American female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Space Race. The film stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson. Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell featured in supporting roles.

Link to Wikipedia

Link to IMDb Site

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Running Time – 2hrs 7mins (127 minutes)

UK Classification – PG