The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) - Dench crowns Parker's fine Wilde adaptation

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A cheeky blend of game stars and an eye-catching question mark graphic makes up this poster for Oliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest

In 1890's finer English circles in London, two chums deceit maidens in different ways; both assuming the sympathetic name 'Earnest', which gives rise to problems.

 

The Importance of Being Earnest is written and directed by Oliver Parker (Othello (1995)), adapting the same-titled 1895 play by Oscar Wilde (Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)).

Wonderful Wildeian satire comes out light and well cast here, if a bit dialog heavy in this text loyal adaptation. Rupert Everett (Napoleon (2023)) and Colin Firth (Supernova (2020)) bask in the luxurious material, and everyone do well here; not least Anna Massey (Oliver Twist (2007, miniseries)) as a sympathetic nitwit, and in particular Judi Dench (Cats (2019)) as the honor-focused mother-in-law to be, arguably the crown jewel of the film.

Good-looking costumes and plenty of jolly fun. And Reese Witherspoon (Home Again (2017)) acquits herself well in fitting into the language and landscapes of Britain.

Related posts:

 

Oliver Parker: Johnny English Reborn/Johnny English Returns (2011) - Atkinson will make you laugh till your belly aches

Othello (1995) - Parker's fascinating Shakespeare adaptation debut 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 15 mil. $

Box office: 18 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.2 times its cost)

[The Importance of Being Earnest was released 21 June (USA) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place from April - June 2001 in England, including in London. The film opened #18 to a 500k $ first weekend in 38 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #12 and grossed 8.3 mil. $ (44.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 4.7 mil. $ (26.1 %) and Australia with 1.4 mil. $ (7.8 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Parker returned with The Private Life of Samuel Pepys (2003, TV movie) and theatrically with Fade to Black (2006). Everett returned in Unconditional Love (2002); Firth in Hope Springs (2003); and Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). The Importance of Being Earnest is rotten at 57 % with a 6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Importance of Being Earnest?

The Proposition (2005) - Stars and images stand out in Hillcoat's outback western

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A man on a high-point pointing a gun towards something unseen - along with cast pictures - make up this poster for John Hillcoat's The Proposition

1880s Australia, British colonization of the enormous land still in process: The Burns brothers are by nature it seems merciless killers. A small town has a captain that wants to expand civilization. He has a proposal to one of the brothers.

The Proposition is written by Nick Cave (Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead (1988)), who also co-composed the film's score, and directed by Australian master filmmaker John Hillcoat (To Have & to Hold (1996)), whose 2nd feature it is. 

The ending is a bit provocative, but also rather predictable, - especially for those with a bit of existing knowledge of screenwriter Cave's lyrical universe as a dark rock musician, the man's main calling. The film is centered around very visual violence and somewhat pretentious poetry, (again courtesy of Cave's pen.)

But The Proposition impresses with is ensemble cast of Emily Watson (On Chesil Beach (2017)), Guy Pearce (The Seventh Day (2021)), Ray Winstone (Jawbone (2017)) and John Hurt (Jackie (2016)) as a Darwin-skeptical racist, among others. Benoît Delhomme's (Minimata (2020)) cinematography is another beautiful feature to the film, which is carefully tinted in post production. Watson's milky-white skin has rarely been more beautiful than in The Proposition.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2 mil. $

Box office: 5 mil. $

= Even (returned 2.5 times its cost)

[The Proposition premiered 12 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 104 minutes. Shooting took place in Australia. The film opened #46 to a 32k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #19 and in 200 theaters, grossing 1.9 mil. $ (38 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 1.5 mil. $ (30 %) and the UK with 1.1 mil. $ (22 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Hillcoat returned with 3 music videos prior to his theatrical return The Road (2009). Pearce returned in First Snow (2006); Winstone with a voice performance and in 2 TV movies prior to his theatrical return in Breaking and Entering (2006); and Danny Huston (Marlowe (2022)) in Covert One: The Hades Factor (2006, miniseries) and theatrically in Marie Antoinette (2006). The Proposition is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Proposition?

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) - Leigh celebrates Poppy the optimist

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+ Best English Movie of the Year + Breakthrough Actress of the Year: Sally Hawkins 

 

Co-star Sally Hawkins flashes pearly whites and lovely hair on this brightly colored poster for Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky

Poppy is a primary school teacher, who attends flamenco lessons, lives with a good friend and also takes driving lessons with a driving instructor with anger issues. Poppy, on the other hand, is an optimist and a humorist.

 

Happy-Go-Lucky is written and directed by great English filmmaker Mike Leigh (Bleak Moments (1971)). 

When one gets past the very silly and a bit annoying elements of Poppy's persona, she also turns out to be a very charming, thoughtful, intelligent and sympathetic acquaintance, and Sally Hawkins (An Education (2009)) has a star-making turn in the part. Eddie Marsan (A Kind of Murder (2016)) is also extraordinary as the driving instructor. 

Leigh interweaves lots of colors here, - especially hopeful green, - into a refreshing, plot-neglecting, episodic film, which is a kind of person type portrait more than anything else. Happy-Go-Lucky also has a terrific scene with a schizophrenic

 

Related posts:

Mike Leigh:  Another Year (2010) or, Life in England

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

All or Nothing (2002) - Leigh wrangles more working class destinies with great performances 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected at 4 mil. $

Box office: 18.6 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a big hit (projected return of 4.65 times its cost)

[Happy-Go-Lucky premiered 12 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 118 minutes. The UK Film Council supported the production with 1.41 mil. £ (approximately 1.82 mil. $). Shooting took place in England, including in London. The film opened #40 to a 73k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #19 and in 202 theaters, grossing 3.5 mil. $ (18.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 3.1 mil. $ (16.7 %) and France with 2.9 mil. $ (15.6 %). If made on a realistic 4 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a big hit. It was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, lost to Dustin Lance Black for Milk. It also won 2/3 British Independent Film award nominations, was nominated for 2 European Film awards and won 1/2 Golden Globe nominations, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Leigh returned with Another Year (2010). Hawkins returned in An Education (2009); Marsan in Hancock (2008); and Alexis Zegerman (Albatross (2011)) in Storm (2009). Happy-Go-Lucky is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Happy-Go-Lucky?

Nowhere Boy (2009) - Fall for Johnson, with Taylor-Wood

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Aaron Johnson's awfully pretty face under a cloud on this poster for Sam Taylor-Wood's Nowhere Boy

John Lennon grows up to become a rebel; the germ of it being his uncertainty of his parentage, which is enlightened when he rediscovers his mother, right around the same time that he forms his own pop-rock band.

 

Nowhere Boy is written by Matt Greenhalgh (Control (2007)), based on Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird's memoir Imagine This - Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon (2007), and directed by debuting Sam Taylor-Wood (Misfit (1996, short)).

Aaron Johnson (Shanghai Knights (2003)) as Lennon at first has his enthralling good looks against himself; he is simply too good-looking for his own good. But he is still fascinating, vivacious and dedicated here in a part he obviously enjoys taking on, which coincides with his becoming the real-life partner of his 23 years older director here, (the two married in 2021 and changed names to Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.) Johnson gets splendid support here from a glorious Kristin Scott Thomas (Agent Trouble (1987)), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)) as Paul McCartney and Anne-Marie Duff (On Chesil Beach (2017)) as his mother.

It is impossible (for me at least) to see the Lennon I have seen, - the limp, drowsy Beatle hippie, - in the virile, dominant Johnson, and a hardcore Beatle-fan may protest this fact. But taken as it is, this is a fine and well-acted, delicate film of Lennon's youth, ultimately moving.

 

Watch  a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 1.2 mil. £, approximately 1.6 mil. $

Box office: 6.5 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.06 times its cost)

[Nowhere Boy premiered 29 October (London) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place in March 2009 - ? in England, including in London. It opened #45 to a 52k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #23 and in 215 theaters, grossing 1.4 mil. $ (21.5 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was the UK with 1.5 mil. $ (23.1 %). North America was 2nd biggest, and Australia 3rd biggest with 807k $ (12.4 %). The film was nominated for 4 BAFTAs and won 1/6 British Independent Film awards. among other honors. Taylor-Wood returned with two music videos and a short before her theatrical return with Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). Johnson returned in Kick-Ass (2010); Scott Thomas in Love Crime (2010); and Duff in Margot (2009, TV movie) and theatrically in Sanctuary (2012). Nowhere Boy is certified fresh at 80 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Nowhere Boy?

Notes on a Scandal (2006) - Great performances in Eyre's layered drama-thriller

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+ Best Drama-Thriller of the Year + Best Erotic Movie of the Year + Best London Movie of the Year + Best UK Movie of the Year 

 

Gold and shadow-filled red is used on the stars' faces of this poster for Richard Eyre's Notes on a Scandal

A younger woman, Sheba, begins teaching at an ordinary London school, where she attracts a clingy friend in the aging spinster Barbara.

 

Notes on a Scandal is written by Patrick Marber (Asylum (2005)), adapting the same-titled 2003 novel by Zoë Heller (The Believers (2008)), and directed by great English filmmaker Richard Eyre (The Ploughman's Lunch (1983)).

Judi Dench (Four in the Morning (1965)) is formidable as the dried-up, scheming, selfish older woman, and Cate Blanchett (The Aviator (2004)) is just as perfect as the younger Sheba, who lets her life take a free-fall. Their acting in the same dramatic minefield issued by Sheba's affair with an underage student is the film's great attraction. Bill Nighy (Guest House Paradiso (1999)) is also outstanding as Sheba's cuckolded husband, and Eyre gets seductive scenes out of the young Andrew Simpson (Road Games (2015)).

Notes on a Scandal is an intriguing, a bit literary but nevertheless excellent film about the gossipy and self-serving in us all.

 

Related posts:

 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 15 mil. $

Box office: 49.8 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.32 times its cost)

[Notes on a Scandal was released 25 December (USA) and runs 91 minutes. Shooting took place from August - October 2005 in England, including in London. The film opened #66 to a 6k $ first weekend in 1 theater in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 682 theaters (different weeks), grossing 17.5 mil. $ (35.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 11.5 mil. $ (23.1 %) and Australia with 4.9 mil. $ (9.8 %). The film was nominated for 4 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Actress (Dench) to Helen Mirren in The Queen, Supporting Actress (Blanchett) to Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, Adapted Screenplay to William Monahan for The Departed, and Score (Philip Glass (Elena (2011)) to Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel. It was also nominated for 3 BAFTAs, won 2/4 British Independent Film awards, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, 3 Golden Globes and won a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Eyre returned with The Other Man (2008). Dench returned in Quantum of Solace (2008); and Blanchett in Hot Fuzz (2007) for an uncredited cameo and as a starring actor in I'm Not There (2007). Notes on a Scandal is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Notes on a Scandal?

Sunshine (2007) - Boyle's great-looking, suspenseful sci-fi

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+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year + Best Science Fiction Movie of the Year

Critical hype that's barely readable features on this visually promising poster for Danny Boyle's Sunshine

The sun is dying, and consequently, so is mankind. A second manned space mission is launched in 2050 to reignite the sun with a nuclear bomb. But the Icarus II mission encounters many problems along the way...

Sunshine is written by Alex Garland (28 Days Later... (2002)) and directed by great English filmmaker Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave (1994)). It is arguably one of Boyle's best films and could even be called the most exciting space movie since Alien (1979).
Sunshine has beautiful images (terrific, ambitious cinematography by Alwin H. Küchler (Morvern Callar (2002))), impressive visual effects, a handsome, talented ensemble cast, and good suspense.
What isn't wholly great is the film's ending, which is strange, as a mysterious, deformed person from the first Icarus mission is roaming onboard. SPOILER It all ends in a psychedelic conclusion, where Boyle sticks closely to the film's unexceptional score (by John Murphy (The Man (2005))).

Related posts:

Danny Boyle: 127 Hours (2010) - Boyle and Franco get stuck with an inconsequential true story
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
28 Days Later (2002) or, Fast Zombies in England 
The Beach (2000) or, Paradise Never Lasts

Watch a trailer for the film here 

Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office: 32 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.8 times its cost)
[Sunshine premiered 23 March (Bochum Fantasy Filmfest Nights, Germany) and runs 107 minutes. Shooting took place in London, England, Sydney, Australia and in Stockholm, Sweden for 3 months, starting in August 2005. The film opened #25 to a 242k $ first weekend in 10 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 461 theaters, grossing 3.6 mil. $ (11.3 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was main production country the UK with 6.4 mil. $ (20 %). North America was the 2nd biggest, and 3rd biggest was France with 3.1 mil. $ (9.7 %). The film won 1/2 British Independent Film awards. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It was criticized by scientists for scientific inaccuracies; for instance reportedly billions of the nuclear bomb targeted at the sun in the film would actually be needed to cause a reignition. Boyle said that he would not return to the sci-fi genre after the lengthy production process with Sunshine. The film made in excess of 15.83 mil. $ on North American home video sales; if added into the calculation, it would change the film's status to that of big flop instead. Boyle returned with Alien Love Triangle (2008, short) and theatrically with Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Cillian Murphy (Cold Mountain (2003)) returned in Watching the Detectives (2007). Sunshine is certified fresh at 76 % with a 6.84/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Sunshine?

The Last King of Scotland (2006) - Macdonald's Idi Amin thriller debut is an electric accomplishment

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+ Best Thriller of the Year + Best Huge Hit Movie of the Year

Looming ominously above the white X and defining this poster for Kevin Macdonald's The Last King of Scotland is the interesting face of Forest Whitaker as the title character

Young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan comes to Uganda on an idealistic mission in the early 1970s and befriends the country's new president Idi Amin, developing into a personal doctor and adviser for Amin, whose reign comes to evolve into a murderous regime.

The Last King of Scotland is written by Peter Morgan (The Queen (2006)) and Jeremy Brock (Mrs Brown (1997)), adapting the same-titled 1998 novel by Giles Foden (Ladysmith (1999)), and directed by great Scottish filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (Black Sea (2014)), whose fiction feature debut it is, and who mainly was a documentarian before it. The film serves as a very successful portrait of Uganda's late president Amin in 1970s Africa, which doesn't seem so much different from the way the continent often appears today.
The Last King of Scotland distinguishes itself with a beginning that's laced with welcome humor and high spirits, only to then change over into becoming a high-octane thriller.
James McAvoy (White Teeth (2002), miniseries) is cute as naive doctor Garrigan; Gillian Anderson (Crisis (2014), TV-series) dazzles in a supporting part, and Forest Whitaker (Ripple Effect (2007)) deserved his Oscar for his portrayal of the psychotic, unpredictable manipulator Amin.

Related post:

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 6 mil. $
Box office: 48.3 mil. $
= Huge hit (8.05 times the cost)
[The Last King of Scotland premiered 1 September (Telluride Film Festival, Colorado) and runs 123 minutes. Shooting took place in Uganda from June 2005 - ?. The Garrigan character is fictional, and the film changes some details in Ugandan history and Amin's reign but was reportedly well-received in the country. It opened #37 to a terrific 142k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #17 and in 517 theaters, playing a long 34 weekends, grossing 17.6 mil. $ (36.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 11.1 mil. $ (23 %) and France with 2.9 mil. $ (6 %). The film was nominated for 1 Oscar for Best Actor (Whitaker), which it won. It also won a Golden Globe, 3/5 BAFTA nominations, 2/6 British Independent Spirit awards, was nominated for 6 European Film awards, won a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Macdonald returned with My Enemy's Enemy (2007, documentary) and fictionally with State of Play (2009). Whitaker returned with a voice performance in Everyone's Hero (2006), ER (2006-07) and The Shield (2006-07) and theatrically in the flesh in The Air I Breathe (2007). McAvoy returned in Penelope (2006). The Last King of Scotland is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Last King of Scotland?

In the Loop (2009) or, Modern Warfare

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+ Best Political Movie of the Year

The cross-Atlantic political communication is at the heart of this poster for Armando Iannucci's In the Loop

When the British minister of international development messes up in a live radio interview by referring to an imminent war in the Middle East as "unforeseeable", he becomes cannon fodder for war-mongering American allies.

Despite shaky photography that is all but pleasant and a gallery of almost entirely unendearing characters (mainly gutter-mouthed spin doctors), In the Loop is a political satire that wins because of its mix of well-written verbal jokes, crude tongue-in-cheek gags and absurd comedy, which proves irresistible and provokes numerous good laughs for the not-easily-offended audience.
The swearing is a bit much at times, as is the wall-to-wall dialog, but good acting performances and an original and disillusioned vision of modern politics hold one's engagement throughout despite these misgivings.
In the Loop is written by Jesse Armstrong (Veep (2012), TV-series), Simon Blackwell (The Thick of It (2005-12)), Tony Roche (Veep (2012-15)) and co-writer-director Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It (2005-12)), with Ian Martin (The Death of Stalin (2017)) contributing dialog.

Related posts:

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 612k £, or approximately 788k $
Box office: 7.7 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[In the Loop premiered 22 January (Sundance) and runs 105 minutes. The film was made in a lengthy hiatus between the filmmakers' 2nd and 3rd season of their related political satire TV-series The Thick of It. Shooting took place in England, mostly in London, and in Washington, DC and in New York from May - June 2008. The first cut of the film was 4.5 hours long. The film opened #27 in 8 theaters to a 191k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked at #24 and in 90 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 2.3 mil. $ (28.9 % of the total gross), becoming the film's 2nd largest market. The largest was the UK with 3.5 mil. $ (45.5 %), and the 3rd largest was Spain with 611k $ (7.9 %). The film was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar (due to the film being perceived as directly based on The Thick of It), lost to Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, 6 British Independent Spirit Awards, winning one, a National Board of Review award and many more honors. In the Loop is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In the Loop?