Not too late for Leo?

It's no secret that world famous actor, Leonardo DiCaprio has lost out on many of his fair share of Oscars in the past years. However, could that all be about to change?

It has been confirmed that the 40 year-old is set to star in brand new biopic 'The Crowded Room' which takes us back to the 1970s and follows the story of Billy Milligan, the first American citizen to use his diagnosis of multiple personality disorder as a defense in a court of law, pleading 'insanity' for his charges against multiple felonies including rape and armed robbery in the state of Ohio. 



 Rumour has it, DiCaprio has been eyeing up the role of Milligan for the almost twenty years, having been interested since 1997, but has only just achieved the role as New Regency production company have finally managed to get started on the movie.


 It may still be early days but critics strongly believe that this could be the role that finally rewards Leo with an Oscar that many fans believed he deserved earlier for his roles in movies such as 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Aviator'. You know what they say, better late than never!

- Zoe x

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Into the Woods: The most twisted fairytale yet.

Wow....what a way to mix up the fairy tales of our childhood. I'm talking Jack and the Beanstalk, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, something to do with Mr and Mrs Baker (?) and a rather creepy witch who causes most of their problems, all blended into one mythical world together.

The film opens with the musical number 'I wish', where all the characters are singing what they wish for in life. Soon after The witch, played by the wonderful Meryl Streep, storms into the bakery, telling the couple she can grant their wish of having a child with one condition. Naturally, this condition would be far from easy to meet. She demands they enter the woods and retrieve four items for her, 1. a cow as white as milk 2. a cloak as red as blood 3. hair as yellow as corn and 4. a shoe of pure gold. With this, the Bakers enter the woods on the search for their four items. On their journey, the tales of Little Red, Jack, Rapunzel and Cinderella play out, throwing twists and surprises at every turn and colliding the fairy tales into one wild adventure.

This is one of those musicals where almost every word is sung, pretty much every scene is a song (Most of the time the same song 'Into the woods', just different lyrics) but everything makes perfect sense, trust me.
 I'll hand it to director, Rob Marshall, he has created something mind-blowing and surprising, not just your typical 'they lived happily ever after' story. First of all, James Corden CAN sing, like really sing and Emily Blunt, where did that voice come from?! You can tell that some serious hard work has gone into creating this movie and it has paid off. It has also introduced two new talents to Hollywood in the form of Lilla Crawford (Red Riding Hood),who has made her movie debut after starring in 'Annie' on Broadway and Daniel Huttlestone (Jack) ,has taken to the screen again in another musical after previously starring in 'Les Miserables' in 2012.

When I first heard of this movie being released, I honestly didn't know quite what to expect and I still remain shocked now at how the story twisted in the second hour of the film. You think the film is coming to an end with the happy ending, happy marriages, beanstalk destroyed, wolf killed bla bla bla, but then you think again. Hang on, there's another hour left to this film. In that hour, is where the movie strays from your average fairy tale to an unexpected battle and I definitely didn't expect people to be dying!(No I'm not saying who)

Don't get me wrong, I liked the storyline but I think it's the musical aspect of this movie that really won me over. I'm a sucker for musicals, I love them, Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, you name it, i've seen it. The lyrics are very clever, captivating and at times you forget they're even singing because they're telling a story and you're so involved in the story, it's like they're talking to you. Does that make any sense?- Made sense in my head.And it's funny, I can't get on with a movie unless it has at least a glimpse of humour and this sure does.

One thing, I think they could have expanded on Cinderella's story a teeny weeny bit more, but I understand that may have made the film like another forty minutes long or something and the twist to her tale was unexpected (again, no I'm not telling)

Overall, I liked it. It was surprising yet stuck to the traditional tales at the same time, well on some of them. As for the acting, well they all deserve Baftas for starters, or at least some kind of high recognition for their outstanding voices. If they don't make a West End/Broadway musical out of this soon then I will!

The movie starred:

Meryl Streep as The Witch
Anna Kendrick as Cinderella
Chris Pine as Prince Charming 
Johnny Depp as The Wolf
Lilla Crawford as Red Riding Hood
Emily Blunt as The Baker's Wife
James Corden as The Baker
Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel
Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince
Daniel Huttlestone as Jack
Tracey Ullman as Jack's mother
Christine Baranski as Cinderella's stepmother 
Lucy Punch and Tammy Blanchard as Cinderella's stepsisters

And was directed by Rob Marshall.


What did you guys think? Let me know!

- Zoe x

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Just in: Jamie Dornan pulls out of 50 shades series!

It has just been announced that actor, Jamie Dornan, has pulled out of the '50 shades of Grey' trilogy just ten days after the first movie's release, after his wife admitted his raunchy sex scenes with co-star Dakota Johnson have caused her 'discomfort'. Not bloody surprised!

The film, which took around 4.6 million pounds on it's opening night on February 13th, has received mixed reviews about the regular steamy s&m scenes and it's clear Mrs Dornan was not keen as she 'refused to watch' her husband's new movie. Dornan, 32, who was rumoured to be already signed up for the next two movies, 'Fifty shades darker' and 'Fifty shades freed', has not yet confirmed these claims but a spokesperson for the actor has said, 'All press reports are conjecture as the studio has not committed to a sequel yet' 

 Ladies, you can breathe, it's just a rumour...for now. 
However it wouldn't surprise me to be true as Dornan previously suggested his wife may be struggling with it, '(Amelia) hasn't seen the film, and to be honest I understand if she didn't want to' 


In other news it has been reported that 50 shades director, Sam Taylor-Johnson is close to pulling out of any involvement in the future films of the trilogy herself following many fall outs with Author and creator, E.L James. One insider told the Daily Mail,'Her relationship with Erika has become toxic, they despise each other'.

Well, looks like it's not just getting hot and heavy on screen, but also behind the scenes. 

- Zoe x

Julianne Moore: 'Still' going strong as she is named Best Actress

I'm going to be dead honest, I really kind of wanted Felicity Jones to win this award. However, at that time, I hadn't seen 'Still Alice', okay, I still haven't seen it but I have spent the morning researching and watching clips and trailers and interviews and my god, I hold my hands up, she deserved it. I cannot wait to watch this film! 

On accepting her award for best actress at the 87th Oscars, Moore, 54, who plays the role of an Alzheimers sufferer, spoke of the struggle that so many face today 'I'm thrilled that we were able to shine a light on Alzheimers disease, so many people with this disease feel isolated' she then continued to thank her friends and family and said 'one of the wonderful thing about movies is that it makes us feel seen and not alone and people with Alzheimers deserve to be seen so that we can find a cure'

She also praised her fellow nominees who looked on from the crowd which included Felicity Jones, Marion Cotillard, Reese Witherspoon and Rosamund Pike, 'There's no such thing as best actress, I've been honoured to be among you every step of the way'.

The emotional winner ended by thanking the film makers, Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer '(they) had hoped to be here tonight but they can't because of Richard's health' She then continued to address the subject already touched on by winner, Eddie Redmayne 'When Richard was diagnosed with ALS, Wash asked him what he wanted to do (in life)....and he said he wanted to make movies and that is what he did'
 The crowd began to applause as she tearfully thanked her husband and children, 'Thank you for my life, thank you for giving me a home' and on that note, she exited the stage, clutching her award proudly.

With both speeches from Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, it soon became a night of awareness of both mental and physical diseases and from what I saw, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Congratulations to them both on their well deserved achievements. I promise to soon watch 'Still Alice' in full and review it.

- Zoe x

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The Theory of Everything: The Definition of Incredible.

When I say incredible, I mean incredible. First of all, let us just praise the extraordinary acting of Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, who play Professor Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane Wilde in this brand new, inspiring biopic directed by James Marsh and based on book written by Jane Wilde herself, 'Travelling to infinity: My life with Stephen Hawking'which I have to say I would now love to read! 

Anyway, back to the acting. Obviously, like everybody else, on discovering this had been made into a movie,it sounded fantastic but  I was sat asking myself the question '...but how?'

The story in itself was obviously going to be powerful and emotional, but the acting, for Eddie Redmayne especially must have proven a challenge, especially knowing full well Professor Hawking would be watching it when all is said and done. But I have to say, he didn't fail him, I can't imagine it being performed any better.Having to perform the deteriorating physical health, the emotional struggle and the heartbreak, Mr Redmayne you have out done yourself, you have touched people's hearts with your performance and  I am sure you will forever be remembered for it. Not to mention, you're drop dead gorgeous and irresistibly charming (had to be said)

Naturally, I entered the cinema expecting to be flooding the place with tears before the opening line but I didn't, I honestly didn't cry much at all, if at all. That might make me sound heartless but I was in shock, I sat there for the whole two hours, in absolute fascination, I had a lump in the throat through most of it and the amount of times I must have gasped and 'aww'-ed out loud are probably uncountable. I remember welling up towards the end and it was a relief otherwise I would have felt completely cold hearted! I'm sure if I had stopped and just looked around me for a second, the whole cinema would be there, jaws dropped and eyes glistening with tears.

The beautiful Felicity Jones, who plays Jane Wilde Hawking, well and truly out did herself, she really portrayed the love and strength towards Stephen, even in the darkest times and when things got too much, her acting was phenomenal, really pulled at the heart strings. And the likeness of her and the real Jane Wilde, well, it's like it was meant to be!

Despite the drama and the sad aspect of this movie, it's about a man, despite all odds being against him, fulfilling his dream, finding the love of his life and having a family. Also, it's funny, yes, funny. As in the whole cinema would erupt in laughter at some of the comments and jokes quite often in the movie, showing that despite the struggle, the young couple could still make each other smile and laugh. So if you're worried about seeing it because you don't want to be sat there sobbing all night and going home depressed, don't. This movie really makes you appreciate life, really makes you count your blessings and makes you realise, to quote Professor Hawking himself 'However bad life may seem,while there is life, there is hope'

The film ended with a round of applause and cheering from the small cinema crowd I was sat with, a very well deserved round of applause at that. Seriously, if you haven't seen this film yet, go see it, you're missing out on one of the most incredible tales ever to be told.

- Zoe x

Ecstatic Eddie Redmayne scoops Oscar for Best Actor at 84th Academy Awards!

Last night in Hollywood, a dream came true for budding actor, Eddie Redmayne as he was presented with the Best Actor award for his portrayal as Professor Stephen Hawking in new biopic, ‘The Theory of Everything’. The movie focuses on the life of world famous scientist, Professor Stephen Hawking and his family as he battles motor neurone disease from the early age of twenty-one. 

The film also stars the beautiful Felicity Jones as Hawking’s dedicated (now-ex) wife, Jane Wilde. Jones, 31, was also up for best actress but lost out to Julianne Moore for her role in Still Alice.

Shocked and overwhelmed, Redmayne dedicated his award to the Hawking family and promised to ‘polish him and be at his beck and call’ referring to his miniature statue. He also praised his ‘partner in crime’ Felicity, for her role in the movie, which has received outstanding reviews and was up against Birdman and The Imitation Game for best picture.

This award will join Eddie’s Bafta which he was awarded just last week for his performance. Touching the audience’s hearts, Redmayne, 33, dedicated his award to those suffering from the frightful disease of ALS (Motor neurone disease) the terminal illness which results in the muscles wasting away, ‘This Oscar belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS. It belongs to one exceptional family – Stephen, Jane and the Hawking children’.

And finally he bowed and thanked his new wife, Hannah Bagshawe for her support and joked ‘we have a new fella coming to share our apartment’ before exiting the stage to a roaring applause. 

Congratulations Eddie, we were rooting for you!

- Zoe x