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Movie Review: British Comedy "CUBAN FURY"

4/3/2014

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PictureBritish actor, Nick Frost
Dear Anglophiles: I attended a sneak preview of a film you may like--CUBAN FURY.  Sure to appease your hunger for “all things British” are the movie’s male leads, East Londoner Nick Frost (whom you may remember from Shaun of the Dead) and Irishman Chris O’Dowd  (best known for his TV role as Roy on The IT Crowd).  US-born Rashida Jones plays the female lead, an American working in London whom the two Brits swoon over.  As Anglophiles, we always hope for a peek of London, and if you pay attention, you’ll notice scenes shot outside the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as scenes shot in Camden’s uber-cool Koko Club, a hot spot you may want to hit on your next visit across the pond!


SYNOPSIS
Bruce (Nick Frost), former child-prodigy salsa dancer, making it big on the professional dance circuit, ditches his brilliant career when a group of bullies torment him.  As the years pass, having given up what he most loved, Bruce numbs his feelings through eating and emotional repression.  Then his new boss at the engineering firm arrives: lovely, salsa-dancing Julia.  All would be hunky-dory except obnoxious coworker Bruce (Chris O’Dowd), also smitten by the lass, delights in displaying competitive, testosterone-driven behaviors.  Much angst ensues--but alas!—salsa dancing saves the day.

As reported in Britain’s Metro, Nick Frost sent his producer a “drunken email” detailing the premise of the movie that would become Cuban Fury, and to Nick’s surprise, the next morning he received an email response saying, “Call me, this idea is amazing.”

Nick’s first thought: You idiot!  What have you done?  I have to do this show now, whether I like it or not.

Seven months of training loomed before him.  Nick said, “A week in, it was like I’d started a prison sentence.  It was 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. lifting weights, then skipping across to Pineapple Studios for six hours.  It wasn’t until week twelve that I started to improve.

“But the whole point for me was that I did all the dancing.  I’m writing a wrestling film, and I want to do all the wrestling.  It’s a shame there isn’t an Oscar for most effort put into a romantic dance comedy.”

Please note, dear Anglophiles, Cuban Fury is a light, fun, summertime movie.  To avoid disappointment, don’t expect the depth of Gosford Park, the edginess of Trainspotting, or the gravitas of The Queen.  But if you need a “bit of Britain” to feed your Anglophilia and like salsa music, you may well adore Cuban Fury! 

Release date: Mid to late April
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Cuban Fury trailer

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DAME MAGGIE SMITH, A BRITISH TREASURE (Please take poll)

2/27/2013

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DAME MAGGIE SMITH (Wikimedia)
Dame Margaret "Maggie" Smith is one of Britain's most beloved actresses.  The 79 year-old, now starring in the famed Downton Abbey TV series, has won seven BAFTA Awards, two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, three Emmys, and one Tony.  Thankfully, she has no plans to retire.  I just watched her interviewed on 60 Minutes (see video below) and was saddened to learn that she is, in fact, quite lonely . . . a complaint voiced by many elderly folks, whether movie stars or not.  Since Maggie's second husband (the "love of her life") died, she has had no desire to remarry and lets work fill the void.  Currently, Maggie is busy filming Season 4 of Downton, and my fingers are crossed that fine scripts continue to come her way. 


                MAGGIE FACTOIDS
  • Her father, a pathologist, taught at Oxford University.
  • She has (older) twin brothers.
  • She's been married twice; both men are deceased.
  • She has two sons and five grandchildren.
  • She is a breast-cancer survivor (diagnosed in 2008).
  • She was briefly hospitalized for chest pains last year but is now fine.
PLEASE TAKE POLL


Dame Maggie Smith, 60 Minutes Interview


Downton Abbey: Top 10 Maggie Moments
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A "JAMES BOND" MOVIE PRIMER

10/25/2012

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I recently heard a young Anglophile embarrassingly admit that she has never seen a James Bond film but that she hoped to correct her error in judgement by seeing Skyfall.  Her comment made me, who has grown up with the James Bond franchise, realize that perhaps other young Anglophiles are in the same boat.  (Or in James Bond parlance, in the same "Glastron CV-19 speedboat.") 

For those of you unfamiliar with James Bond movies, I have found a wonderful Time Out London article that discusses plots, characters, music, and other important details of each Bond film ever made.  In no time at all, you'll be up to snuff!  For the rest of us, the article is a pleasant stroll down memory lane....

To read Time Out London's "50 Years of James Bond" article, click HERE 

To hear Adele sing Skyfall's theme song, click HERE



Goldfinger, an iconic Bond movie theme song
















Pick your favorite: This video features snippets from all Bond theme songs!

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JAMES BOND, "Skyfall" / Sweepstakes!

10/2/2012

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Dear Anglophiles: The excitement grows as the new James Bond thriller, Skyfall, nears its release date!  I can hardly wait to see the location shots in London and Istanbul, two of the world's most beautiful and fascinating cities.  Or to see hunky Bond, Daniel Craig, pitted against mean-as-an-alley-cat villain, Javier Bardem.  Or to see Bond's uber-cool, co-agent, Naomie Harris, and his boss--one of the hippest women on planet Earth--Dame Judi Dench.  (Really, at an age when some women sit in a rocking chair and knit, how does Dame Judi keep her Cool Factor in the stratosphere?  Inquiring minds want to know.)

Skyfall will premier in select theaters in the UK on Tuesday, October 23, and have general release on Friday, October 26.  In the US, we must wait a bit longer: The movie's premier release date is Thursday, November 8 and general release date is Friday, November 9. 






<-----   But wait!  Wait!  What's this?  (gasp)  Why, it's a Bond mystery for YOU! 



Frankly, there are games that offer winners prizes, and there are games that offer winners PRIZES.  This is the latter.  Aston Martin.  British Airways.  Radisson, London.  Watch the video and enter.  May the best man or woman win....


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Anglophile Alert: Bond at the Barbican!

7/6/2012

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Picture
If I were in London today, I'd definitely be at the Barbican Centre, seeing Bond.  James Bond.  The Barbican is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise with an uber-cool, multi-sensory exhibit entitled "Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style."  Get a behind-the-scenes look at your favorite Bond movies, from the first film, 1962's Dr. No, starring Sean Connery, to the latest, soon-to-be-released Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig. The exhibit focuses on the craft behind the Bond films.  See all the "too-cool-4-u" gadgets, weapons, props, and designer clothing (Giorgio Armani, Hubert de Givenchy, Gucci, Oscar de la Renta, et al).  Ahhhh, we can dream, right?....being in London....being as cool as Bond.... (Frankly, the former could happen, but never the latter.  Sigh.)


The exhibit runs July 6 - September 5, 2012.  
To get hours/location & ticket info, click HERE


VIDEOS ABOUT THE EXHIBIT "DESIGNING 007: 50 YEARS OF BOND STYLE"






<---- Designing Bond's look













<---- Designing Bond's world

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Anglophile Alert: MOONRISE KINGDOM

7/3/2012

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Excuse me while I gush about my excitement to see the recently released movie, Moonrise Kingdom, which opened the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and features the music of Britain's Benjamin Britten and one of my favorite Brit actresses, Tilda Swinton.  I've positively fallen in love with the Britten soundtrack!  Wes Anderson, the director, said, "The Britten music had a huge effect on the whole movie, I think.  The movie's sort of set to it.  The play of Noye's Fludde that is performed in it--my older brother and I were actually in a production of that when I was ten or eleven, and that music is something I've always remembered, and made a very strong impression on me.  It is the color of the movie in a way."  (My personal favorite on the soundtrack is Britten's Cuckoo.)

MOVIE FACTOIDS:


Logline
: "A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them."  (Note: The logline does not capture the quirky feel of the movie, which is very similar to the Royal Tenenbaums.)

Movie title: Now "Moonrise Kingdom," but it's undergone a name change.  Earlier it was entitled "Moonlight Kingdom."

Director: Wes Anderson

Writers: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola

Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jared Gilman, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton.







<----  Official movie trailer











<---- Track 20 on Moonrise Kingdom soundtrack, Cuckoo, by Benjamin Britten and performed by the choir of Downside School









<---- Bill Murray discussing the making of Moonrise Kingdom

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Buy Moonrise Kingdom soundtrack HERE
Buy Moonrise Kingdom DVD HERE (pre-order; not yet available)
Buy Benjamin Britten music HERE


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Harry & Ginny

6/15/2012

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Dear Anglophiles, you may want to grab a hankie before watching this sweet video that documents Harry and Ginny's growing love over the years.  (Sniff, sniff)  And to think...we knew them when they were just wee ones....

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FINALLY! "BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL" OPENS!

5/2/2012

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Oh, be still my beating heart!  The British movie Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opens in select cities (including NYC) this Friday!  My fingers are crossed that it does well (no, does SPECTACULARLY) and soon has a general release date.  The movie features stars beloved by Anglophiles: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Dev Patel (of Slum Dog Millionaire).  Delicious, right?

Watch official movie trailer HERE

Yet more good news!  Fox Searchlight Pictures, which produced the movie, is sponsoring a promotional sweepstakes offering the winner an 8-day, 7-night trip for two to India.  (Replete with elephant ride!)  You can enter the sweepstakes HERE 


(Hey, somebody has to win.  Maybe it will be YOU.)

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    Picture

    Zella

    I am a writer, artist, and incurable Anglophile! Thank you for reading my blog, and please feel free to join my discussions about Britain.  I look forward to hearing your comments and stories!

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