Ian McKellen tagged posts

January 6, 2020, Posted in  Podcast Comments: No comments

Episode 78 of The Movie Robcast is proof that bad publicity can be as effective as positive hype. Rob Daniel had no intention of seeing Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit stage show. And then the negative reviews arrived. And kept on arriving. And conjured such bizarre and terrible images of what awaited audiences for Cats that he had to see the horrors for himself.

Paying £10, he saw… oh did he see. And now cannot unsee. Rob Wallis is a little kinder towards the film, but not enough to give a pull line that could get The Movie Robcast its first poster quote.

So, prepare for a journey to a fantastical place that should be full of wonder, but instead resembles The Island of Dr. Moreau...

June 16, 2015, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Bill Condon

Writer: Jeffrey Hatcher, Mitch Cullin (novel), Arthur Conan Doyle (characters)

Cast: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hattie Morahan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Roger Allam, Frances de la Tour, Nicholas Rowe

Cert: PG

Running time: 103 mins

Year: 2015

The lowdown: Evergreen super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes gets the revisionist treatment once more in Mr. Holmes. But, in the hands of star Ian McKellen and director Bill Condon, it’s a beautifully crafted gem. Playing games with the legend, this take on an aged Holmes is warm, intelligent and affecting.

The full verdict: 1947, and a 93 year old Sherlock Holmes is enduring retirement in the South Downs and tending to his bees (as per Holmes tale His Last Bow), irritating his housekeeper Mrs...

December 2, 2014, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Peter Jackson

Writer: Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Guillermo Del Toro

Cast: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Luke Evans, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Lee Pace

Cert: 12

Running time: 144mins

Year: 2014

The lowdown: Peter Jackson brings his unexpected trilogy to a close (bar the inevitable DVD extended edition next year) with a triumphant bang. Following on literally from The Desolation of Smaug’s cut-to-black ending, this boasts a treasure trove of excitement and adventure that will leave both Tolkein-heads and action movie fans panting with delight...

May 20, 2014, Posted in  Reviews

Director: Bryan Singer

Writer: Simon Kinberg

Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Nicholas Hoult, Halle Berry

Cert: 12

Running time: 131mins

Year: 2014

The lowdown: Following the first class First Class and the wild The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past confirms the franchise has rediscovered its X-factor. A time travel save-the-world plot unites the original series with the First Class reboot, delivering a blockbuster to sink your claws, mind and mutant streak into. A high-wattage cast and Bryan Singer’s dynamic direction ensure that in a world of Avengers, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Batman, Superman, etc, etc, X still marks the spot where it all began.

The full verdict: This mutant gene ...

December 11, 2013, Posted in  Reviews

Director: Peter Jackson

Writer(s): Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo Del Toro

Cert: 12

Running time: 161mins

Year: 2013

The lowdown: If The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was a wobbly start to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings prequel trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug is where the saga finds its (hairy) feet. Darker in tone, with less slapstick and (thank God) no singing, it is an epic adventure through a dazzlingly realised, thrilling world. Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen and joined by LOTR alumnus Orlando Bloom as Legolas and newcomer Evangeline Lilly as warrior Elf Tauriel. And Smaug, the lethal dragon voiced with mellifluous menace by Benedict Cumberbatch, is set to become one of cinema’s best baddies.

The full verdict: Who knows how much of it was planned an...