Archives

Showing 22nd September 2014

12 Years A Slave
R15,  2 hr. 14 min.
Drama, Special Interest
Directed By: Steve McQueen (III)
Written By: John Ridley
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Benedit Cumberbatch, Sarah Paulson,Paul Giamatti

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup, the New York State citizen who was kidnapped and made to work on a plantation in New Orleans in the 1800s. Steve McQueen (Hunger) directs from a script he co-wrote with John Ridley, based in part by Northup's memoir. It's far from comfortable viewing, but 12 Years a Slave's unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant -- and quite possibly essential -- cinema.

Audience Re-action:

Excellent 22 Very Good 24 Good 7 Fair 2 Poor 0 

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10)  8.0

Showing 24/03/2014

42            
12A  128 mins. Biography/Drama/Sport 2013
Director : Brian Helgeland
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Behare

The true story of Jackie Robinson, the first black Major League baseball player. It is 1946 , and Branch Rickey, a baseball executive, makes a brave move to cross the racial barrier and signs the talented Robinson to the all-white Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson and his family have to endure racism both on and off the pitch, but finds support from unexpected sources.

Showing 20th March. 2017

45 Years    (2015)
15    USA    1hr 35mins    Romance/Drama        IMDb rating 7.1/10
Director – Andrew Haigh
Cast – Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtney, Geraldine James

Kate and Geoff live a quiet and seemingly normal life in the country until Geoff receives a letter informing him that the body an old girlfriend, whom he travelled through Switzerland with, but was lost in climbing accident, has been found preserved in a glacier of ice.

This happened before he met Charlotte Rampling's Kate, who immediately raises her eyebrows at the clarity in which Geoff, played by Tom Courtenay, recalls his time in the Swiss Alps.

She's more concerned with arranging the party for her anniversary than digging up the past, but that's what spurs Geoff into life, as he picks up old habits and develops a fascination with his loft. In stark contrast, suspicion and jealously soon begins to grow in Kate, who feels pushed aside in favour of someone she didn't even know.

It's set in the Norfolk Broads, after all, but Kate and Geoff's country cottage could be the house of Usher given the secrets that lie beneath. The performances are exemplary, of course, whilst the staging and framing is that of a director at the top of his game. Both visually and with regards to the diegetic soundtrack that tells the story of this couple's life. But how much of that was defined by Geoff's dead girlfriend? own conclusions.

The AGM of Linlithgow Film Society will precede the showing of the film.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10   4.3

Excellent  4   Very Good  8   Good 25    Fair 17    Poor 8

Showing Monday 5th November 2018
A Man Called Ove  (2015)
15   Swedish    116 mins    Comedy/Drama/Romance       
IMDb rating 7.7/10
Director – Hannes Holm
Cast – Rolf Lassgard, Bahar Pars, Filip Berg

This is a Swedish film based on a best selling book.  59 year old Ove is the kind of obstinate oaf who dislikes strangers and enforces the strict bylaws of the residential block. Widowed a year ago, Ove has just been made redundant from his job on the railway, his parting gift a spade. When new neighbours move in from Iran his life changes.   Using flashbacks we see where Ove is coming from. Ove is played by 6’4” Rolf Lassgard who played Wallander in the original Swedish TV series.  Entertaining moving feel good film.
 

Showing Monday 28th January 2019
A Quiet Place (2018)
15    USA    90 mins      Drama/Horror/Sci-Fi    
IMDb rating 7.8/10
Director –  John Krasinski
Cast –  Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds

Whatever you do, don’t make a sound!  This is the film that stopped American filmgoers eating their popcorn during the film.  This film exudes tension as we follow a family living in their isolated house after an invasion of creatures who attack if you make a sound.  Sign language (sub-titled) is the means of communication the oldest daughter being deaf, but make one sound and your dead!  Millicent Simmonds the daughter is actual deaf so no problem learning to sign.  Wish all sci-fi films could be as good as this.
 

Monday 16th September 2018

A Star is Born (2018)

15 USA 136 mins Drama/Music/Romance IMDb 7.7/10
Director - Bradley Cooper
Cast - Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliot

A musican, Jack (Cooper) helps a young singer, Ally (Lady Gaga) to find fame & fortune as age/alcoholism sends his own career into a downward spiral. Excellent performances from both Cooper and Lady Gaga who sings a jaw dropping version of “La Vie en Rose” and received a best original song Oscar for “Shallow”.

12th January 2015

American Hustle
R15   2 hr. 9 min.
Drama
Directed By: David O. Russell
Written By: Eric Singer (V) , David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper

A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser  is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso  who  pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting.

Audience Re-action:

Excellent 2 Very Good 11 Good 12 Fair 9 Poor 7 

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10) 4.5

Showing 23rd November 2015

American Sniper (2014)    
15, US, 2hr 13mins, War Drama/Bio
IMDb rating – 7.4/10
Director – Clint Eastwood
Actors –  Bradley Cooper, Selma Miller, Kyle Gallner

Based on the book written by Chris Kyle.
Kyle (Bradley Cooper) a skilled shooter joins the SEALs and becomes the most successful US sniper in history called “The Legend” by the infantry and marines during his 4 tours of duty during the Iraq War.
The film follows Kyle through boyhood into the army and the experiences during the war.
The film also shows the problems war brings to people readjusting back into civilian life and relationship with family.
A powerful film showing the brutality of war and the stresses caused.
Exciting and tense action scenes.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10

Excellent 13  Very Good 24 Good 16 Fair 2 Poor 2

Showing 23/09/2013

Amour
12A  127mins Drama French with subtitles 2012
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant

A love story with a difference. It explores the events impacting on an octogenarian couple’s life after one catastrophic event. Anne (Riva) suffers a stroke , which tests the love of her beloved husband and daughter as her physical and mental health declines.

Showing 13/01/2014

Argo
15  120 mins. Drama 2012
Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston

Based on the true story of the invasion of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979. Several Americans were held hostage , but 6 managed to escape to the residence of the Canadian Ambassador. The CIA took a gamble on an outrageous plan to rescue them , and smuggled them out under the pretence of being part of  a phony Canadian film project.
Worthy winner of 3 Oscars , including Best Film , and BAFTA for Best Picture.

Showing Monday 9th October 2017

Arrival (2016)
12    USA      116min      Drama/Mystery/Sci-fi     IMDb rating 8.3/10
Director - Denis Villeneve
Cast – Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker

Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is called on to lead a team with theoretical physicist Dr Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to try and communicate with extraterrestrial visitors.  12 gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world.  One lands in Montana.  Her job is to try and learn the aliens’ language to enable communication with them. Are they friend or foe?  It’s a race against time as others start to view them as a threat, war could erupt at any moment.

Not your usual ‘Sci-fi’ a more intelligent look at what may happen if aliens landed

Showing 30th March 2015

Behind the Candelabra
R15  1 hr. 58 min.
Drama, Television
Directed By: Steven Soderbergh
Written By: Richard LaGravenese
Starring: Matt Damon. Scott Bakula, Eric Zuckerman

Before Elvis, before Elton John, Madonna and Lady Gaga, there was Liberace: virtuoso pianist, outrageous entertainer and flamboyant star of stage and television. A name synonymous with showmanship, extravagance and candelabras, he was a world-renowned performer with a flair that endeared him to his audiences and created a loyal fan base spanning his 40-year career. Liberace lived lavishly and embraced a lifestyle of excess both on and off stage. In summer 1977, handsome young stranger Scott Thorson walked into his dressing room and, despite their age difference and seemingly different worlds, the two embarked on a secretive five-year love affair. BEHIND THE CANDELABRA takes a behind-the-scenes look at their tempestuous relationship - from their first meeting backstage at the Las Vegas Hilton to their bitter and public break-up.

The AGM of Linlithgow Film Society will precede the showing of the film.

Audience Reaction

LFS Rating out of 10

Excellent 6, Very Good 14, Good 14, Fair 6, Poor 1

Monday 27th January 2020
 
BlackkKlansman (2018)
 
15 USA 135mins Biography/Crime/Drama IMDb 7.5/10
Director - Spike Lee
Cast - John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier

 Based on the true story of Ron Stallworth (Washington) an African-American Police Officer in Colorado Springs in the 1970’s who successfully manages to infiltrate the local Klu Klux Klan branch with the help of a fellow (Jewish) officer who eventually becomes its leader. The police force is racist and Ron is their first African American Officer whom they consign to a dead end job in records. He sees an advert inviting people to join the KKK branch and having a white sounding telephone voice he succeeds in doing so. For meetings in person he persuades fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (who being Jewish belongs to another ethnic group targeted by the KKK) to stand in for him.
The Director Spike Lee manages to inject a fair amount of humour into a serious subject. An interesting and engaging Film.
Note: Ron Stallworth wanted Denzil Washington to play him but in the end was ecstatic that Denzil’s son got the job.

Showing 10th November 2014

Blue Jasmine
R12A  1 hr. 38 min.
Comedy
Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen
Starring Cate Blanchett, Alec Balbwin, Peter Sarsgaard

Jasmine French used to be on the top of the heap as a New York socialite, but now is returning to her estranged sister in San Francisco utterly ruined. As Jasmine struggles with her haunting memories of a privileged past bearing dark realities she ignored, she tries to recover in her present. Unfortunately, it all proves a losing battle as Jasmine's narcissistic hangups and their consequences begin to overwhelm her. In doing so, her old pretensions and new deceits begin to foul up everyone's lives, especially her own.

Audience Re-action

Excellent 13 Very Good 25 Good 21 Fair 7 Poor 0

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10) 6.7

Monday 9th December 2019

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

12A USA 134 mins Biography/Drama/Musical IMDb 8/10
Director - Bryan Singer
Cast - Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Guilym Lee

Based on the true story of Freddie Mercury and Queen from their formation until Live Aid in 1985.
The film chronicles Mercury’s (Malek) journey from Heathrow baggage handler to world famous artist. The problems he encountered along the way do not always make easy watching but it is an interesting journey accompanied by great music throughout culminating in the fantastic high of the Live Aid concert.
The recreation of the Live Aid Concert involved use of Boringdon Airfield in Hemel Hempstead and some magic by a special effects team to conjure up a 72,000 audience.

Showing Monday 4th March 2019
Breathe (2017)
12A UK     118mins      Biography/Drama/Romance        
IMDb rating 7.1/10
Director – Andy Serkis
Cast – Andrew Garfield, Clair Foy, Hugh Bonneville

This is an inspiring true love story of Robin and Diane Cavendish (Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy) an adventurous couple who refused to give up in the face of a devastating disease.  Robin Cavendish contracted polio in Africa in 1958, paralysed from the neck down the couple refused to give up.  They with a talented inventor friend (Hugh Bonneville) help Robin and enabled him to travel and show other polio patients that there could be life outside the hospital. Played with sensitivity and compassion. Andy Serkis’s directorial debut and produced by the couple’s son Robin Cavendish.
 

Showing 6th March. 2017

Bridge of Spies    (2015)
PG    USA    2hr 22mins    Drama        IMDb rating 7.6/10
Director – Steven Spielberg
Cast – Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Alan Alda

In 1957, lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is recruited from his prestigious law firm to defend accused Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). It's an unenviable task in many respects. Donovan hasn't practiced criminal law since he was a prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials after World War II. Also, the strong anti-Communist mood at the time makes him a target from who think Abel should just be executed.

Abel is convicted but Donovan convinces the judge to sentence him to prison, rather than execute him, as they may at some point in the future want to swap him for an American spy the Soviets might have in custody. Just such a scenario comes into play when in 1960 U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is shot down over Soviet territory and taken prisoner. Donovan is again recruited to act as the intermediary and negotiate swapping Able for the American requiring him to travel to East Berlin crossing the newly built Berlin Wall.

Mark Rylance won a deserved 2016 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10  9.4

Excellent 39    Very Good 11    Good 2    Fair 0    Poor 0

Showing 16th Jan. 2017

Brooklyn    (2015)
PG    USA    1hr 51mins    Drama        IMDb rating 7.5/10
Director –John Crowley
Cast –  Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson

In late 1951, Eilis Lacey, a young Irish girl, emigrates to Brooklyn. Sponsored by Father Flood, a priest from her native town Enniscorthy, she is assured of finding a full-time job there. But the early days are tough, seasickness being soon replaced by loneliness and homesickness, two feelings all the more acutely felt by Eilis for having had to leave behind her widowed mother and her dear sister Rose. She nevertheless little by little manages to find her footing by adapting to her job as a salesgirl, by studying bookkeeping at Brooklyn College as well as with a little help from both Father Flood and Mrs. Kehoe, the owner of the boarding school she now lives in.

And not only does graduation follow but love shows its face in Tony, an Italian-American plumber, full of adoration and respect for her. They end up marrying, although keeping the thing secret. It is at that point that tragedy strikes inciting Eilis to return to Enniscorthy to support her mother morally.

And then a strange thing happens: she gradually gets lured by the charms of her native place,  to let herself be wooed by Jim Farrell, a young local.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10  8.3%

Excellent  35     Very Good 30     Good  10     Fair  1     Poor 0

Showing 23rd February 2015

Calvary
R15  1hr40min
Drama
Directed by John Michael McDonagh
Starring: Brendan  Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd

CALVARY's Father James  is a good priest who is faced with sinister and troubling circumstances brought about by a mysterious member of his parish. Although he continues to comfort his own fragile daughter  and reach out to help members of his church with their various scurrilous moral - and often comic - problems, he feels sinister and troubling forces closing in, and begins to wonder if he will have the courage to face his own personal Calvary.

Audience Re-action

Excellent 9, Very Good 20, Good 14, Fair 9, Poor 6

Linlithgow Fim Society Rating  5.7

Showing 27th October 2014

Captain Phillips
RPG13  2 hr. 14 min.
Drama
Directed By: Paul Greengrass
Written By: Billy Ray
Starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhab  Abdirahman

Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips  and the Somali pirate captain, Muse  who takes him hostage. The film is  based upon the book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty.

Audience Re-action:

Excellent 37 Very Good 24 Good 10 Fair 2 Poor 1

Linlithgow Film Society Rating 8.2

CHARITY FILM NIGHT
In aid of the Uganda Childbirth Injuries Fund

Showing 17th March 2017
Pretty Woman        (2009)
15    USA    1hr 59min    Comedy/Romance    IMDb rating 6.9/10
Director – Garry Marshall
Cast – Richard Gere, Julia Roberts

Pretty Woman was the film that made Julia Roberts a star with a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination.
She plays a prostitute who’s “employed” by a rich playboy businessman (Richard Gere) to play his girlfriend for the week. This is a modern “Cinderella” type film with dubious messages about “working girls” totally unbelievable but saying that it’s the best film directed by Gary Marshall  (creator and writer of  TV “Happy Days”) most entertaining and grossed over $500 million worldwide. Good 80’s soundtrack.

As I write this I’ve just heard the news that Gary Marshall has just died at 82years old.

This charity provides medical care and supplies to carry out obstetric fistula surgery for women in Uganda who have become incontinent through injury during childbirth due to lack of obstetric care.
Mhairi Collie, a surgeon at the Western General Hospital and Ishbel Campbell, a local practice nurse returns to Uganda each year to perform this life changing surgery and provide post-operative nursing.
 
Tickets Price £10   Film Society Members and Concessions £7.50 
Including refreshments available at the Door

Showing 12th Sept. 2016

Creed    (2015)
PG    USA    2hr 13mins    Sport/Drama        IMDb rating7.7/10
Director – Ryan Coogler
Cast – Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompso

Adonis Johnson is the son of the famous boxing champion Apollo Creed, who died in a boxing match in ROCKY IV(1985). Adonis wasn't born until after his father's death and wants to follow his father’s footsteps in boxing. He seeks a mentor who is the former heavyweight boxing champion and former friend of Apollo Creed, the retired Rocky Balboa. Rocky eventually agrees to mentor Adonis. With Rocky's help they hope to get a title job to face even deadlier opponents than his father. But whether he is a true fighter remains to be seen....

Sylvester Stallone won a deserved Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor but missed out in the Oscars to Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies.
The final boxing match takes place at Goodison Park Football Ground Liverpool.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10     5.5%

Excellent 2     Very Good 10     Good 11    Fair 6   Poor 1

Showing 8th December 2014

Dallas Buyers Club
R 15, 1 hr. 57 min.
Drama
Directed By: Jean-Marc Vallée
Written by: Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner

Matthew McConaughey stars in DALLAS BUYERS CLUB as real-life Texas cowboy Ron Woodroof, whose free-wheeling life was overturned in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live. These were the early days of the AIDS epidemic, and the U.S. was divided over how to combat the virus. Ron, now shunned and ostracized by many of his old friends, and bereft of government-approved effective medicines, decided to take matters in his own hands, tracking down alternative treatments .

Audience Re-action 

Excellent 4 Very Good 19 Good 17 Fair 5 Poor 1

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10) 6.1

Showing Monday 8th October 2018
Darkest Hour (2017)
PG    UK      125min      Biography/History/Drama    
IMDb rating 7.4/10
Director – Joe Wright
Cast – Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kirsten Scott Thomas
 

Within days of becoming Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Oscar wining Gary Oldman) must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials, exploring a negotiated peace with Nazi Germany or continuing the war.  With an unprepared public, a sceptical King and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally the nation and attempt to change the course of history.   Spoiler – we all know the ending!
An excellent supporting cast to back Gary Oldman
Trivia – Gary Oldman smoked £30,000 worth of cigars (about 12 a day) and developed nicotine poisoning and had to have a colonoscopy during the Christmas filming break.

Showing 5th February 2016

Charity Film Night In Aid of The Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund. This charity provides medical care and supplies to carry out obstetric fistula surgery for women in Uganda who have become incontinent through injury during childbirth due to lack of obstetric care.
Mhairi Collie, a surgeon at the Western General Hospital and Ishbel Campbell, a local practice nurse return to Uganda each year to perform this life changing surgery and provide post operative nursing.

Tickets - Price £10, Film Society Members and Concessions £7.50
Including refreshments available at the Door

Dirty Dancing
PG13, U.S.A, 1Hour 40min, Drama/Musical/Romance
IMDB Rating 6.8/10
Director - Emile Ardolino
Actors - Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach

In the summer of 1963 an innocent 17 year old Baby vacations with her parents at a Catskills Resort. One evening she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive.  Baby soon becomes Jonny’s pupil in dance and love.  

Showing 10/02/2014 

Django Unchained
18  165mins. Western 2012
Director : Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo di Caprio, Christopher WaltzSet in 1858, former slave Django is trained by Dr Schultz as his deputy bounty hunter. He promises to help rescue Django’s wife from the ruthless plantation owner, Calvin Candie.

Classic Tarantino- expect some humour with violence and buckets of gore.

Showing Monday 5th February 2018

Elle (2016)        Subtitled
15     French   130mins   Crime/Drama/Thriller   IMDb rating 7.2/10
Director – Paul Verhoeven
Cast – Isabelle Huppert, Lavant Laffite, Charlse Berling

Wealthy entrepreneur Michele (Isabelle Huppert) is the owner of a video-game company that she runs with her friend Anna (Anna Consigny). She is brutally assaulted and raped by a stranger in a ski mask in her home, trying to rebuild her life she is contacted by her attacker. This starts a cat and mouse game as she tracks down her assailant.

Won Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film

Trivia:- This is Paul Verhoeren’s first French language film,  he went to a Dutch language institute to learn French and used an all French crew.
 

Showing 31st Oct. 2016

Eye in the Sky     (2015)
15    USA    1hr 42mins    War/Drama    IMDb rating 7.8/10
Director – Gavin Hood
Cast – Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman

EYE IN THE SKY stars Helen Mirren as Colonel Katherine Powell, a UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya.

Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from "capture" to "kill." But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute, reaching the highest levels of US and British government, over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.

Tense view of modern drone warfare and the politics behind it. This is Alan Rickman’s final film.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10     7.8%

Excellent 27     Very Good 34      Good 12    Fair 3     Poor 0

Showing Monday 25th February 2019
Finding Your Feet (2017)
12A    UK    111mins    Comedy/Drama/Romance       
IMDb rating 6.6/10
Director – Richard Loncraine
Cast – Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie, Timothy Spall, Joanna Lumley
 

Another British comedy in a long line of films about growing old and learning to enjoy life.  A superb cast led by Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie and Timothy Spall will have you laughing and crying in this feel good film.  Lady Abbot (Staunton) discovering her husband has been having an affair with her best friend, leaves him and encamps with her free spirited sister (Imrie) living on a North London council estate.
Reluctantly joining the dance group her life changes, she finds her sister again and maybe love? A lovely film of the type only the British can make.
Trivia – Celia Imrie was filming during the day and performing in King Lear on stage in the evening.
 

Monday 21st October 2019
 
First Man (2018)
 
12A USA 141mins Biography/Drama/History IMDb 7.2/10
Director - Damien Chazelle
Cast - Ryan Gosling, Clair Foy, Jason Clarke

Hard to believe the Moon landings were 50 years ago!

This film looks at the life of Neil Armstrong who, on 20th July 1969, became the first man to walk on the moon.
 
Armstrong was an engineer, an excellent Pilot (the general consensus amongst NASA astronauts was that he was the best pilot among them) and most of all a perfectionist but he was also a private, introverted man.
 
This film does not portray him as a sympathetic character however the Armstrong’s sons said of the film that it is a most accurate portrayal of both their father and their mother. Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong perfectly and Clair Foy plays his wife.

Monday 3rd February 2020
 
Fisherman’s Friends (2019)

12A UK 112mins Comedy/Drama/Music IMDb 6.9/10
Director - Chris Foggin
Cast - Tuppence Middleton, James Purefoy, Daniel Mays

 A fictionalised version of the discovery of the Folk Group from Port Issac, Cornwall who had a top 10 album of Sea Shanties in 2010. Danny (Mays) is a London Music Agent sent to Cornwall to book a “group” but finds (and signs) Fisherman’s Friends. His colleagues are shocked but he perseveres and the Film follows his journey in both music and romance.
 
A genteel, feel good British Rom Com more fiction than fact but much of it did happen - just sit back and enjoy.

Showing 7th Nov. 2016

Florence Foster Jenkins        (2016)
PG    USA    1hr 50mins    Comedy/Drama        IMDb rating 7.1/10
Director – Stephen Frears
Cast – Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg

The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice. Once again  real life is stranger than fiction. Meryl Streep gives  her usual superb performance singing out of tune.

Hugh Grant came out of semi-retirement to play opposite Meryl Streep giving one of his best performances. Simon Helberg plays the talented pianist hired to accompany Jenkins suffering so he can play the premier venue Carnegie Hall.

Filmed mostly in the UK, Glasgow doubles as streets of 1940s New York, Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum stands in for exterior of the Carnegie Hall and Hammersmith Apollo for the interiors.

If you want to listen to the recordings of Florence Foster Jenkins, you can find them on You Tube if you’re in a masochistic mood. 

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10

Excellent 23     Very Good 26     Good 19     Fair 4     Poor 2

Showing 14th November 2014

Charity Film Night

Fried Green Tomatoes
RPG13  2 hr. 10 min.
Drama, Comedy
Directed By: Jon Avnet
Written By: Fannie Flagg, Carol Sobieski
Starring  Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson   

Evelyn Couch is having trouble in her marriage, and no one seems to take her seriously. While in a nursing home visiting relatives, she meets Ninny Threadgoode, an outgoing old woman, who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode, a young woman in 1920's Alabama. Through Idgie's inspiring life, Evelyn learns to be more assertive and builds a lasting friendship of her own with Ninny.

This is a charity film night In aid of The Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund.
This charity provides medical care and supplies to carry out obstetric fistula surgery for women in Uganda who have become incontinent through injury during childbirth due to lack of obstetric care.
Mhairi Collie, a surgeon at the Western General Hospital and Ishbel Campbell, a local practice nurse will be in Uganda in September to perform this life changing surgery and provide post operative nursing.

Tickets Price £10   Film Society Members and Concessions £7.50
Including refreshments available at the Door.

Showing 12th October 2015

Gone Girl (2014)    
18, USA, 2hr 15mins, Mystery/Drama
IMDb rating – 8.2/10
Director –  David Fincher
Actors –    Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris 

Adaptation of Gillian Flynn's best selling book. Dark, intelligent and stylish film.
On the occasion of his 5th wedding anniversary Nick Dunne (Affleck) reports his wife missing.  Under pressure from the police and media, Nick's portrait of a blissful marriage begins to crumble.  Soon his lies, deceits and strange behaviour have everyone asking the same question.
Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?
A tense mystery that will have you gripped to the end.
Bloody violence, nudity and strong language in this adult thriller.

Audience Re-action

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10    6.2

Excellent  9  Very Good 23  Good  16 Fair  5  Poor  4

Monday 9th March 2020

Green Book (2018)

12A USA 127mins Biography/Comedy/Drama IMDb 8.2/10
Director - Peter Farrelly
Cast - Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini

In 1962 “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Mortensen) is an out of work tough Italian-American Night Club bouncer who reluctantly accepts a job driving an African-American Concert Pianist Dr Don Shirley (Ali) on a 8 week concert tour in the Deep South. The journey begins armed with a copy of “The Negro Motorist Green Book” a travel guide to safe travel through the racially segregated Southern States. We follow the developing relationship between an uneducated, tough, streetwise white man serving a well-educated and talented African American. They have to get over their differences and survive the dangers in an era of segregation and racism ultimately coming to an understanding that changes both their lives. Both men died within 3 months of each other in 2013 after 50 years of friendship.

Showing Monday 13th November 2017

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
15    USA      139 mins Bio/War/Drama/History  IMDb rating 8.2/10
Director –Mel Gibson
Cast – Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Teresa Palmer

The true story of Desmond T Doss (Andrew Garfield) the conscientious objector who, at the Battle of Okinawa, won the Medal of Honor for his incredible bravery and regard for his follow soldiers.  We see his upbringing and how this shaped his views, especially his religious view and anti-killing stance.  We see Doss’s trials and tribulations after enlisting in the US Army and trying to become a medic.  Finally, we see the hell on earth that was Hacksaw Ridge.

Trivia:- Dramatic battle scenes took 19 days to film.  With the exception of Vince Vaughan, rest of cast (16) were born or raised in England or Australia.
 

Showing Monday 25th September 2017

Hidden Figures  (2017)
PG    USA 127mins    Biography/Drama/History  IMDb rating 7.8/10
Director – Theodor Melfi
Cast – Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janella Monae

 
Based on the true story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space programme.  An inspirational film, do not miss.

Trivia:- In reality John Glen was 41 years old not the age of the actor Glen Powell who’s 27.  At 98 Katherine Johnson (Taraji P Henson) was the only survivor to see her achievements on film.  President Obama awarded her a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She  wondered why anybody would want to make a film about her life.
 

Showing Monday 29th October 2018
Hostiles (2017)
15     USA    134 mins    Western/Drama        
IMDb rating 7.2/10
Director – Scott Cooper
Cast – Christian Bale, Wes Studi, Rosamund Pike

Westerns are out of fashion, only a few make it to the big screen. Hostiles is a film about forgiveness, it’s a journey across the vast space of the US.
Captain Joseph Baker (Christian Bale) is assigned the task of transporting a dying North American Chief, Yellow Hawk, (majestically played by Wes Studi) to his homeland in Montana to die.  The film opens with an Indian attack on a settler’s home from which Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike) survives. Found by the Captain she attaches herself to the group.
The film is slow but never drags, interposed with short brutal action scenes.  Super cast especially Bale & Studi.  A haunting and emotional western.

Showing Monday 19th March 2017
 
AGM of Linlithgow Film Society followed by: -
 
Hunt for the Wilder People (2016)
12   New Zealand  101mins Adv/Comedy/Drama   IMDb rating 7.9/10
Director – Taika Waititi
Cast – Sam Neil, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata

Set in New Zealand’s great outdoors this film tells the story of a young overweight kid Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) who is left by the welfare services in the countryside with a new set of foster parents.  Uncle Hec (Sam Neill) and Aunty Bella (Rima Te Wiata) attempt to win him over but there’s only one way out, to runaway.  Uncle Hec is not impressed with him but ends up on a whirlwind adventure, running away from tyrannical welfare servces.
 
This is a funny, heartwarming, immensely entertaining film set within New Zealand’s stunning landscape.
 
Trivia:- 1st local feature film to gross more than NZ $1 million in its opening weekend at NZ box office.

Showing Monday 27th November 2017

I Daniel Blake (2016)
15    UK    100 mins      Drama    IMDb rating 7.9/10
Director –  Ken Loach
Cast –  Dave Johns, Hayley Squire, Sharon Percy

Ken Loach’s BAFTA winning film set in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.   A middle age widower Daniel Blake a carpenter, is recuperating from a heart attack.   We follow his nightmare journey fighting the bureaucratic  forces of the system in order to receive Employment and Support Allowance.  Daniel a modern working-class hero stands up for himself and others in need against the faceless bureaucratic system.

Palme D’Or Winner (2016 Cannes)
BAFTA – Outstanding British Film (2017) winner

Trivia:- Film was shot in chronological order.

Showing 5th Dec. 2016

Jungle Book    (2016)
PG    USA    1hr 46mins    Family/Adventure        IMDb rating 7.8/10
Director –  Jon Favreau
Cast –  Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kinsley, Idris Elba

Directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), based on Rudyard Kipling's timeless stories and inspired by Disney's classic animated film, The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who's been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat.

Urged to abandon the only home he's ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don't exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.

This is a terrific must see movie. No wonder it has been achieving unprecedented massive success everywhere.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10  8.1%

Excellent   29    Very Good  23     Good  7     Fair  0     Poor  2

Showing Monday 11th December 2017

La La Land (2016)
12A USA 128 mins  Music/Comedy/Drama/Rom IMDb rating 8.2/10
Director –  Damien Chazelle
Cast –  Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend

The story of Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, struggling to make ends meet in Los Angeles.  This musical about their struggle and relationship explores what is more important; a once-in-a-lifetime love or the spotlight and fame. Entertaining musical, good performances, the opening musical number on the freeway is worth the admission alone.

Emma Stone – OSCAR WINNER 2017

Trivia:- John Legend, singer, pianist, had to learn to play the guitar for his role.

Showing 07/10/2013

Lawless
18  116 mins  Crime/Drama  2012
Director : John Hilcoat
Starring: Shia Laboeuf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke

Based on the true story of the Bondurant brothers, who set up an illegal distillery and bootlegging business in Virginia in 1931.Unscrupulous authority figures are unsuccessful in securing a cut in their profits, so try to track down and destroy the distillery. When the law becomes corrupt , “outlaws become heroes “.

Showing 02/12/2013

Les Miserables
12A  158 mins Musical/drama  2012
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe

Based on the novel by Victor Hugo , the story is set in post-revolutionary France. Jean Valjean breaks parole to begin a new life, but is relentlessly pursued by the ruthless Inspector Javert. The pursuit continues for several tumultuous years in French history , stretching the limits of human endurance. The dialogue is sung live and has show-stopping performances from the lead actors , worthy of the 3 Oscars it won in 2012.

Showing Monday 11th September 2017

Lion (2016)    
PG    UK    118 mins      Biography/Drama    IMDb rating 8.1/10
Director – Garth Davis
Cast – Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara

 
Five year old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) gets lost, falls asleep on a train and finds himself on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometres from home.  He survives many challenges before being adopted by an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman & David Wenham).  25 years later as an adult Saroo (Dev Patel) sets out to find his lost family in India.

Trivia:- The first scene Dev Patel filmed was the last scene of the film.
Based on Savoo Brierley’s book ‘A Long Way Home’

Monday 11th November 2019
 
Long Shot (2019)

15 USA 125 mins Comedy/Romance IMDb 7.4/10
Director - Jonathan Levine
Cast - Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen

Fred Flarsky (Rogan) is a gifted and free-spirited journalist with an affinity for trouble. Charlotte Field (Theron) is one of the most influential women in the world, smart, sophisticated, a powerhouse of a diplomat with a talent for almost anything. The two have nothing in common except that she was his childhood babysitter and his childhood crush. When Fred unexpectedly reconnects with Charlotte he charms her and she, impulsively, hires him as her speechwriter as she prepares to run for President much to the dismay of her advisors.
A fish out of water in Charlotte’s elite team Fred is unprepared for life in the limelight. However, sparks fly as their unmistakable chemistry leads to romance and a series of unexpected and dangerous incidents.
A funny, smart and well-made romantic comedy for the modern age.

Showing Monday 30th October 2017

Manchester by the Sea (2016)
 15    USA    137 mins    Drama        IMDb rating 7.9/10
Director – Kenneth Lonergan
Cast – Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler

After the sudden death of his older brother, Lee (Casey Affleck) is made legal guardian to his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). He then returns to his hometown and is forced to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community he was born and raised in.

A strong performance by Casey Affleck in this emotional film of trauma, guilt, redemption and familial bonds.
 
Trivia:- Manchester by the Sea is a real town on the North Shore of Massachusetts. It was called Manchester until 1989 when a campaign led to a change of name.
 

Monday 17th February 2020
 
Mary Queen of Scots  (2018)
 
R UK 124mins History/Biograhy/Drama IMDb 6.3/10
Director - Josie Rourke
Cast - Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden
 

Mary Stuart's attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution. Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne.

Showing Monday 6th November 2017

Moonlight    (2016)
15    USA    111 mins    Drama        IMDb rating 7.5/10
Director – Barry Jenkins
Cast – Mahershala Ali, Shariff Earp, Duan Sanderson

Three time periods – young adolescence, mid-teen and young adult – in the life of black-American Chiron (Ashton Sanders) are presented.  Chiron is a young, gay man growing up in a rough neighbourhood of Miami during the “War on Drugs” era.

OSCAR WINNER 2017

Trivia:- When Juan teaches Little how to swim (Mahershala Ali) he is really teaching (Alex R Hibbert) to swim, as when production started Hibbert did not know how to swim.
 

Showing 7th December 2015

Mr Turner (2014)    
12A, British, 2hr 24mins, Bio/Drama
IMDb rating – 6.9/10
Director – Mike Leigh
Actors –  Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Paul Jesson       

The film explores the last quarter century of the great eccentric painter J.M.W Turner (1775-1815)
A brilliant performance by Timothy Spall who learnt how to paint in preparation for the role.
Supported by a cast of experience British character actors this slow paced film is full of eccentric characters of the day with superb detail in every scene.
Turner is not a man you'll grow to love but this slow measured film will open up his character good & bad and maybe you'll understand a little more of his paintings.
Mike Leigh brings to the screen a beautifully filmed piece with some scenes just as stunning as the paintings of the great man.
Timothy Spall received Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival (2014) why he was not nominated for an Oscar is a mystery.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10       5.2

Excellent 4  Very Good 18  Good 23 Fair 13 Poor 4 

Showing Monday 18th February 2019
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)        
12A    UK    114mins  Crime/Drama IMDb rating 6.5/10
Director – Kenneth Branagh
Cast - Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Willem Defoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp

Another all star adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel.  Kenneth Branagh directs and plays Poirot with a magnificent over the top moustache.  Murder on a train so many suspects, who did it? Typical whodunit.  Beautifully filmed, great special effects, super costumes. If you saw the 1974 version you will know who did it but that will not spoil this version.  Filmed on a specially built bridge in the Surrey hills.
Death on the Nile will be the next new adaption coming to the big screen.

Showing 27/01/2014 

Olympus has Fallen
15  120mins. Action/Thriller  2013
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

The US President is held hostage after the White House ( code name “Olympus”) has been captured by terrorists. Disgraced former Presidential Guard Mike Banning ( Butler) is trapped in the building . He uses his insider knowledge to work with national security to redeem himself and save the President and avert disaster .

Showing 7th September 2015

Paddington (2014)    
PG, British, 1hr 35mins    Comedy/Family
IMDb rating – 7.3/10
Director – Paul King
Actors – Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi & Ben Wishaw as the voice of Paddington       

Fun for all the family in this adaptation of Michael Bond's Paddington books.
Hugh Bonneville & Sally Hawkins light up the production as Mr & Mrs Brown. The great cast of British character actors enhance the film and you'll want to see more of Peter Capaldi as the miserable neighbour Mr Curry.  The Villain is played by Nicole Kidman the fanatical taxidermist.  Plenty of laughs, a box office success all over the world.

Audience Reaction 

LFS Rating out of 10   8.8

Excellent 32  Very Good 11 Good 3 Fair 2 Poor 

Showing Monday 10th September 2018
Paddington 2 (2017)    
PG    UK    103 mins      Comedy    IMDb rating 7.9/10
Director – Paul King
Cast – Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins

This sequel is much better than the original.  We see Paddington trying numerous odd jobs hoping to earn enough to buy Aunt Lucy a special book for her 100th birthday.  The valuable book is stolen and Paddington is framed and sent to prison, what happens next is a hilarious series of adventure, prison break and chases to find the real thief.  The villain of the piece Hugh Grant is excellent as are all the supporting cast.  Laugh aloud funny, don’t miss the after credits musical number with Hugh Grant and inmates – brilliant!

Showing 24th November 2014

Philomena
RPG13   1 hr. 38 min.
Drama, Biography
Directed By: Stephen Frears
Starring:  Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark

   

Based on the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, PHILOMENA focuses on the efforts of Philomena Lee , mother to a boy conceived out of wedlock - something her Irish-Catholic community didn't have the highest opinion of - and given away for adoption in the United States. In following church doctrine, she was forced to sign a contract that wouldn't allow for any sort of inquiry into the son's whereabouts. After starting a family years later in England and, for the most part, moving on with her life, Lee meets Sixsmith , a BBC reporter with whom she decides to discover her long-lost son.

Audience Re-action

Excellent 45 Very Good 27 Good 4 Fair 0 Poor 0 

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10) 8.8

Showing 16/09/2013

Quartet
12A  98mins Comedy/Drama 2012
Director : Dustin Hoffman
Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins

A home for retired concert musicians is putting on an end of year fundraising concert to enable the home to remain open. Enter Jean ( Maggie Smith) as the elderly diva  and ex-wife of Reginald (Tom Courtenay). She is guaranteed to stir up many emotions among the residents , including drama and romance. Elderly lothario Wilf ( Billy Connolly) is in sparkling form with his witty banter.
An excellent directorial debut from Dustin Hoffman.

Showing 20th Feb. 2017

Rams    (2015)
15    Icelandic        1hr 33mins    Drama        IMDb rating7.4/10
Director – Grimur Hakonarson
Cast – Siguraur Sigurjonsson, Theodor Juliusson

In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the country's best and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi's sheep, the entire valley comes under threat.

The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. This is a near death sentence for the farmers, whose sheep are their main source of income, and many abandon their land. But Gummi and Kiddi don't give up so easily - and each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits. As the authorities close in the brothers will need to come together to save the special breed passed down for generations, and themselves, from extinction

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10  4.5

Excellent  1    Very Good 11    Good 17    Fair  13   Poor 5

Monday 7th October 2019
 
Return of the Hero (2018) Subtitled
 
12A French 90min Comedy/History IMDb 6.4/10
Director - Laurent Tirard
Cast - Jean Dujardin, Melanie Laurent, Noemie Merlant
 

A fresh, funny, entertaining French Romantic Comedy set in 1809. Captain Neville (Jean Dujardin) is called to the front leaving his future wife heartbroken. He neglects to send any letters to his bride-to-be so her sister starts to write letters pretending these are from him with ever more fantastic lies and making him out to be a war hero.
 
The problem starts when he turns up as a vagabond after deserting his regiment and then adopts the folk hero persona created for him.

Showing 23rd Jan. 2017

Room        (2015)
15    USA    1hr 58mins    Drama        IMDb rating 8.3/10
Director - Lenny Abrahamson
Cast – Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers

ROOM tells the extraordinary story of Jack, a spirited 5-year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted mother. Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories.

Their life, however, is anything but typical--they are trapped--confined to a 10-by-10-foot space that Ma has euphemistically named Room. Ma has created a whole universe for Jack within Room, and she will stop at nothing to ensure that, even in this treacherous environment, Jack is able to live a complete and fulfilling life.

But as Jack's curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma's resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10     6.7

Excellent 12    Very Good 22    Good 17    Fair 5    Poor 1

Showing 23rd March 2015

Saving Mr Banks
RPG13,  2 hr.
Drama, Comedy
Directed By: John Lee Hancock
Written By: Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
Starring: Emma Thomson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley

Two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar winner Tom Hanks topline Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks," inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" made it to the screen. When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins," he made them a promise-one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops.

Audience Reaction

LFS Rating out of 10  8.0

Excellent 24,  Very Good 23, Good 8, Fair 2,  Poor 0 

Showing 25th January 2016

Selma (2014)    
12A, US, 2hr 8mins, Drama
IMDb rating – 7.9/10
Director – Ava DuVernay
Actors –   David Oyelowo, Carman Ejogo, Tim Roth, Tom Wilkinson

This unforgettable true story chronicles the tumultuous 3 month period in 1965
when Dr Martin Luther King Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in face of violent opposition, via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama on 21st March 1965.
The film is warm, smart, generous and moving even though the film-makers were not allowed to use Dr King's actual words.
It will call forth tears of grief, anger, gratitude and hope.

Audience   Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10     7.9

Excellent  21  Very Good  31  Good  12

Showing 14/10/2013

Side-Effects
106mins Crime/thriller 2013
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law

In New York, the insider trader Martin Taylor is released after serving four years in prison. Initially, his wife appears to be happy to be reunited with her husband, but soon she becomes mentally unbalanced and attempts suicide. Her psychiatrist prescribes a new medication, which causes her to sleep-walk as a side-effect. In a somnambulant state, she stabs her husband to death and is committed to a mental health institution.The psychiatrist is blamed, and he is desperate to clear his name and find out the truth behind this tragedy.

Showing 03/04/2014

Sightseers
15  88 mins. Dark comedy 2012
Director : Ben Wheatley
Starring: Alive Lowe , Eileen Davies, Steve Oram

The storyline seems innocent enough - a frumpy couple go on a caravanning holiday to Yorkshire. They experience people and problems that crop up on such trips, and deal with them in most unconventional ways. The couple are actually a pair of psychopathic killers and the humour is very dark .

Showing 10/03/2014

Silver Linings Playbook
15  122mins.  Romance/comedy 2012
Director : David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert de Niro

Pat Solitano ( Cooper) has lost his house, his job and his wife.He moves back in with his parents after a spell in psychiatric care and is determined to rebuild his life. He meets the mysterious Tiffany and things become complicated. She promises to help him reconnect with his wife if he will do something important for him in return.

Showing Monday 19th February 2018

Son of Saul (2015)        Subtitled
15    Hungarian    107mins         Drama/War            IMDb rating 7.5/10
Director – Laszlo Nemes
Cast - Geza Rofrig, Levente Molnar, Urs Rechn

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz Saul Auslander, a Hungarian prisoner working as a member of the Sonderkommando at the crematorium finds a boy who he takes for his illegitimate son.  He tries to carry out an impossible deed; salvage the body and find a Rabbi to bury it. All around him hell on earth and many of his fellow workers planning an uprising against their captors, he has to try and keep the body safe until he can find a Rabbi.

This a unique, hard-hitting movie experience, not to be taken lightly as an audience member.

Won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Showing Monday 15th January 2018
 
Split (2016)
 15    USA    117mins     Thriller/Horror    IMDb rating 7.3/10
Director –M. Night Shyamadan
Cast –  James McAvoy, Anna Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson

James McAvoy plays Kevin a man diagnosed with 23 distinct personalities (we only see 8), he is being treated by psychiatrist Dr Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley) but unknown to her he has kidnapped 3 girls.   Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) one of the girls tries to influence one of the personalities to help them escape, not knowing that deep down the 24th personality “the beast” is about to emerge.
 
Trivia:- M Night Shyamalan originally wrote the Kevin character for “Unbreakable” (2000), but decided to use him in a separate film 15 years later.
 

Showing 10th Oct. 2016

Spotlight    (2015)
15    USA    2hr 8mins    Drama        IMDb rating8.1/10
Director – Tom McCarthy
Cast – Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Live Schreiber

The true story of how, in 2001, reporters at the Boston Globe investigated accusations of Catholic priests in Boston molesting children. Following on from leads, interviews with victims, existing court cases and extensive research they reveal decades of abuse. Moreover, they discover that the issue was far wider spread than they at first believed, that senior members of the diocese were aware of the issue and that the church systemically covered up the crimes.

Best Picture Oscar 2016 This is a complete ensemble performance from the cast.

The Boston Globe won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for the Spotlight Team report

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10    8.4

Excellent  30     Very Good 27     Good 5     Fair 0     Poor 1

Monday 16th March 2020
 
AGM of Linlithgow Film Society followed by: -
 
Stan and Ollie (2018)
 
PG UK/Canada/USA 98mins Biography/comedy/Comedy
IMDb 7.3/10
Director - Jon S Baird
Cast - Steve Coogan, John C Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda

The “true story” of Hollywood’s greatest comedy double act on their last post-war theatre tour of Britain and Ireland.
Stan Laurel (Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (Reilly) are recreated by these two talented actors, the resemblance to the stars is remarkable (see news clips during the credits). With their golden days behind them they take on a gruelling tour of nearly all the variety halls in the UK supported by their wives Lucille (Henderson) and Ida (Arianda) both actresses giving super performances - a double act in their own right.
Drama, laughs, tears a fitting tribute to our lost but not forgotten stars.
Notes: There is a Laurel & Hardy Museum in Ulverston, Cumbria (Stan’s birthplace) with many artefacts from Stan’s career.
The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival usually includes Laurel and Hardy shorts.

Showing 04/11/2013

Star Trek into Darkness
12A 132 mins Adventure/Sci/Fi 2013
Director: JJ Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine,Zachary Quinto,Simon Pegg

Another treat for “Trekkies”. A terrorist from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and left the world in crisis. Young Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise embark on the dangerous mission to capture the deadly terrorist.

Showing 18th January 2016

Still Alice (2014)    
12A, US, 1hr 41mins, Drama
IMDb rating – 7.5/10
Director – Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland
Actors –   Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kirsten Stewart

This is the story of Linguistics Professor Alice (Julianne Moore) who discovers she has rapidly developed early onset Alzheimers.
The film shows the journey of the woman, her family and her husband (Alec Baldwin).
It's not an easy film to watch, but confronts us through this devastating illness with the fact that Alzheimer's patients are still human beings.  Moore's Oscar winning performance is an effectively heart-wrenching piece of work as she slowly transitions from bright, articulate woman into someone who can hardly express a coherent thought.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10      8.2

Excellent  28  Very Good 29  Good 5 Fair 2    

Showing 6th October 2014

Sunshine on Leith
RPG,  1 hr. 40 min.
Musical & Performing Arts
Directed By: Dexter Fletcher
Written By: Stephen Greenhorn
Starring George MacKay, Peter Mullan, Jane Horrocks, Freya Mavor, Antonia Thomas

This film is a jubilant, heartfelt musical about the power of home, the hearth, family and love. It is the tale of one tight-knit family, and the three couples bound to it, as they experience the joys and heartache that punctuate all relationships. And they do it all while singing to the euphoric music of The Proclaimers.

Audience re-action:

Excellent 51 Very Good 25 Good 9 Fair 3 Poor 0

Linlithgow Film Society Rating  8.5

Showing Monday 22nd January 2018
 
T2 Trainspotting  (2017)
18     UK    117mins         Drama       IMDb rating 7.4/10
Director – Danny Boyle
Cast – Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Roberrt Carlyle
 

After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friend Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Begbie (Robert Carlyle).  Much has changed but much remains the same, as Renton tries to renew relationships, with mixed results, psychotically intense Begbie is in jail and planning to escape with revenge in mind.

An emotional, funny, moving return complete with a full set of swear words!

Trivia:- Robert Carlyle kept away from his family in Glasgow while filming because he became so much like Begbie.
 

Showing Monday 5th March 2018
 
The Accountant (2016)
15    USA    128mins       Action/Crime        IMDb rating 7.4/10
Director – Gavin O’Connor
Cast – Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J K Simmons

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a maths savant with more affinity for numbers than people. He works as a freelance accountant for some of the worlds most dangerous criminal organisations. The Treasury Dept. Crime Enforcement Division starts to close in.  Christian takes on a legitimate client; a state of the art robotics company where an accounting clerk has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars.  Uncooking the books and getting closer to the truth bring danger.   That's when his other skills come to the fore and the body count rises.
 
Entertaining, action thriller, just a normal day in the life of an accountant!

Showing 9th March 2015

The Butler
RPG13   2 hr. 12 min.
Drama
Directed By: Lee Daniels
Written By: Danny Strong
Starring: Forrest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack

LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man's life and family.
 
Audience Re-action

Excellent 30, Very Good 24, Good 12, Fair 1, Poor 0

Linlithgow Film Society Rating 8.1

Monday 18th March 2019
 
AGM of Linlithgow Film Society followed by: -
 
The Death of Stalin (2017)
15   UK    107mins    Comedy/History   
IMDb rating 7.2/10
Director – Armando Iannucci
Cast – Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beake, Michael Palin, Jason Isaacs

This film is banned in Russia, police raided and stopped the film being shown in Moscow.
Once again Armando Iannucci has produced an extremely funny satirical political comedy. In 1953 Joseph Stalin, collapses unexpectedly and dies, what follows is the scheming of the Council of Ministers as they scramble to maintain order and fight for power.  Although funny we see the vicious violent undertone of Russian politics. My favourite is Field Marshall Zhukov (Jason Issacs with Yorkshire accent) he was the only man Stalin was a little afraid of. Superb cast, lots of fun.

Showing 6th Feb. 2017

The Dressmaker    (2015)
12A      UK    1hr 58mins    Drama        IMDb rating 7.1/10
Director – Jocelyn Moorhouse
Cast – Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving

Based on Rosalie Ham's bestselling novel, The Dressmaker is the story of femme fatale Tilly Dunnage who returns to her small home town in the country to right the wrongs of the past. A stylish drama with comic undertones about love, revenge and haute couture.

The following is a review from an Australian viewer-

“Brilliant movie. Kate Winslet as the star lives the role so perfectly you forget she is not a native born Australian - her accent is flawless, her acting is raw and beautiful. The movie is heart wrenching, darkly funny, shocking and confronting all in a delightful way. Judy Davis is brilliant - irascible as Mad Molly, you gradually discover her depth and beauty. Again flawlessly played. Hugo Weaving is fantastic as always - several laugh out loud moments with him. He is the consummate actor and where someone else playing this role would have just been a plain unlikeable weirdo, Hugo makes you love him and his quirky nature. Liam Hemsworth is sweet and very watchable. The townsfolk played by many notable Australian actors are well played also. All in all, a wonderful movie that will touch your heart in many ways. Liked it so much, I will definitely go and see it again. It's THAT good.”

Showing 8th September 2014

Grand Budapest Hotel
R15  1 hr. 39 min.
Drama, Comedy
Directed By: Wes Anderson
Written By: Wes Anderson, Stefan Zweig, Hugo Guinnss
Starring Ralph Fiennes, F Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

Audience Re-action:

Excellent 18 Very Good 18 Good 28 Fair 14 Poor 3

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10) 6.1

Monday 10th December 2018
The Greatest Showman (2017)
PG USA 95 mins  Biography/Drama/Musical
IMDb rating 7.7/10
Director –  Michael Gracey
Cast –  Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya

The critics were luke warm about this film the public was not, this film was showing for over 3 month on the screen, only surpassed by Mamma Mia and the album music went platinum.  A mostly fictional story of PT Barnum and his rise to fame as the “Greatest Showman”. Sing along songs, excellent dancing a truly feel good film.
Hugh Jackman back to his musical theatre beginnings.  Romance between Zac Efron and Zendaya is pure Hollywood.  This is not history or a biography, it’s a musical, just sit back, tap your feet and enjoy.
 

Showing 28th September 2015

The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)    
PG, India/UAE/USA, 2hr 4mins, Comedy
IMDb rating – 7.3/10
Director – Lasse Hallstrom
Actors – Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon

Clash of cultures and clash of French & Indian cuisines are the basis of the adaptation of Richard C Morains best selling novel.
The story follows a Mumbai family of restaurant owners burned out of their premises during a political uprising journey to France led by stubborn Papa (Om Puri) and finding a place to start again. One big problem the building directly opposite (One Hundred Feet) away is a Michelin star establishment run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren).  Let battle commence and both sides play dirty. A well tested story but you will care about the characters and will wish you could taste the food for yourself.
Enjoyable if predictable story just sit back and enjoy.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10 7.2

Excellent 15 Very Good 27 Good 17 Fair 3

Showing 21st Nov. 2016
The Hundred Year-old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared     (2014)        English and Subtitlles
15    Swedish    1hr 50mins    Comedy    IMDb rating 7.1/10
Director –Felix Herngren
Cast – Robert Gustafsson

Based on the Internationally best-selling novel by Jonas Jonasson, this is the wonderful and unlikely story of a 100-year man who decides it’s not too late to start over.

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home. A big celebration for his 100th birthday is in the works, but Allan really isn’t interested. Instead, he climbs out of a window and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey – involving a gang of criminals, murderers, a suitcase stuffed with cash, an elephant and an incompetent policeman.

In flashbacks to his life Allan has witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, including the invention of the atomic bomb and sharing meals and more with everyone from US presidents to Russian tyrants.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10    7%

Excellent 21     Very Good 27     Good 18     Fair 7    Poor 1     

Showing 18/11/2013

The Hunt
15 2012 Danish with subtitles
Director :Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen

Primary school teacher Lucas (Mikkelsen) is wrongly accused of sexually abusing a child. He is ostracised by the tight-knit community, suffering personal and professional damage. The film illustrates dramatically how a little lie can escalate and destroy an innocent man.

Showing 21st March 2016

The Imitation Game (2014)    
12A, British, 1hr 54mins, Drama
IMDb rating – 8.1/10
Director –  Morton Tyldum
Actors –   Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Mark Strong

Entertaining, if a simplified version of Alan Turings Life and Account of his part, during WW11, in breaking the "Enigma Code" - the Germans' unbreakable code.
(only passing mention of the Polish codebreaker).  
Well acted by all concerned especially Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, once again in a British film the excellent team of British character actors make the film special.
Benedict's portrayal of Alan Turing is amazing, watching this actor work with a subject is a joy.  Keira Knightley gives one of her best performances as Joan Clarke, the woman who comes to understand Turing the best.
An altogether excellent, entertaining film.

The AGM of Linlithgow Film Society will precede the showing of the film.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10   8.6

Excellent  33 Very Good  23  Good   1  Fair  3  

Showing 14th September 2015

The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013)     
15, Scandinavian, 1hr 48mins, Thriller
IMDb rating – 7.1/10
( Subtitled )
Director – Mikkel Norgaad
Actors –   Eric Ericson, Sonja Richer, Nikolaj Lie Kass

Police Inspector Carl Morch is put in charge of a Department of Cold Cases (Department Q) after acting on his own initiative, getting himself and his colleagues shot up.  Thinking his career is over and assigned to the basement he is joined by his assistant Assad the complete opposite to grumpy Carl.  They uncover a 5year old case of a missing woman.
What he and Assad start to uncover will take them both on a nail biting ride of twists and turns.  
Think of Taggart transplanted to Denmark.
A sequel is planned so watch out for a inferior American rip off.
Danish police dramas are common on TV with this you don't have to wait till episode 8 to find out who did it.

Audience Reaction 

LFS Rating out of 10  7.2

Excellent 17 Very Good 34 Good 16 Fair 2 Poor 2 

Monday 18th November 2019
 
The Keeper (2018)

15 UK 120 mins Biography/Drama/Romance IMDb 7.8/10
Director - Marcus Rosenmuller
Cast - David Kross, Freya Mavor, John Henshaw

An extraordinary love story involving a German POW in 1944.
John Friar (Henshaw) spots Bert (Kross) playing in goals in a POW camp football match. He is impressed and persuades the camp commander to let Bert play for the local team. Bert falls for Margaret Friar (Mavor) and rather than return to Germany on his release he stays and marries her. Bert is later recruited by Manchester City and plays with them 1949-64.The marriage and the playing career cause all sorts of problems. This is a film with much to say about how peace, forgiveness and reconciliation can broker a path through intractable and divisive prejudices.

Showing 5th Sept. 2016

The Lady in the Van    (2016)
PG    UK    1hr 44mins    Comedy    IMDb rating 6.7/10
Director – Nicholas Hytner
Cast – Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent

The Lady in the Van tells the true story of Alan Bennett's strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric homeless woman whom Bennett befriended in the 1970s before allowing her temporarily to park her Bedford van in the driveway of his Camden home.

She stayed there for 15 years. As the story develops Bennett learns that Miss Shepherd is really Margaret Fairchild (died 1989), a former gifted pupil of the pianist Alfred Cortot. She had played Chopin in a promenade concert, tried to become a nun, was committed to an institution by her brother, escaped, had an accident when her van was hit by a motorcyclist for which she believed herself to blame, and thereafter lived in fear of arrest.

From book to play to film Alan Bennett's story  proves that real life can be stranger than fiction.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10       8.4

Excellent  40     Very Good  24        Good  10      Fair  2     Poor  0

Showing 2nd November 2015
        
The Lunchbox (2014)    
PG, Indian, 1hr 45mins, Romantic Drama
IMDb rating – 7.8/10
(subtitled)
Director – Ritesh Batra
Actors –   Nimrat Kaur, Infan Khan

“Dabbawalas” - Box Carriers 4500 to 5000 dabbawalas deliver between 175,000 to 200,000 lunches everyday to workers. These are collected from homes and restaurants and returned at the end of the day.  Less than 1 mistake in 6 million deliveries are said to occur.  Filmed in Mumbai in 2012 genuine lunch boxes were used and the dabbawalas, were followed by a film crew of 4 which filmed the process documentary style.

Ila is a young wife seeking her husband's attention trying to put the romance back into the failing relationship , she cooks him a special lunch to be delivered to his work. Saajan is a lonely accountant about to retire from his job.A rare mix up occurs and Ila's lunch box is delivered to Saajan who is surprised as he gets  cheap poor food from a café.  When her husband does not respond the next day she puts lots of salt in the lunch.  Saajan responds by writing a note of complaint, eventually she realises her lunch box is going astray but she continues to provide delicious food and notes are passed between them forming a strange relationship.

The question is are they ever going to meet ?
A very different look at romance Indian style and an interesting look at Mumbai culture.

Audience Re- action

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10     6.00

Excellent 6 Very Good 23 Good 19 Fair 6 Poor 

Showing 26th Sept.2016

The Martian    (2015)
PG    USA    2hr 24mins    SiFi/Drama    IMDb rating 8.1/10
Director – Ridley Scott
Cast – Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kirsten Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission.

As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return.
Never go anywhere without Duct Tape especially in space!

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10    7.1%

Excellent  17    Very Good 17     Good 13     Fair 6     Poor 0

Showing Monday 4th February 2019
The Midwife (2017)        Subtitled
12     French/Belgian   117mins   Drama   IMDb rating 6.8/10
Director – Martin Provost
Cast – Catherine Deneuve, Catherine Frot, Olivier Gourmet

Clair (Frot) is a dedicated midwife struggling with life and work.  Not wanting to leave her old hospital and move to the new modern “baby factory” hospital is a struggle. Her personal life is no better, her son is leaving home with his new girlfriend and on top of that, her dead father’s former mistress Beatrice (Deneuve) turns up. She is the complete opposite of Clair eccentric, sensual, amoral the last person she needs.  But Beatrice soon informs her she is suffering a brain cancer and has no one else to turn to.  What is Clair to do?
Trivia – Catherine Frot actually delivered 5 babies during filming.

Showing Monday 7th January 2019
The Post (2017)
12A    USA    116mins     Biography/Drama/History   
IMDb rating 7.2/10
Director –Steven Spielberg
Cast –  Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks
 

Another film based on true story of the Washington Post.  A cover up of the government’s deception about the futility of the Vietnam War that spanned 4 US Presidents is finally exposed. The first female newspaper publisher Kay Graham (Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks) join in an unprecedented battle between the press and the Nixon Government. Graham also has to fight the all male board members. This is not just about the newspaper story but the power of women in the workplace.

Trivia – In all the scenes depicting President Nixon on the phone in the White House, Nixon’s actual voice recordings are used.
 

Showing 19th January 2015

The Railway Man
R 15  1 hr. 56 min.
Drama
Directed By: Jonathan Teplitzky
Starring :  Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman,Stellan Skarsgard

Based on the remarkable bestselling autobiography, THE RAILWAY MAN tells the extraordinary and epic true story of Eric Lomax , a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II. Decades later, Lomax and his beautiful love interest Patti  discover that the Japanese interpreter responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him, and his haunting past, in this powerful and inspiring tale of heroism, humanity and the redeeming power of love.

Audience Re-action

Excellent 30  Very Good 20  Good 7 Fair 1 Poor 0

Linlithgow Film Society Rating (out of 10) 8.4

Monday 12th November 2018
The Shape of Water (2017)
15   USA      123 mins Adventure/Drama/Fantasy  
IMDb rating 7.4/10
Director –Guillermo del Toro
Cast – Sally Harkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones, Richard Jenkins

This film is difficult to catergorise, drama, fantasy, sci-fi.  Set in Baltimore in 1962 during the cold war in a high security military facility where a human/amphibious creature from the Amazon is being studied.  Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) a mute but bright woman and friend Zelda Fuller (Octavia Spencer) are night staff cleaners. Elisa meets the creature and finds a way of communicating and bonds with him.  Helping the creature escape to set him free puts her and friend in danger.   Sally Hawkins never speaks but manages to communicate all the emotions, no wonder she was nominated for the best actress Oscar.
 

Showing 9th November 2015

The Theory of Everything (2014)    
PG, British, 2hr 3mins, Bio/Romance
IMDb rating – 7.8/10
Director – James Marsh
Actors –  Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones

The story of our most brilliant celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking and
Jane Wilde the art student he fell in love with whilst studying at Cambridge in 1960's.
Diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at 21 years of age the film follows the relationship of Stephen and Jane as the illness takes its toll with their relationship.
A very moving film with Eddie Redmayne giving a best actor Oscar winning performance.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10  8.8

Excellent 34 Very Good 14 Good 2 Fair 2

Showing 27/09/2013

Thelma and Louise
15  130 mins Drama 1991
Director :Ridley Scott
Starring: Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis

The classic road movie in which the buddies are women. They decide to escape from their stifling, repressed home lives for a weekend trip to the mountains. The innocent trip turns into a nightmare when Louise kills a man who threatens to rape Thelma. Hotly pursued by the US police , their flight takes them towards Mexico.

Showing Monday 24th September 2018
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (2018)
15    UK/USA 127mins    Crime/Drama  
IMDb rating 8.2/10
Director – Martin McDonagh
Cast – Francis McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell

A very dark comedy/drama.  After months have passed without a culprit found in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) makes a bold move painting three signs leading into the town with a controversial message directed at the town’s chief of police (Woody Harrelson).  It’s when his deputy Dixon (Sam Rockwell) a violent, troubled mummy’s boy gets involved the battle between Mildred and the law gets out of control.  Excellent performances especially Sam Rockwell (bad language and violent throughout)
Trivia: Don’t try and find Ebbing Missouri on a map its fictional. Filmed in Sylva, North Carolina

Showing 24/02/2014

Untouchable ( French with subtitles)
15  112 mins.  Comedy 2011
Director :Oliver Nakache /Eric Toledanc
Starring: Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy

Based on a true story, Philippe is  quadriplegic millionaire living in Paris. His businesslike interviewing of candidates for the position of carer is hijacked by Driss . He is a black immigrant living in a poor neighbourhood but he is lively and unconventional and Philippe decides to give him a trial as his carer. Their relationship blossoms into a unique friendship, and their story guarantees lots of tears - of laughter as well as sadness.

Monday 24th February 2020
 
Up for Love (2016)

12 French 98min Comedy/Romance IMDb 6.3/10
Director - Laurent Tirard
Cast - Jean Dujardin, Virginie Efira

Diane (divorced) is a well-known lawyer who loses her phone. She receives a call from Alexandre who has found her phone. He is charming, a perfect gentleman and he makes a connection with Diane. They agree to meet so he can return her phone. On meeting Diane discovers he is only 4ft 6in tall. From that moment Diane tries to overcome the prejudices of society and her own fears and experiences the time of her life.
A charming and beautifully made film - as only the French can.

Showing 8th February 2016    

What we did on our Holiday (2014)    
12A, British, 1hr 35mins, Comedy
IMDb rating – 6.9/10
Director – Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin
Actors – David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, Billy Connolly

Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosemund Pike), recently separated, play happy families for a short holiday period for the sake of Doug's dying father Gordie
(Billy Connolly).  They travel to the Scottish Highlands to celebrate Gordies 75th Birthday.  The 3 children are to keep the family problems secret but we all know what children are like.......  
Written and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin who wrote the TV series “Outnumbered” using their tried and trusted technique with the gift of children “out of the mouth of babes” to entertain.
 

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10     8.7

Excellent 48  Very Good 21  Good  3  Fair 4 

Monday 2nd March 2020
 
Widows (2017)

15 USA 129min Crime/Drama/Thriller IMDb 7.10
Director - Steve McQueen
Cast - Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debick, Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson

Harry Rawlings (Neeson), a renowned thief, is killed alongside his partners Carlos, Florek and Jimmy in a botched robbery. His widow Veronica (Davis) is threatened by crime boss Jamel Manning who seeks return of $2 million stolen from him by Harry and partners. Veronica finds Harry’s notebook which contains detailed plans for a $5 million heist. She recruits a friend and the other widows to carry out the robbery.
An entertaining, fast moving thriller with a nice twist, set in contemporary Chicago.
Based on a 1983 British TV series.

Showing 7th March 2016

Wild  (2014)    
15, US, 1hr 55mins, Drama/bio
IMDb rating – 7.2/10
Director – Jean-Marc Vallec
Actors –  Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski

Based on a true story, (see closing credits of film)
Set in mid 1990's Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) has lost all hope after the dissolution of her marriage and death of her mother.  After years of reckless destructive behaviour, she makes a rash decision, with absolutely no experience driven by sheer determination she hikes more than 1000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone.
Wild captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthens and ultimately heals her.
Told partly in flashbacks as we journey with her from Southern California to Oregon, with beautiful panoramic views, it is the battle within Strayed which gives her the most problems not the walking.

Audience Reaction

Linlithgow Film Society Rating out of 10  5.6

Excellent  4  Very Good  19  Good  18  Fair  4  Poor  5

Monday 4th November 2019
 
Wild Rose (2018)

15 UK 100 mins Drama/Music IMDb 7.7/10
Director - Tom Harper
Cast - Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo

Wild Rose (Buckley) is Rose-Lynn a Glasgow girl whose passion is to get out of Glasgow and become a country singer in Nashville. There are obstacles facing her as she is just out of prison, has no job and has two children. Buckley is a star turn (and sings her own songs) but she is ably supported by Walters (as Rose’s mum who is on Rose’s case) and Okonedo (who plays her unlikely champion). Not a musical but an amusing, poignant drama with a good sound track. A Feel Good Romp of a Film.