German director Robert Schwentke’s directorial career has swung in a few directions; he has made Hollywood actioners like Flightplan with Jodie Foster, the adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife and a film that almost defines the idea of a personal movie, based on his own diagnosis with testicular cancer. He has both written and directed Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes, an eccentric competition choice, even by the inclusive standards of the Berlinale – starring John Malkovich as the eponymous Stoic philosopher. Over two hours, he delivers what is largely a monologue: as a performance, it has at least the strength of dogged determination. As a film, however, Seneca is almost unendurable.
Shot in and around an open colonnaded pavilion constructed in the Moroccan desert, Seneca draws on Roman historian Tacitus’ account of the great thinker’s reluctant suicide in Ad 65. A celebrated public figure, Seneca is also on...
Shot in and around an open colonnaded pavilion constructed in the Moroccan desert, Seneca draws on Roman historian Tacitus’ account of the great thinker’s reluctant suicide in Ad 65. A celebrated public figure, Seneca is also on...
- 2/20/2023
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
This article contains spoilers for all of House of the Dragon season 1.
Author George R.R. Martin draws on lots of different things for inspiration when he writes his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which was adapted into Game of Thrones and now House of the Dragon. The influence of the medieval era on the history of Westeros is well known, from Henry I making his barons swear loyalty to his daughter Matilda just as Viserys I makes his lords swear loyalty to his daughter Rhaenyra in Fire & Blood (adapted into House of the Dragon), to the conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters in A Song of Ice and Fire that partly mirrors the conflict between the real life houses of York and Lancaster in the 1400s.
But there’s another semi-historical influence on Martin’s world that is not so often talked about. In 1934, Robert Graves’ novel I,...
Author George R.R. Martin draws on lots of different things for inspiration when he writes his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which was adapted into Game of Thrones and now House of the Dragon. The influence of the medieval era on the history of Westeros is well known, from Henry I making his barons swear loyalty to his daughter Matilda just as Viserys I makes his lords swear loyalty to his daughter Rhaenyra in Fire & Blood (adapted into House of the Dragon), to the conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters in A Song of Ice and Fire that partly mirrors the conflict between the real life houses of York and Lancaster in the 1400s.
But there’s another semi-historical influence on Martin’s world that is not so often talked about. In 1934, Robert Graves’ novel I,...
- 11/4/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
There are a lot of potentially problematic elements in "Game of Thrones" and its spin-off series, "House of the Dragon," but perhaps the ickiest of them all is the rampant incest. The Targaryen dynasty is rife with cosanguinity, which is a fancy word for inbreeding, and the practice is clearly still in fashion in "House of the Dragon," as King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) are first cousins. They share a set of Targaryen grandparents, Jaehaerys I and his sister-wife Alysanne, so they both have some of that lovely double-dragon bloodline going on. Fans of the George R.R. Martin novel that "House of the Dragon" is based on know that the married cousins are not the last incestuous relationship in the story, because Targaryens are really all about keeping it in the family.
"House of the Dragon" is set in a fantasy world, but marriages between siblings,...
"House of the Dragon" is set in a fantasy world, but marriages between siblings,...
- 8/23/2022
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
‘What did the Romans ever do for us?’ A question immortalised by Monty Python and coyly repeated by a disgruntled Celt in Horrible Histories: The Movie. Played with a nod and a wink, this comedic open goal says all you need to know about the arch, playful and endearingly silly streak which has made Horrible Histories such a phenomenal success.
Whether it was the magazines, well-thumbed books or TV series, the franchise has bounded across time engaging kids and parents alike. Just as the same crew saw great success with the endearing Bill, the main show’s transition to the big screen is a vibrant romp.
Rotten Romans begins in resplendent Rome but then spends the majority of its time in the much more prosaic – and hey, much cheaper – Britain. In switching locations, we follow Atti (Sebastian Croft), the quick-witted teen forced into service as a Roman soldier. Unwilling to fight,...
Whether it was the magazines, well-thumbed books or TV series, the franchise has bounded across time engaging kids and parents alike. Just as the same crew saw great success with the endearing Bill, the main show’s transition to the big screen is a vibrant romp.
Rotten Romans begins in resplendent Rome but then spends the majority of its time in the much more prosaic – and hey, much cheaper – Britain. In switching locations, we follow Atti (Sebastian Croft), the quick-witted teen forced into service as a Roman soldier. Unwilling to fight,...
- 7/26/2019
- by Luke Walpole
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Derek Jacobi gamely reprises his celebrated role as Claudius in an entertaining big-screen outing for the Cbbc television series
There’s a fair bit of fun to be had in this latest movie spinoff from the Cbbc Horrible Histories series on TV, focusing here on ancient Rome and its attempt to crush the Boudicca uprising in far-off uncivilised Britain. The film’s most sensational coup is persuading Derek Jacobi to reprise his legendary role as the Emperor Claudius, which he throws himself into like the heroic good sport that he is, recreating the stammering innocent potentate subject to all sorts of awful plots.
Craig Roberts gets some solid laughs as the lyre-wielding Nero and the same goes for Kim Cattrall as his evil mother Agrippina. Emilia Jones and Sebastian Croft (young Ned Stark from Game of Thrones) play the star-cross’d lovers: Orla, a young warrior following Boudicca and Atti,...
There’s a fair bit of fun to be had in this latest movie spinoff from the Cbbc Horrible Histories series on TV, focusing here on ancient Rome and its attempt to crush the Boudicca uprising in far-off uncivilised Britain. The film’s most sensational coup is persuading Derek Jacobi to reprise his legendary role as the Emperor Claudius, which he throws himself into like the heroic good sport that he is, recreating the stammering innocent potentate subject to all sorts of awful plots.
Craig Roberts gets some solid laughs as the lyre-wielding Nero and the same goes for Kim Cattrall as his evil mother Agrippina. Emilia Jones and Sebastian Croft (young Ned Stark from Game of Thrones) play the star-cross’d lovers: Orla, a young warrior following Boudicca and Atti,...
- 7/26/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
A whole generation grew up watching the ‘Horrible Histories’ series, giving our youth a fun introduction – if not always quite accurate – to important events in our history. This week, the once-beloved series bows into cinematic form to explore the battle between Romans and Celts for dominion over Britain in ‘Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans’.
Led by rising stars Sebastian Croft (Game of Thrones) as Roman teenager Atti and Emilia Jones (Patrick) as his Celtic rival Orla, ‘Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans’ features an all-star cast including Nick Frost (Fighting With My Family) as Orla’s father Arghus, Craig Roberts (Submarine) as Emperor Nero and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) as Nero’s mother Agrippina. Additional cast includes Brit Award-winning artist Kate Nash (Glow) as Boudicca, Rupert Graves (Sherlock) as Governor-General Paulinus, Alex Macqueen (The Inbetweeners) as Nero’s assistant Sycophantus and Sir Derek Jacobi reprises his iconic role as Claudius.
Led by rising stars Sebastian Croft (Game of Thrones) as Roman teenager Atti and Emilia Jones (Patrick) as his Celtic rival Orla, ‘Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans’ features an all-star cast including Nick Frost (Fighting With My Family) as Orla’s father Arghus, Craig Roberts (Submarine) as Emperor Nero and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) as Nero’s mother Agrippina. Additional cast includes Brit Award-winning artist Kate Nash (Glow) as Boudicca, Rupert Graves (Sherlock) as Governor-General Paulinus, Alex Macqueen (The Inbetweeners) as Nero’s assistant Sycophantus and Sir Derek Jacobi reprises his iconic role as Claudius.
- 7/24/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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