Blithe Spirit (2020)*

Title: Blithe Spirit
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Edward Hall
Written by: Piers Ashworth, Meg Leonard, and Nick Moorcroft
Based on the play by: Noël Coward
Starring: Dan Stevens, Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, and Judi Dench
Release Date: 2/19/2021
Running Time: 95 minutes

Official Site
IMDb

What did you think of this film?

Best-selling crime novelist Charles (Dan Stevens) suffers from terrible writer’s block and is struggling to finish his first screenplay. His picture-perfect new wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) is doing her best to keep him focused so they can fulfill her dream of leaving London for Hollywood. Charles’ quest for inspiration leads him to invite the eccentric mystic Madame Acarti (Judi Dench) to perform a séance in his home. He gets more than he bargained for when Madame Acarti inadvertently summons the spirit of his first wife: the brilliant and fiery Elvira (Leslie Mann). Ready to pick up her life right where she left off, Elvira is shocked to discover the prim and proper Ruth is now married to her husband and running her household. Charles finds himself stuck between his two wives and their increasingly over-the-top attempts to outdo one another.

Are There Any Extras During The Credits? Yes

during the credits

We hear a seance with Madame Arcati talking to Charles.

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Is this stinger worth waiting around for? Yes (No Ratings Yet)
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Memoriam: In Loving Memory of
Michelle Guish and Michael Howells

Finding Your Feet (2017)

Title: Finding Your Feet
Rating: PG-13
Directed by: Richard Loncraine
Written by: Meg Leonard, and Nick Moorcroft
Starring: Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, David Hayman, John Sessions, and Joanna Lumley
Release Date: 2/23/2018
Running Time: 111 minutes

IMDb
Buy on Amazon

What did you think of this film?
When ‘Lady’ Sandra Abbott (Imelda Staunton) discovers that her husband of forty years (John Sessions) is having an affair with her best friend (Josie Lawrence) she seeks refuge in London with her estranged, older sister Bif (Celia Imrie). The two could not be more different — Sandra is a fish out of water next to her outspoken, serial dating, free-spirited sibling. But different is just what Sandra needs at the moment, and she reluctantly lets Bif drag her along to a community dance class, where gradually she starts finding her feet and romance as she meets her sister’s friends, Charlie (Timothy Spall), Jackie (Joanna Lumley) and Ted (David Hayman). This colorful, defiant and energetic group start to show Sandra that retirement is in fact only the beginning, and that divorce might just give her a whole new lease on love and life.

Are There Any Extras During The Credits? No

Are There Any Extras After The Credits? No

Urban Hymn Review

Urban Hymn – What starts as a gritty look at the life of two street kids in London turns into a movie-of-the-week with a violent twist.

As the movie begins, we follow best friends Jamie and Leanne (Letitia Wright and Isabella Laughland) as they loot several stores during the London riots in August of 2011. They’re both street-wise kids who know how to flip stolen merchandise into cash. They both live in a group home managed by social workers, but the place has the feel of an institution where the inmates run the asylum. Into this home comes Kate (Shirley Henderson), a new social worker. Jamie is assigned to her and we quickly learn how little respect Jamie and Leanne have for authority. The two friends only care for each other it’s clear that as long as they’re together, they’ll be in a destructive downward spiral.

All that changes when Leanne misses a meeting with her parole officer and gets sent back to jail. Without Leanne’s interference, Jamie and Kate start to talk and Jamie soon takes an interest in Kate’s choir. Jamie turns out to be a talented singer, and she joins the choir. Singing gives her life a purpose, and Jamie starts turning her life around. But just as things start looking up, Jamie is arrested for her activities during the riots and is sentenced to a six month term in jail. What follows is a back-and-forth struggle for Jamie as she tries to move forward with her life through music, but at the same time tries to be loyal to Leanne who’s always protected her. Leanne’s desperate to keep hold of Jamie and sees Kate as someone who’s trying to separate them. A final confrontation is looming, and it will be rough for Jamie, Leanne, and Kate.

This flick gets off to a strong start but starts to coast about midway through when Jamie joins the choir. At that point it turns into a generic rebellious teenager redemption story and coasts until the surprise twist at the very end of the movie. Both Wright and Laughland give strong performances and they’re very convincing as troubled teens, one looking at a promising future while the other is resigned to a life of crime and prison. The only thing that really bugged me was Jamie’s performance that ends the movie. She plays a guitar and sings at a student concert. It’s a nice piece with a small band and a chorus backing her, but for the entire duration of the song she plays the same chord on the guitar. Her fingers never move on the fretboard. Yeah, I know it’s a tiny point but it annoys me when music scenes look so fake on the big screen. Jamie does have a very nice voice, so that makes up for the guitar shortcoming. Give it a watch and stick with it to the end.