In case you were wondering what shall we watch when the new season starts, it seems we will watch the clash of elves and dragons as HBO has just
The series will also air on Sky and Foxtel
announced that they have set August 21st as the starting date for their Game of Thrones prequel HOUSE OF THE DRAGON which is just ten days ahead of Amazon's launch of their Rings of Power epic series. Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the series, which is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen. Paddy Considine leads the cast as King Viserys Targaryen Viserys, who was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, but as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.
Matt Smith is Prince Daemon Targaryen, the younger brother to King
Olivia Cooke is Alicent Hightower
Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…
Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) is the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the
Fabien Frankel is Ser Crinston Cole
most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) is the king’s first-born child. She is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a
Rhys Ifans is Otto Hightower
dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.
Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Sea Snake” (Steve Toussaint) is the lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As “The Sea Snake,” the most famed nautical adventurer in
Steve Toussaint and Eve Best as Corlys and Rhaenys
the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.
Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best) is a dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, "The Queen Who Never Was" was passed over as heir to the
Olivia Cooke and Rhys Ifans as the Hightowers
throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.
Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), of Dornish descent, is the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven. He has no claim to land or titles; all he has to his name is his honor and his
Matt Smith is prince Daemon Targaryen
preternatural skill with a sword.
Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno)
came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall, and she could have wilted... but instead she rose to become the most trusted - and most unlikely - ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.
Otto
Emma Darcy is Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Hightower (Rhys Ifans) is the Hand of the King, who loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king's brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.
THE STAIRCASE TRAILER
AIR DATE SET FOR MAY
HBO has released a trailer for their eight episode series THE STAIRCASE starting May 5th with three opening episodes! Starring Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Juliette Binoche, Dane
Michael was convicted in 2003 and served till 2017 when his sentence was reduced
DeHaan, Rosemarie DeWitt, Tim Guinee, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Parker Posey, it is based on a true story and explores the life of Michael Peterson (Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family, and the very suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson (Collette).
Still appalled by the latest despicable happenings in Hollywood and the lack of very strict condemnation of the said events, we are staying away from that vomit
The movie was out in France this March
inducing mess and moving over to France, where earlier this month they had the premiere of NOTRE DAME ON FIRE (Notre Dame brûle) true life drama coming from one of our favourite French directors ever Jean Jacques Annaud (Enemy at the Gates, The Name of the Rose, Wolf Totem, Seven Years in Tibet, Day of the Falcon ) who usually shoots a film only every four or five years so this was his latest offer to the cinema goers. The film, starring Samuel Labarthe, Jean Paul Bordes and others, brings to us the story from the inside the Notre-Dame de Paris infamous fire of April 2019.
NOTRE DAME ON FIRE
is an immersive narrative with
firefighters at the heart of the action. It offers a blow-by-blow recreation of the gripping
events that took place on April 15,
Jean Jacques Annaud directed the movie
2019, when the cathedral suffered
the biggest blaze in its history. The film retraces how heroic men and
women put their lives on the line to accomplish an awe inspiring
rescue. It puts you in the center of the action for a
cinematic experience never seen before. It
recreates the April 15 fire using archive footage taken that fateful
night together with images no one was able to film as the tragedy
unfolded, shot in huge sets rebuilt in replica.The narrative focuses on
the 24 hours ending at sunrise on April 16. It retraces the challenge
emergency services faced due to a delay in sounding the alert, as well
as the struggle to get personnel and equipment through Paris rush hour
traffic and the throngs of onlookers. It continues with the
firefighters’ perilous combat against a monster fire, over which, by
the end of the night, expertise and bravery won out.
While primitive and vulgar, vile lowlifes are slapping other equally primitive, vile and vulgar punks at the Oscars in the most abhorrent example of behaviour ever,
The Rising arrives this April
we are staying classy and returning to the posh old Britain where Sky's new supernatural thriller series THE RISING is arriving to Sky Max and Now streamer from April 22nd.
The eight part murder mystery follows Neve Kelly (Clara Rugaard), who
emerges from the waters of a lake and returns home to find that she has
been reported missing. When she realises she's dead, she is scared and
confused; When she finds out she was murdered, Neve is furious.
When it becomes obvious that she was killed by someone she knows, Neve
makes it her mission to find her killer and get justice by taking
advantage of her new supernatural abilities to go where the police can’t
and investigate her own
Domina's Caesar Matthew McNulty plays Neve's father here
death.
Of course, the police and her loved ones are looking for answers at the
same time, but Neve can fill in the gaps for viewers on all the details
about her recently ended life that could lead to the unmasking of the
culprit. Taking stock of her short life, Neve in particular regrets
never having left her isolated
The series will air on Sky and Now in eight episodes
community; in death she finds a pastime
in disrupting the lives of those around her including her estranged
father Tom (Matthew McNulty) and her beloved mother Maria.
As she guides us through her murder investigation and buried secrets
come to light, she’s forced to reconsider everything about her
Solly McLeod from ITV's Tom Jones plays Neve's boyfriend
life and
the people who were in it.
However, her return also forces those she knew to change, confess, or
cover their tracks. She also discovers that there are others out there
just like her.
The series is a story of love, justice, and the cost of unearthing the
truth when there is every reason to keep it hidden.
I am not quite sure how I have not noticed this one before, especially as it has been streaming for some time now, but it is never too late for me to inform you about it. THIEVES OF THE WOOD historical adventure series from Belgium is available over at Netflix in ten episodes, a Flemish Robin Hood type of story set in the middle of the 18th century and based on the 1957 novel "De bende van Jan de Lichte" by Louis Paul Boon. Matteo Simoni is playing real life figure Jan de Lichte who led outlaws in the 1747 Flanders with a secret headquarters in a forest. Stef Aerts, Jeroen Perceval, Tom van Dyck and other boys with delightfully Dutch sounding names also star in the cast.
THE SERIES IS SET IN 1747
After a traumatic time serving as a mercenary at the Silesian front, Jan deserts from the Austrian army. Destitute and exhausted, he returns home, to the Flemish region of Aalst. To his surprise, everything has changed beyond recognition. His village has been transformed into a French army encampment. His family and friends have been outlawed and banished to Kluisbossen forest. Jan joins the ramshackle gang of robbers led by his half brother Tincke. But in a country suffering under the yoke of poverty and exploitation, there's hardly anything left worth taking. Moved by these harsh living conditions, Jan manages to convince Tincke to see the bigger picture. Instead of stealing from each other, they should rob those who actually have money: the rich and the collaborators consorting with the French occupiers. Jan's ideas start to resonate and when a stagecoach is raided successfully, the ragtag bunch of scallywags develops into a real gang. The decision to share their booty with the poorest of the poor makes them popular, and their motto, "Voor gene chanterik peu" (not afraid of anyone), spreads across the land like wildfire. When the authorities catch wind of this, the ambitious city guard Baru declares war on Jan and his gang. Thanks to his dedicated police work, Baru manages to infiltrate the gang and capture Jan. During his captivity, Jan's popularity only increases. The gang is out for revenge and will do anything to liberate Jan: it's the beginning of a war that leads to outright revolution. Jan de Lichte becomes a mythical folk hero. Even after his public execution some people believe Jan to be still alive. Could this be true and could his example provide the inspiration to overthrow an ancient regime that's a thousand years old?
After MagPie Murders last month, BBC's and ITV's joined streamer Britbox is bringing us another new original mini mystery series WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? and today we have a trailer and character posters for you for this delightful mystery based on Agatha Christie's works. The three parter, in which a dying man's enigmatic last words send vicar's son, Bobby Jones, and
his socialite friend, Lady Frankie Derwent, on a crime solving
adventure, will stream April 12th directed and written by Hugh Laurie who also stars in it next to Will Poulter, Lucy Boynton, Emma Thompson, Daniel Ings, Conleth Hill and legendary Jim Broadbent who, together with Emma, makes a cameo appearance as Frankie's parents. The series comes from Mammoth Screen who brought us Poldark previously.
BASED ON THE ICONIC
1934 Agatha Christie novel, the limited-run
(three episode) mystery follows the local Vicar’s son, Bobby Jones (Will
Poulter), and his
whip-smart friend, socialite Lady Frances “Frankie” Derwent (Lucy
Boynton) on their crime-solving
adventure after they discover the crumpled body of a dying man who, with
his last breath, gasps the cryptic question of the title. Armed only
with a photograph of a young woman found in the dead man’s pocket, these
amateur detectives pursue, and are pursued by, the answer to the
mystery.
A trailer has been released for Barry Levinson's WW2 movie drama THE SURVIVOR which will air on HBO April 27th. In Belchatow, Poland on the eve of World War II, Harry Haft (Ben Foster) falls head over heels in love with local girl Leah (Vicky Krieps). When he is sent to Auschwitz, it is the promise of their reunification that allows him to endure the horrors of the camp and maintain a sense of humanity. In Auschwitz, the pugnacious Haft attacks a bullying Nazi and draws the attention of Officer Magnusson, who makes him a Faustian proposal — fight other inmates for the amusement of the bored brass, or die. As the film alternates between the war's years and his postwar life in America, Haft continues his fight in the ring. His intriguing story earns him a fight with renowned champion Rocky Marciano, all in thehopes that Leah is still out there somewhere, watching. Based on the book “Harry Haft” by Alan Scott Haft, the film also has Billy Magnussen, John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard and Danny DeVito in the cast.
Twointernational period set movies for you today, starting with Italian historical drama THE MUTE MAN OF SARDINIA (Il Muto di Gallura) from Matteo Fresi, a sophisticated western set in Sardinia in 1850 which explores an historic family feud and was competing over at the 39th Torino Film Festival starring Romulus' star Andrea Arcangeli. I already mentioned this one before, but now we have a trailer too as it opens in cinemas today in Italy. In the true life story about the feud between the Vasa and Mamia
families, which caused the deaths of more than 70 people in mid-19th
century Sardinia, Andrea plays
deaf and mute
The film competed over at Turin Film Festival
Bastiano Tansu, who – mistreated and marginalized all
his life – turned into a feared assassin, driven into a killing frenzy
following his brother’s murder. Back in 1884 Enrico Costa wrote a book about this story famous in its region but not so much in the rest of Italy.
THE CHILD 16TH CENTURY
DRAMA FROM PORTUGAL
The Child was out in Portugal in February
After Italy straight over to Portugal where we have period set drama movie THE CHILD (A criança) which already had its release last month in its homecountry and will move over to France in April. Joao Arrais plays an adopted young man called Bela who, living in the middle of the 16th century, somewhere near Lisbon, tries to find his place in a family that is free but trapped in a world where each shadow allows defects to shine through. Here, everything leads to disaster. Marguerite de Hillerin and Félix Dutilloy Liégeois’s first feature length film, is loosely based on Heinrich von Kleist’s “The Foundling". As Cineuropa writes, the story is set in the Portuguese countryside in the sixteenth century, a time when the country's conservative religious traditions were dominant, and follows Bela, an orphan adopted by a French-Portuguese aristocratic couple. The film mostly focuses on this character’s relationships: with his adopted parents, his friends, his lover and with the people who work for him and his family. It depicts the emotionally and psychologically driven cinematic movements in the story of a young boy who seems to be at a time of self-discovery and at the epicentre of the dynamics of his household.
I am not sure how this one has escaped my radar, I was fully convinced life is depressive and we will not be getting any new multicamera sitcoms this season, but then this one pops up: HOW WE ROLL will start next week, March 31st replacing B Positive on Thursday nights where it will roll with Ghosts, Young Sheldon an United States of Al.Pete Holmes stars as a regular Midwestern guy trying to keep his life out of the gutter in this new comedy based on pro bowler Tom Smallwood's life.
It's not easy to bowl a perfect game, but Tom Smallwood is certainly going to try.
THE SITCOM STARS
Pete
Holmes as Tom, a stoic Midwest husband and dad who gets laid off from a
car assembly line and makes the extraordinary decision to provide for
his family by following his dream of becoming a professional bowler.
As a skilled player, Tom knows in bowling you get two chances, no matter
what you do with the first ball, you get another one to make it right.
The ultimate second chance. Keeping that in mind, Tom begins his new
career with the loving okay from his wife, Jen (Katie Lowes), and the
unfaltering support of Archie (Chi McBride), his mentor and the proud
owner of Archie's Lanes: Home of the Curly Fry.
It remains to be seen if Tom will strike it big on the Pro Bowler
circuit, but right now, the pins are set, he's taking his second shot
and it's 300 or bust!
After last year's The Cook of Castamar, which was semiboring but watchable, we are getting another period set series coming to Netflix from Spain and
The new Spanish series arrives April 15th
this time it will be HEIRS TO THE LAND (Los Herederos De La Tierra) a follow up to the glorious historical drama Cathe- dral of the Sea which we watched a few years ago. It will also be based on the novels by Ilde- fonso Falcones just like Cathedral del Mar was. It is interesting that Netflix, who will stream the new eight part series on April 15th, will have exclusive first window rights to the new series for 12 months, after which the drama will also be available on Antena 3 and Spain's TV3 for three months! Directed by Jordi Frades it will have the main cast headlined by Yon González, Elena Rivera, Rodolfo Sancho, Michelle Jenner, María Rodríguez, Pere Arquillué, Manel Sans, Mercedes León and Natalia Sánchez.If it proves successful with the audiences around the world, the series
could get a second season order, but given that Netflix has given almost
no marketing to this new series, we probably shouldn't be overly
optimistic, but you never know, the books have millions of fans around
the world and have been translated in many different languages.
THE SERIES THAT FOLLOWS
a resourceful young Hugo Llor who works to make
a name for himself in 14th-century Barcelona while keeping a vow he
made to the Estanyol family, sees the 12-year-old boy as the main
protagonist who struggles to fulfil his dream of becoming a shipbuilding
craftsman. The new Spanish Netflix series takes us to Barcelona at the
end of the 14th century and tells the story of the young Hugo Llor
(David Solans and Yon González), the son of a deceased sailor, who works
in the shipyards thanks to the generosity of one of the most respected
men of the city: Arnau Estanyol (Aitor Luna). His dream of becoming a
shipbuilder will be truncated when the Puig family, a staunch enemy of
his mentor, takes advantage of his position before the new king to carry
out a revenge that they had been cherishing for years.
