Tag Archives: Benedict Cumberbatch

‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ does right by LAMDA

Posted on July 8, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – A fund-raiser for LAMDA, the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art, attracted a packed house to a performance of hit West End show “The Play That Goes Wrong” on Tuesday.

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Morten Tyldum’s ‘The Imitation Game’

Posted on September 15, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Morten Tyldum’s engrossing drama “The Imitation Game”, about World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, gives Benedict Cumberbatch another complex character to explore and the result is a film that will please audiences and collect major … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Streep, Roberts in ‘August: Osage County’

Posted on September 12, 2013 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO: At the start of “August: Osage County” an ageing poet and lifetime alcoholic leaves his family home to go drown in the lake and as the film goes on, the puzzle is why he hadn’t done … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’

Posted on September 5, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The pleasures of a John le Carré novel on top of the sublime writing come less from plot than from atmosphere and character and that is why his best spy novels make splendid miniseries, not … Continue reading →

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PREVIEW: Spies go back into the cold in ‘Tinker, Tailor’

Posted on August 22, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett When John Le Carré created his master spy George Smiley – who is about to be revisited in Optimum Releasing’s Working Title Pictures production of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” – he made him a fat man. The … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Danny Boyle directs ‘Frankenstein’

Posted on February 24, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Fans of Danny Boyle’s movies such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours” will not be surprised to learn that his return to the stage directing a new play at the National Theatre based on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is … Continue reading →

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EDINBURGH FILM REVIEW: Hattie Dalton’s ‘Third Star’

Posted on June 27, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett EDINBURGH – Four men go on a camping trip to Wales seeking a memorable beach from childhood, but one of them is dying and his motives might be different in Hattie Dalton’s gloomy drama “Third Star.” Screened … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: Terence Rattigan’s ‘After the Dance’

Posted on June 9, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Portraying apparent wastrels who actually have genuine character and feelings is never easy but the National Theatre’s production of Terence Rattigan’s seldom produced 1939 play “After the Dance” succeeds wonderfully. Rattigan’s hit plays included “Separate … Continue reading →

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‘Amazing Grace’ endures while slavery continues

Posted on April 8, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett Michael Apted’s “Amazing Grace,” which tells how the British Empire put an end to the slave trade that had helped it dominate the world, has grossed nearly $18.25 million in its first 38 days of U.S. theatrical … Continue reading →

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THEATRE REVIEW: ‘Period of Adjustment’ by Tennessee Williams

Posted on March 17, 2006 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – “Period of Adjustment” was a rare stab at comedy by Tennessee Williams but whatever humor there might be in the dialog is lost in the Almeida’s current revival, which depends on exaggerated Southern accents for … Continue reading →

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