Angelina Jolie Joins LSE Masters Course Staff

Angelina Jolie is set to join the London School Of Economics staff as a visiting professor on anew masters course. LSE has confirmed that the the course will be run by it’s Centre for Women, Peace and security which was launched last year by the actress and Lord William Hague.

In 2012 Jolie and Hague co-founded a global initiative to tackle sexual violence in conflict zones, the move came in the aftermath of Jolie’s directorial debut In The Land Of Blood and Honey which was set against the backdrop of the Bosnian war.

Speaking about the appointment UN Special envoy Angelina Jolie said:

“It is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women’s rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict. I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students, as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the UN.”

First Look at Fast & Furious 8’s Villain

While filming is going on with the upcoming installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, Universal have released the first glimpse of Charlize Theron’s villain, Cipher. Theron joins the returning cast of Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Jason Statham and Kurt Russell to name a few. Expect more death defying stunts and crazy racing in April 2017 but for now, director F Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) is busy shooting in Cuba, Iceland and New York.

New Star Trek Beyond Trailer

Paramount has released the second trailer for the third film in their rebooted Star Trek franchise Star Trek Beyond. The new teaser has instantly proved a far bigger hit with fans online than the first trailer which fiercely divided opinion with song choice and largely failed to capture Trekkie’s imaginations.

The latest preview reveals a bit more of Idris Elba and Kingsman star Sofia Boutella  stealing the show in heavy alien makeup. It also showcases a bit more plot and big action set pieces, winning fans over with a storyline that seems to hark back to the spirit of the original series in boldly going somewhere new and dangerous.

A Hologram For The King Review

The Plot

Failing businessman, Alan (Tom Hanks) looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his idea to a wealthy monarch.

The Good

Beginning with Hanks performing the opening lines of Talking Heads’ ‘Once In A Lifetime’ in a strange fourth wall breaking dream/commercial sequence, writer/director Tom Tykwer sets up his adaptation of David Eggers’ novel as an unusual film. For the most part though, A Hologram For The King is much more compelling than it’s trailers suggest. Tom Hanks clearly has fun in his role as struggling salesman, Alan. Having had a brief encounter years earlier involving an awkwardly delivered fish joke, Alan is packed off to Saudi Arabia to close a potentially career-boosting deal with the king. But, as optimistic as Alan stays, the trip doesn’t seem to be quite as smooth sailing as he had hoped.

Sleeping in and missing the morning bus to the undeveloped plot of land that doesn’t appear to be moving forward much, Alan soon meets Yousef (Alexander Black), a personal driver who fears an upcoming assassination upon him from a scorned husband, prompting him to have to rewire his car engine to make sure no bombs have been planted. It’s this kind of quirky humour that gives the film a fun feeling while also managing to stay grounded with serious subplots involving Alan’s messed up home life. While he manages to escape his irksome ex-wife, a worrying bump on his back soon starts to become more troubling.

Even when the film moves towards the traditional underlying love story, Tykwer manages to refrain from making it an embarrassing mix of genre defining awkwardness between Hanks and his female doctor, Zahra (Sarita Choudhury). The mix of two different cultures clashing together has been seen and done enough times by now but Tykwer ensures it never feels like we’re not looking down on the culturally different approach to romance or belittling it in any way.

The Bad

The only slight misgiving this film does is in it’s casting of Lewis Rainer as young Tom Hanks. Having been a part of cinema history since probably before he was Rainer’s age, it does feel slightly jarring to have Rainer pop up and try to convince us he is Hanks in his prime. With Hanks’ own son, Colin already an actor and at the right age for it, he would have been a much better choice for the small role.

The Ugly Truth

Tykwer manages to find a perfect balance between humour and drama with the help of a great cast. Chaudhury and Hanks play off each other seamlessly while Alexander Black injects some well placed lightness in a slow revealing script which brings some darkness along the way.

Review by Johnny Ellis

The Nice Guys London Premiere Pictures

Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe , Joel Silver, Angourie Rice and director Shane Black walked the red carpet at the LondonUK premiere for new 70s era buddy comedy The Nice Guys last night. Check out some amazing pics and exclusive red carpet interviews below