Awards season is now here and one of the most nominated films of the year, with seven Golden Globe nominations alone, is La La Land - a modern day tribute to the classic Hollywood musicals of box office icons like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. The film stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as Mia and Sebastian; two young people struggling to realise a dream. Mia hopes to become an actress but struggles to be taken seriously whilst Sebastian dreams of opening his own jazz club, himself being a dedicated jazz musician, but living in the city of empty promises and unfulfilled dreams may make it more difficult to achieve their aspirations.
Ben Affleck wrote, directed and now stars in dramatic crime thriller Live By Night, based on Dennis Lehane's award-winning book. After returning from World War I, Joe Coughlin (Affleck) is now an anti-establishment outlaw and gangster, despite keeping his sense of justice and open heart. Whilst this can give him strength, it can also leave him vulnerable but he is driven by the need the wrongs committed against him and those close to him. Joe leaves his moral code in the Boston winter as he heads to Tampa with a reckless crew to find revenge but soon discovers that this comes at a price.
Twelve year old Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is going through a tough time in A Monster Calls - he has to deal with a terminally ill mother (Felicity Jones) with only a distant father (Toby Kebbell) and a less-than-sympathetic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) whilst also worrying about classroom bullies. Then something fantastic happens. Conor finds an unlikely friend when a monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) springs to life. In the form of an ancient, giant yew tree, this "Monster" guides Conor through a journey of courage, faith and truth.
Another multi-award-winning and highly nominated film is Manchester by the Sea, a heart-wrenching drama of loss and redemption. When solitary Boston janitor Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) learns of the death of his older brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler) he returns to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea and discovers that he is now sole guardian of his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Once back home he is forced to confront his past and the events that caused him to separate him from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and ultimately leave behind the community in which he was born and raised.
It has taken director Martin Scorsese twenty-eight years to bring the page-to-screen adaptation of Silence, the acclaimed novel by Shusaku
Endo, to cinemas but now it is here. The story follows two Portugese Christian missionaries,
Sebastiao Rodrigues
and Francisco Garrpe (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver), as they travel to Japan in search of their mentor, Father Cristovao Ferreira (Liam Neeson). But in a time when Christianity was forbidden and those who preached it were persecuted, they have to face the ultimate test of faith.
Set in a post-Katrina New Orleans, The Book of Love sees Henry (Jason Sudeikis), an introverted architect, attempting to fulfil a promise he made to his late wife, Penny (Jessica Biel) by pursuing an unlikely friendship with an independent teenage girl (Maisie Williams). The
architect uses his expertise to help the teen with her mysterious goal:
to build a raft she intends to use to sail across the sea. Together,
they help each other overcome loss and embark on an incredible adventure
to do the impossible.
Release Dates
A Monster Calls 01 January 2017
Silence 01 January 2017
La La Land 12 January 2017
Live By Night 13 January 2017
Manchester by the Sea 13 January 2017
The Book of Love 13 January 2017 (USA)
