Ben Kingsley

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Sir Ben Kingsley and Daniela Lavende at the 20th Annual Hollywood Film Awards - Los Angeles, California, United States - Monday 7th November 2016

Sir Ben Kingsley and Daniela Lavende
Sir Ben Kingsley and Daniela Lavende

Ben Kingsley seen arriving at the 30th Annual American Cinematheque Awards Gala held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, United States - Friday 14th October 2016

Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley

Sir Ben Kingsley - Friars Club honors Martin Scorsese with Entertainment Icon Award at Cipriani Wall Street at Cipriani Wall Street - New York City, United States - Wednesday 21st September 2016

Sir Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley

The Walk Review

Very Good

After the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary Man on Wire told this story with such energy and suspense, it was only a matter of time until someone decided to make a full-on adventure movie. And it's no surprise that the filmmaker turned out to be Robert Zemeckis, known for putting the seemingly unfilmable on the screen, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit to Forrest Gump to The Polar Express. So even if the film feels oddly artificial, this is a rousing, thrilling movie overflowing with cheeky energy.

At the centre of the story is Philippe Petit, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt with a twinkle in his eye and a faintly silly French accent that works perfectly. In Paris, Philippe is working as a street performer when he sees a drawing of the planned Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center, and he immediately vows to put a wire between them and walk on it. Over the next few years, he recruits a team of accomplices, including his girlfriend Annie (Charlotte Le Bon) and his circus-performer mentor Rudy (Ben Kingsley). Then in Manhattan, they find some men (James Badge Dale and Steve Valentine) to help them on the inside. And in August 1974, just before the towers were finished, they set their elaborate plan in motion.

While other accounts of this story describe Petit's high-wire performance in words and grainy still photos, Zemeckis uses swooping camera movement and vertiginous angles to give the audience goosebumps as Petit elegantly walks back and forth more than 400 meters above the gawping crowd below. After the rousing caper that went on before, this sequence is exhilarating. And Gordon-Levitt plays it beautifully, channeling the man's mischievous passion into every step. This even helps the audience accept the silly narration segments, in which Petit describes the action while perched on the top of the Statue of Liberty with 1970s Manhattan in the background.

Continue reading: The Walk Review

The Jungle Book - First Look Trailer


Mowgli is a human boy known as a man-cub to his peers, among which are an array of jungle beasts. Left in the jungle as a baby, he was taken in by a family of wolves who raised him as their own. However, the older he grows, the more of a threat he becomes to a formidable villain named Shere Khan; a Bengal tiger with a deep fear of fire and loathing of man. Led by an impatient black panther named Bagheera, he is sent away from his jungle home to the safety of a nearby man village, though the journey becomes less straight-forward the further they stray. Mowgli befriends a fun-loving bear named Baloo, but finds Khan is not the only jungle menace as he is set upon by a gang of monkeys led by the orangutan King Louie, and hypnotised by a vicious snake named Kaa.

Continue: The Jungle Book - First Look Trailer

Life Review

Good

Beautifully written and directed, this fact-based drama is an odd mixture of excellent acting and not-quite-right casting. Anton Corbijn clearly knows the subject, since he's a celebrity photographer making a movie about a celebrity photographer. But in this case, the subject of those photos is the elusively magnetic James Dean, a tricky person to recreate dramatically.

It's set in early 1955, as James Dean (Dane DeHaan) has just finished filming East of Eden and is hoping to land the lead role in Rebel Without a Cause. No one knows who he is yet, but freelance photographer Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson) has a feeling he could become a big star. When Dennis' agent (Joel Edgerton) lands a commission from Life magazine, Dennis follows James from Hollywood to New York and home to his Indiana farm. But James is evasive and mercurial, and it takes a lot of tenacity for Dennis to crack through his shell to get the shots he needs. Eventually they even become friends, inspiring each other to pursue their dreams on their own terms.

The plot is loose, focussing more on the internal journeys these two men take than on any constructed storyline. And the film switches back and forth between their perspectives, which kind of leaves it without a point of view. But this gives both Pattinson and DeHaan the space to create authentic and complex characters. Pattinson gives his most layered performance yet, especially in scenes involving Dennis' ex-wife and young son (Stella Schnabel and Jack Fulton). Meanwhile, DeHaan creates a character who's thoughtful and fascinating, haunted by his past relationships and unafraid to stand up to the Hollywood system in the form of mogul Jack Warner (a scene-chewing Ben Kingsley). The problem is that, despite a lot of subtle (and more obvious) physical touches, DeHaan never echoes Dean's wiry, hungry energy.

Continue reading: Life Review

The Walk - Extended Trailer


Philippe Petit is a young French high-wire artist, passionate about his tightrope dream and determined to find the perfect place to take the walk of his life. Soon he comes across the newly completed World Trade Centre's Twin Towers in New York; imposing edifices standing at more than 400 metres tall, larger than any man-made structures on Earth. After his first visit to the skyscraper rooftops, he knows he must do everything in his power to achieve this impossible dream - even if he risks death or prosecution in doing so. He hires some technically skilled friends who are willing to covertly set up the wire between the buildings and, after a few nervous doubts, injuries and complications with police, he takes the plunge and performs the most memorable high-wire act in history.

Continue: The Walk - Extended Trailer

Life Trailer


James Dean is a rising superstar; handsome, slick, smart and mild-mannered, and yet rebellious with dreams of being a famous actor. For passionate Life Magazine photographer Dennis Stock, Dean poses the perfect subject for his latest project and he's determined to capture the star in all his glory ahead of the release of his break-out movie 'Easy Of Eden'. It takes little persuasion on Stock's part to get Dean to agree to the project and the pair set out on a journey from Hollywood, through New York, and over to Fairmont, Indiana where Dean was originally from. Stock's plan is to capture the raw emotion and energy of this iconic figure of angst and coolness, and it doesn't take long before the two start to build an extraordinary friendship, that's made all the more heart-breaking on screen when you consider it's the final months of his life.

Continue: Life Trailer

Learning To Drive Trailer


Manhattan book critic Wendy is forced to adjust to a dramatic life change when her husband leaves her for a younger woman, and sets out to reclaim her independence. The problem is, having lived in the Big Apple all her life, she has never learned to drive. So the fiery writer decides to take lessons from Darwan, a softly spoken, patient taxi driver from India who is about to embark on an arranged marriage. As the pair get to know each other behind the wheel, they both learn valuable lessons, and an unlikely friendship develops between these two very different New Yorkers. It's a friendship that will change their lives for ever.

Continue: Learning To Drive Trailer

Self/Less And Deadpool Make Ryan Reynolds Ponder Immortality


Ryan Reynolds Ben Kingsley

As a new father, Ryan Reynolds has been re-evaluating his career even as he continues to make movies at a rather brisk pace. He has three films out this year and two more in the can. His latest release is Tarsem Singh's Self/Less, a thriller with a sci-fi twist that involves Ben Kingsley's character implanting his consciousness into Reynolds' younger, fitter body.

Ryan Reynolds in Self/LessRyan Reynolds' latest movie venture is this sci-fi thriller 'Self/Less'

"I think I'm in a unique position," Reynolds says, "in the fact that I get to star in dramas, comedies and suspense and action films. As I've gotten older, my career has become centred on working with people I would like to collaborate with."

Continue reading: Self/Less And Deadpool Make Ryan Reynolds Ponder Immortality

Self/Less Review

OK

An intriguing premise keeps the audience gripped for about 20 minutes before the movie runs out of steam. Which is far too early. Despite the always-engaging presence of Ryan Reynolds, this fantastical thriller is slick enough to hold the attention, but fails because it's unable to generate any interest in the central characters. And instead of exploring the fascinating issues the story raises, the filmmakers instead fall back on irrelevant violence.

The story opens as billionaire Manhattan businessman Damien (Ben Kingsley) discovers he has six months to live. But he has heard about a new medical procedure called "shedding", in which his mind is implanted in a lab-grown body. At $250 million, it seems like a bargain, so he signs up with Dr Allbright (Matthew Goode) and prepares to abandon his old life for a new one. He wakes up in New Orleans as Edward (Reynolds), and begins to adjust to his fit new 35-year-old body. But after he misses his adjustment meds one day he has a series of bewildering flashbacks that make him wonder about the true nature of the shedding process. Maybe his new body wasn't so "new" after all. So he goes looking for answers, which involves teaming up with Madeline (Natalie Martinez) and seeking help from his business partner Martin (Victor Garber).

There are all kinds of intriguing themes swirling through this set-up, including issues of identity and mortality. But writers David and Alex Pastor seem uninterested in exploring any of this in lieu of a much more simplistic morality tale packed with continual shoot-out and chase scenes, plus far too much body-swapping. All of this is produced to a very high standard by director Tarsem Singh, who has a reputation for seriously stylish cinema (see The Fall or The Cell). He adds a strong edge to every scene, with intriguingly haunting editing choices and camerawork that add plenty of tension and uncertainty even if the plot itself is utterly predictable.

Continue reading: Self/Less Review

Avan Jogia and Sir Ben Kingsley - Vanity Fair and Spike TV celebrate the premiere of the new series 'TUT' held at Chateau Marmont - Arrivals at Chateau Marmont - Los Angeles, California, United States - Wednesday 8th July 2015

Avan Jogia and Sir Ben Kingsley

The Walk Trailer


On 7th August, 1974, one man chose to walk a high-wire between the two buildings of the World Trade Centre. Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an adrenaline junkie who loves to walk across the highest ropes he can, and coming from France to America shows him a new chance to start over, and break records. With the help of his team, he intends to set up something highly illegal and incredibly dangerous, to prove the possibilities mankind is capable of. But with this great feat set in motion, the question steadily begins to grow as to whether he will actually accomplish it.

Continue: The Walk Trailer

Stonehearst Asylum Review


Very Good

An arch approach makes this bonkers thriller rather enjoyable, even if it never quite cracks the surface. The story comes from the Edgar Allan Poe story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, written in 1845, so director Brad Anderson (The Call) has fashioned the movie as bit of riotous Victorian mental institution nuttiness. Cue the mad-eyed acting, gothic production design and ludicrously batty plot. But if you take it for what it is, it's pretty entertaining.

It takes place in December 1999, as the new century is about to dawn and young doctor Edward (Jim Sturgess) arrives at Stonehearst Lunatic Asylum in a freakishly isolated corner of England. Instantly smitten with the inmate Eliza (Kate Beckinsale), Edward struggles to concentrate on the tasks given to him by his sinister boss Silas (Ben Kingsley), while being constantly watched over by the glowering groundsman Mickey Finn (David Thewlis). Silas' revolutionary system of treatment involves indulging the patients in their specific delusions, which has created a deranged sense of community in the sprawling hospital. Then one night stumbling around in the darkness, Edward discovers a group of people locked in prison cells in the basement, and their leader Benjamin (Michael Caine) claims to be the true head doctor. Yes, the inmates have taken over the asylum!

This premise allows the cast to indulge in a variety of hilariously shifty performances, hamming up every scene with constant innuendo. There isn't anyone in this place who looks remotely sane. Sturgess is fine as the dull Edward, while Beckinsale keeps her character's madness just out of sight, so both of them pale in this colourful company. Kingsley and Caine camp it up marvellously, while Thewlis adds a strong sense of menace and Sophie Kennedy Clark almost steals the film as an amusingly sex-mad virginal nurse. It's also worth watching the background players, as each has a ball his or her brand of craziness.

Continue reading: Stonehearst Asylum Review

Sir Ben Kingsley - Sir Ben Kingsley arrives at LAX airport - Los Angeles, California, United States - Wednesday 20th February 2013

Sir Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley

Ben Kingsley Quick Links

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Ben Kingsley

Date of birth

31st December, 1943

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.73


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Ben Kingsley Movies

Collide Trailer

Collide Trailer

Casey Stein (Nicholas Hoult) never had intentions of a life of crime, but during a...

The Jungle Book Movie Review

The Jungle Book Movie Review

Using remarkably photorealistic animation, this remake of the 1967 Disney classic is warm and enjoyable,...

Knight Of Cups Trailer

Knight Of Cups Trailer

Rick is one of the hottest screenwriters in Hollywood but after the death of his...

The Walk Movie Review

The Walk Movie Review

After the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary Man on Wire told this story with such energy and...

The Jungle Book - First Look Trailer

The Jungle Book - First Look Trailer

Mowgli is a human boy known as a man-cub to his peers, among which are...

Life Movie Review

Life Movie Review

Beautifully written and directed, this fact-based drama is an odd mixture of excellent acting and...

The Walk - Extended Trailer

The Walk - Extended Trailer

Philippe Petit is a young French high-wire artist, passionate about his tightrope dream and determined...

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Life Trailer

Life Trailer

James Dean is a rising superstar; handsome, slick, smart and mild-mannered, and yet rebellious with...

Learning To Drive Trailer

Learning To Drive Trailer

Manhattan book critic Wendy is forced to adjust to a dramatic life change when her...

Self/Less Movie Review

Self/Less Movie Review

An intriguing premise keeps the audience gripped for about 20 minutes before the movie runs...

The Walk Trailer

The Walk Trailer

On 7th August, 1974, one man chose to walk a high-wire between the two buildings...

Stonehearst Asylum Movie Review

Stonehearst Asylum Movie Review

An arch approach makes this bonkers thriller rather enjoyable, even if it never quite cracks...

Robot Overlords Movie Review

Robot Overlords Movie Review

For a low-budget kids' movie, this British science-fiction adventure has an unusually sharp cast, decent...

Selfless Trailer

Selfless Trailer

What would you do if you had one of the smartest minds and largest bank...

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