Sebastian Arcelus

Split Review

Good

After a few badly received sci-fi blockbusters, M. Night Shyamalan returned to his earthier style of filmmaking with 2015's The Visit and now this edgy psychological horror romp. It's a genuinely freaky movie, packed with unsettling touches and wonderfully intense performances. And yet there's a nagging sense that the filmmaker is using a very real mental health issue for cheap thrills. Dissociative identity disorder, also known as split personality, is genuinely devastating, but here it's played for blackly comical chills.

The man suffering from this condition is Kevin (James McAvoy), and he has 23 identities battling for supremacy inside him. The ringleader is Dennis, a psychopath who is working in league with fellow alter-ego Patricia to kidnap three young women, the abused outcast Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) and two classmates (Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula). As these teens try to use his personalities against each other to escape, Kevin is also attending sessions with his psychiatrist Dr Fletcher (Betty Buckley), an expert on his condition. And she has no idea what he's actually up to. Or that all of his personalities are terrified of a menacing identity they call the Beast.

Shyamalan is an expert at dropping clues into each scene, packing the dialog with innuendo and encouraging the actors into giving performances that suggest at unexpected connections and histories. As the film progresses, both Kevin and Casey reveal the most telling details of their grim pasts, allowing Shyamalan to gleefully crank up the tension. And the result is enjoyably creepy, keeping the audience off-balance with a plot that's impossible to predict and plenty of shocking mayhem along the way. At the centre, the audience is able to identify with Taylor-Joy's thoughtful Casey, a girl who has survived a nasty childhood and is determined to get out of this situation before it turns even more horrific.

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Split Trailer

When Casey and two of her friends go to the mall they're abducted by an unsuspecting and nervous looking man. When they awake the three girls find themselves locked away in a room, each with a camping mattress for a bed. The room is bare and they have no idea what's going on and they all fear for their lives.

Though they're free to roam in their room and bathroom, there's no windows and the only part of the world they can see from inside is through a small gap in the door which leads onto another room. As they peer through the small hole, they see a pair of high heeled shoes and immediately see the legs of a woman. Knowing that they were abducted by a man, the girls call out for help and what they find frightens and perplexes them all.

The person who comes to the room isn't a woman, it's their kidnapper and in a soft voice he tells the girls not to worry as 'he's not allowed to touch you' and goes on to say that the kidnapper 'listens' to her.

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The Best Of Me - Official UK Trailer

Dawson and Amanda are living the life of the typical movie love story - they spend their time enjoying long summer days and nights together, until events conspire to break them apart. Dawson is arrested and goes to jail, leaving Amanda to live out her life without him. After being called to the funeral of an old friend, the couple meet each other for the first time in twenty one years. The couple begin to ponder the idea of letting go and moving on from your first true love, as they are dragged together into a relationship which also pits them against the same forces that drove them apart in the first place. The romantic drama spans decades, showing that some loves can truly last a lifetime.

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The Best Of Me Trailer

Dawson Cole is a high school student who, unlike his peers, prefers his own company rather than anybody else's. He doesn't have girlfriends, and he has very few friends altogether, but when he meets the very pretty Amanda Collier, he finds himself longing to be around her. The pair embark on a passionate, uninhibited romance, but when Amanda's wealthy father finds out about the sort of boy she's been fraternising with, he's determined to end it. Wanting what's best for Amanda despite his breaking heart, Dawson leaves town only to meet his teenage sweetheart again 20 years later. The pair find themselves falling in love all over again, only they are much older now and life is much more complicated. Has their childhood passion withstood the test of time? Or will they have to part ways for good?

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Video - Bryan Cranston Is Joined By 'Breaking Bad' Co-Stars At 2014 Peabody Awards - Part 1

Bryan Cranston was joined by his 'Breaking Bad' co-stars Betsy Brandt and RJ Mitte at the 73rd Annual George Foster Peabody Awards held at The Waldorf Astoria in New York. The awards ceremony recognises service in television and radio for filmmakers and actors.

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True Detective Season 2: Which Pairing Can Pick Up From Cohle And Hart?

By Jack de Aguilar in Movies / TV / Theatre on 20 February 2014

Matthew Mcconaughey Woody Harrelson HBO Tom Hanks Paul Dano Christian Bale Giancarlo Esposito Lupita Nyong'o Sebastian Arcelus Bryan Cranston Jon Hamm Casey Affleck Joaquin Phoenix

An in-depth look at who could star in season 2 of HBO's intense crime drama 'True Detective'.

Nic Pizzolatto put the sincerity and quality of True Detective’s story over multiple seasons of the show, asserting that a strict 8-episode format would be condusive to a strong third act. And judging by the critical claim he’s received – his creation is being talked about in the same breath as The Wire – one is inclined to trust the man who risked everything to write the new HBO anthology series.

Woody Harrelson [L] and Matthew McConuaghey [R] as Hart and Cohle in 'True Detective'

“One of the reasons I wanted to do an anthology format is I like stories with endings. I like a good third act. And continuing serial dramas, they tend to have really good beginnings and really long middles and then sort of have to hustle to develop an ending. And I like the idea of telling a self-contained story,” explained Pizzolatto.

Continue reading: True Detective Season 2: Which Pairing Can Pick Up From Cohle And Hart?

'House Of Cards' Season 2 Opens With A Shocking Death As Frank Celebrates His Birthday

By Elinor Cosgrave in Movies / TV / Theatre on 15 February 2014

Kevin Spacey Robin Wright Kate Mara Molly Parker Sandrine Holt Sebastian Arcelus

'House of Cards' season 2 has opened with a surprising death. The full second season was released on Netflix yesterday (14th February) and has already made headlines owing to its shockingly brilliant first episode.

The opening episode of House of Cards season 2 will definitely go down as one of the most shocking in television history: one of the main characters has been brutally killed off; Claire is desperate for a baby; and Frank celebrates a subdued birthday. If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading now! Spoilers included!

Kevin Spacey at the screening of House of Cards season 2 in L.A.

Frank's usual narrative directly to the camera only begins in the last minute and he leaves the audience with a menacing "Welcome Back." This sudden address is almost as shocking as the writer's decision to kill one of the main characters. Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) and her journalist friends are attempting to uncover the truth about Congressman Peter Russo's (Corey Stoll) death. They know Frank is somehow connected and Zoe confronts him at a secret meeting in a subway station. Unfortunately for Zoe, Frank will do anything to ensure he's not under suspicion and pushes his former lover in front of a passing train.

Continue reading: 'House Of Cards' Season 2 Opens With A Shocking Death As Frank Celebrates His Birthday

House Of Cards Season 2 Trailer: More Lies, Scandals And Scheming For Frank Underwood [Video]

By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 06 January 2014

Kevin Spacey Robin Wright Kate Mara David Fincher Sebastian Arcelus Constance Zimmer

[Spoilers] Will Frank survive as a crooked Vice President or will it all come tumbling down?

A year after the entire House of Cards season one appeared on Netflix we're getting set to devour season two with the kind of ruthless appetite for more that Frank Underwood would be proud of. The brilliant 13-part first season set the scene for house majority whip Frank Underwood's game-playing ascension to the Vice Presidency just as some of Washington's darkest secrets were beginning to be unearthed by Zoe Barnes and her team.

Robyn Wright Kevin Spacey
Robin Wright & Kevin Spacey Will Reunite As D.C. Power Couple In 'House Of Cards' Season 2.

A veritable slow-burner of a drama, the compelling and addictive House of Cards features the well-placed Kevin Spacey as the relentlessly ambitious Democrat Frank Underwood alongside his icy, scheming wife Claire, played by the terrifyingly talented Robin Wright, who manages a non-profit organisation whilst setting her sights on undoing those who have wronged her or her powerful and manipulative husband.

Continue reading: House Of Cards Season 2 Trailer: More Lies, Scandals And Scheming For Frank Underwood [Video]

'A Time To Kill': John Grisham Thriller Hits Broadway - Review Roundup

By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 21 October 2013

John Grisham Sebastian Arcelus

Ethan McSweeney's stage adaptation coincides with this month's publication of Grisham's sequel.

John Grisham's electric first novel, A Time To Kill, has hit Broadway in an adaptation from the Tony Award-winning writer, Rupert Holmes. Grisham's legal suspense thriller follows the work of attorney Jake Brigance who represents a man charged with capital murder after he guns down the rapists of his 10 year-old daughter.

Sebastian Arcelus & John Douglas Thompson At 'A Time To Kill' Opening Night.

Sebastian Arcelus ('House of Cards') plays Brigance in this stage adaptation alongside Fred Dalton Thompson as the judge, Patrick Page as the prosecutor and Tom Skerritt as the mentor and Ashley Williams is the sharp-witted law student whichconstitutes an "engaging cast playing juicy dramatic characters," according to Bloomberg.

Continue reading: 'A Time To Kill': John Grisham Thriller Hits Broadway - Review Roundup

Sebastian Arcelus and Marc Kudisch - Sebastian Arcelus and Marc Kudisch Tuesday 13th November 2012 Broadway opening night of 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' at Studio 54 - Arrivals