![\"popcorn\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vweisfeld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/popcorn-576599_1280-e1571314279946.png?resize=250%2C293&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThree recent-ish British films well worth the time. Our theaters keep teasing us with lots of enticing film previews, but they aren\u2019t here yet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Downton Abbey: A New Era<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Has this popular franchise finally lost its luster? I was afraid so, but writer Julian Fellowes pulled it off once again (trailer<\/a>). All the regulars are there, except for Mary\u2019s husband. In the opening scene, Tom Branson marries a wealthy young woman, and she and her mother join the ensemble. Downton is being taken over by the cast and crew of a deep-pockets film company, under Mary\u2019s supervision. To avoid this intrusion, most of the family travels to the South of France to visit the Dowager Countess\u2019s unexpected legacy\u2014a villa willed to her by a man she charmed decades previously, before her marriage to Lord Grantham. (Here\u2019s hoping her legacy included funds for maintenance.) Quibbles aside, the costumes, manners, scenery, and pleasantness of it all are refreshing. Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics\u2019 rating 86%; audiences 97%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Duke<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll enjoy this comedy about a man whose single-mindedness repeatedly gets him into trouble with the authorities, directed by Roger Michell and written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman (based on a true story)(trailer<\/a>). To the exasperation of his wife (Helen Mirren), Kempton Bunton<\/a> (Jim Broadbent) is so focused on aiding elderly veterans that he neglects his family responsibilities. He steals a famous painting, hoping to hold it for ransom that would be used to help poor people. He\u2019s caught and put on trial. Lots of chuckles here, and you can\u2019t go wrong with Mirren and Broadbent. Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics\u2019 rating 97%; audiences 86%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Operation Mincemeat<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Operation Mincemeat<\/a>, which was directed by John Madden and written by Michelle Ashford, is based on a nonfiction book by Ben Macintyre<\/a> (trailer<\/a>) It recounts the story of the key piece of the Allies\u2019 massive effort to convince the Germans that Greece, not Sicily, was their invasion target in the Mediterranean. A corpse is given a back story and a set of fake papers and set adrift to come ashore in Spain. Will the papers get to\u00a0 the German operatives in Madrid? Will they believe the fake story or recognize it as disinformation? This deception is led by military planners Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth) and Charles Cholmondeley ( Matthew Macfadyen). The film tries hard to maintain the tension, but knowing how the plot turns out, deflates that balloon somewhat. One fun aspect was the important role of Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn)\u2014then a Lieutenant Commander as assistant to the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division. in the office typing away on what he says is \u201ca spy novel.\u201d I\u2019m not convinced the romantic elements are factual, but that\u2019s filmmakers for you. Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics\u2019 rating: 84%; audiences 64%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No Escape<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And, to show that you can\u2019t get away from Downton Abbey<\/em>, the cast of Operation Mincemeat<\/em> includes Penelope Wilton, who plays Isobel Crawley Merton in Downton. Matthew Good, who played Henry Talbot (Mary\u2019s absent husband) in Downton plays Kempton Bunton\u2019s barrister in The Duke<\/em>..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three recent-ish British films well worth the time. Our theaters keep teasing us with lots of enticing film previews, but they aren\u2019t here yet! Downton Abbey: A New Era Has this popular franchise finally lost its luster? I was afraid … Continue reading