Her Story is Nothing Short of RADIOACTIVE

Jeri Jacquin

Coming exclusively to Amazon Prime Video from director Marjane Satrapi and Amazon Studios is the amazing biographical story of a woman who made the world RADIOACTIVE.

Maria Sklodowska (Rosamund Pike) is a young woman who has the greatest interest in science but gets no respect from her male counterparts. It is 1870s Paris, and Maria is an Polish immigrant, physicist and chemist woman who doesn't quite fit in with her male counterparts as the University of Paris.

On a walk with her nose in a book she meets Pierre Curie (Sam Riley) and makes quite the impression on him. Her concerns aren't to find romance, but to fight with other professors about losing her lab as they don't feel her work has merit. They meet again when Pierre Curie wants to share laboratory space with Maria because he knows about her work.

Along with friend Paul Langevin (Aneurin Barnard), the wood begins and so does a marriage between Pierre and Maria. Her work is the study of uranium rays and it is Pierre's invention of an electrometer that gives Marie the boost she needs to created a new theory about the study of the atom.

Her work, and then joined by husband Pierre, would bring about the elements of Polonium and Radium creating the word Radioactivity.  In 1903, Marie along with Pierre and Henri Becquerel the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. They couple used the money to fund more research and their life was about to change in ways she could never anticipated.

Marriage, children, life, death, rumors, treatment of women during the era, the unrecognized work of women not just in everyday life but women of science that contributed so much to the world - Madam Curie was one such woman.

Pike as Marie is a perfect choice to play this role. She has the amazing ability to bring about an intensity that isn't over the top but definitely in-your-face. I enjoyed her portrayal with a such loyalty to her work, her family and refused to change anything in order to satisfy the status quo. The only people that seem to understand that about her was Pierre, her sister and Langevin and the latter brought difficulties. Pike stands strong, tall and even when her character crashes, it is only temporary toward her goal - the search for scientific knowledge.

Riley as Currie is a man who saw something almost immediately about Maria. Discovering a kindred spirit in so many ways it is easy to see why Currie fell for Maria. Riley has a proven track record of diversity in his role choice from MALEFICENT, and the awesome Mr. Darcy in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES, a son trying to find a deep connect with a father in SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER to the stunning role in RADIOACTIVE. This role gives Riley the chance to be the stable force for Maria and he does so with love and compassion - beautifully done.

Barnard as Langevin is the friend who sees the potential of Pierre and Maria. As their discovery takes on more and more time, Langevin never hesitates to support the lab and the work. Barnard then finds himself in a place that causes distress and that's when Maria must take control once again.

Other cast include Yvette Feuer as Carla, Simon Russell Beale as Professor Lippmann, Sian Brooke as Bronia Sklodowska, Drew Jacoby as Loie Fuller, and Katherine Parkinson as Jeanne Langevin.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series. For more of what Amazon Prime has to offer please visit www.amazon.com/Prime-Video.

In Currie's search for scientific knowledge she had to bang up against men who didn't believe in her science and a society that could easily be judgmental and harsh. Yet she kept on as the film shows the good and the bad of her scientific discoveries. That is the downside of finding new things in our world, there is always someone that can find a poor use for it.

RADIOACTIVE is a period piece and that adds to much richness to the film. From the darkness of the labs and the flickering lights of the Currie home, this is the way you slowly bring a viewer into a story and director Satrapi does so brilliantly.

Amazon Studios has been bringing some amazing choices in entertainment and with so many of us hungry for an escape, experiencing the story of a woman who is part of our history is an excellent way to do that. RADIOACTIVE is a must-see in such a way that I can't wait to see it again. Pike and Riley brings us the best and brightest to a story that needed to be told.

In the end - she was a pioneer, a genius and a rebel!

BEIRUT Tells a Deeper Story

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres from director Brad Anderson and Bleeker Street Media is a story with twists that lead to truth while in BEIRUT.

Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) is a diplomat in Beirut keeping his finger on the pulse of what is happening around him, or so he thought. During a party, Cal Riley (Mark Pellegrino) comes to warn him that the young boy Karim, who the family has practically adopted, is going to be taken in for questioning. His older brother Abu Rajal (Hicham Ouraqa) is a Palestinian terrorist involved in the massacre at the Munich Olympics

Before that can happen, the party is terrorized as bullets fly and Karim is grabbed. In the midst of the firefight, Skiles wife Nadia (Leila Bekhti) is killed. Fast forward a few years and Skiles has reached rock bottom as a labor negotiator job he barely cares about and swimming in alcohol.

Sitting at a bar with his favorite drink, Skiles is approached to take money and a plane ticket back to Beirut to lecture at the university. Never wanting to return to Beirut again, something tells him to get aboard the plane. Once there he is met by Sandy Crowder (Rosamund Pike), Donald Gaines (Dean Norris), and Gary Ruzak (Shea Whigham) who finally tell him why he’s really there – Cal Riley has been taken and the kidnappers only want to negotiate with Skiles.

Discovering it is a grown Karim (Idir Chender) who is calling the shots and only trusts Skiles to make the exchange happen. An exchange is demanded, Riley for Karim’s brother who seems to have disappeared. Believing that it is the Israeli’s who have him, Skiles investigates and also discovers the PLO minister is keeping secrets as well.

In the middle of this is a war in a war torn country that is getting more and more out of hand by the minute. No one can be trusted and deception seems to be the order of the minute.

Crowder is trying to keep up with Skiles as he slips through the city discovering that there is more at play here than just Riley’s kidnapping. There are others in the governments involved and their seedy agenda becomes clear.

Both Skiles and Crowder are going to make the exchange happen but on their terms.

Hamm as Skiles begins as a man who seems to have the charming ability to move in a crowd and do what needs doing. Once the world he thought he knew was shattered, there didn’t seem to be any purpose to anything Skiles does. That is until Riley is taken does he slowly come out of the daze and snaps back into discovering he is the absolute right person to get the job done. Hamm’s performance is intense yet his character takes a moment to remember in the middle of rubble how all of the events came to be.

Pike as Crowder wants to believe that Skiles is right for the job and that’s the dilemma. Knowing someone is right for a job and seeing the state they are currently in means never being quite sure if they can be trusted. Pike shines as a woman who not only takes her job seriously but knows that playing the international game of cat and mouse puts her right in the middle of danger.

Chender as Karim is caught up in the what is happening in Beirut. Finding a life with Skiles as a young boy he enjoyed being with them. The moment he is taken it is clear that studying and being part of the family will quickly become a distant memory. When the time comes to trust someone, that may be the one thing Karim knows to be true about Skiles. Chender gives his character such complexity in a situation none of us could possibly understand. This is the life mixed with what was and what became of a young life.

Other cast include Dean Norris as Donald Gaines, Shea Whigham as Gary Ruzak, Douglas Hodge as Sully, Jonny Coyne as Bernard Teppler, Leila Bekhti as Nadia, Kate Fleetwood as Alice, Alon Aboutboul as Roni Niv, Sonia Okacha as Sondrine and Mohamed Zouaoui as Fahmi.

BEIRUT is a film that is a reminder of the fragile peace and intense wars in the Middle East that are waged with others calling the shots. Their agendas may seem up front but for everyone to get what they want, deals are made and deals are brokered in 1982.

The cast are quick with a storyline that is constantly in flux and never once give away which way the chase will go or how it will end. The cinematography is flawless and adds another depth to the very intense story being told.

In the end – Beirut of 1982 and the Paris of the Middle East is burning!

HOSTILES is the first epic in 2018

Jeri Jacquin

On the vast plains of the 1800s from writer/director Scott Cooper and Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures comes a story of redemption between HOSTILES.

Capt. Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale) has spent his military career fighting both wars and himself. Making it clear he has no compassion for Native Americans, he is shocked when the outpost Colonel instructs him by Presidental order to take Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family home to Montana after serving seven years in prison. Being defiant, Blocker tells his superior that he refuses the order but is forced to realize that a court martial is possible.

Along with a detail including Lt. Kidder (Jesse Plemons), Wilks (Bill Camp), Corp. Molinor (Stafford Douglas), and Corp. Woodsen (Jonathan Majors), they lead Chief Yellow Hawk and his family Black Hawk (Adam Beach), Elk Woman (O'orianka Kilcher), Little Bear (Xavier Horsechief) and Living Woman (Tanaya Beatty) across the plains to Montana.

Preparing to stop for the night they come across a burned out home and while investigation discover Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike) who is in shock over the death of her family. Capt. Blocker and the men are immediately struck to the bone by what they see and what she has been through knowing they must accompany her fragile self to the next town.

Chief Yellow Hawk knows that the men who caused the chaos are not far away and tries to get the Captain to understand that they want to help but the mistrust is intense. Continuing on their way, the group is attacked by renegade Comanche's who don't care who is in the group. Trying to reach Montana safely the group is now unsure of how they will survive the attacks from all sides.

In the next town, Capt. Blocker asks that the post Lieutenant see that Mrs. Quaid is taken care of but that's not what she wants. Feeling safer with Blocker, she makes it clear that the journey to Montana is something she needs to see to the end. The Lieutenant asks Blocker to escort another prisoner to the next town to be turned over for a murder trial.

He agrees but is equally surprised at who the prisoner turns out to be. Getting closer to their destination, the two sides begin to see the pain and sadness each has experienced and in one moment Capt. Blocker sees his own world shift in the most unexpected way.

That's what happens when you walk a mile in real life.

Bale as Captain Blocker is an angry man who lived his military life surrounded by heinous acts. When those acts begin to reflect back onto his life, watching Bale slowly take in every bit of it is something to experience. There is not a lot of dialogue for his character but instead being continually riveted by the duality of how he handles each step towards Montana.

Studi as Chief Yellow Hawk is the calm in the middle of the storm. I adore when Studi shines on the screen in this way and having spent more than his fair share of time portraying Native Americans, this portrayal is stunningly beautiful. He also has a little dialogue but when he does speak it is from the heart of a wounded people. There is something to be said for quiet strength but don't get me wrong; Chief Yellow Hawk still has fight left in him.

Pike as Rosalie is a pioneer woman who has every reason to be broken, fearful and angry. Finding a sense of security with Capt. Blocker, she also begins to understand the people considered the enemy because of an honorable gesture. Pike grows with each mile they put behind them and doesn't hesitate to pick up a weapon and make her feelings known.

Beach as Black Hawk follows the wisdom and ways of his father Chief Yellow Hawk wanting to do what's best for his family. It is good to see Beach once again in a film that does him justice. Kilcher as Elk Woman takes in everything going on around her making sure to protect her son. Horsechief as Little Bear is thoughtful, smart and embraces everyone with a gentle smile and my heart just melted ever scene he is in.

Plemmons as Lt. Kidder turns in a performance that keeps me believing that he is such an under utilized actor. Here his character experiences events that jolt him but it doesn't change the part of him that wants to do what's right. Camp as Wilks is at the end of his career and throwing unexpected events toward Captain Blocker. Camp's performance is stoic and heartbreaking at the same time.

Other cast also include Rory Cochrane as Master Sgt. Metz, Timothee Chalamet as Pvt. DeJardin, John Hickey as Capt. Tolan, Robyn Malcolm as Minnie McCowan, Peter Mullan as Lt. McCowan, Stephen Lang as Col. Biggs, Paul Anderson as Corp. Thomas, David Midthunder as Buffalo Man, Ryan Bingham as Sgt. Malloy and Ben Foster as Sgt. Wills.

HOSTILES will give audiences an experience with a story that I believe offers up the question of 'who really are the hostiles?' The cinematography is stunning with a wide open view of the elements giving the characters space to truly bring the story and the wide spectrum of human emotions.

Bale carries the load of a man fighting between the hostile man he's become towards Native Americans and now being confronted with that hostility. Studi's character of Chief Yellow Hawk sees the pain Capt. Blocker is in and understands it more than the military man realizes. These are two men who have seen and done things towards one another and it is fitting that they must stand face to face, accept and forgive.

HOSTILES has already received attention from the Central Ohio Film Critics Association with a nomination for Breakthrough Film Artist for Timothee Chalamet and has won the Capri Photoplay Award for Masanobu Takayanagi by Capri, Hollywood.

In the end - we are all hostiles.

A UNITED KINGDOM Stands for Love and a Country on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

This week on Bluray and DVD from director Amma Asante and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment comes a story of love and country along with A UNITED KINGDOM.

Studying law in 1940’s Britain, Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) is out one night with friends when he sees Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike). They begin seeing one another much to the displeasure of Ruth’s parents and even more so when she tells them she is engaged.

One announcement he does make to Ruth is that he is Prince Seretse Khama of Bechuanaland and he would soon need to return to his country. Thrilled at the prospect of joining him, the couple begins to make plans. What they don’t count on is the reaction of those around them because of the differences in the color of their skin.

Ruth’s father makes it clear that if she goes, he will disown her which upsets her mother and sister. Seretse’s Uncle Tshekedi Khama (Vusi Kunene) who has been regent of their people while the prince has been away at college is furious and claims the tribe will now allow it.

Returning to Seretse’s homeland in South Africa, his Uncle wastes no time in expressing himself as Ruth is berated by Ella Khama (Abena Ayivor) and his sister Naledi Khama (Terry Pheto). Thinking nothing else could possible happen, Seretse’s Uncle tries to stir up the villagers to turn against their future King.

That is when Sir Alistair Canning (Jack Davenport) and Rufus Lancaster (Tom Felton) begin to use the strong arm of politics to try and break the couple apart. But Seretse begins to discover that there is perhaps something even more sinister behind their plan to bring more than a couple under their rule.

Tricking Seretse into returning to Britain to work on the matter, a time of exile begins and the fight to protect their own country as they call upon the international community to help restore what would become the Republic of Botswana.

Oyelowo as Seretse gives a strong performance as a man unwilling to be told by either side who to love or how to rule. He portrays a man who thinks carefully before reacting and believes in the premise that left unchecked; Britain could take what belongs to his people. I enjoyed Oyelowo’s portrayal of this man who was before his time.

Pike as Ruth portrays a woman who is also before her time. Learning that the opposition of being with Seretse was hated on both sides, she still chooses to stand by her husband and the country that adopts her in the end. Pike’s performance gives us only a taste of what it must have been like and that is more than enough to know that the beginning of their life was difficult beyond belief.

Kunene as Tshekedi Khama is set in his traditional ways and is the catalyst for Britain do try and take what is not theirs. Ayivor as Ella Khama has a spiteful tongue having no difficulty in telling Ruth what she thinks but then again family is always the first to have an opinion.

Pheto as the King’s sister Naledi Khama is not happy at first believing their people would never accept a white Queen. Once she becomes aware of how everyone, both black and white, are treating Ruth, it is time someone was on her sister-in-law’s side.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.fox.com.

A UNITED KINGDOM includes the Bonus Features of Making of A United Kingdom, Filming in Botswana, The Legacy of Seretse and Ruth and London Film Festival Opening Night Gala Premier.

A UNITED Kingdom is a story of two people who were unwilling to give either side the satisfaction they sought. Whether through the color of their skin, the politics or the under handedness of mining their land – they may have stumbled but did not fall.

This history of King Khama is complex enough yet the film gives us all a look that makes looking further into the story a must. The performances of the film are strong and do not sugar coat in any way the issues of the 1940’s both in Britain and in Botswana.

Yet the strength of these two people brings both the hope and the belief that when facing injustice head on, something has to give!

In the end – it is the story of a love that shook an empire!