THE AERONAUTS Fly High

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Tom Harper and Amazon Studios is a look at two people who are ready to take to the skies with THE AERONAUTS.

It is l862 and James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) is an  obsessed meteorologist and has a theory about weather along with friend John Trew (Himesh Patel). Wanting to go up in a balloon to test out his theories, he needs to find a pilot. Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) is a widow after losing her husband in a balloon. Locking herself away from everyone, it is her sister Antonia (Phoebe Fox) that gets her back into life where she meets Glaisher.

He tells her of his ideas and she is the show-woman who can make the ride news worthy and a spectacle keeping everyone interested. Loading his instruments on the balloon basket, he waits for Amelia to show up and when she does the entertainment begins. Glaisher isn't the loud and shouting type and just wants to get off the ground secretly wanting to prove to his father that it can be done.

Almost immediately the two begin butting heads but it’s a long business ahead. With each mile they go up, they begin to learn something about one another. Glaisher almost immediately begins to make weather observations and sends messages to Trew by carrier pigeon. The caution to this is that the higher they go, the more danger awaits them.

Life and death decisions are being made as both try to hang on to the reason the journey was made in the first place. The struggle begins with not knowing what happens if you go just a bit higher, and then a bit more!

They are about to find out!

Redmayne as Glaisher is a scientist definetly stuck in his ways. He sees things very analytically and with a no nonsense approach. Trying to maintain his standards proves to be a challenge when he asks Wren to be his balloon pilot. Trying to focus on the journey, he is more often sidetracked in not truly understanding what he is undertaking but at least his notes are meticulous. Redmayne continues his streak of worthy roles and plays his part with believability.

Jones as Amelia is a woman who is hiding so much pain. An entertainer with a flair for show-womanship, she makes sure this flight is worthy of all eyes. Daring and, in Glaisher's eyes careless, she knows what the balloon can do and how to navigate the air. Of course all of this is covering up something horrible that has happened in her life and being 36,000 miles plus up in the air, she has no choice but to face it.

Patel as Trew sees what Glaisher is trying to do, he just isn't sure why he needs to jump in a balloon to do it. Happy to keep his feet firmly on the ground, Patel gives his character a little bit of grounded sense (because we all know not many of us would do it!). Fox as Antonia may not understand what it is her sister does, but she certainly supports it and her.

Other cast include: Tim McInnerny as Airy, Rebecca Front as Aunt Frances, Anne Reid as Ethel Glaisher, Lewin Lloyd as Charlie, Vincent Perez as Pierre Rennes, Robert Glenister as Ned Chambers, Thomas Arnold as Charles Green and Tom Courtenay as Arthur Glaisher.

THE AERONAUTS is a delightful and suspenseful ride of a film. This isn't the first time Redmayne and Jones have worked together so well. They starred together in the 2014 film THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING about physicist Stephen Hawking life. Redmayne played Hawking and Jones played wife Jane. Redmayne won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and Jones was nominated for Best Actress.

All the more reason to put these two actors together again for this film. There is a distinct chemistry between them that absolutely works. They carry the storyline of two people in a balloon doing what most would consider impossible at the time and Glaisher's fellow scientists said just that.

The cinematography and special effects are stunning and definitely a third character in the film. The colors are vibrant and exceptional to watch as the story and balloon go further and further into detail and into the stratosphere.

Director Harper gives the film such intensity that it's easy to feel like we are all on the balloon as a silent witness to these characters journey. One particular scene where Glaisher and Wren are in a battle for the balloon to go no further had me holding the sides of my seat. As crazy as it might be to say during the film 'oh no don't do that', it is the daring and hating the word impossible that makes people take leaps of faith. These two couldn't have taken a larger leap if they tried.

In the end - in the air might be where you find yourself.

KILLERS ANONYMOUS Looks for Support

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and Digital from director Martin Owen and Lionsgate comes a film about a different kind of support with KILLERS ANONYMOUS.

Killers Anonymous is a meeting of people dealing with their addiction to talk about their kill-life choices. In the group meeting is the every paranoid Krystal (Elizabeth Morris), Alice (Rhyon Brown), Calvin (Tim McInnerny), Ben (Elliot Langridge), Leandro (Michael Socha) Markus (Tommy Flanagan) and led by Joanna (MyAnna Buring).

Senator Kyle (Sam Hazeldine) bursts into the meeting wanting to know why someone is trying to kill him. Joanna has answers for him but then again she has answers for all of them and truth be told – they aren’t going to like it. Even more paranoid, now the group wants to know who Alice is and why she is there. To add more thrills, a kid has heard and seen too much.

The Man (Gary Oldman) is only a phone call away when a killer wants to do what they shouldn’t and need to be talked down. Right now he’s on the phone with Violet (Suki Waterhouse) who was making a sandwich when her life became more stressful than she could handle.

Back at the meeting, the mystery person is revealed but there’s a knock at the door with more mystery. Once Joe explains everything and the mysteries unraveled, each of KA members now realizes that the answers were always right in front of them – if they weren’t so busy fighting urges!

Oldman as The Man is a phone in Dr. Phil where he talks to killers about what is setting them off and how to deal with it. I had to laugh at some of his advice and I don’t think I’ll look at chicken the same ever again. Buring as Joanna leads the KA group but she knows much more than she telling and what she does tell is even more confusing to the group.

Morris as Krystal is plain out nutty and has no problem taking a person out if they get in her way. Her moral compass is must less in the direction of compassionate than some of her counterparts. McInnerny as Calvin seems to be taking all the commotion in trying to piece together what is going on with the group.

Langridge as Ben doesn’t like being played and Socha as Leandro has more of a heart than a killer has a right to. Brown as Alice sits in the group and watches it all unfold before her. Even when the group gets heated around her, she lets them know that she had no problem handling herself.

Flanagan as Markus lets out his emotions, calls it as he sees it and has the attitude of someone you wouldn’t expect to find at a KA meeting. Personally I think he goes to the meetings to have someone to insult. Flanagan is a great bad guy without showing that he’s a bad guy…now that’s a talent.

Other cast include Isabelle Allen as Morgan, Sally Collett as Becky, Sadie Frost as Lucy, Takako Akashi as Lady Ming and Jessica Alba as Jade.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to it’s 16,000 motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

The Bluray includes a Digital Copy of the film and Special Features of Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending, Director’s Commentary and Trailer Gallery.

KILLERS ANONYMOUS is a twisted, crafty tale of them that do bad things but more importantly their world of paranoia while working on their trust and personal issues. The film just throws everything but the kitchen sink into their problems and every time it looks as if there are answers, the plot thickens.

This is a fast cast who are in a room together playing a group of people who are not fond of each other. They are twisted, weirdly witty, and bold in their story telling and yet kept me confused which is part of the trip.

In the end – take it one slay at a time!