Believe the Impossible in Trailer for Faith-Based Drama, 'Little Boy'

When it comes to cornering the market on the growing faith-based entertainment market, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett have it covered. The duo scored a huge hit with Son of God earlier this year, and they also were behind that miniseries on The Bible that performed so well. Now they're back again with Little Boy, a film meant to inspire the belief that faith can achieve anything.

Starring Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, Jakob Salvati, Ali Landry, Ted Levine, Michael Rapaport, Ben Chaplin, and Paul Blart...er, Kevin James (!!!), the uplifting WWII drama centers on a little boy whose only wish is to have his father return from the war. So what do you think happens? No, perhaps the better question is "What do you BELIEVE happens?"

Directed by Alejandro Montverde, Little Boy hits theaters February 27th.

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Review: 'Belle' Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Tom Wilkinson

The painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle and her cousin Elizabeth currently hanging in Scotland's Scone Palace is fascinating for a number of reasons. The first is the striking beauty of the two women, and the obvious closeness of the two women. Both are clearly aristocratic to some degree, judging by their clothing and the very regal nature of the portrait itself. And it's that last aspect which makes the image all the more interesting, because Dido is black, a fact which would normally have her removed from the ways and means of aristocrats in 18th century England, where slavery was still very much a part of life.

There are faint echoes of 12 Years a Slave in Belle, Amma Asante's first directorial effort since 2004's accomplished debut, A Way of Life. What's missing is the emotional backbone to support Dido's uncommon story that saw her stuck between a world of privilege and one of subservience. Breaking free of the formulaic, saggy screenplay is the title performance by Gugu Mbatha Raw, who shows Dido to be a woman of exceptional inner strength. The illegitimate daughter of Admiral John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) and a slave, Dido was sent to live on the palatial estate of his uncle, William Murray (Tom Wilkinson), the 1st Earl of Mansfield. There she was treated as one of the family, becoming good friends with her cousin Lady Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon), and enduring the initial discontent of Murray's wife (Emily Watson).

"I am too high to eat with the servants, too low to join you at dinner", Dido says at one point, and it's true that being a part of high society has as many restraints as privileges. While loved and cared for by her family when alone, Belle is spirited off to other corners of the home when guests arrive, lest her presence offend their delicate sensibilities. The convergence of race and gender issues are skillfully dealt with when Dido suddenly becomes wealthy, granted an annual inheritance by her father. Now Dido finds she is suddenly very desirable to men who would otherwise turn up their nose at her, while her less financially secure cousin struggles to find a man who will accept her unconditionally. For women, upward mobility is all about money and power, nothing more. Mention love and you're likely to get scoffed at. But Dido is fortunate as she is granted the wealth to make decisions for herself, something most women do not have the luxury of.

"I have been blessed with freedom twice over."

Less effectively portrayed is growing debate over slavery taking place in England at the time, with Murray presiding over the real-life case of the Zong massacre, in which over 140 slaves were dumped off a ship in order to collect the insurance money on them. Dido is seen as forceful voice of reason in William's ear, and she finds support in the fiery rhetoric of upstart lawyer, John Davinier (Sam Reid), a suitor unlike any she has met before. Fitting with the film's generally shallow approach, little is seen of the harsh realities of slavery, preferring to tackle it through mechanical speeches on justice and equality. The lack of passion detracts from a handsomely photographed film and Mbatha-Raw's stirring attempt to do Dido's story proper justice.

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Kevin Bacon Goes to '6 Miranda Drive'; Emily Watson Joins 'Testament of Youth'; Liam Neeson Cameos in 'Entourage'

* Kevin Bacon is apparently quite happy staying in the horror realm. The Following star and Radha Mitchell have joined 6 Miranda Drive, a small-budget horror from Wolf Creek director, Greg McLean. The story centers on “a family that unwittingly brings a fear-feeding supernatural force with them when they return from a Grand Canyon vacation.” Bacon will play the patriarch, of course, with shooting to begin next month. [THR]

* Wherever Emily Watson (Trixie, Punch-Drunk Love) goes, I will follow, and so I've just been given another reason to be excited about Testament of Youth. The historical drama stars Alicia Vikander and Kit Harington (who spoke about it briefly with me) ,  telling the true story of Vera Brittain who "postponed her studies at Oxford to serve as a nurse in the Great War, during which she lost her fiance and brother. After the war, she tried to resume her life but found herself part of a lost generation, returning to Oxford and becoming a feminist and a writer." Coming aboard with Watson is Dominic West (The Wire), with both playing Brittain's parents. [DailyMail]

* We hinted at it last night but since every site is boasting it in their headline, we'll just post it here. Liam Neeson will be making a cameo in the Entourage movie, having been spotted on set by The Wrap and other outlets. In one image he's seen giving the finger to Jeremy Piven, meaning he's likely playing himself in a confrontation with Ari Gold. Neeson is just one of many celebrity cameos in Doug Ellin's big screen version of his hit HBO series, which is due to hit theaters June 12th 2015.

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First Trailer for Historical Drama 'Belle' Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Steve McQueen's unrelenting 12 Years A Slave (review here) is in theaters now, and while the film has been greatly buzzed about and is all but a lock for the Oscars, it's going to be too tough for many to sit through. But for those who, for whatever reason, are looking for a film that follows similar thematic territory, there has been a great deal of positive talk surrounding Belle, a period drama directed by Amma Asante. The film premiered at Toronto last month and while it's still a ways off from hitting theaters, Fox Searchlight is riding 12 Years A Slave's coattails to start getting the word out.

Starring the extremely talented Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Larry Crowne) in her first feature film lead, the true story centers on Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate biracial daughter of Royal Navy Admiral Sir John Lindsay, who is raised as an aristocrat by her great uncle (Tom Wilkinson) and aunt (Emily Watson). Despite her priviledged status, Belle's mixed race heritage continues to be an issue in an England where slavery is still a way of life.

Co-starring Tom Felton, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, and Matthew Goode, Belle opens on May 2nd 2014.


BELLE Movie Trailer by GaMeFORGaMeRz

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Kevin James, Emily Watson to star in WWII set indie, Little Boy

And I thought it was weird when one of my most beloved actresses, Emily Watson, paired up with Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love. Obviously the Oscar nominated actress knocked it out of the park, leading Sandler to his most complete performance ever and giving us the inspiration for the title of our dear blog. But can the Breaking the Waves actress do the same for Kevin James, who only recently was trading barbs with a pack of talking monkeys in Zookeeper? 

Variety reports that Watson and James are set to star in Little Boy, an indie film from director Alejandro Monteverde. Monteverde's first film, Bella, was an award winner at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.  Little Boy is set during WWII, and is the story of an 8 year old boy with developmental problems dealing with his father being shipped off to war. Ben Chaplin and David Henrie co-star.

I hope James doesn't catch whiplash from such a dramatic change of pace. He's never really had his dramatic chops tested, unless you count the heavy dramedy, The Dilemma. He'll lend his voice to an adaptation of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax soon, and also star in the MMA comedy, Here Comes the Boom. Watson's last major US film was the meta comedy, Cold Souls. She'll be seen next in Steven Spielberg's War Horse.

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