Entertainment Wednesday News: The Movie "Belle"

Oprah wrote on Twitter:

Oprah Winfrey ‏@Oprah  May 3

Have you seen Belle yet? Based on another great true story. So beautifully executed.

Fox Searchlight's Belle opened May 2, 2014 with limited release in Los Angeles and New York City. The 4 theaters brought in $26, 645 per screen for an excellent total of $106,578 through Sunday, May 4.

The movie, starring actress Gugu MBatha-Raw  (Undercovers, Blackbird), will open in other cities across the country over the next several weeks. For Columbia, SC residents, you can screen the movie on Friday, May 23 and Thursday, May 29 at The Nickelodeon on Main Street.

Synopsis

Dido Belle, the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy officer, is brought to England by her father and left in the care of his uncle, Lord Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice, at his estate of Kenwood House. Though the social mores of the time make her an outsider, Dido is raised by Mansfield as an aristocrat alongside her cousin Elizabeth. Dido’s burgeoning relationship with a young lawyer, John Davinier, meets with the disapproval of Mansfield who considers the match beneath her. At the same time Mansfield is deliberating on a slavery case that will advance the cause of the Abolitionists.

Directed by Amma Asante

Twitter: @AmmaAsante

Have you seen the film Belle? What do you think of another period movie?

"The Butler" - Review by WCP, LLC

Sharee and I entered into the theater toward the upper stadium seats - Full Capacity. I smiled as we maneuvered to two empty lower stadium seats near the front. 10:30am on a Saturday morning, more than 80% full, and a racially diverse crowd.

Forest Whitaker in Lee Daniels' The Butler.
Photo Credit: Foxnews.com

Lee Daniels' The Butler was a film everyone wanted to see. With Oscar Buzz already being heard I was highly anticipating the start of the movie and it didn't disappoint. The acting, fashion, hairstyles, and the parallel storylines through the eyes of The Butler inside of the White House of eight US Presidents, were phenomenal and on point. Told in vignettes separated by the President in Office, the 70's era had the best and most heart wrenching scenes of the movie. On a side note, I'm a 70's baby so it really resonated with me.  The laughter that came in spurts were unexpected and came exactly where needed to balance the heavy drama unfolding.

Lee Daniels' The Butler stars Forest Whitaker; Oprah Winfrey; David Oyelowo; Cuba Gooding, Jr; Terrence Howard; and Lenny Kravitz. In Theaters Now.

Did you see Lee Daniels' The Butler?  What were your reactions to the movie?

Rhonda W