Showing posts with label Michael Gambon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Gambon. Show all posts

Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Michael Berendt

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Voldemort) is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. 

Together they work to find the key to unlock He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself increasingly drawn to Ginny, and so is Dean Thomas. 


Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hasn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates. Then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead, and Hogwarts may never be the same again.



Layer Cake

Layer Cake: Sienna Miller

Layer Cake

Cast: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Michael Gambon

The film centers on a cocaine distributor played by Daniel Craig. The character, who also narrates the film, is deliberately unnamed throughout, but is listed in the credits as "XXXX". XXXX has established a successful business in London buying, cutting and selling cocaine while avoiding the largesse and gangster behaviour associated with drug dealing. Having made his fortune, he secretly plans to retire from the business for good.
XXXX's boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) sends him to track down Charlie, the teenage daughter of Price's associate, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon), who has fled a rehabilitation centre with her drug-addicted boyfriend. In reality, XXXX is being sent to kidnap Charlie to help Jimmy blackmail Temple over a bad investment.


At the same time, Price instructs XXXX to organise the purchase and distribution of one million ecstasy tablets from a gangster named The Duke (Jamie Foreman). Unbeknownst to XXXX, the pills have been stolen from a gang of Serbian war criminals. Jimmy has found out about XXXX's plans to retire, and believes that either the Serbian gang or Eddie Temple's mercenaries will kill XXXX, allowing him to recover some of his losses.


XXXX's world gradually unravels as he discovers Jimmy Price is informing for the police; XXXX's associate, Morty (George Harris) goes into hiding after brutally beating a former associate in front of a restaurant full of people; the Duke and his gang mysteriously disappear; and the ruthless Eddie Temple involves himself in the already bungled ecstasy deal.


XXXX devises an elaborate scam to play his various adversaries off against one another, and ends up in the clear with both the money and the drugs, and most of his enemies dead. He sticks to his original plan to retire, but as he leaves a celebratory lunch with his associates, he is shot on the front steps of the country house restaurant by The Duke's nephew, Sidney (Ben Whishaw), in revenge for stealing his girlfriend, Tammy (Sienna Miller). The film ends with XXXX left lying bleeding on the steps, his fate unknown.