Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

sebastiandominguezaleman Mr. Turner, the biopic of the last 25 years in the life of British Painter William Turner is an absolute triumph. Not many movies manage to not have any weak points at all. But Mike Leigh manages to craft this picture with the precision of the most skilled painter. A work of direction so elegant, so polished, so precise, that locates Leigh among the most talented directors working today. The script serves as the foundation stone to what I can only describe as a very immmersive experience. The long conversations between the characters are truly fascinating, but the best aspect of the script is the moments when Leigh tells the story with silence. These quiet moments when we can only hear the background noice and perhaps a little bit of music at times, is what make the viewer so invested in the story. The cinematography, work of Dick Pope, is absolutely breath-taking. Every single frame looks like a painting worth hanging in an art gallery. It manages to capture the colours and feel of expressionism, which fits perfectly with Mr. Turner's story. The score, work of composer Gary Yershon, while simple, fits the movie beautifully. Costumes, courtesy of Jacqueline Durran, are beautifuly tailored and work very well with the cour palette of the sets and locations. Suzie Davies and Charlotte Dirickx constructed sets so meticulously crafted that feels like every old paintbrush Turner owns has a purpose. But by far the best aspect of the movie is Mr. Turner himself. Timothy Spall gives the performance of a lifetime. He is not playing Turner, he is Turner! There are so many aspects and details in his performance that truly made him one of the best characters of the year 2014. Is not only the way he deliver his dialogues, which is what you may expect from what's defined as a "good performance", but the way he grunts, the way he walks, the expression in his eyes when he is bothered by something, as opposed to when he feels facination, sadness or confusion, the way he moves his lips when he isn't talking, everything is delivered amazingly, and I can't remember the last time an actor got so robbed of an Oscar nomination. What may put a lot of people off is the length of it. And yes, it is 150 minutes long, but I believe that all scenes are there for a reason, even the ones that are inconsequential are never boring and serve a purpose in the development of the character. Overall, this movie is an example of what a biopic should be. And the way it made me feel while watching it, the way it made me feel afterwards, makes be give this movie the perfect score. When I say this movie is perfect, I don't mean that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. In my opinion there are no movies 100% free of flaws, but this is as perfect as a movie gets.

Jackson Booth-Millard I saw the poster and DVD cover for this British film numerous times, I knew obviously it was about a painter, I've always liked the leading actor, and it was rated highly by critics, so I hoped for something really good, directed by Mike Leigh (Abigail's Party, Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake, Another Year). Basically this film looks at the last quarter century in the life of the great eccentric British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (Timothy Spall). JMW Turner was affected by the death of his esteemed father William Snr. (Paul Jesson), he is loved by his housekeeper Hannah Danby (Dorothy Atkinson), who he takes for granted and occasionally uses for sex, and he forms a close friendship and loving relationship with seaside landlady Sophia Booth (Marion Bailey), with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he died. Throughout his life Turner was a controversial artist, travelling across the country painting many great Romanticist landscapes, some paintings also had negative reaction, he stayed with the country aristocracy, visited a brothel, became a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, had himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he could paint a snowstorm, and he was both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. Also starring Karl Johnson as Mr Booth, Another Year's Ruth Sheen as Sarah Danby, Sandy Foster as Evelina, Amy Dawson as Georgiana, Secrets & Lies' Lesley Manville as Mary Somerville, Martin Savage as Benjamin Robert Haydon, Richard Bremmer as George Jones, Niall Buggy as John Carew, A Knight's Tale's Roger Ashton- Griffiths as Henry William Pickersgill, Joshua McGuire as John Ruskin, Robert Portal as Sir Charles Eastlake, Clive Francis as Sir Martin Archer Shee, Simon Chandler as Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, The Vicar of Dibley's James Fleet as John Constable, Fenella Woolgar as Lady Eastlake, Peter Wight as Joseph Gillott, Happy Valley's James Norton as Clarinettist and 'Allo 'Allo's Sam Kelly as Theatre Actor. Turner may have been controversial in his time, but he is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting, he is renowned for his oil paintings, but also did great watercolour paintings, his most famous painting is "The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up", which appeared in the gallery scene of Skyfall, and will appear, with Turner (beating British greats like Sir Charlie Chaplin, Sir Alfred Hitchcock and Beatrix Potter), on the £20 note by the year 2020. Spall gives a wonderfully odd performance as the majestic painter, the supporting cast all do their parts fine as well, this is not a conventional biopic as such, it is deliberately fragmented and sketchy, I admit I found it a little long, and slow in places, but overall it was an interesting biographical drama film. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Music for Gary Yershon and Best Production Design, and it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Cinematography, Best Make Up & Hair, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. Good, in my opinion!

David I disagree with comments saying this was spoiled by the lack of a story or that it was somehow empty.Give me the truth every time instead of being spoonfed some convenient children's story book version of something. I loved these snapshots of the man and his process. It felt real and unembellished.I think formulaic storybook films should have had their day by now but people are so slavish to them that the money machine keeps churning them out and ramming them down our throats like so much grain down a foie gras goose's neck. Then people panic when there's not a story. We are not 5! Use your damned imagination, or take it at face value. Be disturbed or haunted by the lack of tidy bows and happy endings, by the open spaces, by the jagged edges. This is life, unlike children's stories.I liked the acting from the maid in particular, but Spall and some of the supporting cast were good too. Also liked the haunting score kicking in at poignant moments. Some lovely cinematography spliced in there too. Better than I thought from the reviews, but it's not a laughfest or a tidy story. Which is absolutely fine by me cos I've had my fill of those.

SnoopyStyle It's the first half of the 19th century. Mr. Turner (Timothy Spall) is a grumpy respected painter in the Royal Academy of Arts. His newest unconventional style causes controversy. His beloved elderly father dies. His children's mother hates him. His housekeeper Hannah Danby is his sometimes sexual outlet. He rents a seaside room and has an affair with his landlady Sophia Booth after her husband's death. His many friends include scientist Mary Somerville, rare for her times, and bitter failing painter Haydon.This is not a plot driven movie. It takes a couple of hours before the drama starts to pick up. This is very much about Spall's immersive performance. The character doesn't really change. After 15 minutes, one gets the full sense of his personality. The movie is generally slow with a few explosive scenes. The exhibition scene with the many Academy artists paint a complete picture of Turner and his place among his peers. This is a brilliant performance looking for a more intense plot.