Peter Kettle The Limehouse Golem is a startling and successful film adaptation of the 1994 Peter Ackroyd novel, 'Dan Leno & The Limehouse Golem'; a murder mystery framed within a story featuring real historical characters - Dan Leno of course, but Marx, played brilliantly if briefly, by Henry Goodman. George Gissing is depicted, and it is set in an authentic seeming recreation of Victorian London. It has Olivia Cooke, a startlingly good actress who is new to me, Nicholas Wooderson, Bill Nighy - a superb performance as John Kildare, an investigating 'detective' before there were such people - and Eddie Marsans; all reliably good; Douglas Booth plays Dan Leno with conviction, another actor new to me. Clive Russell playing a small role as a jailor, does so with his usual distinction. But it is Olivia Cooke who shines in her central role with Nighy; she can be fierce and powerful while seeming to appear utterly still, and her scenes with the great Nigh are not eclipsed by him. The script is superb, written by Jane Goldman, and I wonder if there was any collaboration with the book's writer? It is certainly an exciting adaptation of a great novel. It was outstandingly directed by Juan Carlos Medina, who is another 'unknown' to me.

Leofwine_draca THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM is a Victorian murder mystery based on the novel of the same title by respected British historian Peter Ackroyd. The screenplay was by Jane Goldman, who has recently made quite a career for herself with such diverse pictures as KICK-ASS and KINGSMAN, although it does feel like she's bitten off more than she can chew this time around. The film is advertised as a gruesome detective story in which Bill Nighy (in a role intended for the late Alan Rickman) locks horns with the creature of Jewish myth, but instead it turns out to be some convoluted character story involving street theatres and a woman on trial for poisoning her employer. I was hoping for something like FROM HELL, but this non-supernatural story turns out to be a real bore; it cheats the viewer constantly with fake flashbacks building to an impossible twist ending, and most of the dialogue is lumpy exposition. Nighy has little to do here, and established performers like Eddie Marsan and Nicholas Woodeson even less. I wasn't particularly convinced by Olivia Cooke in her role, and there's too much tawdry social stuff instead of the rollicking, gruesome fun you want to see. It doesn't help that the inexperienced director manages to create a film as bland-looking as they come. Even TV's RIPPER STREET is better than this.

heykateforever This was not a perfect movie by any means. The pacing was stilted, the story, while interesting, had too many distractions to be compared to other great British police dramas. I would give it 5/10 for story and direction. But what won me over, was the absolutely stellar performances by the always wonderful Bill Nighy, Olivia Cooke and Douglas Booth. I kept wondering where I had seen Olivia Cooke before. I looked her up (in here) and she played one of my favorite characters on Bates Motel, Emma Decody. In this movie, she definitely shares some of the screen with Douglas Booth (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jupiter Ascending). However, her energy and her immersion into the character of Lizzie Cree, was simply spectacular to watch. I loved her in Bates Motel. But here, I didn't recognize her so much had she disappeared into Lizzie Cree. Douglas Booth also shines in this somewhat average film. Bill Nighy, a great British actor for many decades, all but disappears as the detective investigating the case, as Ms. Cooke and Mr. Booth seem to own their parts. I could not give this film any more than 7/10 because it didn't earn any more as a story and as a production. But Olivia Cooke and Douglas Booth managed to mesmerize me into watching and enjoying this movie very much. *****SPOILER ALERT***** I cannot help but think that the name Lizzie Cree was a bow to the Lizzie Borden story, considering how it ended. I say watch it for the performances, and the ending is a bit of a twist which was also quite stunning and I did not see it coming! I think you will at least be entertained and that is the point of the whole acting, TV, and film industry anyway.

Reno Rangan Based on the book of the same name. The late 1800s murder mystery, revolving around a young woman and an old cop who is investigating a series of murders. Elizabeth Cree had not had a best childhood, but she almost reached to her dream to become a best actress in the town. Then suddenly a murder jeopardise everything she had worked so hard. Now she has to cooperate with a detective to come out of the mess. But the tale takes a twist at every corner, making more complication for her freedom. How this puzzle is solved was told with a final twist that flips the whole scenario upside down.First of all, I love such costume drama. The atmosphere was awesome. Well maintained suspense, along with a good pace of the story narration. From all it's the actors, especially for me, it's the Olivia Cooke. Bill Nighy was not bad too. Despite he's one of the main character, Cooke stole the show. But the film was not a masterpiece. From an entertainment perspective, it delivered. I think it was a good adaptation. The only weak point is, most people would guess the end twist. It was intentional. But overall film was decent.6/10