The Best Parts of Mary Queen of Scots Make It Stand Out From Typical Period Piece Costume Dramas

In 16th century Europe, Mary (Saroise Ronan) took up the throne of Scotland, a move that put her as the next in line to inherit the throne of her cousin, Elizabeth (Margot Robbie), the queen of England. Mary's status as a ruler generates plenty of controversies, whether it comes from Elizabeth and her confidantes not wanting her to ascend to the position of Queen of England or it's enraged male members of Scotland society who don't like that a woman is holding a seat of such massive power. Mary's tenure as a leader is full of rebellion and destruction of the norms, but it's also a constant fight for her to be seen as a rightful queen by subjects far and wide and it's a fight that she's more than willing to fight for years on end.

Leonardo DiCaprio Seizes The Box Office Again Amidst Snowy Weather And Raunchy Robert DeNiro Antics

A big o'l snowstorm left much of the country in a winter wonderland (meanwhile, down here in Texas, we're getting a high of sixty degrees today), closing many businesses, including movie theaters. It's hard to say how much this impacted the box office, though many holdovers like Ride Along 2 and The Revenant had sharper than expected declines that could be attributed to the inclement weather.

Brooklyn Review

Saoirse Ronan has been steadily climbing her way up the Hollywood ladder for ages now, her breakthrough role in Peter Jacksons only smaller scale 21st century directorial effort The Lovely Bones leading her to be a memorable presence in Joe Wrights excellent 2011 feature Hanna. Since then, she starred in the major though long forgotten box office and critical dud The Host and had a supporting turn in one of last years best motion pictures, The Grand Budapest Hotel. And now, she stars in the 2015 critical darling Brooklyn, and if her astounding lead turn here is any indication, we have not seen the last of her and thank God for that.