Kate's movie review: The Program and Philomena

  • 27/11/2015
Kate Rodger (Paul Henry)
Kate Rodger (Paul Henry)

Kate’s weekly movie review.

The Program is a 2015 British-French biographical drama about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, directed by Stephen Frears. It stars Ben Foster as Armstrong and Chris O'Dowd as journalist David Walsh. It’s the story of how an Irish sports journalist (Walsh) becomes convinced that Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fuelled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong. The film is based on Walsh's book Seven Deadly Sins.

Pick of the week:

Stephen Frears film ’’Philomena”. In 1952, Irish teenager Philomena (Judi Dench) became pregnant out of wedlock and was sent to a convent. When her baby, Anthony, was a toddler, the nuns took Philomena's child away from her and put him up for adoption in the United States. For the next 50 years, she searched tirelessly for her son. When former BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) learns of the story, he becomes her ally. They travel together to America to find Anthony and become unexpectedly close in the process.

NZ Box Office Top 5:

1. Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

2. Spectre

3. The Dressmaker

4. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

5. Secret in their Eyes