“The Invisible Woman”: An affair that scared the Dickens out of her

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The Invisible Woman” opens Friday at Sundance Cinemas. I’ll be hosting a post-show chat after the 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 show at the theater. R, 1:51, three stars out of four.

Charles Dickens was a man of the people. In addition to writing stories that changed literature, he was an enthusiastic playwright and orator, championing the plight of the downtrodden in England. In one scene in “The Invisible Woman,” we see Dickens (Ralph Fiennes, who also directs) springing to action after a horrific train accident, quickly taking charge to tend to the wounded.

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Unwrapping the layers of “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

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The movie at the creamy center of the confection that is “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is perhaps the most purely fun film Wes Anderson has ever made, outside of “Fantastic Mr. Fox!” Stolen paintings! Shootouts! Ski chases! It’s an unabashed yarn, with Ralph Fiennes as the elegantly flappable hotel concierge at the center of it all; Basil Fawlty, Man of Action.

 

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