With awards season and Oscars buzz kicking off, Lorraine Kelly has had the chance to see one blockbuster that is generating a lot of hype - Sir Kenneth Branagh's new movie Belfast. Find out what the TV star thought of the film, based during The Troubles, in her exclusive HELLO! diary below...
One of the best perks of my job is getting to see movies before they hit the cinema, and now things are getting back to some sort of normality we are seeing more films being released so people can enjoy them on the widescreen.
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I love going to the screening room and sitting there, usually on my own, but often in the company of the divine Graham Norton. Like me, he gets to see the movies as "homework" for interviewing the stars.
WATCH: Lorraine Kelly gives two thumbs-up to new film Belfast
There are no adverts, no mobile phones pinging, no conversations, no noisy crisps being munched or jumbo drinks slurped. It's utter bliss.
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This week I saw the new Sir Kenneth Branagh movie Belfast, based on his experiences as a wee boy growing up during the beginning of the appalling violence of "The Troubles" in the 1960s. It's a love letter to the city where Sir Kenneth was born but also shows the fear and terror of that terrible time through the eyes of a child, played by an extraordinary young actor Jude Hill.
Lorraine often gets to see films before they're released
Apart from a few magical scenes and gorgeous opening shots of modern-day, vibrant Belfast, most of the movie is in black and white, making it atmospheric and really authentic.
Being around the same age as Sir Kenneth, I wallowed in the nostalgia as the family watched the first episodes of the original Star Trek, which is my all-time favourite TV show, with Mr Spock being my first serious crush. The little boy plays with Matchbox toy cars which came with a special case so you could carry them around, which was exactly the same as the one my little brother Graham loved so much.
At one point, before they finally move back to England, the dad talks about emigrating to Australia as a "Ten Pound Pom" (you got passage for ten pounds and the chance of a good job and a new start), something my own parents seriously considered around the same time.
It's also very funny and has real heart and no surprise it has generated lots of Oscar buzz, and I'm looking forward to the joy of a lot more movie screenings in the coming months.
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