This very interesting drama looks at the life of Margaret Thatcher (Streep) who was the first female British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She became leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, the first woman to head a major political party in Britain.

The movie focuses on power and the price Thatcher paid for it. It is an insightful and surprising portrait of a complex and extraordinary woman. Her very strict conservative policies including a tough line against trade unions and her opposition to the Soviet Union resulted in her being nicknamed the Iron Lady.

This tells a very human story about a woman whose perseverance, and drive changed the face of Britain. It shows both Thatcher's virtues and flaws. She was a woman of fierce conviction which proved both an asset and a liability. Streep's depiction of the Iron Lady and the softer woman inside the political shell has been critically acclaimed, winning her a number of Best Actress awards and a likely 17th Oscar nomination.

The movie shows her ten year bid to win her the first parliamentary seat, entering the House of Commons and sacrificing everything for politics. It's well-constructed, told in flashbacks to great effect, with an older Thatcher reflecting on her career as political events unfold in the background. The Iron Lady also has a great supporting cast with Jim Broadbent as her husband Dennis Thatcher and Anthony Head as Geoffrey Howard, her loyal aide.

A fascinating biopic about a divisive woman; this is not one to miss.

Mid-19th Century, the final year of the Shogun. Lord Naritsugu (Inagaki), an insane brute, is terrorising his people. When another leader dispatches samurai Shimada Shinzaemon (Yakusho) to assassinate Naritsugu, he gathers together 11 other samurai through his nephew Shinrouko (Yamada) and connections. They also recruit a forest dwelling young man Koyata (Iseya), making up the numbers in the title of the film, and set out to ambush Naritsugu and his entourage of samurai.

As a film buff, I am ashamed to say that this was my first encounter with director Takeshi Miike, but it certainly won’t be my last. This film bears close comparison with the wonderful works of master Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (Throne Of Blood, Yojimbo, Ran), as well as the recent The Twilight Samurai, as one of the best samurai films ever made. The plot even bears a likeness to another film we have on this semester, Coriolanus, with the main leaders knowing and respecting each other as enemies.

If you have heard of this film, then you have most likely heard of the final battle scene, which takes up almost the entire second half of the movie. It is spectacular, bloody, visceral stuff, and you won’t want to see it anywhere but on our big screen. This is one of my picks for Best Films of 2011, and I encourage you to not miss out.