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<\/a>Judi Dench and Ali Fazal starred in this year\u2019s period piece \u201cVictoria & Abdul,\u201d about an unlikely friendship between Britain\u2019s Queen Victoria and an Indian clerk named Abdul Karim. This Golden Globe-nominated film was based on the similarly named non-fiction book \u201cVictoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queen\u2019s Confidant\u201d by Shrabani Basu. An intriguing tale of court intrigue and racism, much of this pair\u2019s history was hidden until fairly recently, and the book is based on these revelations.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cThe Disaster Artist\u201d is a new film in which Hollywood star James Franco depicts an eccentric outsider who can\u2019t land an acting role to save his life. Franco\u2019s character then partners with another struggling actor (played by Franco\u2019s brother Dave) to make their own movie, which turns out to be truly terrible, before becoming an ironic cult hit. The movie was based on real events, covered in the book \u201cThe Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made\u201d by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. A combination of tell-all about a mysterious man and a memoir about the making of a legendary cinematic bomb, it\u2019s also a story of unexpected friendship, loneliness and the lure of fame. In one of Hollywood\u2019s greatest ironies, James Franco won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of one of its worst actors.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cMurder on the Orient Express\u201d is an ensemble film directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, and co-starring Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, and Kenneth Branagh\u2019s mustache. It tells a classic locked-door mystery about a shady businessman murdered on a moving intercontinental train in the 1930s. Of course, the movie is based on a book from famed mystery author Agatha Christie. The book was first made into a movie in the 1970s, and its protagonist, detective Hercule Poirot, has starred in a number of British movies and TV series. While the movie has some amazing actors, most of its award nominations are for art and costumes.<\/p>\n