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Reviews
As Time Goes By (1992)
a feel good comedy
i found this to be one of my favourite series from the UK, and have enjoyed every minute. Judi drench and Geoffrey palmer are excellent together and compliment each others performances. it is hard to believe that they are not jean and Lionel. these shows have brought me hours of laughter, a few tears and a lot of warm fuzzy feelings. the entire cast was a work of art, they all seemed to fit so perfectly.
each character has so much to give the show, Lionel's father rocky and his wife Madge, Mrs. bale, Judy, sandy and Allister. penny and Stephen are a hoot, i love Stephen and how oblivious he is to what is going on around him and penny who has to do all the talking and tries to take control. this is a show that everyone should take the time to see, it offers hope to those who think romance and love are over at a certain age. these shows are so funny that i have my 23 yr. old son enjoying them too
if you get a chance to watch this show, DO IT!!
Disneyland: Mr. Boogedy (1986)
good movie
i have been trying to get this movie on DVD for years, i love it as do my children , who all want to have a copy to. this movie brought back a lot of good memories for everyone, we sat around the TV with popcorn and soda, with the lights out and throughly enjoyed being scared and also laughing at the movie and each other.
i sure hope this movie is released soon, TV should begin playing these
older movies again.
Richard masur gave an awesome performance as the father and Mimi Kennedy as the mother.
people should make every effort to view this movie!
Lost in Austen (2008)
refreshing and touching
i stumbled onto this mini series quite by accident, but fell in love with it right away. the idea was a great and the acting was awesome. everyone did such a wonderful job acting. their characters were so alive and real--or what you would expect--miss rooper was delightful as Amanda, she carried you right with her from her attraction to her love for D'Arcy. Elliot cowan was memorable as D'Arcy, and had you attracted right from the first. i love the way they went into the characters more such as wickham, i found myself liking this character and had me wondering..was he attracted to Amanda as well, maybe in the path of falling love with her. if you get the chance to see this series, DO IT! you will not be disappointed, i wasn't. even die hard Jane Austen fans will love this series,, it's refreshing and is a different take on the book.
ENJOY !!
Persuasion (2007)
2007 verses 1995 version
let me start out by saying this is my favorite version and that every time i see it i find something new and revealing. I thought the choice of Anthony Head as Sir Walter was more in keeping with the era. Alice Krige's portrayal of Lady Russell was a little stronger than Susan Fleetwood's in the 1995 version, yet i prefer Ms. Fleetwood's portrayal.Amanda Hale's portrayal of Mary Musgrove was more in keeping of a "simple-minded" person than the spoiled and attention seeking portrayal of Sophie Thompson in the 1995 version, which was far better.Also it is more believable that Sir Walter would be attracted to the portrayal of Mrs. Clay by Mary Stockley than the 1995 version. Sam Hazeldine's portrayal of Charles Musgrove was a much more believable one of a country gentleman. His concern and gentleness for Anne makes it believable that he would have been interested or in love with Anne before Mary. Sam Hazeldine was an attractive choice, one I am pleased with. I approve of the choice of James Mawle (Harville) and Finlay Robertson (Benwick) as friends of Captain Wentworth. The friendship between the 3 is believable. From the first moment you meet them at the beach, you can feel their abiding friendship as Wentworth embraces them and at his joy of seeing them. You see the depth of their friendship as Wentworth introduces them to the Musgroves and Miss Elliot and Harville says, "Miss Anne Elliot?'".You realize Wentworth has discussed his love of Anne with Harville. Tobias Menzies as a choice to play William Elliot was a wise choice, he has a strong presence to off-set Rupert Penry-Jones' Captain Wentworth. This character had to have a strong presence in order to have Anne notice him and to cause a doubt within Captain Wentworth in regards to Anne's possible union with William Elliot. I also felt the camera work was not the best, at least they tried something different. Rupert Penry-Jones' portrayal of Captain Wentworth was a more touching one. You could see his anger and resentment with Anne, yet he tried to deny his love for Anne to himself. The chemistry between Rupert Penry-Jones and Sally Hawkins grows as they draw closer to each other after a 8 year separation. The "played-down" love scenes were indicative of that era. Displays of affection- such as in the last scene when Anne and Wentworth embrace, laugh, dance and kiss with an ease of lovers--were only for married or engaged couples. Till this ending, we are drawn by the frustration of first Anne than Captain Wentworth, as they struggle-in polite society-to show each other that they still love one another. The running through the streets of Bath are a little hard to take but my objection is that as Anne runs into Captain Wentworth and Charles, that he does not reach out to steady her and the touching scene where one tear escapes Anne's eye, goes unnoticed by Captain Wentworth, he does not brush it from her cheek, or caress her cheek as he draws her to him and kiss her. The tear is an important scene, it represents Anne's determination to marry him, to not to turn from her promise this time. Another disappointment was as Benwick and Anne are discussing the Constancy of men vs women, that Captain Wentworth does not overhear Anne as she tells Benwick that as for her sex, "love lasts longer even when all hope is lost", for this was the change of attitude with Anne. Love and hope from anger and resentment, but the director seemed to choose the scene at Lyme when Louisa had her fall, as the turning point, when Anne takes control and their hands are pressed against the other's while they cover Louisa's head wound. He looks at Anne with a new found respect. I agree that Rupert Penry-Jones is a handsome man and would have turned my head,too-but it is his portrayal of Captain Wentworth's anger and resentment with Anne's desertion of 8 years past, also his love, which he fights hard not to acknowledge, of his pain through his unguardedness with Louisa. may have given Anne the misconception of an understanding existing between Louisa and himself-you see the pain, the fear at the knowledge of his anger and indifference costing him Anne. I am so glad they picked Rupert Penry-Jones to play Captain Wentworth, I do like Ciaran Hinds work, but Rupert Penry-Jones' portrayal touched my heart and soul. Sorry but a quiet, strong love, a deeply felt love, a gentleness of a lover as played him is more to my liking! Watch the movie, but watch just to enjoy, not to criticize . EXCELLENT job, Rupert. Thankyou.
Mansfield Park (2007)
kisses
i have seen all the 6 Jane Austen movies of the 2007/08 series and at least Edmond gives a better kiss than the others (excepting the last scene from persuasion) i did enjoy this movie and liked it very much, i do not watch movies to criticize how it is made, the photography, or even the manner of speaking but i watch these movies and judge them on how they entertained me, if i enjoy the story. in this movie i was delighted in the story except i could have thumped Edmond for being so slow to see what was before him..sometimes i wonder at the slowness of the leading men in this series. i really enjoyed all the actors in this movie and thought they did a good job, i especially like the moment when Edmond realizes that he loves fanny, and then how he goes about trying to tell her...i did find some of the scenes seemed a little disjointed, a mistake of the editing department...i am glad that i bought this movie as well and am still enjoying watching today.
Northanger Abbey (2007)
scenery
i truly loved this movie. i thought it was done and carried you along with Catherine as she fell in love with henry. i wish that it had gone into a little more detail at times, but i am sure that time restrictions played a big part in that. the actors did a good job in portraying their characters, although i found some of this disjointed as well at times, such as when henry, Eleanor and Catherine come back from their walk and the general comes down the stairs to invite her to northanger Abby, it is as if Eleanor and henry have disappeared instead of standing beside Catherine as they would have been normally, i must say i loved the way that Catherine backed henry into shrubbery as she was kissing him, although i wish they had gone into Eleanor's romance a little more. but overall i am glad i bought this movie as well.
Screen Two: Persuasion (1995)
beautiful love story
i really liked this movie and thought that i might not at first. the story was very well done by the actors, Amanda root was an excellent choice for Anne Elliot as was ciaran hinds for captain Frederick Wentworth. i loved watching how Frederick tried not to show his feelings for Anne and how Anne tried valiantly not to show how he hurt her. so real life . i was a little disconcerted by the display of emotion at the end as i thought that would not have actually happened in Jane Austin day but was delighted on a personal level. i loved the costumes and the scenery of this movie, it was well directed, and the sub plots were just strong enough and did not interfere with the main story line. that is an important thing for me. i felt i would have liked this movie as i have seen ciaran hinds in Jane Eyre and he had done an excellent job in portraying Mr. Rochester.
Sense & Sensibility (2008)
great version
this 2008 movie of sense and sensibility is a very pleasing one. i really enjoyed the characters, especially Elinor's. Hattie morahan is a more believable Elinor in manner and age. it seems as if she had taken on the mother role of her family and was the voice of reason leaving the other characters to dwell in their fanasties, with Marianne's romantic ideals and the mother's inability to accept their position upon the father's death. i loved this portrayal of Edward Farris much better altrhough i could still see a lot of Hugh grant's mannerisms in Dan Stevens version of Edward. Dan Stevens does an excellent job of making you believe his character and liking him and admire his morals while all the time hoping he unites with Elinor. although i really liked the role of col. Brandon in this version i still like Alan rickman's portrayal..he speaks so beautifully and so much like the men of education of that era. i love the way he speaks.
i really liked this movie and after listening to Andrew Davies explanations or comments on this version you come to appreciate even more, such as the comments of the choice of the cottage the dashwoods come to live in.
overall i loved the ending to this version much better.it was nice to see that the girls found what they were looking for especially Marianne. the 1995 version left you feeling there was something missing from Edward's declaration of love for Elinor..watching the deleted scenes at least gives you better closure with their romance.
i loved this movie version that i ordered it before it was released--well here in Canada anyway. i heartily invite people to watch this movie