This film was highly recommended to us by a friend whose opinion we tended to agree with. However, our copy of 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' came free with a relative's newspaper. On balance, we were glad that we didn't pay for it.
It's a black and white film, made in 1949. There are two main stars. Dennis Price plays a young man who has been disinherited from his upper class family. He decides that he wants to inherit the title... so sets out to kill everyone else who is standing in his way. Alec Guiness plays several different parts - all related people, male and female - and does them extremely well.
However, the plot is extremely far-fetched, and the ending rather predictable. We don't have a problem with the bizarre or unlikely, but it was an odd subject matter to be treated as a comedy. There was rather a lot of slapstick, too, that left us rolling our eyes more than laughing.
I guess it was worth seeing once, as it's apparently considered quite a classic, and was well made for the era. But we probably won't bother seeing it again.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
I expect that the film 'Bruce Almighty' ended up on our shelves due to a special offer, or perhaps a recommendation, or maybe both. Anyway, we decided to watch it as a family, with some friends who were staying, on Valentine's Day...
It's an interesting idea, different from the usual rom-com style that I tend to choose by default. In this story, Bruce (Jim Carrey) who is a TV reporter has been complaining about his life, and about God, despite being reasonably popular and having some good friends. But it seems as if everything is going on, and he moans just a little too much...
So God appears in human form (played, brilliantly, by Morgan Freeman) and says he'll take a break, and that Bruce can take over as God for a week to see if he can do the job better.
At first disbelieving, Bruce discovers that he does indeed have divine powers, which he can use to do pretty much anything he wishes...
We thought it was well made, and quite thought-provoking too. At first excited, then overwhelmed, then determined to do things efficiently, Bruce implements some of what he feels 'should' happen in the world, only to discover the wider implications... and, unsurprisingly, chaos ensues.
Some of this is a bit silly, but parts of it were amusing and it certainly made its point. On the whole we thought it well worth seeing. The 12 rating (PG-13 in the US) is due to some bad language, some mild sexual content, and some rather crude humour at times.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
