tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721905109388321492024-03-18T05:03:34.369+02:00Sue's DVD ReviewsSuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.comBlogger426125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-6381324573739229612024-03-13T19:52:00.002+02:002024-03-13T19:54:30.510+02:00One Fine Day (Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney)<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Fine-Day-Michelle-Pfeiffer/dp/B00005UWN3?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=59acca5fd123b60d1c2f87460e5cb66e&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="700" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm1vu8jES7zWx0O3yHenJsfepHfpfxD9x9COPHuXXVonpGeOZvpVAL71vKsMfLSJSVooOCETD3CB6mSQoFptkKC7mNbF9lW6Je3V8iK109sKWLzOFN9Qt9DM4PlBTasGxQ0gQ-58F8G0M4mA5KItmIloKqeLtUi-6orTbaiRFPEaFfln_5Vd-SoulKn8/w140-h200/one_fine_day_DVD.jpg" title="One Fine Day DVD" width="140" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Fine-Day-Michelle-Pfeiffer/dp/B00005UWN3?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=59acca5fd123b60d1c2f87460e5cb66e&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">We decided to take a break from watching mid-20th century classics last night. Instead we watched ‘One Fine Day’, a light rom-com which was released in 1996. It’s a bit shocking to realise that this is nearly thirty years ago! <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2014/05/one-fine-day-starring-michelle-pfeiffer.html" target="_blank">We watched it in 2014</a> and had almost no memory of the story.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Michelle Pfeiffer stars as the efficient architect called Melanie. She has a young son, Sammy (Alex D Linz) who is probably meant to be about five; he behaves as if rather younger, although the actor, I gather, was about seven. He’s a likeable child who is constantly active and curious, getting into trouble one way or another regularly. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We learn from an early conversation that Sammy adores his father, who doesn’t live with them any more; he desperately hopes that his father will make it to a soccer game he’ll be playing in later that day. And Sammy is also looking forward to his school field trip on a boat. Melanie is ready to leave; all she has to do is collect Maggie (Mae Whitman) one of Sammy’s classmates, whom she takes to school. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The action then switches to a small apartment where Maggie’s father Jack (George Clooney) lives on his own. It’s clear that he’s rather disorganised and can be child-like and silly at times. A knock on the door heralds his ex-wife and her new husband with Maggie, whom they’re leaving with him for the next week. He doesn’t seem to be aware that this is going to happen, nor does he have any clue about her schedule. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">He listens with half a mind to his ex-wife’s instructions and takes a sheaf of papers… then spends some time eating junk food and playing with Maggie, unaware until she mentions it that she should be in school going on a boat trip. And he hasn’t remembered to let Melanie know that he will be taking Maggie to school himself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Inevitably both children are too late for the boat trip; equally inevitably the parents get thrown together although Melanie is very antagonistic towards Jack. It is, after all, his fault that the children have missed their trip. And she has no idea what to do with Sammy during some important work meetings…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The scene is set for an amusing day, which we see alternately from Melanie and Jack’s viewpoints. Sammy has a tendency to put objects up his nose, while Maggie is passionate about cats, and will forget everything else if she sees one and decides to follow it. The child actors do at least as well as their adult co-stars, and I was particularly taken with Sammy. Having the children as such a big part of the film brings it out of the ordinary, and we both enjoyed it very much.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s plenty of mild humour; we didn’t laugh aloud, but I smiled several times. There’s some choreographed slapstick type humour which slightly made me wince, but it was well enough done that it was amusing too. The pace is excellent, the conversation believable, and if the outcome is somewhat inevitable, that wasn’t a problem. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film is refreshingly free of ‘strong’ language, with only the mildest of profanities. It’s also free of anything violent or overtly sexual. There are quite a few risque references here and there, but nothing major. The rating of PG seems about right; parents have different opinions about what children can be exposed to and children vary in their understanding. I doubt if this would be of any interest to a young child anyway, despite the young actors. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Definitely recommended if you want a light evening’s viewing that actually is a romantic comedy, even if the humour is mostly fairly understated. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div>
<i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-33405394022446403422024-03-06T13:10:00.006+02:002024-03-06T13:12:06.687+02:00Grand Hotel (John Barrymore)
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grand-Hotel-DVD/dp/B08445LRGZ?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=017bf9eec17bad3e4860a0829a4ef902&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Grand Hotel 1930s movie" border="0" data-original-height="1109" data-original-width="681" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWk-IoMfDlnqOgM1wFq_ntr2tmFN5B06yDnbNYqp_b_yUZbPkg8ngYwn3dO6G86m9F_TUZ0JyzaRKCDwIWJVpCJ_RIftOhmxeclTbxIm2cNdsyplAI0uswfMHxt840BI6E-acpt35tm5LjtmMAdDIQRJnKCah0wnhNQakF96P6cTZnibDTchWnsf0PGQ/w123-h200/Grand_Hotel_1933.jpg" title="Grand Hotel (DVD of film from 1933)" width="123" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grand-Hotel-DVD/dp/B08445LRGZ?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=017bf9eec17bad3e4860a0829a4ef902&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday evening we decided to watch another of the classic films we were given recently by a friend. We knew nothing about ‘Grand Hotel’, although I gather it was very highly regarded in 1933 when it was released. And as an early example of a full-length movie (it’s nearly two hours) it’s quite impressive in its cast and some of the filming. It's in black-and-white, rather than colour, but that doesn't worry us. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Even we had heard of both John and Lionel Barrymore, who play important characters in this film, and of course we knew of Greta Garbo by repute, although I don’t think either of us had seen her in action before. Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone are the other main characters, although we had not heard of any of them before, as far as we know. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are a lot of extras too, and other people who appear in minor roles, and the opening of the film is quite confusing. The entire film is set in a large, luxurious and very expensive hotel in Germany. We first see a row of girls from the back, operating what I assume is a telephone switchboard. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Then we see several characters on the phone: a man awaiting news of his new baby, a businessman hoping for information about an upcoming deal, someone else concerned that a temperamental dancer is not happy. None of these seem to be connected - people come and go, and it took me at least twenty minutes to realise which stories were ongoing, and which were minor. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">‘Grand Hotel’ does not have a coherent storyline; it consists of several ongoing interactions between different people. The pace is good - it’s nearly two hours long, but it didn’t drag. On the other hand, it didn’t grip me at all. The only likeable character is that played by John Barrymore, known as ‘Baron’. He’s desperate for money and we quickly learn that he’s being employed to steal an expensive necklace from the temperamental dancer (Greta Garbo). </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Joan Crawford’s character is, I learned when researching afterwards, called Flaemmchen, known as Flaemm . Unfortunately it sounded like ‘phlegm’ when she or anyone else said it. She’s a ‘stenographer’ (a fast typist, possibly using shorthand). But she’s entirely willing to do other things for money, including spending the night with her married employer. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And I think that epitomises what I disliked about this film. It’s basically quite sordid. The Baron has a kind heart, and doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but towards the end of the film something shocking and unexpected happens to him. Joan Crawford’s employer (Wallace Beery) is a sleazy bully. Lionel Barrymore’s character, the rather naive Mr Kringelein, is staying in the hotel because he has been told that he is dying, so he wants to use up the money he has saved. As for the dancer played by Greta Garbo, she’s over-dramatic, self-centred and greedy for adulation. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Acting in the 1930s was always somewhat overdone and artificial, and that didn’t worry us over-much, although it was hard to identify with any of the characters. And frankly, the more we watched, the more I disliked it. I kept hoping there would be some redemption - something positive for at least some of the people. But for most of them (other than one minor character) the outcome is essentially either sordid or quite depressing. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I gather some of this film was considered amusing, but we thought it was all rather sad, given the scenarios. Not in a weepy way, though; we didn’t care enough for (or believe in) anyone sufficiently to feel moved. However, I did appreciate the irony of the comment at the end of the film (repeating one said at the beginning) that nothing ever happened in the Grand Hotel. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s nothing explicit shown, of course, although there are plenty of implications of intimacies and affairs. And there’s no bad language and very little violence. There’s one disturbing scene which is implied rather than actually shown. So the rating originally was A (now PG). The subject matter wouldn’t be of the least interest to children or young teenagers anyway - and frankly, we disliked it so much we wouldn’t show it to anyone. It’s not a DVD that we plan to keep on our shelves.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Not recommended. But having said that, this film won awards and is highly regarded by many, so don't necessarily take my word for it. Perhaps it’s worth seeing once as a bit of cultural education, and an example of a different genre of film. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-43530974373228294922024-02-28T17:16:00.000+02:002024-02-28T17:16:01.598+02:00Let's Make Love (Marilyn Monroe)<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Make-Love-Marilyn-Monroe/dp/B000F3AIEU?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=342a43f0c5cc8ec69275b6e1ad5b354f&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Let's make love (Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand)" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="705" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTD49pS3zEIKr6Lrxj39Uxv0zfS-5V1Nwo8gSGW9DvUn-DZ_jiA4HnVQ1s-rV1D7dMPtRz_mqBDtK05g5msyfijQtwtZEewwc7wl8o2wWUFSRKF5aDRrwbYZzQ8P4Pgr1TUx5ayAhIGs4eJkyl3sjqOTUKKXBveClG2VQ__XJwnhJTZALclRtkU_Wt50/w141-h200/Lets_make_love_Monroe.jpg" title="Let's Make Love DVD with Yves Montand and Marilyn Monroe" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Make-Love-Marilyn-Monroe/dp/B000F3AIEU?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=342a43f0c5cc8ec69275b6e1ad5b354f&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">We’ve had several DVDs of films from the middle of last century given to us by a friend who was downsizing. Having <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/bus-stop-marilyn-monroe.html" target="_blank">watched a film starring Marilyn Monroe</a> for the first time a couple of weeks ago, we decided to watch another last night. ‘Let’s Make Love’ was billed as a comedy romance, made in 1960, nearly two hours long.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Although the film is in colour, the opening few minutes feature still black and white drawings depicting the (theoretical) French Clement family who have built up an empire in New York over several generations. The current owner, Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) is a billionaire, and very arrogant. He speaks several languages and has very little time to himself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Then he learns from his press agent Alex Coffman (Tony Randall) that an off-Broadway theatre company are going to produce a show that satirises several famous people, including Jean-Marc. His instant reaction is to get it closed down, but Alex points out that this would be counter-productive. He suggests that they go and see what exactly is happening, showing good sportsmanship by being amused rather than offended.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Rehearsals are only just beginning, but Jean-Marc is smitten with Amanda (Marilyn Monroe) who is the main female star of the production. So when the director assumes that he is auditioning for the part of Jean-Marc, he goes along with it, hoping to get to know Amanda better.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s an amusing premise, and one that’s done very well. We thought the pace of the film excellent; perhaps the musical numbers in the show rehearsals are a bit long and tedious, but everything else works very well. The acting is a bit overdone, but that is typical of the era, and adds to the humour in a film that’s not meant to be taken seriously. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We very much liked the comedy of errors that results, as Jean-Marc starts to fall in love, and discovers that being (apparently) an impoverished actor is a very different proposition to being an autocratic billionaire. Nobody laughs at his jokes, and Amanda doesn’t fall into his arms; she’s romantically involved with someone else, and she’s quick to point out Jean-Marc’s failings. It’s quite poignant as he realises that his power and money have attracted women and hangers-on, and he tries to figure out who he is, as a person. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are some amusing interludes as Jean-Marc tries to learn to tell better jokes, and to dance and sing, with cameo roles by Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly playing themselves. I didn’t particularly like Tony (Frankie Vaughan) who is Amanda’s co-star in the show, and romantic partner, but felt quite sorry for him towards the end. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I was surprised at how very engaging and enjoyable this film was, and felt quite immersed in it despite the rather alien settings of a risqué show and a billionaire’s huge office block. Definitely one to watch again in a few years. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I had wondered if the phrase ‘make love’ was still used in the Jane Austen sense of chaste flirting in the 1960s. But apparently the usage moved over to the current understanding in the 1940s, so the film and its contents are far from innocent. The rating in the UK is U, probably because there’s nothing explicit, no bad language and no real violence. But the theme isn’t appropriate for children, and it’s not something I would show to anyone under the age of about twelve or thirteen. </span></div></div>
<i><div><i><br /></i></div>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-11972754699234624922024-02-21T14:44:00.001+02:002024-02-21T14:44:25.306+02:00Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn)<div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sabrina-black-white-Audrey-Hepburn/dp/B0029KQO4K?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=d8df30e806acaff5f08850fb645102ef&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Sabrina (1954) with Audrey Hepburn" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCjr2qbi8bnk3KzKQAK-aof3bq0p_6NI1jTYwJyIle6QuVW9oBKBxx8yvYPXlRYvrA0fHYIIauwx2M7pH4QOgYR8AXVU_GCeQSbMwpEDO7wd0N892nogXwOox3Dvillu-bYkNyhbC0EyC731FCKQ_gxeFm8l_dWIEEYlTgja6uWqjfAPWQVk2NkNJYWQ/w133-h200/Sabrina.jpg" title="Sabrina (1954) with Audrey Hepburn" width="133" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sabrina-black-white-Audrey-Hepburn/dp/B0029KQO4K?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=d8df30e806acaff5f08850fb645102ef&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Working slowly through the twenty-five classic DVDs given to us by a friend who was downsizing, we decided to watch ‘Sabrina’ last night. We had never heard of this film, which was made in 1954, but we had certainly heard of both Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart who were billed on the cover as the stars, along with William Holden (whom we had not heard of).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We had no idea what to expect from this seventy-year-old film. It was in black-and-white which sometimes bothers me for a minute or two, but no more - I was quickly absorbed in the storyline. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The main character is a girl called Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) who must be about seventeen or eighteen at the start of the film. She is the daughter of a chauffeur called Tom Fairchild (John Williams), and they both speak with English accents of the mid-century slightly upper-crust style that was informally known as ‘BBC English’. However they live in New York, at a stately home owned by the very wealthy Larrabee family. There are two adult sons in the family: Linus (Humphrey Bogart) and David (William Holden).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It quickly transpires that Sabrina has been in love with David for as long as she can remember, but he barely notices her. He’s quite a playboy, who has been married and divorced three times already, and is always ready for a flirtation with an attractive girl of his class. Sabrina is almost in despair, feeling that her heart is broken, so her father decides to send her to Paris for a couple of years, to do a cooking course with a celebrated chef. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s a surprising amount of humour in this film, alongside some poignancy and very engaging characters. It could have been a bit schmaltzy but the dialogue is good, and the pace excellent. Some films of this era tend to drag, with over-done shots and lengthy scenes that could have done with some editing. But I didn’t find anything dull or long-winded in this film which, apparently, was one of Audrey Hepburn’s first major successes, launching her as a star. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">David can be quite charming, though he is clearly unreliable. His brother Linus is much more serious, and works every hour possible for the family business. And when Sabrina returns from her course, much more sophisticated and confident than she was two years earlier, both brothers find her rather attractive. I found it very interesting that, despite being set in the theoretically egalitarian United States, it was considered rather shocking that the son of a well-established and wealthy family could fall in love with the chauffeur’s daughter. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are some delightful secondary characters in the other staff at the Larrabee home, all of whom adore Sabrina, and think it wonderful that she might marry one of the sons of the house. There are some amusing scenes involving them which we appreciated very much. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The rating is U, probably due to the lack of any intimacy or bad language, although there’s one potentially disturbing scene near the start of the film, and a few punches thrown between the brothers (with no gore). I can’t imagine it being of any interest to children, but feel that PG would have been more appropriate.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently there was a re-make of this film in 1995, with Harrison Ford, but reviews suggest that it wasn’t as good or as well-made as the black-and-white original from thirty years earlier.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Recommended if you like this style of film, or if you are interested in seeing Audrey Hepburn in one of her earlier roles.</span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-22023396343404678292024-02-14T19:07:00.006+02:002024-02-14T19:08:28.023+02:00Bus Stop (Marilyn Monroe)<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bus-Stop-DVD-Marilyn-Monroe/dp/B000EZ7ZJ0?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=2cf1450130eb08c15553c262c7a7783c&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Bus Stop DVD with Marilyn Monroe" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2jPN1IbhSf0Si0qx1gyjrvfBwwVmJV7TjuKnopU7Pr1rgSnzjaGeAJNMdEWBFtoVb0Avo723bPevbCYc6nECADCZA3gVhbRiOiPpIA-AtYPMoz1yAI-VZKOTBkcpAsb94n7L6ImaGecNKgnZouYZUUK0kt7SiTzl31bdyBZ0LHM3muehEL0hX9ZzjdrY/w133-h200/bus_stop_monroe.jpeg" title="Bus Stop DVD (Marilyn Monroe)" width="133" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bus-Stop-DVD-Marilyn-Monroe/dp/B000EZ7ZJ0?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=2cf1450130eb08c15553c262c7a7783c&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">We were given twenty-five DVDs by a friend who was downsizing, most of which are of films and musicals from the 1950s and 1960s. We hadn’t even heard of some of them, including ‘Bus Stop’, which was made in 1956. We thought it might be black and white, but it was an early colour film. We had, of course, heard of Marilyn Monroe but neither of us could recall ever having seen any of her films. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The opening of the film is set in Montana, at a rodeo. I found this a bit disturbing: dangerous, bucking animals are ridden, and then other animals lassoed and brought down. I had to look away a couple of times. But we soon meet the two important male characters in the story: a young cowboy called Beau (Don Murray) who has apparently never left the ranch where he grew up, and his mentor, Virgil, known as Virge (Arthur O’Connell). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It took me a few minutes to be able to tune into the strong accents and fast talking, but it didn’t much matter. These two men board a bus that’s going to take them to Phoenix, in Arizona, where Beau is going to enter some major rodeo competitions. He’s quite arrogant about his abilities, and - as becomes clear - also very naive. Virge thinks it’s about time he looks for a nice girl, but Beau has had nothing to do with girls and has no idea how to approach one.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">On the first evening in Phoenix, they go to a night club where Cherie (Marilyn Monroe) is singing, in a rather scanty outfit. She’s evidently being treated quite badly by the manager, who hasn’t yet paid her anything, and expects her to perform and try to manipulate customers into buying her drinks. I found her Southern accent extremely hard to understand; she comes across as unintelligent, but far from innocent. Unsurprisingly, Beau finds her very attractive - and after a brief conversation he informs her they’re going to be married…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s obviously intended to be humorous, but I found Beau’s attempts to take charge, to ‘tame’ Cherie as if she were a wild animal, to be rather disturbing. His insistence that he is going to call her ‘Cherry’ is also somewhat demeaning. And it seemed very strange to me that, while one or two of the women understand and sympathise with her predicament, it takes a lot longer for any of the men around Beau to do anything other than voice objections. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The last half hour or so of the film is set at a small inn/cafe known as the ‘Bus Stop’, as that’s where several cross-country buses. The landlady, Grace (Betty Field) makes them all welcome, and doesn’t want any unpleasantness. Conveniently there is a heavy blizzard which prevents the coach from leaving (and any other buses from arriving) and unsurprisingly there’s a showdown… but I found the ending rather trite and unlikely, although also a bit sad: Cherie has not had a happy life. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The acting is mostly good, in a 1950s way, and the pace of the film about right. It wouldn’t work as a new movie today, but considered as a classic to watch from nearly 70 years ago, it’s an interesting, light-hearted way to spend an evening. There are a few country music interludes; Virge likes playing the guitar and organising sing-songs. But it's not a musical as such. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The rating is U, probably because there’s no overt nudity or intimacy (though much is implied), and I don’t recall any bad language. But the subject matter certainly isn’t appropriate for children; I would have thought at least PG would be more appropriate, and wouldn’t personally show it to anyone under the age of about fourteen or fifteen at the youngest.</span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div>
<i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-73331867312541906652024-02-12T16:59:00.007+02:002024-02-12T17:05:20.918+02:00Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (Jodie Whittaker)<div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Revolution-Exclusive-Artcards/dp/B08J18X62L?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=69894064553eb6009c4e5e668aecd6eb&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Revolution of the Daleks DVD" border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3MjONy7LbjkWJ_6e3utnnhxx2hHYZnn5cylHY-tHuW5vIrMh7lD5e0m__JoITZHt7HXaRFH13X9RWZtBOcYoMGngs49qv6fCVx0a2PAzC-KK2a6_kfm3B4-hX7EKqkNco1vq2oQZOxcLtIlqmRO7Rgi5k7qNXmSgu_PGYNz6pVbhkf6SDZvq6GNbVyCs/w144-h200/Revolution_Daleks.jpeg" title="Revolution of the Daleks (DVD)" width="144" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Revolution-Exclusive-Artcards/dp/B08J18X62L?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=69894064553eb6009c4e5e668aecd6eb&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently it’s just over two years since we finished watching the excellent 12th series of Doctor Who with Jodie Whittaker. It ended with a dramatic episode where the Doctor’s origins were discovered. Her companions returned to Earth, but the doctor, right at the end, was put in a space jail by the Judoon. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I had forgotten all this in the intervening period when I was hoping that we might acquire the thirteenth season. We did have the New Year special episode - ‘Revolution of the Daleks’ - but I’m not a huge fan of daleks, and decided we would wait until we had the following season on DVD too. They were a gift at Christmas, and since we just finished watching the first four seasons of ‘Father Brown’, it was time for another Doctor Who series. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So, last night, we watched ‘Revolution of the Daleks’. It opens with the Doctor’s companions, Yas (Mandip Gill), Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan (Tosin Cole) doing a lot of research. Yas can’t quite believe that the Doctor won’t return, but it’s been a long time since they last saw her. Ryan has been getting back with friends, and trying to make a career for himself. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And then the new Prime Minister (Harriet Walter) announces new security drones. To the horror of the Doctor’s companions, they look like daleks. There are some scenes with a wealthy, unscrupulous American businessman (Chris Noth) clearly in cahoots with the Prime Minister - but it appears that his only motivation is financial exploitation. He has no idea what daleks were. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A young and enthusiastic scientist (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) is pioneering the project, ensuring everything works, and perhaps all would have been well if he hadn’t discovered a remnant of dalek DNA which he was able to clone…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">At least, that’s my understanding of the opening scenes, which happen with such rapidity that it was difficult for me to keep up. The Doctor, who is very bored in space jail, is released unexpectedly after the appearance of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). I didn’t follow that subplot at all, but wasn’t surprised that the Doctor (with Jack in tow) arrive in the Tardis in Graham’s living room while the team are discussing the new dalek-like machines.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s a fast-paced episode but there are some excellent interludes of discussion: the Doctor with Ryan, and - later - the whole group. I very much like the depth of characterisation of the companions which has been such a feature of the ‘new’ Doctor Who series that began when the show was reborn in 2005 (in checking that date, I’m astonished to find that it was nearly twenty years ago!). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s the characters and their stories that have kept me watching; science fiction and fast action are not generally my preferred genres of film. I used to watch the ‘old’ Doctor Who, as a child, behind the sofa. It took the persuasion of both my sons to start watching again - and <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2011/12/doctor-who-series-1-starring.html" target="_blank">we didn’t do so until 2011</a>, although we then quickly acquired DVDs of the next few series until we had caught up. There are interesting story arcs, and the acting is good, with odd unexpected humour here and there to balance the tension. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And while I loathe daleks (who epitomise violence and hatred), they weren’t actually too stressful in this episode. The Doctor comes up with risky ideas to vanquish them, which (inevitably) are successful; but while they’re still on earth although we see random ‘exterminations’ they’re done with random people in a variety of places, most of whom have not been introduced. Not that it makes it any better, but I knew it was visual effects - modern graphics and CGI somehow make them less threatening than the very scary daleks of the 1970s. Or perhaps it’s just that I’m fifty years older. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m glad we’ve finally watched this DVD which has been sitting in our to-be-watched drawer for over a year. It’s not my favourite episode, but it was well worth seeing, and is useful from the continuity point of view, bridging Series 12 and Series 13 (which we will start watching next week). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Our DVD came with some 'art cards' (which we put straight in the paper recycling, not wanting to collect yet more clutter), and has a couple of brief 'extras' on it: one is from the point of view of the Doctor and her three companions, and was very interesting. The other featured John Barrowman trying to recall lines from his time on the series, and was a bit weird. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Recommended if you’re a fan of the series. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div>
<i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-40724320182957933552024-02-07T15:49:00.002+02:002024-02-08T11:28:20.890+02:00An American in Paris (Gene Kelly)
<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/An-American-In-Paris-DVD/dp/B08445V6KB?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=a781d2ae8a62740b68c3d171ab3116be&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="An American in Paris DVD review" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="727" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6NynwuKH8_tL5Y-1OAFrTD6C4qDEh3cxA0qWcBfgDz2ccLtcWoFoQO_h8UmWEHw-r0NXJYvU4uEp5qPWDvGoWjjgeVrG_q8O66D0a-o1YdTyoufVstnxjs8Nj48o4U6V4ymNDaO7pPmx3bt1PgpXOB2SlXf1oyU2u3KbO806VXSYCtCkhiV8Honmsh4/w146-h200/American_in_Paris.jpg" title="An American in Paris (DVD review)" width="146" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/An-American-In-Paris-DVD/dp/B08445V6KB?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=a781d2ae8a62740b68c3d171ab3116be&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">From twenty-five DVDs given to us by a friend who is downsizing, we decided to watch ‘An American in Paris’. It’s well-enough known that we had both heard of it, yet neither of us had ever seen it. We’re not huge fans of musicals in general, and had no idea what to expect.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film, made in 1951 but in colour, stars Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan, an American artist who decided to settle in France after the war. He’s an artist, and feels that he’s learned a lot and is inspired by the beauty of Paris - but he’s not very successful, and struggles to manage. He lives in a tiny apartment, and there’s an amusing and cleverly choreographed scene where he wakes up and transforms his room from a bedroom into a studio. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Jerry has a friend called Adam (Oscar Levant) who is a talented musician. We see him playing the piano several times in the course of the film; but he’s also struggling, wanting to be a concert pianist but having to make do with smaller events. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Adam has a French friend called Henri (Georges Guétary) who is in love with a dancer called Lise (Leslie Caron). They have a mildly humorous discussion as Henri tries to explain what his girlfriend is like, and we see images of her dancing in a variety of roles.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The fifth main character is a wealthy woman called Milo (Nina Foch) who buys a couple of Jerry’s paintings, and decides she wants to sponsor him. He’s rather reluctant, but eventually agrees. And at a restaurant where they’re meeting friends, Jerry sees and is instantly attracted to a young woman… who we quickly realise is Lise. He’s very persistent (in a way that would be considered harassment nowadays) but they become close… </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So there’s something of a comedy of errors, although it’s poignant too; Lise is young and doesn’t know what to do, being courted by two rather different men. The outcome is inevitable, perhaps, but it’s not at all clear how it can come about. And it was a bit irritating that, in fact, we don’t learn exactly how it comes about. I found the ending of the film rather frustrating, partly for that reason.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The acting is good, if a bit overdone (as tended to happen in films of this era) and there are some interludes with songs and dancing in the first half of the film. Gene Kelly, of course, was known for his tap dancing routines, and they blend in well with the general atmosphere of the film; none of the earlier musical items are too long, and they don’t seem out of place. There’s an amusing musical interlude too, when Adam dreams of being a concert pianist, and we only gradually realise that he’s playing not just the pianist, but the conductor, and all the other instrumentalists too. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But I found the last twenty minutes of the film puzzling and (frankly) a bit dull. There’s a long dance sequence mainly featuring Jerry, but also Lise with different styles, different locations, and different chorus members. It’s supposed to be Jerry dreaming as Lise drives away with Henri, but although the dancing is crisp and very well done, and it’s all clever, I was involved in the story by this stage, wanting to know what was going to happen. A few minutes of this routine would have been fine - but it went on and on. According to Wikipedia, it’s seventeen minutes! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Then after the dance routine, there’s only a brief scene before ‘The End’ and the closing credits. One part of the plot is brought to a close (though without any clear indication why it happens the way it does) but other parts are left hanging. We have no idea what happens in Jerry’s proposed exhibition, or how his professional relationship with Milo continues. Nor do we learn whether Adam’s dream comes true. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m glad we watched the film; the dancing is good (even if too lengthy at the end) and the songs nicely done, though Gershwin isn’t my favourite composer or style. The humour is slickly done, and I loved the expressions on Adam’s face as he realises that both his friends are in love with the same girl. But I’m not sure why it was quite as popular as it was, and don’t suppose I’ll want to see it again. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-39104576881178041232024-02-05T14:45:00.002+02:002024-02-05T14:45:29.598+02:00Father Brown (seasons 1-4)<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Father-Brown-1-4-Mark-Williams/dp/B0184GSB9I?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=8b912019cb782a33777faaf7fdf9a8d8&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Father Brown (series 1-4)" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="696" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYeliTcUOWBsMUQIDZqE2q4lseqhARo1CTSFnJiJQrVbUPLxjUdI31p6A8zQken2qQ_ivTJP0e3rb4kO9EvayGOHmlGg6FLI7sviycl0Wo2U2NRg5xoEyyFKHDC_2M5m6r255ZjfvKF0GHqq2_bhNOLEO17wvx5nZMYjOuc5GbcLlrmzEmUbasCDwkUs/w139-h200/Father_Brown.jpg" title="Father Brown TV series box set (1-4)" width="139" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Father-Brown-1-4-Mark-Williams/dp/B0184GSB9I?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=8b912019cb782a33777faaf7fdf9a8d8&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">I have been familiar with GK Chesterton’s delightful creation, ‘Father Brown’, since my teens. This fictional Roman Catholic priest in the early 1900s is adept at solving crimes, with insight and local knowledge, combined with compassion and surprising energy. I last read <a href="https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-wisdom-of-father-brown-by-gk.html" target="_blank">one of the books about him in 2018</a>. But I had somehow missed that Father Brown had inspired a lengthy TV series - I believe it’s up to 11 seasons now. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One of our sons had seen the show, and liked it so much that he sent us a DVD box set of the first four seasons for Christmas 2022. We started watching it towards the end of January 2023, and have watched one episode most weeks (occasionally two episodes) since then. We finally reached the end of the fourth season last night. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">My first surprise was that the series is set in the 1950s rather than at the start of the century when Chesterton was writing. Mark Williams, whom we knew as Arthur Weasley in the ‘Harry Potter’ films, is excellent in the title role. However, he’s not at all as I had imagined Father Brown from Chesterton’s writing. Still, once I realised that the series is ‘inspired by’ Chesterton’s character rather than actually based on the stories, I was able to adjust and see the TV show for what it is. The TV Father Brown is certainly wise, energetic, kind and likeable. He’s also quite persistent, and has a lot of courage. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">His Irish housekeeper, Mrs McCarthey (Sorcha Cusack, whom I recall as a much younger ‘Jane Eyre’ in the 1970s adaptation) is an excellent addition to the storyline. She provides some stability to Father Brown’s life, cooking meals for him, dealing with church accounts, and generally accompanying him in his ministry as well as his criminal investigations. She is also responsible for some low-key humour now and again; although these are crime stories, they have moments of light-heartedness which we appreciated. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Two other significant characters are the wealthy Lady Felicia (Nancy Carroll) and her driver Sid (Alex Price). Sid isn’t part of Father Brown’s congregation, and has some criminal tendencies himself, such as the ability to pick locks; this regularly comes in useful during investigations. Lady Felicia is a bit snooty but very generous, and she often clashes with Mrs McCarthey although the two are, deep down, quite fond of each other.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As always, what I appreciate most in a film or TV series is the characterisation, and I thought that excellent, particularly between the four principle actors. There’s also some banter - and some antagonism - between Father Brown and the local police inspector. In the first series this is Inspector Valentine (Hugo Speer), and in the second and third season he is replaced by Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers). Both gradually come to respect Father Brown, and reluctantly admit it in their final episodes when they are moved to other locations. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The third inspector is introduced at the start of the fourth season: Inspector Mallory (Jack Deam) is the most cynical of all, but gradually develops a kind of grudging liking for Father Brown, despite calling him ‘Padre’, and regularly telling him to leave the scene of the crime. Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) makes a good foil for the inspectors, and usually has a lot of respect and trust in Father Brown. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The stories themselves are widely varied. In forty-five episodes, we didn’t think any of the settings were the same. There’s an overall theme, of course: in most of them somebody dies or is found dead, and eventually Father Brown figures out who the perpetrator was. He uses his intuition, his excellent observational skills, and his knowledge of human nature to probe deeply into what has happened, and why. He saves many innocent men from execution - for this is the era when people were still hanged if believed guilty of a serious crime.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Most of the stories are set in the village of Kembleford where everyone knows everyone else, although some include visitors, and there are some residents whom we only meet once or twice. There are stories set in local homes, involving a variety of people from the Pope to visiting vagabonds. Some relate to former war crimes, some to family feuds, some to medical discoveries or abuse… and so much more. Each time we think the writers must surely have run out of ideas, yet another setting or motive emerges.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I very much liked the slow pace of the series, and the countryside images as well as the interactions between the main characters. I also appreciated the lack of gore; occasionally I had to close my eyes, but there was very little overt violence, and the bodies, when shown, mostly looked asleep. The overall rating of this box set is 12, which I think is about right, given the nature of the plots; it's unlikely to appeal to children anyway. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I appreciated the way that God is taken seriously, too. It’s not a ‘preachy’ series, but, like Chesterston’s original, Father Brown comes across as a devout man with a living, vibrant faith. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Still, having watched four series over the past twelve months, it’s time for a change. So although I would recommend this to anyone who likes light crime television, we’re not going to look for the later seasons on DVD. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-10333934060977552202024-02-03T18:02:00.000+02:002024-02-03T18:02:12.835+02:00The Good Life (6 episodes from series 1)<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Life-episodes-BBC-DVD/dp/B0000BZNLT?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=5a8157cb1cd30e427466b577b8527e57&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="The Good Life (series 1)" border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="242" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XGyQRq7RYtNCces9HDF-3x_hnVHBBP5ZmeeBf2K9miUD5hfQG0eU0U4G0fFBevTjOjljQj9QTSyKapflPNklPV9CcoevyICloOLBtrWxkGzp89ewV0BdII59sKQ5fF2z5WZ26ChhBYehAMqG6zNapUm6S0V4zddfULmcpM1tQPWFwA5ZRUfVUltsgCQ/w138-h200/Good_Life_series1.jpg" title="The Good Life (series 1)" width="138" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Life-episodes-BBC-DVD/dp/B0000BZNLT?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=5a8157cb1cd30e427466b577b8527e57&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">I can remember watching and liking the television sitcom ‘The Good Life’ in the late 1970s. I didn’t watch it all, but the premise appealed to me: a young couple decides to quit the rat race. So I was pleased when I found a DVD containing series 1 - or, rather, six episodes from the first series. I’m not sure why they didn’t include the rest, as there were only seven episodes in that series. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We’ve been watching one episode per week over the past six weeks, and have both appreciated the show very much. Other than the events of the first episode, I had forgotten entirely what happened. And in a sense it doesn’t matter, because the characterisation is what makes this such a good series.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Richard Briers is excellent as the enthusiastic but often naive Tom Good. He works in an office with his neighbour Jerry (Paul Eddington) but whereas Jerry has been promoted and is quite senior, Tom has not risen. He’s a very talented graphic designer, but as he approaches his 40th birthday he becomes disillusioned, and decides he would like to give up paid employment, and become self-sufficient.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Tom’s wife Barbara, brilliantly portrayed by Felicity Kendal, is enthusiastic and encourages him to give in his notice. They come up with all kinds of plans, from growing their own crops to keeping animals for eggs and even meat. They’re not sure how it will all work out, but they’re both eager to try. I love the relationship between Tom and Barbara, which is loving, mutually supportive, and full of conversation. Sometimes they have arguments, even shouting matches; but they always make up. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Jerry, by contrast, is married to the upwardly-mobile Margo (Penelope Keith is perfect in the role). She’s a terrible snob, and loves her life of luxury. She can’t believe Tom and Barbara will actually go ahead with their plans, and at first is horrified at what they will do to their ‘nice’ neighbourhood. There are some clashes, but Margo is ultimately quite kind-hearted, and her friendship with Tom and Felicity is important even though they somewhat laugh about her quirks when she’s not there. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Jerry is a bit hen-pecked, and often does things behind Margo’s back; their relationship is not so open and affectionate as Tom and Barbara’s, but there are times when they become close… </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Later episodes show progress in the self-sufficiency, inevitably beset with problems; Barbara has moments of despair, but she’s very supportive and works hard to fulfil what has become their joint dream. And there’s a lot of humour. Most of it is verbal, and several times we found ourselves laughing aloud. But we also grew to like the characters, so much so that having finished this DVD, I’m going to try to find the other three seasons on DVD when I’m next in the UK.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">To our surprise, there were even a few ‘extras’ on our DVD set, made some years later, looking back on the show and reasons for its success. I don't know if these 'extras' appear in the full season 1 DVD; the link above is to the version we have, with episode 7 missing. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Highly recommended, if you appreciate classic British sitcoms from the 1970s. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div>
<i><div><i><br /></i></div>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-74989339707642174632024-02-01T16:54:00.003+02:002024-02-01T16:54:34.362+02:00The Apartment (Jack Lemmon)<div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Apartment-by-Jack-Lemmon/dp/B01M5IO5LP?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=d6c4d669bdf49f036c7c2aca691d89ab&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="The Apartment DVD" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="306" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb3srRNUaKufKAnpqHTdPjqP4DXDsFlJJsjcnJHrSVI_FEac3BTo3vk3Y881X0C8tc3kkA_C2orIcVbrdq_h-79qw8M5Bp2sErTaYC_7PchmSSklrxCyPIn4QDjizcBY7farfGxMr0ZL6yiWVnqj0kx4e5DB08VpAk7vXbSxERUIqidWWIR4BaASO2hw/w136-h200/apartment_lemmon.webp" title="The Apartment DVD" width="136" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Apartment-by-Jack-Lemmon/dp/B01M5IO5LP?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=d6c4d669bdf49f036c7c2aca691d89ab&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">An elderly friend was giving away her DVD collection, moving to online films. Despite being twenty years younger, we prefer physical DVDs or blu-rays, and were delighted to be offered as many of them as we wanted. We selected about twenty-five which looked interesting, and last night decided to watch ‘The Apartment’. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We had no idea what this was about - I didn’t even read the blurb on the back - but knew it was black-and-white. I thought that might bother me, but it wasn’t a problem at all. However we were a tad surprised to find that the premise of this film is quite risqué - and I’d have thought would have been shocking in 1960 when the film was first shown. But it won several Oscars, so perhaps people were less prudish then. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Jack Lemmon is the main character, a young executive known as CC Baxter, who works for a huge insurance company in New York. He’s quite ambitious, and has discovered a way of hastening his rise to the top. He has an apartment which he lends to senior colleagues who want to ‘entertain’ young women. They, in turn, write positive comments about him in the office, leading to rapid promotion.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course nothing is simple, and we see poor Baxter walking up and down on a chilly evening, after staying late at the office. The light is still on in his apartment, so he knows he can’t interrupt. And when someone wants to change a booked tryst - or when Baxter himself is sick, and needs to be at home - he has to make extensive phone calls adjusting everyone else’s schedules.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s somewhat ridiculous, of course, and the film is light-hearted and exaggerated. Yet there’s apparently more than a grain of truth in the premise of professional married men playing around. And it certainly seems possible that a young and ambitious man could get himself caught up in this kind of scheme, which rapidly snowballed out of hand, in the hope of rising beyond his colleagues.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Naturally there’s a love interest for Baxter, in the form of Fran Kubelik (a young Shirley MacLaine), who works as an elevator operator. He talks to her, and she appreciates his courtesy but when he eventually plucks up the courage to invite her out, she’s reluctant - we don’t learn why until later in the film. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The acting of the 1950s and early 1960s looks overdone and exaggerated by today’s standards, and the only person we thought at all believable was Fran, who displays almost every possible emotion in a sympathetic and believable way. The office philanderers in their suits feel like people from a bygone era although perhaps they still exist. And CC Baxter is an odd mix of honest, kind and thoughtful, yet so seriously ambitious that he has no problem compromising his integrity.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Still, the pace is excellent, the script realistic (given the bizarre nature of the film) and we didn’t feel that the film was over-long despite it being a full two hours. The rating is PG but it’s not a film I would show to young children, or even young teens; quite apart from the rather sordid storyline, there’s a lot of talk about sexuality (even if mostly euphemistic), some minor - but disturbing - violence, and a couple of very tense scenes. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">On the whole we liked it, but I’d only recommend it if you like this era and style of film. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div>
<i><div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div></i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-28974892399396766352024-01-24T16:06:00.004+02:002024-02-01T17:12:24.585+02:00Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews)
<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mary-Poppins-DVD-Julie-Andrews/dp/B00EB88MBG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=f3ef94cd00d24302807bd3fe328091c9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Mary Poppins DVD" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="706" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-vynYf-W-L4R6ueT9rypLWWohsw_ubxLY884XlS0e1syU78mSXHY9ed7dAixtnQhknwE-oxYkHYxF8BNc6SzMpiJuwEXqqTD_eQgpXf-3HVnljOP949PuZf8wrugXBglwcdANdHhyon2TsY1N4ANhw0_rqHadaEjz_JTOCNTtZFBLR0a_UAupGG31m4/w141-h200/Mary_Poppins.jpg" title="Mary Poppins" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mary-Poppins-DVD-Julie-Andrews/dp/B00EB88MBG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=f3ef94cd00d24302807bd3fe328091c9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>After re-watching <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2024/01/saving-mr-banks-emma-thompson.html" target="_blank">‘Saving Mr Banks’</a> a week ago, I was eager to see the film of ‘Mary Poppins’ which I had not seen for at least twenty years, possibly more. I saw it as a child, possibly in the cinema, and certainly on television, when I was a teenager. But although we have had the DVD for a long time, and it’s been seen many times by other people, I don’t recall watching it myself. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">What a delight it is! It’s a long film, over two and a half hours but I didn’t find it over-long at all. Made in 1964, this was the first film role for Julie Andrews, who’s probably better known as ‘Maria’ in ‘The Sound of Music’. She makes an excellent Mary Poppins, the nanny who arrives at the Banks household, floating down from the sky…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The story is set in 1910. Mr Banks (David Tomlinson) is a very regimented man who works at a bank in London. He arrives home at six o’clock on the dot (emphasised by an eccentric captain neighbour who sets of a cannon at this time) and goes through the same routine each day. He’s fond of his young children Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) in a vague kind of way, but wants them to behave impeccably and mostly keep out of his way. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite the fact that several nannies have left in less than a week, Jane and Michael are not badly-behaved or wild children. Sometimes they get distracted, or decide to hide, but they’re basically kind, honest and likeable. We were very impressed by the two children playing their parts; both were less than ten years old, and entirely realistic in their roles.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Mrs Banks (Glynis Johns) is in stark contrast to her husband, although she’s very fond of him and entirely defers to him as head of the household - at least, when he’s with her. She’s an active campaigner for women’s votes, and spends a lot of her time on protest marches. She and the two main household servants Mrs Brill (Reta Shaw) and Ellen (Hermione Baddeley) provide most of the humour of the film.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">On the children’s first outing with Mary Poppins they meet her old friend Bert (Dick van Dyke) who is working as a street artist. We’ve already seen him as a one-man band, earlier in the story, and he appears later as a chimney sweep. He’s multi-talented, and his tap dancing skills come to the fore in several scenes. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition to the ‘realistic’ story featuring the family, there are some surreal mystical adventures, the first one including a countryside break, with singing animals and merry-go-round horses that take the children onto a racecourse… this is all done in animation, and I was full of admiration, knowing this was all done by hand long before the days of CGI or even computer-aided animation. There are some delightful sequences, very cleverly produced.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are a lot of songs, as this is a musical production. Some of them are well-known, others less so, but all are very well done, most accompanied by excellent choreography. I have have a slight criticism, it’s that some of the songs are a bit drawn-out. Modern directors would have cut them much shorter, and made the film faster-paced; I’d have preferred it just a little faster in places. But in the 1960s films were longer, and apparently people had better attention spans. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Overall I thought it an excellent production. Our DVD set is an anniversary edition which has an ‘extras’ disc, including interviews with the musical director, one with a rather older Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke, looking back on the making of the film, and quite a long documentary ‘extra’ about the making of the film. All very interesting. I was surprised to learn that the whole outdoor setting of the Banks’ street was a set in a studio. None of the film was shot in London. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m glad we watched it after seeing ‘Saving Mr Banks’, particularly the extras, as that story - which is mostly true - gives a lot of useful and personal background. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Highly recommended, to adults and children so long as you don't mind suspending reality somewhat. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><i><br /></i></div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-53524037255118077472024-01-17T19:19:00.004+02:002024-02-05T15:14:04.994+02:00Saving Mr Banks (Emma Thompson)<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Banks-DVD-Tom-Hanks/dp/B00H3IG1HS?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=e577e91f08ba28ce456882eb9ca367d9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Saving Mr Banks (Emma Thompson)" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="705" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfMDg2QZBCw0qI17DyBDK-CDpsDB5S_FvOOmFsXGwW96GiWwgImmR4PaB6ylKIwM8V4BIcP3BUcMmlBfAxLjXZCWVg5c0eXoZO9m8hH7hyayjdjtv_FRrKdJkiRQXaQ_vnRrsuLT-7bJCiXWXcITMClEOSEFGWYXTEks3Kyp-nDm5M3vchQoOY05NAgQ/w141-h200/Saving_Mr_Banks.jpg" title="Saving Mr Banks DVD review" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Banks-DVD-Tom-Hanks/dp/B00H3IG1HS?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=e577e91f08ba28ce456882eb9ca367d9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>It’s nine-and-a-half years since <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2014/07/saving-mr-banks-starring-emma-thompson.html" target="_blank">we watched the film ‘Saving Mr Banks’</a>. I remembered liking it very much, and recalled the basic outline, but had forgotten all the details. We knew it was based on a true story, of course, and decided to watch it again last night.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Emma Thompson is perfect as the rigidly uptight writer PL Travers, in the early 1960s. Indeed, it took me a while to realise who the actor was. Mrs Travers (who allows very few people to use her first name) is a very proper Englishwoman in her sixties. She was briefly famous for having written the classic novel ‘Mary Poppins’, but doesn’t want to write any more, and - as her agent points out - she’s facing poverty, unless she is willing to discuss turning the book into a film. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Mrs Travers hates the thought of her creation being animated, or turned into a musical, and has resisted offers from Walt Disney Productions for twenty years. But, unwilling to lose her house, she agrees at last to fly to Los Angeles to meet the team who would like to adapt her book. However she insists that she will write the script, and she will have the last say on every detail. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s some mild humour as she comes up against airline staff and passengers, and some wonderful asides with Ralph, the personal chauffeur allocated to her for her time in California. But there’s also a great deal of poignancy; much of the film is shown in flashback form, when the young Helen went through some very traumatic scenes in her childhood. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I hadn’t looked at the DVD cover, so had forgotten that Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney himself in this film. He’s so good that I hadn’t realised who he was until the credits roll at the end. Walt Disney is portrayed as a likeable man, who really wants to make this film after promising his young daughters that he would, two decades before. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film of ‘Mary Poppins’ is so well-known that it’s not a spoiler to say that eventually Mrs Travers agrees to the making of the film, although she’s unimpressed with several of the songs, and horrified at the thought of some animated sequences. And part of the storyline involves her getting to know the team, and gradually - reluctantly - accepting them. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But the more powerful part of the story takes place fifty years earlier, when the young Helen, oldest of three girls, sees her beloved father lose his job, and descend into alcoholism. She’s a thoughtful child who adores her father, and is devastated when one of his promises cannot be kept. And as Mrs Travers sees flashbacks of her past, Walt Disney finally begins to understand what the book is really about… </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I don't suppose it's entirely true to the real story. But at the end, over the titles, we hear some of the recordings made during the actual meetings in Los Angeles. It's good that they were kept, and suggests that, at least to a reasonable degree, the story is accurately told. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I was mesmerised by the film, even if I ended up (like the first time) with the song ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’ as an earworm. It’s beautifully made, realistically done, with just the right blend of gentle humour and poignancy. I would recommend it to everyone who has ever seen the film of ‘Mary Poppins’ (or read the book); indeed, having now watched this again, I want to see ‘Mary Poppins’ again, as I didn’t recall at all the few sequences shown from it in ‘Saving Mr Banks’. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Very highly recommended. The rating is PG, possibly because there are some rather tense and gory scenes from the childhood flashbacks. But a young child probably wouldn’t really understand this anyway; I probably wouldn’t want to show it to a child younger than about eleven or twelve. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-85875469630999653522024-01-11T15:47:00.006+02:002024-02-05T15:08:41.237+02:00Letters to Juliet (Amanda Seyfried)<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Juliet-DVD-Amanda-Seyfried/dp/B003RSIQ7Q?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=706ea10340db6fef30f75516036b4da6&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Letters to Juliet (Amanda Seyfried)" border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="356" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQwib63Gw3JCXahXlBs1S4Q3Dw6h_ApCDB3m3rxBG5OlDoBB6Hu4UhWCCqmI5hUBJqo3MlrjwF42L8Lc7cLgC-dXwLKgrHfekSBRRVYXouuqmzH6r_8K4CtRQYUN8f6Phs1Ltxv6FatWYZJM0WF-bHjS_aDXRBOIa89xXGmEPKRgU3ff1kG9RJRIc_nM/w139-h200/Letters_to_Juliet.jpeg" title="Letters to Juliet DVD review" width="139" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Juliet-DVD-Amanda-Seyfried/dp/B003RSIQ7Q?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesboorev-21&linkId=706ea10340db6fef30f75516036b4da6&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>I watched <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2022/07/letters-to-juliet-amanda-seyfried.html" target="_blank">the film ‘Letters to Juliet’</a> with relatives just eighteen months ago. But my husband was given it on blu-ray for Christmas, after putting it on his wishlist, and had not seen it. So, as I recalled enjoying it, I was happy to watch it again even after such a brief period.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">While I had recalled the general outline, I had quite forgotten the opening scenes. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) lives in New York with her boyfriend Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal). He is soon to be opening a new restaurant, but has agreed to go on a short holiday with her, to Verona in Italy. Sophie is a professional fact-checker who would love to become a published writer.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Victor is very fond of Sophie, but his real passion is cooking, and he’s very excited to be able to meet with some of his suppliers in Italy. Sophie goes with him for the first, including wine-tasting. At the second, looking at cheeses, she feels a bit left out and bored. And when he decides to take a few days meeting yet another supplier, she decides to stay in Verona and do some sight-seeing. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">She comes across a wall, supposedly part of Juliet’s house (created for tourists who want to see where Shakespeare’s Juliet lived) where women are writing and affixing notes. Sophie even more intrigued when a group of women appear and take the notes away in baskets. Her journalistic instincts are aroused, and she follows them…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One thing leads to another, and the bulk of the story involves Sophie travelling around Italy with the wonderful Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) who hasn’t seen Lorenzo, the person she fell in love with fifty years earlier. She is accompanied by her reluctant grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan). He is, understandably, annoyed that her soulmate was apparently not his own grandfather, and thinks she has come on a wild goose-chase. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s quite a bit of gentle humour in the film, much of which I had entirely forgotten, as the group find more and more people with the same name, in widely different circumstances. There’s also some wonderful chemistry between Sophie and Claire, who feel a sense of kindred immediately. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One minor criticism of the film is that Claire is only supposed to be 65, but she looks about ten years older. Quick research revealed that Vanessa Redgrave was in fact 73 when this film was made. She’s still active and attractive, but is also treated by Charlie as if she were in her 70s and quite frail. She fell in love at 15, which is why she had to return to the UK with her parents; but I felt it should have been sixty years earlier rather than fifty. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">However it’s a minor thing; Vanessa Redgrave is the most wonderful actress, and I could entirely believe in Claire, putting aside the problem that she looked and behaved older than 65. Sophie, too, is entirely believable, and we loved the passionate Victor, who injects some humour into the early part of the film. We weren’t so impressed with Charlie, however. His accent felt a bit over-plummy; we later discovered that he’s Australian, so his English accent wasn’t authentic. We got used it; but his gradual change of character didn’t seem entirely authentic. He’s quite rude when he first appears, and antagonistic towards Sophie and there’s no real explanation as to why he softens and changes.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But that’s also minor, as the real love story is the one that - inevitably - is finally fulfilled, with some very poignant scenes. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Rated PG, this is free of anything explicit, and the only nudity is that on some of the classical Italian statues. The film has only the very mildest of bad language - and not even much of that. A story like this isn’t likely to be of interest to children, but I would recommend it highly to anyone over the age of about 15 who likes gentle romantic stories. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are some extras which we watched: a short ‘making of’ documentary which explains some of the background; also some deleted or expanded scenes that weren’t used.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Juliet-DVD-Amanda-Seyfried/dp/B003RSIQ7Q/?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=suesboorev-21&linkCode=ur2&linkId=3f6754d54ab0134567a78ff356e0adcd&camp=1634&creative=6738" target="_blank">Letters to Juliet</a><div><i><br /><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></i></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-49648198644512572872024-01-03T15:27:00.002+02:002024-02-07T16:10:12.452+02:00A Christmas Wish (Kristy Swanson)
<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Wish-DVD-Kirsty-Swanson/dp/B006N9I4LY?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=7873491c7583a9f0ba62bce98a8be76d&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="A Christmas Wish DVD" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="669" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYnu2F2UO4PzYy1dxOuvHHruFAK5sXWKXHUsV29DOHgtlrtbWwe1JiBB5nE3EvcHMvBL7vCW9Mzcz83o76mYGAE9uQzhKLPiXFD9YIR95QzAixicf6vIVs0bz1et30jU64UXG5BjW7QeSsZVDAzXwDqkZ49ETdK0Jl03pNPPUV2i6zOVTqBRgHUM3eT4/w134-h200/Christmas_Wish.jpg" title="A Christmas Wish (DVD)" width="134" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Wish-DVD-Kirsty-Swanson/dp/B006N9I4LY?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=7873491c7583a9f0ba62bce98a8be76d&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>New Year has passed, but we decided to watch one more Christmas film before putting them away again until the end of November. We hadn’t previously seen ‘A Christmas Wish’, which I had found at a charity shop a year or so ago. So we saw it last night. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film opens with a small American family setting out by car, with little idea where they’re going. Martha (Kristy Swanson) has been abandoned by her husband. He not only ran off with another woman, he emptied their bank accounts and has left her pretty much destitute. She can’t stay there (although it wasn’t entirely clear why) so she packs her daughters Mel and Lilee into the back of the car, her stepson Miles in the front, and they set off. She has some cash to buy fuel and food, but urgently needs work.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">They drive north, stopping at various locations with no luck. They eventually stop at a tiny hamlet; Martha knows she needs to sleep, and the children need to have somewhere to stay. They manage to find a temporary apartment to rent, and she even finds some waitressing work, but then there’s the problem of who will look after the children…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It was obvious from the start that this is something of a Cinderella story; but the acting and the pace of the film are excellent. We were particularly impressed by the three children. Miles (Kevin Herring III) has a complex role; he’s devastated that his father left, and adamant that Martha is NOT his mother, even though she has looked after him for the past four years since their families were blended. He is certain his father will return for him, but his life isn’t easy. He wears glasses and has a stutter that becomes worse when he is stressed, and he has to deal with constant teasing and bullying at whatever school he attends. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Mel (Kirstin Dorn) is an absolute delight. She’s loving, responsible, and also has a strong belief in the power of prayer. Ages aren’t mentioned, but we gathered that Miles is about ten or eleven, Mel perhaps a year younger, although they’re around the same height. The two of them get along very well, on the whole. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Then there’s Lilee (Lilee Clyde). Martha says she’s three, but she looks and behaves more like a child of two-and-a-half. I don’t know how old the actress was, but she was excellent, providing quite a bit of humour - Lilee is independent and curious, and doesn’t make life easy for the rest of her family.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">If it hadn’t been for the children, the story would have been predictable and possibly schmalzy. But the antics of the youngsters pull it out of the ordinary; their chemistry with their screen mother is strong, their conversations believable. I could empathise strongly with Martha, attempting to be a good, loving mother while urgently needing to provide some kind of home and stability for the children. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I found it a bit hard to keep track of the different people who came into the diner where Martha finds work; perhaps it doesn’t much matter. Some are a bit grumpy but she’s charming to them all, and even attracts the attention of someone who has taken little interest in women since he was jilted the day before his wedding. But the directors didn’t make the mistake of turning this into a romance; Martha is still legally married, and her family are her priority. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The local residents are mostly sorry for Martha, and although she only works for about ten days before Christmas, I wasn’t surprised that she’s tipped well, and even that people give advice and gifts to the children. But the last ten minutes or so of the film do rather require a suspension of belief… however it works well. The ending turns it into a feel-good story with a Christian emphasis that’s done very well (in my view) without any preaching. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s light-weight, and suitable for all the family so long as they’re comfortable with the theme of a broken home and destitution. I can’t find a UK rating and since it was made for TV in the United States, it doesn’t seem to be rated there either. I assume it would have been G, or PG at most. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Recommended if you want a light-weight well-made Christmas film and don’t mind the predictability (and rapidity) of the ending. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://amzn.to/48C2L1a" target="_blank">A Christmas Wish</a> is quite expensive to buy new, perhaps because it's imported (and over ten years old) but if you can find it inexpensively in a charity shop or elsewhere second-hand, it's a nice addition to a Christmas film collection. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><i>Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-58805555295541734412023-12-27T17:43:00.004+02:002024-02-07T16:13:55.211+02:00Nothing like the holidays (Freddy Rodríguez)
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Like-Holidays-Luis-Guzman/dp/B002JARDS6?crid=7YUL7CIWQ6RF&keywords=nothing+like+the+holidays&qid=1707315077&s=dvd&sprefix=nothing+like+the+holiday%2Cdvd%2C303&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=423f75ece0d4f076221462e0472fb4c9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Nothing Like the Holidays DVD" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="453" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tuKFLLNbGfyluGnVH2thaJm9O9G4mEKqgzDkMWgxZ_I4eF5RUrIFPxKdGueO9yInaX91UJXDME8lGzhfnqW5-iR4mM8y0DSLAcH17lg2ort3fL0O0ul3R0yZlXhtGVPGgKvkNX4TehVU18EgN6jNFTZCkm1DcAPhizhYT2uq5twtBLiPW8K3GmvfLfg/w142-h200/Nothing_like_holidays.webp" title="Nothing Like the Holidays (DVD)" width="142" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Like-Holidays-Luis-Guzman/dp/B002JARDS6?crid=7YUL7CIWQ6RF&keywords=nothing+like+the+holidays&qid=1707315077&s=dvd&sprefix=nothing+like+the+holiday%2Cdvd%2C303&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=423f75ece0d4f076221462e0472fb4c9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>In the last couple of years we’ve watched four or five Christmas films during December, so in the summer when I was in the UK I decided to order a few more, inexpensively, from World of Books online. One of them - which seemed to be well recommended - was ‘Nothing like the holidays’. Billed as a romance/comedy/drama, it sounded like a good one for a relaxing evening, so we watched it last night.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The story features a Puerto Rican family who live in Chicago, in the United States, and who are gathering for Christmas. Alfred Molina is excellent as the father, Edy, married to Anna (Elizabeth Pena). They are particularly excited to see their son Jesse (Freddie Rodriguez) returning from a lengthy stint in the army, based in Iraq. He has been injured and is quite traumatised by some of what he’s seen, and it’s hard for them to know how to deal with him. There’s a huge ‘welcome home’ banner which we see right at the start of the film, then the action changes to Jesse at the airport, then met by some friends. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesse’s brother Mauricio (John Leguizamo) is a suited businessman, married to the highflying Sarah (Debra Messing). She’s the only non-Puerto Rican in the family, and is still adjusting to the culture. She’s had some clashes with Anna, but she’s trying hard: she’s even learned some Spanish. But she and John have no desire to start a family any time soon, and she finds the pressure from Edy and Anna very stressful. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Then there’s their sister Roxanna (Vanessa Ferlito). She works in Hollywood, but is struggling to find any work, although her family are convinced she’s a huge star, or about to become one. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As far as I could work out, all the other characters who eat with the family, or hang out with them, are friends - or possibly cousins. It was hard to tell, and perhaps it doesn’t matter. The picture is of a huge, extended family who sit down to a huge meal… and then Anna announces something, almost casually, that shatters any hint of Christmas spirit or community. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s possible that, if we were familiar with Puerto Rican culture, we would have found the film amusing in places, although most of the themes are sad - they include illness and relationship breakups as well as the horrors of war. There’s also a theme of revenge which didn’t entirely make sense and didn’t seem to be related to the rest of the film. There are some scenes of different men in the family attempting in vain to cut down a large tree, but even that is more poignant than amusing, and when someone takes a chainsaw without knowing how to operate it, I looked away, worried that disaster would happen.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The acting is mostly good - I found the main family members believable, their tensions and simultaneous affection quite realistic. But the storyline was really quite depressing - some resolution is reached in some of the issues, but there’s no ‘happy ever after’. Christmas is the setting, and there’s a scene of carol singing in the streets, but it’s not really a Christmas film. I’m not sure what it is, or who it would appeal to. It’s not suitable for children despite the PG rating. There’s a fair amount of bad language, some violence, several sexual references, and some tense scenes too. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There were places when I found the accents too strong to understand. There were English subtitles for important parts that were in Spanish; I could have done with subtitles for some of the conversations which were in English too! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s not (in my opinion) humorous, despite what the blurb says on the back, and it’s not really heart-warming. I think I’d have liked it better if it had been billed as a tense family drama covering serious issues; that way, the lighter scenes would have provided some light relief, but we wouldn’t have been expecting any humour, so wouldn’t have been disappointed.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We did watch to the end, but think it’s unlikely we’ll choose to watch it again. I don’t really recommend it. Still, it’s highly reviewed on many sites, so don’t necessarily follow my opinion. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-88698381785655319492023-12-23T19:46:00.003+02:002024-02-07T16:16:45.137+02:00As Time Goes By (Series 4)
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/As-Time-Goes-4-DVD/dp/B000KF0WQM?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=4ee06fdafbf644b051b94eeff78f1458&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="As Time Goes By series 4" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="708" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2XgNpeuAOh0_3ATvHtqiSdRGGmxfifL4AIcCWHQWROMdWeriXvlNRiXvSywYj3_eb5LsZcH1NGC5RVe1HsXugsb9_lqY3yKSSONq3hamI8MlhiJL82RC1Q7v_lMB6obBHp3wz1WSlNcm8H-vfeFg9RIg-j2owI2hQgTq1sYFo-ktNo7K1nCQjGIru6g/w142-h200/As_time_goes_by_series4.jpg" title="As Time Goes By (series 4)" width="142" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/As-Time-Goes-4-DVD/dp/B000KF0WQM?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=4ee06fdafbf644b051b94eeff78f1458&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>We started watching ‘<a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/07/as-time-goes-by-series-1-and-2.html" target="_blank">As Time Goes By’ </a>in March this year. We had DVDs of the first two seasons and liked them so much that, when I was in the UK in the Summer, I ordered the third and fourth season as well. We watched <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/10/as-time-goes-by-series-3.html" target="_blank">the third season</a> in the autumn, and have just finished watching Series Four. Geoffrey Palmer and Judi Dench star as Lionel and Jean, separated by the Korean war, and reunited after thirty years. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The first few episodes of Season Four revolve around Lionel writing the script for a mini-series commissioned by some people in the United States. He’s finding it very difficult to write about poignant memories, and is not helped by the loquacious though well-meaning Mrs Flack (Vivienne Martin). The background to these first few episodes also involves Lionel attempting to get used to living with Jean in a household that not only includes her twice-divorced daughter Judy (Moira Brooker) but Jean’s secretary Sandy (Jenny Funnell), who has broken up with her boyfriend.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Another episode involves Jean’s sister-in-law Penny (Moyra Fraser) being convinced her husband is having an affair, when it turns out that he’s trying to arrange a surprise party. Meanwhile Lionel and Jean decide that they really should get married, and Lionel’s father Rocky (Frank Middlemass) tells them he is giving them his house in the country. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Later episodes - there are ten in the series - involve wedding jitters, the wedding itself, the end of the honeymoon, filming for the mini-series, and a discussion about whether or not Jean is going to retire. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We watched one episode per week, and felt quite involved in the storylines which managed to offer something new each time. The acting is excellent, the stories well-done, with no bad language, no nudity, no violence… the humour is in the script and the timing, and the chemistry of the actors with each other. There’s much that’s poignant as well as several places where we smiled. We even laughed aloud a few times. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope we’ll watch this series again in a few years, but - a tad perversely, perhaps - we’ve decided not to get hold of the later series. Apparently there were nine seasons of ‘As Time Goes By’, although the later ones had just six or seven episodes in each. I did glance at the storylines, summarised online elsewhere, and they looked rather less appealing, with Jean and Lionel starting to show signs of age, and the younger generation having trouble with their love-lives. I think it’s better to stop while we’re still enjoying the series, now that Jean and Lionel are happily married, and have made some decisions about where to live, and what they will be doing.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">You probably have to be at least in your fifties to appreciate this series fully. I did see a few episodes on TV when I was much younger, and liked them, which is why I acquired the first two seasons on DVD when they were available. But we didn't watch them until this year. It was much better being around the ages of Jean and Lionel. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s an undemanding show, with not a great deal happening and just a handful of characters who recur in most episodes. It doesn’t have the rather brash humour of some American sitcoms, nor any slapstick or canned laughter. It’s gentle, amusing, and heartwarming and I thoroughly recommend it if clean 1990s UK sitcoms appeal to you.</span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-39712044734533985582023-12-20T21:03:00.005+02:002024-02-15T17:03:04.080+02:00The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (Luke Ward-Wilkinson)<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miracle-Jonathan-Toomey-DVD/dp/B001G6UPGG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=de127b3d013e20e83c89a91a010788b9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="707" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwERCIxStXRnYE6L7Ra9GEeOi74nkFZRJJJKGRs-Daeyv9iRKVbq4E8mkH6dMqfzDzm0gCogJ33O4nMjwlnTHKLXq1d3O2VuIpN_81wnJQ3s3LX3oBOoh2V-qZk9HNzNrY84x1eEoUl_l8eK05tJJzU9Q1DJm6b3H6YqdDnFofLd5sEE3h8O7zLYIj4tM/w141-h200/Christmas_miracle_toomey.jpg" title="The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miracle-Jonathan-Toomey-DVD/dp/B001G6UPGG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=de127b3d013e20e83c89a91a010788b9&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>In the UK early in December last year, I was browsing in a charity shop when I found some Christmas films I had never heard of, costing one pound each. I checked the blurb on the back, and chose three of them. One of them was ‘The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey’, which we didn’t watch a year ago so waited until the 2023 Christmas season. We finally watched it last night. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">What a wonderful, heartwarming film it is. It’s set over 100 years ago, in the United States, so we were surprised to learn, seeing the credits at the end, that it was made in the UK. Moreover, the majority of the actors were British rather than American, which probably explains why some of the accents didn’t feel entirely authentic. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But that’s my only (very minor) gripe with the film, which is beautifully portrayed, a mixture of poignancy and redemption, with a little low-key humour here and there in some of the interactions. The undoubted star of the film is a ten-year-old boy called Thomas (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) who lives in a city (I don’t think it’s stated which city) with his family who are evidently quite well off. His father has to go away to fight in World War I but writes a letter to Thomas, and promises to be back soon.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Then tragedy strikes; Thomas and his mother Susan (Joely Richardson) have to move to the country to stay with her sister Joan (Lia Williams). Thomas is not only heartbroken about his father, he must leave behind his grandfather (Ronald Pickup) and their beloved housekeeper Mrs Hickey (Jenny O’Hara). And almost worst of all, he loses his father’s carved Nativity set, which the two of them set up together every Christmas. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Thomas is not happy in the country; one of the local boys taunts him, and he doesn’t much like having to feed chickens. He’s also a bit scared of a reclusive hermit living in a shack in the forest, a man called Jonathan Toomey (Tom Beringer). Mr Toomey is a skilled wood carver, but he arrived there out of the blue and nobody knows anything about him. So terrible rumours have arisen. But Thomas’s mother sees some of his work, and wonders if he might possibly carve a new Nativity set…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The scenery, the conversation and the sets are all beautifully done. The pace is excellent, and young Thomas is a typical grieving child, sometimes almost in tears, sometimes behaving like the lively young boy he used to be. He’s loyal, likeable and very confused. I could believe in him entirely, and empathised with his pain, and his longings, and his envy when other children’s fathers return from the war. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Mr Toomey is also a very believable person; we, as viewers, know what has caused his hermit-like behaviour and dour attitude, as we see him imagining the past at the start of the film. His gradual thawing as he relates to Thomas and his mother works well, but the directors didn’t make the mistake of turning this into a romance or a ‘happy ever after’ story. There’s a positive outcome at the end, but the future is inconclusive. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s hard to express how much we liked and appreciated this beautifully made film, one of the best Christmas films we’ve seen, and one which we certainly hope to see again in a few years. It’s suitable for all the family. The rating is U, which reflects the lack of anything ‘adult’. There is one minor fight shown (but without any gore), and the initial theme is of war and tragedy, but there’s no bad language, nothing remotely sexual, and nothing really disturbing. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Very highly recommended if you want an engrossing and moving Christmas film. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-58371370933958510932023-12-13T19:40:00.003+02:002024-02-15T17:05:17.504+02:00A Christmas Carol goes wrong
<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Carol-Goes-Wrong-DVD/dp/B08WQVR98T?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=02868ebf36a78897223ddf573eb4fa7a&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="716" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFxtuWz4efpxQUjDIuJGHnHjW0TXE7XvC0Os80JHJmXM-teoEjM9hxZqIC9yb_fsCWBFD3DT_V_uScBrnJ37oA-QEcDaZ9dKfqs9E_Wk8qfrZqu-CghYXY1iIVRrDfMsSPxnvZ9f6IpUScCtFv-utS2jgw4IexAzXk4OXyqJVKiqIMqVDH9UsqgMmzDM/w143-h200/Christmas_carol_goes_wrong.jpg" title="A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong" width="143" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Carol-Goes-Wrong-DVD/dp/B08WQVR98T?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=02868ebf36a78897223ddf573eb4fa7a&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>For Christmas last year, one of our sons gave us two DVDs we had not previously heard of, in the ‘Goes Wrong’ series. We watched <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/03/peter-pan-goes-wrong.html" target="_blank">‘Peter Pan goes wrong’</a> back in March, and thought it very amusing, if a tad silly in places, and with some scenes that I didn’t like so much. But we decided to keep the other one, ‘A Christmas Carol goes wrong’ for the Christmas season.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Last night we watched it - and were surprised to learn that it’s less than an hour long. These were made for TV rather than as films, so perhaps it’s not so unexpected. I had more of an idea what might happen, after recalling the events of the ‘Peter Pan’ film, so we were expecting some light-hearted chaos.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We were not disappointed. The opening scenes are of the classic Dickens story as expected, but then things start to go wrong. I’m not sure I entirely followed what was happening, as I wasn’t familiar with any of the cast of the (supposed) amateur dramatic society who are performing the play for television. Derek Jacobi appears both as himself and as Scrooge, but Scrooge is also - and mainly - played by someone called Chris in the company (Henry Shields). In addition, there’s an ongoing attempt to injure him by the man known as Robert (Henry Lewis) who would also like to play Scrooge.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The play goes ahead, complete with the various ghosts. Backstage crew appear now and then, and just about everything that might go wrong does. It’s cleverly done, with slick choreography and there were places where we chuckled aloud. I thought the most amusing lines, however, were those by Dennis (Jonathan Sayer) who is playing Bob Cratchett. He is so nervous about forgetting his lines that he has them printed in all kinds of random places, which leads to some very humorous asides.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though I know the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’ well, it was sometimes hard to keep track of what was going on. It didn’t help that several of the actors and actresses played multiple roles; in particular Charlie Russell as Sandra, who is not just Mrs Cratchett, but several other women’s parts too. I have a hard enough time keeping track of people when they all look different…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It becomes even more surreal towards the end when the entire cast venture out into London, into a supermarket so that Scrooge, now reformed, can buy something for the Cratchetts’ Christmas lunch. It all gets a bit silly then, particularly when they dance around half-singing bits of Christmas carols, and then can’t get back into the BBC building. If I tried to think about what was going on, I got lost. It probably didn’t matter. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Overall, it was good fun, cleverly done, and with plenty that we found funny, mixed in with the silliness. We watched the ‘extra’ - some commentary from three of the cast members, explaining the background to some of the story, which did take the whole to over an hour.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Recommended in a low-key way if you like this kind of thing, and are familiar with the classic story. But don’t expect anything too deep. Rated U which seems about right - the violence is slap-stick, it's obvious nobody is hurt, and I don't recall any bad language. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-84327751216197054242023-12-06T20:08:00.004+02:002024-02-15T17:08:43.783+02:00The Dog who Saved Christmas (Gary Valentine)<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-Who-Saved-Christmas-DVD/dp/B003VACRW0?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=43246b2855b0a08b11fa7a4b80655ca7&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="The Dog who Saved Christmas" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="665" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzzGj8Zb5hyphenhyphenu3hZ8MNlQUCtriEdwgpUUxmlf0HnWR5_vQ1CAmif_ioilLqJojMoKXiqdhK7cHpL8pspJ7aZV1h-Brod0pFVrv-e9JoRzVaoMlpSJXZso9HsMpwkISAlEahwengj3kBinF9VPvZ7_FtXFig90oAHfeW_hsU89TgROqhU2ipPA3EqHMQfg/w133-h200/dog_who_saved_christmas.jpg" title="The Dog who Saved Christmas" width="133" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-Who-Saved-Christmas-DVD/dp/B003VACRW0?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=43246b2855b0a08b11fa7a4b80655ca7&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>We like watching Christmas films at this time of year, even if most of them are rather predictable and schmaltzy. I acquired several new Christmas films (new to us, that is) at charity shops last year, and last night we decided to watch ‘The dog that saved Christmas’. We had already seen a trailer for this on the film we watched last week (‘<a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/11/a-christmas-proposal-david-odonnell.html" target="_blank">The Christmas proposal</a>’) so had a good idea what to expect…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film is mainly set in the large and luxurious home of the Bannister family. George (Gary Valentine) is the likeable, genial father who is married to Belinda (Elisa Donovan). They have a teenage son Ben (Charlie Stewart) and a daughter who must be about eight, Cara (Sierra McCormick). Cara is still a firm believer in Santa Claus, and the main part of the film opens with George and Belinda trying to secrete a large number of parcels upstairs without the children noticing. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It sets the scene for a well choreographed light-weight film with a clear Christmas theme. Belinda is the practical one of the family, and she is concerned about their lack of security. The children want a dog, as does George… and when he goes to the pound, his choice falls on Zeus, a golden labrador who was previously a police dog. Zeus, he is told, is very clever. However he appears to be unable to bark. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Belinda is not happy at the dog’s arrival, and even less so when she discovers his lack of barking. We hear Zeus’s thoughts narrated through the film by Mario Lopez; he’s a very loving dog, and means well, but his enthusiasm sometimes gets him into trouble. This happens several times, leading Belinda to insist that he be returned to the pound, so they can have a dog who is better at deterring burglars.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s no surprise that, when the family go to visit Grandma (Mindy Sterling), two rather bumbling burglars attempt to break in. Zeus takes action against them and there’s a lot of chaos - and some mild tension - as well as a fair bit of humour before the inevitable happens. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The title of the film is a spoiler and it was all rather predictable, but we thought it very well done, if caricatured. Slapstick isn’t our favourite form of comedy, but when it happens it’s appropriate, and I found myself smiling several times. Zeus’s actions are far more intelligent and anthropomorphised than would be possible for a dog, but they add to the amusement. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s a cameo role from a neighbour, reputed to hate dogs (Adrienne Barbeau) and a low-key message about not judging people (or dogs) based on rumours or appearance. There are carols in the background (or foreground, once or twice) and the whole thing is entirely suitable for all the family. Ideal for curling up on a cold day with blankets and hot drinks. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">After the film there are a few brief outtakes, mostly involving characters unable to stop laughing. The only 'extra', other than a trailer, is a brief cameo showing Mario Lopez doing the voice of Zeus. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Recommended, if you like predictable, slushy but overall uplifting Christmas films. Apparently there are several others featuring the same family, and they can sometimes be bought as boxed sets. But I think just this one is enough for us. </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-44243482675731166302023-11-29T21:11:00.002+02:002024-02-15T17:12:22.542+02:00A Christmas Proposal (David O'Donnell)<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Proposal-DVD-Nicole-Eggert/dp/B003ZXOBXG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=634a16fe787fe7dbeb140c63e30f4bc0&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="A Christmas Proposal" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="666" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-kdqxLESYxqMzYZTCD1MWJQdW3t5RlSekreUMCJ6FLufWkWlvNK6h65_JIjbpm27lH1cqoeanuiA3L-O9Htn2WNLQZd4WREQR4s6ERVTwM_i71b2GZj0erw-FmaROc4GBb7P7zK_yur7cIoeQqE6i4b5nLQbkGRJXx9kW03sLcfaFxOpGYc0jOrKZfk/w133-h200/Christmas_proposal.jpg" title="A Christmas Proposal" width="133" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Proposal-DVD-Nicole-Eggert/dp/B003ZXOBXG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=634a16fe787fe7dbeb140c63e30f4bc0&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>It’s that time of year, when more and more people start watching random Christmas films. In the past year or so ago I've bought a few that were new to us from charity shops, and second-hand online stores. Although it isn’t quite December, we decided to start our Christmas film-watching last night. ‘A Christmas Proposal’, set in the United States, sounded as if it might have a bit more substance than some of them…</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">David O’Donnell stars as Rick, a lawyer who works in the city for an unscrupulous boss called Malone (Tom Arnold). Malone tells him to go to a small town called Fillmore, in the mountains, and convince the people to sell their properties so he can build a new, fancy ski resort. Rick doesn’t want to, as it’s the town where he grew up, but Malone won’t listen to any excuses. And Rick wants to marry his boss’s daughter Reagan… </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Reagan (Sarah Thompson) is entirely a city girl who has no wish to accompany Rick to his childhood home, but she, too, does what her father says. However she’s quite rude about Fillmore and its people, and isn’t even interested in meeting Rick’s mother Maggie (Patty McCormack). And then they discover that the lawyer representing the people of Fillmore, Lisa (Nicole Eggert) is an old flame of Rick’s. The two have some quite heated arguments during a meeting to determine the future of the town. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Maggie would love them to stay a bit longer but Rick has plans for a romantic proposal, which are abruptly postponed when his car breaks down. And although his old best friend Andy (David DeLuise) is a mechanic - the only one in the town - it looks like it might take some days before it can be fixed…</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s all a bit predictable, and not as Christmassy as I’d have liked although it’s set in December and there are a fair number of decorations up. The acting is a bit cheesy in places (worse in others), although I quite liked Rick. I found Reagan’s rudeness quite disturbing - but then the people of Fillmore aren’t very nice to her. It seemed particularly odd that none of them seem to know how to pronounce her name, and regularly call her ‘Reegan’ - despite it having been the surname of one of their recent Presidents. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We kept watching - we weren’t expecting any great acting or memorable storyline, after all, and it wasn’t a terrible film. It gives some idea of what a small town in the mountains of the US might be like, and the threat posed by property developers. The background music (or that which I noticed) mostly consisted of variations on ‘Jingle Bells’, including some really awful singing on a stage - but even that made us smile a little even as we cringed. At the end there were a few outtakes, not as ‘extras’ but tacked on the end of the film and mildly amusing. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I don’t know that I’d recommend ‘A Christmas Proposal’ particularly, as there are much better Christmas films available. But it was pleasant enough, and I didn't pay much for it. We might even watch it again in another decade or so.</span></p>
<i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-44599050064211103342023-11-23T19:39:00.006+02:002024-02-15T17:21:49.359+02:00Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 (Daniel Radcliffe)
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Part/dp/B004NBYRYC?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=e03f3a9840ada2644fb7b3e3836bbfe4&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="705" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ADew4beQDDrEmCstXX8upGZXh9L_yrCY1eYIHa_afiVs00j8r-EZvNIZyPMmBHYYRlL2VhEc4JtuKzsP9EJ83dDy3KZvOS0jb4FG8aP4yVKEClEOCLxOSDvtm6pLcUF1MPJTtR3nZ3tvzerLTRr4KQhcIYd9EyPU0KcydrmPxvhJolY_ITpZp6zNO8I/w141-h200/Harry_Potter_deathly_hallows_part2.jpg" title="Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, DVD part 2" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-Part/dp/B004NBYRYC?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=e03f3a9840ada2644fb7b3e3836bbfe4&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>So we came to the end of our two-month re-watching of the eight Harry Potter films. We saw the first part of <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/11/harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows-part-1.html" target="_blank">‘..Deathly Hallows’ last week</a>, and the second part this week. <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2018/02/harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows-part-2.html" target="_blank">We hadn’t seen it since 2018</a>, although <a href="https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/10/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-j-k-rowling.html" target="_blank">I re-read the book a year later</a>. I was, of course, familiar with the story and knew what the outcome would be. But it was still quite a tense film.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The action starts where the first part left off: Lord Voldemort has found the legendary ‘elder wand’, known to be the most powerful wand in existence. So he thinks he is invincible. He knows he will have to fight Harry Potter but with this wand he is certain that the outcome will be in his favour. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione, in the meantime, are still on their quest to destroy horcruxes - the pieces into which Voldemort split his soul, to give him the highest chance of survival. Harry is certain that at least one of them is at Hogwarts, so they make the very risky journey to the school. They are greeted with delight by their former friends and classmates, who are under a new, harsh regime without Dumbledore as head, and are longing for freedom. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are a lot of special effects in this film, as the staff cast spells to protect the school, and are later involved in serious magical battles. It’s not quite as rapid action as the earlier film and I didn’t shut my eyes quite so often, but the eventual - inevitable - battle of Hogwarts is full of destruction, with people running, hiding, casting hexes, and often falling. There are some sad losses though not as many as might be expected.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And then Harry is summoned to his doom. As a person of integrity, he has no option but to face Voldemort, in the expectation of losing his life to save others. It’s a strongly Christological metaphor in a series which has more than a few Christian allusions. Not that it’s pushed at all: the author of the books professes faith, and belongs to a church, but in a fairly low-key way. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Most viewers of the film will know how it ends, but I won’t give spoilers. The first time I read the book, I knew what I hoped would happen, but really wasn’t certain that it would. And, for a while, it seemed as if I was going to be disappointed. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">This final film is - in my opinion - an excellent production, the story close to that of the book, albeit with some parts missed out, and a lot of the subtleties lost. It’s not appropriate for younger children with the amount of violence and tension, and the rating of 12 is reasonable. Not that there’s any but the mildest of bad language, and no hint of nudity or sexuality beyond a few passionate kisses. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I wasn’t sure I would want to see these films a second time, but I’m glad I did. Seeing them all in the space of two months has made it easy to follow the whole story, and not worry over-much about the parts (some of them significant) which were omitted. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The acting is superb, I was moved in particular by that of Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) and Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith). All the characters are complex, and the chemistry between the principals flawless. The pace is just right, too, and the visual effects stunning. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Definitely recommended if you’ve seen the rest of the series, particularly the first part of ‘Deathly Hallows’. Or if you’ve read the books. But don’t come to this on its own as it would make no sense without knowing the full story. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">While this DVD can be bought on its own, it's much better value to buy it with the first part, or in a box set of the entire series. </span></div><div><br /></div><i><div><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div></i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-79095791608614157302023-11-15T14:56:00.006+02:002024-02-15T17:16:50.843+02:00Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1 (Daniel Radcliffe)
<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-version/dp/B005DWK51Y?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=472ad6e9ebe1df84873086a655ef07cc&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="708" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2A9K8MgurRcOYd8_t5oOT0ZE93jkKaBdjITMnq7ii6kq7Bx4HxiyMds4pmlfnlUbBiEIUbpTYP5CzDqPqpL7ZkSMPJTP-JBcHzdb1XtuOdhgzUoyB4af8hZEPrfWleQwaS3r_mzJObsfsgwJ8Cv8TtjWsOOXHqn7hbxpzMAt_g1xlJHiFAgwdx3e57iI/w142-h200/Harry_Potter_Deathly_Hallows_part1.jpg" title="Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, DVD part 1" width="142" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Deathly-Hallows-version/dp/B005DWK51Y?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=472ad6e9ebe1df84873086a655ef07cc&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Our re-watching of the Harry Potter DVDs is coming to a close, as we embarked on the first of the ‘Deathly Hallows’ films last night. It’s dark, it’s action-packed, and it’s stressful. I had forgotten quite how much, though it’s less than six years since <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2018/02/harry-potter-and-deathly-hallows-part-1.html" target="_blank">we first saw ‘Deathly Hallows part 1</a>’. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The plot follows <a href="https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/10/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-j-k-rowling.html" target="_blank">the story in the book</a> fairly closely; the fact that it was turned into two films rather than one allows for most of the book to be included. And it’s rather a bleak story. Harry, Ron and Hermione know that they’re not going back to Hogwarts this year. They also know their families may be in danger. Harry in particular must be protected, and one of the early sequences sees a race to get him from his relatives’ home in London to the safety of the Weasleys’ home. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are injuries and a loss, but everyone has to prepare for a wedding. It goes ahead, with a brief interlude where Harry, Ron and Hermione are each given a slightly puzzling bequest from Professor Dumbledore. Bill Nighy is excellent as the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. Not that he has much of a role after this; the wedding is interrupted by the news that Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends know they have to set out to hunt for the remaining horcruxes, all of which have to be destroyed. It’s not explained in this film what horcruxes are; it’s expected that viewers will have seen the earlier films, or at least the sixth, ‘<a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/11/harry-potter-and-half-blood-prince.html" target="_blank">Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</a>’. Although each book (and film) stands along to some extent, there’s a huge story arc that runs from start to finish, and it’s much better, in my view, to read or see them in order. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The friendship of the three is tried many times as they embark on what appears, at times, to be an impossible quest. They escape potential assassins, and manage to get hold of one known horcrux but have no idea how to destroy it. And keeping it with them leads them, one at a time, to become very grumpy. Hermione (Emma Watson) is highly organised, and keeps their locations secret, but Harry gets more and more fed up, and Ron becomes jealous. Rupert Grint as Ron has a wonderfully expressive face. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There are battles, and escapes, and fear… there are also some more poignant moments of injuries, and a very sad loss near the end of the film. It’s all extremely well done, in my view, with the pace about right. It doesn’t rush through, but it also doesn’t pause for a long time for scenic shots. I found the fast-action scenes too stressful to watch, so closed my eyes; I probably avoided watching about a quarter or even a third of the film, just listening for the spells and sound effects. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As for the 'deathly hallows' of the title, those are briefly explained in this film, as three legendary items that formed part of a children's story. Possessing all three would enable the owner to defeat death entirely. Most people, apparently, did not realise that they were real.</span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">It’s a good thing I’m familiar with the storyline or I would have found it quite confusing. But today’s teenagers (and those who first saw it when it was first made n 2010) are more used to rapid action, in modern films and computer games. I did wonder, a couple of times, if I should stop watching and skim the book again instead; but I kept sitting there, reminding myself that although this is just part one, and it ends on a dramatic and worrying scene, there’s part two still to come.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">The rating of 12 is appropriate; the violence and some gore would be very disturbing to a sensitive child, and while the bad language is mild, there’s one scene, as part of a hallucination, that has implied nudity. I’m not sure I’d recommend this film as I think the book is so much better, but for those who prefer not to read, and who have seen the earlier films, this (and its sequel) form a worthy conclusion to the series. </span></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-52629470535478059792023-11-08T16:40:00.004+02:002024-02-17T14:39:00.372+02:00Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Daniel Radcliffe)
<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Prince-Digital-Download/dp/B01C45O9YG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=56f26dda3c5781a816b4e8e39b888315&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince DVD" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="716" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF4mduY7K_yZJiK3Fo6dFpvKvdV6Nu0aniPMG89pFzx5ytGO2twR_Zg0rWqbMwUct4pjeMwgQX1018CLr18rXyicLBkqCMYOSbw3h5kcfb3YGnOI__zW0Gy70XQ0IfQyxSIcNqSCiAj_7psrA0eEwa4-V5vhYKVA7Qx0L6J6JsuzX4npnkpNUESHASV0/w143-h200/Harry_Potter_halfblood_prince.jpg" title="Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince" width="143" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Prince-Digital-Download/dp/B01C45O9YG?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=56f26dda3c5781a816b4e8e39b888315&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>We didn’t watch a film last week, but last night decided to watch ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’, to continue our re-watching of these DVDs in our collection. <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2017/02/harry-potter-and-half-blood-prince.html" target="_blank">We first saw this in 2017 </a>although <a href="https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/10/harry-potter-half-blood-prince-j-k-rowling.html" target="_blank">I re-read the book a couple of years later</a>, so I was reasonably familiar with the plot. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s the darkest of the series so far, with a rating of 12: this is due to quite a bit of violence and some very disturbing scenes. But then Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) are 17 now, in the sixth year at Hogwarts: what we would call Year 12 (or Lower Sixth) in muggle schools in the UK. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The film opens with scenes of carnage around London; it’s clearly shown as random violence, for no purpose other than to create devastation and to let the world know that something terrible is happening. Lord Voldemort is back; even the official Ministry of Magic have acknowledged this now. Everyone is urged to be cautious, and to be careful whom they trust. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Harry is spending his summer travelling around on trains, and attracting the interest of a local girl - however this is interrupted when Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) appears and whisks Harry off to visit his old friend Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent). Professor Slughorn was a former teacher at Hogwarts, and apparently rather a good teacher; but he had his favourites, which included Harry’s mother. Dumbledore wants to persuade Slughorn to return to Hogwarts…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Harry then spends a few days with the Weasley family, only to have terror striking there too. And even on the journey back to Hogwarts, he finds himself in trouble, and almost ends up back in London. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We don’t see much going on in the classrooms in this film, other than Harry’s discovery of an old text-book which has a note in the front saying it belongs to the half-blood prince. It enables him to do very well in one topic, but it doesn’t really have the significance that it has in the book. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) has been asked to do something dangerous but we don’t know what it is until towards the end of the film, and Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) has promised to look after Draco, and assist him in what he needs to do. We see more of Draco than in previous books, with a much greater depth of character as he works to establish what needs to be done, but also finds himself torn, and very stressed. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s lots of fast action - I had to shut my eyes a few times - and some distressing scenes towards the end when Harry has to follow orders in a disturbing way. We knew what was coming in the final climax, of course, but it’s still poignant. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There’s some light relief to contrast the dark themes, with growing love interests amongst Harry’s classmates, and an amusing scene (which turns very dark) involving a large dose of love potion. A few other students have larger roles than before, and the acting throughout is excellent.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">‘Harry Potter and the half-blood prince’ is not one of my favourites of the series, either the book or the film. But it’s a necessary episode in the ongoing saga, and the end leads on to the beginning of the seventh book and film. It is worth seeing if you’re watching the films, but it wouldn’t stand alone: it’s quite confusing with so much rapid action and visuals rather than explanations, and would be all the more so for anyone who had not seen the earlier films (or read the books).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And, as with all these films, in my opinion it’s well worth reading the books too as there’s so much more in them; characters are fleshed out, other storylines are included, and there’s a lot more discussion about morality, ethics, and the unconditional love that caused Harry to survive the attack on his life when he was a baby.</span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-69393696026966102432023-10-25T12:50:00.003+03:002024-02-17T14:43:30.994+02:00Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Daniel Radcliffe)
<div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Order-Phoenix-DVD/dp/B00288A1Q0/r?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=0fa9b825edf40227efe2533822ca784b&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="705" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfFzSECF6Rfp3eMuFOC5iMVOFZpV4Zk3uPMBqOo3IstFG_2khnpwreknujK8LWJjKFXjpTB7ZAJY0M3zspdMsbdWhgRNQN3koofuFHuP_5vhjGOd_cRqPuo7khTcDApE67p5ePT7J_t4QKq1dHYRryV-9a2mLfndpwHoe-tiVjvk_zHLYmYSSQyhjL48/w141-h200/Harry_Potter_order_phoenix.jpg" title="Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Order-Phoenix-DVD/dp/B00288A1Q0/r?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=0fa9b825edf40227efe2533822ca784b&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>We recently re-watched the first four Harry Potter films, so it was evidently time for the fifth. We last saw our DVD of <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2015/07/harry-potter-and-order-of-phoenix.html" target="_blank">‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ in 2015</a>. However, I have read the book four times, <a href="https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/09/harry-potter-and-order-of-phoenix-jk-rowling.html" target="_blank">the last time being in 2019</a> so I was familiar with the storyline. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The previous film (and book) are much darker than the earlier ones, more suitable for older children and teens than younger ones. It’s not surprising that the film rating is 12A rather than PG (like the previous ones), as there’s a lot of anger and violence in this. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The book is the longest of the series, with over 700 pages, so it’s not surprising that the film is significantly abridged. I think it was done well, although inevitably there’s so much more in the books. It opens, not with Harry anxiously watching the news to find out whether Lord Voldemort is having an effect in the regular (‘muggle’) world, but with an encounter in a children’s playground with his cousin Dudley. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A dementor attack in an alleyway forces Harry to use his ‘patronus’ charm to save his life, and that of his cousin. This is witnessed by a neighbour who - to Harry’s astonishment - recognises his wand, knows who he is, and saw the dementors. However it’s also noted by the Ministry of Magic, and Harry receives a letter telling him he has been expelled.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Several friends managed to rescue him although he has to undergo a stressful court hearing. He’s with his friends again, but they clearly have secrets and nobody will tell him what’s going on…</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Harry does the teenage angst believably, more and more stressed by lack of understanding, worry about his godfather Sirius, and increasing dreams that are very realistic, evidently of Lord Voldemort trying to get inside Harry’s head. Indeed, all the actors are so good, realistic in their roles, that I was entirely caught up in the film, feeling some of Harry’s emotion, rooting for those who believe in him. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s quite a stressful film to watch. The Ministry of Magic doesn’t believe that Voldemort has returned, and Hogwarts has a new, sadistic teacher called Dolores Umbridge, one of the nastiest of JK Rowling’s creations in my view. Her insistence that the students learn theory without doing any magic is, I’m sure, a dig at educational systems insisting on more and more theory without practice. But whereas, in the book, there is time for a bit of light relief in places, and amusing one-liners, the film is fast-paced and stark. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">However, the basic story is well covered with plenty of visual effects, and it’s certainly worth seeing. But for anyone wondering if there’s more to the story, or feeling they didn’t quite understand all the implications, I would highly recommend reading the book too. It’s also a good idea to have seen at least the <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/10/harry-potter-and-goblet-of-fire-daniel.html" target="_blank">fourth DVD (‘..the Goblet of Fire’)</a> before this one; ideally all of them in sequence.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We have a single-DVD edition of this film, so there were no 'extras' for us to watch.</span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972190510938832149.post-40935627958788995162023-10-18T12:50:00.004+03:002024-02-17T14:49:22.422+02:00Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Daniel Radcliffe)
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Goblet-Fire-DVD/dp/B00288A1PQ?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=afbcf4c78ef31dce0857ae08ec3044e2&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="705" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwGuQTRCpq23jcXOoCBfc6EKv5dDrAqQWoXigLDMYNrFGauTPLfxk_nB4iEC-_c-3dvD6ZnpMJVXcHSCrkJ4bhjg5Vh6BurmfULoZ8jwTyXHiQ_05QZ4PfmBWs33DmctgAUWkWnHsM5Tjlo25nfA_NrigkPd9Sqt6obOk9OkNNKJe5BJGym6yibItb8Y/w141-h200/Harry_Potter_goblet_fire.jpg" title="Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" width="141" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Goblet-Fire-DVD/dp/B00288A1PQ?&linkCode=ll1&tag=suesdvdreviews-21&linkId=afbcf4c78ef31dce0857ae08ec3044e2&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" target="_blank">(Amazon UK link)</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table>We decided to continue with our weekly re-watching of the Harry Potter films yesterday evening. A week earlier we saw <a href="https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2023/10/harry-potter-and-prisoner-of-azkaban.html" target="_blank">‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’</a>, so last night we watched <a href="http://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2012/10/harry-potter-and-goblet-of-fire.html">‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, which we had not seen since 2012.</a> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/07/harry-potter-goblet-of-fire-jk-rowling.html" target="_blank">The book on which it’s based </a>was my least favourite of the series when I first read it. However it’s important in the sequence, and when I have re-read it, I liked it better. But it’s not for young children; Harry and friends are fourteen now, in their fourth year at Hogwarts. I find much of the book quite tense, and still really dislike the climactic scene. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s also an extremely long book, so inevitably some sections had to be cut out entirely to fit the story into a two-and-a-half hour film. I understand why they cut out the early chapters with Harry at his appalling relatives’ home, although in the book it gives welcome light relief to the tension of the horrible dream Harry has at the beginning. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The scenes at the Quidditch World Cup didn’t much interest me in the book, so I didn’t mind that they were somewhat cut short; but I was sorry that there were no house elves. One of the significant story-lines of the ‘Goblet of Fire’ book, and one of its best features, in my view, is Hermione’s passionate defence of the house elves, many of whom are enslaved by unpleasant families. But we don’t even see Dobby in the film, so his current career remains unknown to those who see the films but haven’t read the books. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">However I can see that it’s a side story. It is helpful in understanding Hermione's character butter, but it isn’t so necessary for the ongoing story. As a film in its own right, it's very well done. The main storyline involves the goblet of fire, and the tri-wizard tournament with visiting students from two other wizarding schools in Europe. Three exceptional older students and Harry have to undertake some dangerous tasks, and I found Harry’s encounter with a dragon very tense. I had to hide my eyes in places.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As the final task began, with the four tri-wizard competitors entering a maze filled with dangers, I knew I didn’t want to watch what happened, or the dark scene that follows, forming the climax of the book (and film). So I moved to another room until I could hear the closing, poignant and deeply moving scenes at the end. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course this film is worth seeing as part of the series, if you don’t read the books. It’s well-made, with a rapid pace, and despite missing out so much of the book, it’s not difficult to follow the main story. The acting is superb (even if I still have a bit of cognitive dissonance when I see David Tennant as an evil supporter of Lord Voldemort). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The graphics work brilliantly, the CGI scarily believable. But although it could stand alone, it’s not an enjoyable film, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who’s easily disturbed by visual violence or rapid chase scenes. It's rated 12, rather than PG (which was the rating for the first three films) and I think that's correct. While there's no more swearing, and only the faintest hints of teenage hormones, there is much more violence and gore in this film, and many more extremely tense scenes. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Our edition of this has a second DVD which has some interesting extras: there are games which didn't appeal to us, but also some deleted scenes, and some extensive interviews with the three main characters.</span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><i>Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews</i></div>Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835205817921501248noreply@blogger.com0