Doctor Who, the complete specials 2008-2010 (David Tennant)

(Amazon UK link)

We finished watching Doctor Who series four at the end of July, just before going away for most of August. After returning, I remembered that before series five there was a series of ‘specials’, in the course of which David Tennant would regenerate into Matt Smith. We saw these in 2013, but I hadn’t remembered anything about them.

The first episode, ‘The next doctor’, was the Christmas special for December 2008. I assume that the title was deliberately misleading, since this is not the episode in which the Doctor regenerates. It’s set in Victorian England, in a Dickensian environment with children in workhouses. We see a formal funeral with men only, in top hats and black suits. There’s also a ‘scarlet woman’ (assumed) - a beautiful woman dressed in red who shocks the men in black, and who is in league with the Cybermen. 

Oh, and there’s also a man who insists that he is the Doctor. He has a sonic screwdriver, sort of, and has created a rather unusual tardis. He has an assistant, the feisty, courageous Rosita, and he has clearly done several Doctor-like things. He knows all about cybermen, too… but his memories are very confused, and he doesn’t remember much at all, other than the most recent events. 

The second episode, ‘The world of the dead’, is set primarily in a huge desert, supposedly a different world. It starts with a dramatic ‘mission impossible’ style scene, watching a masked woman commit an ingenious crime. She runs from the police and boards a bus, where she meets the Doctor. There’s a fast police chase and a tunnel is blockaded… but the bus leaps through a ‘wormhole’ into this other world. 

Most of the story is about trying to figure out what has happened, and - more importantly - how to get back. Michelle Ryan is excellent as Lady Christina, who proves to be highly intelligent and almost a match for The Doctor. When we watched the ‘confidential’ extra on the same DVD, there was discussion about whether she might have made a good companion. But, it was explained, as David Tennant’s role as the 10th Doctor was coming to an end, he wasn’t taking on any new companions. There’s some humour in this episode, and in the ‘extra’ too. 

The third episode, ‘The waters of Mars’ is in stark contrast, despite it also taking place on another world. The Doctor arrives looking cheerful; he has no expectations of anything other than a friendly visit. He quickly discovers that the people living in the space station there are the first settlers in Mars, people whose names he knows well. The year is just 2059. When he learns the date, he becomes rather unsettled, insisting he should go.

Some of the filming is done in the style of a horror movie, with tense moments and music before a ‘monster’ is revealed… I found myself hiding my face in my hands more than once. I found it really quite scary as a story. But it was also interesting theoretically because the Doctor insists that an imminent disaster is fixed in the history of time, and there’s nothing he can do about it. This clearly stresses him… 

There are some scenes later in the book which demonstrate, once again, David Tennant’s superb acting ability. His acceptance of his role reaches its limit, and he decides to do something that he knows is wrong, against the laws of time. He is the last of the time lords, so he decides that he’s in charge - and the usually friendly doctor becomes arrogant and appears angry. 

The specials end with a two-part episode, ‘The end of time’.  These were apparently broadcast on Christmas Day 2009 and New Year’s Day 2010. That would account for Christmas decorations being in evidence on the first part, and mention of the new year in the second. But they’re not typical ‘holiday’ episodes. Instead, they’re a dramatic end to David Tennant’s role as the 10th doctor.

In part one of ‘The end of time’, the Master is resurrected, in a somewhat bizarre and disturbing form. He has extra powers, but sometimes he appears as a skull. He is excessively hungry, attacking food in a rather gross and very greedy way; it’s implied that he also eats people if he can’t get other food. 

What I liked best about these episodes is that the Doctor reunites with Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) who turns out to be a very significant person. I love his sense of humour and the joking friendship he has with the Doctor. It was also nice to see Donna, although it was essential she should not remember anything about her travels. 

I’m not sure I entirely followed the storyline, which includes a ‘gate’ (supposedly harmless) which the Master reprograms. It also includes episodes showing the Time Lords, who were supposedly lost permanently in the time vortex. Timothy Dalton is excellent as their leader. The episode ends with the Master changing everyone on earth (with a couple of exceptions) into clones of himself.  

Part two of ‘The end of time’ is faster-paced with a lot of chase scenes and a storyline that becomes increasingly more confusing. The Doctor and Wilf are rescued, and we learn that the Time Lords are responsible for the constant beat in the Master’s head, which is driving him crazy. 

One has to put aside any kind of logic with this show, and accept that the progression of time is - as the Doctor said once - a ‘big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff’. So the world - indeed the entire universe, and time itself - are due to end. But, obviously, they don’t. I didn’t follow the processes, but it’s all very well done even if I had to hide my eyes a few times, when the action became too fast.

At the end, it’s clear that the Doctor is going to regenerate - it’s no surprise as he’s been expecting it since the end of Series Four. He keeps going longer than would be expected, surviving several near-death experiences. And I particularly liked what he called his ‘reward’ - revisiting former companions and loved ones, seeing how they were doing. 

David Tennant is a great actor, and never more so than this final episode when we see him in many different moods. He is angry and also grieving about the fact that regeneration is not just like changing skin. It’s the end of his personality, even if in another sense he will continue living. 

Each DVD of this box set features just one episode of about an hour, and a good number of ‘extras’. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the Doctor Who confidential documentaries, a few deleted scenes, and other random extra features. 

Highly recommended if you like watching Doctor Who, and particularly if the tenth doctor is one of your favourites.  The rating for most of these is PG which reflects the lack of any nudity, sexual content or 'strong' language. But there's inevitably a lot of tension and some violence, so it's not recommended for a sensitive child. I don't think I'd want to show it to children under the age of about ten or eleven, even though, back in the 1960s and 1970s, Doctor Who was billed as a children's TV programme.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Hotel for dogs (Emma Roberts)

(Amazon UK link)

About eighteen months ago, when we bought some extra DVD shelving (used), we were offered a selection of children’s DVDs. Some of them are of no interest to me, although visiting children sometimes like them. But I thought that the 2009 film ‘Hotel for dogs’ sounded quite interesting, based on the blurb. So last night we decided to watch it.

Andi (Emma Roberts) is sixteen, and very close to her ten-year-old brother Bruce (Jake T Austin). They were orphaned three years earlier - we don’t learn why - and are living in foster care. It’s clearly not working well for them; their foster parents, Lois and Karl, provide a lot of the comedy in the film as they are so dreadful, and clearly unsuited to the role. She makes extremely unappetising food, and the two of them spend most of their time trying to record bad quality music.

Andi and Bruce have a dog called Friday, whom they adore. But no dogs are allowed in their foster home, so they have to sneak him in at night-time. And since they have no money, they try to ‘earn’ enough to feed Friday, through very dubious scams. Their social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) is excellent; he clearly cares about them, and regularly gets them out of trouble. Although he knows their foster parents are neglectful, there are very few foster families willing to take on siblings of their age. And they are desperate to stay together.

In their neighbourhood there is a van that goes around collecting stray dogs, and unfortunately they come across Friday and impound him. And while they manage to release him, they’re shocked to see that there are many other delightful dogs, and that they’re only allowed to be there, uncollected, for 72 hours…

It’s quite poignant at first, contrasting the young people’s love of dogs, and concern for strays with the rigidity of the dog police. Andi and Bruce discover an abandoned hotel where some of the dogs have made themselves at home. And they decide to take it over, with the help from some friends they gradually acquire. Bruce is a technological genius, and makes some impressive devices from items left behind in the old hotel, and also things he has taken from his foster home…

There’s a lot of humour in this film, which we thought was beautifully made. The dogs are wonderful, more and more of them appearing and being adopted by Annie and Bruce. There are scenes showing the dog police wondering where all the stray dogs have gone. And we loved the way Bruce gradually manages to automate not just the dogs’ feeding time, but their exercise, toilet needs, and other preferences. It’s quite surreal, of course, but while we were watching, we felt quite drawn into the film, rooting for the teenagers and the dogs.

Naturally enough, things can’t continue this way forever, and there’s some tension and an exciting race towards the end. Bernie makes a heartfelt speech which makes for a happy ending - this is, after all, a children’s film - and an even more surreal conclusion, which we thought very amusing.

The acting is excellent, and the dogs are amazing. We watched some of the ‘extras’ on the DVD, which included a section about the dog training, which was impressive. And there was a heartfelt comment from the actor who plays Bruce, saying that there were times when he did everything correctly, but the dog with him didn’t. So they had to do seventeen takes. 

It was clear both from the film and from the ‘making of’ extra that the cast loved dogs - and the crew, too. Some of the dogs used were themselves strays, who were then adopted by cast or crew members. I am not, in general, a dog person. But I thought that, as well as being a well-made and amusing film, it gave a very important message about the responsibility that comes with having a dog. 

Overall, I would recommend it to adults as well as teens and children who want something light-hearted, so long as you don’t mind a bizarre storyline that’s a bit like a 21st century fairy-tale. Apparently this was loosely based on a book of the same name. The teenage actors - or those portraying teenagers - are excellent, carrying the film entirely. Other than Bernie, most of the adult characters are either caricatures, or in some way against the teens' efforts. 

The rating is U, which reflects the lack of anything ‘adult’. There are one or two very minor uses of bad language, and the film might, perhaps, be disturbing to a child who had problems in foster care, or who had lost a dog. I think I would probably rate it PG, suggesting that parents should take responsibility for deciding whether or not their children would be likely to find it upsetting, or funny.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Emma mini-series (Romola Garai)

(Amazon UK link)

I have mentioned to various people that I liked the 1990s film version of Jane Austen’s Emma a great deal more than I liked the book. But I had no idea that there was another version of Emma made for the screen: a TV mini-series, made by the BBC in 2009. Some relatives gave it to me for my birthday a few months ago, and we decided to start watching it last week. As the entire thing is almost four hours long - with two DVDs in the box - we agreed to watch it on two separate evenings. 

The series starts with a bit of background in Emma’s life. Whereas the book only touches on it lightly, we see Emma as a baby, then a toddler. Her mother died when she was young and her father - the late Michael Gambon is wonderful in the role - becomes very over-protective of his two daughters. By contrast, two other orphaned motherless children in the neighbourhood, Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill, are sent away to live with relatives. 

Isabella and Emma grow up in the large stately home known as Hartfield, where they lack nothing. Their governess, Anne Taylor (Jodhi May), lives with them and is treated more like a family member than a servant. In the book, she has just got married when the story opens; Isabella is already married to a family friend called John Knightley. In this mini-series, we see Emma predicting that Isabella and John will fall in love. We then see her introducing Anne to another family friend, Mr Weston, certain they are right for each other. 

Emma is decidedly self-centred and strong-willed, but at twenty-one she’s very good at running the household and is devoted to her hypochondriac father. And although she doesn’t want to get married herself, she becomes convinced that she’s a natural matchmaker. Romola Garai is perfect in the role, in my opinion. She’s lively, and outgoing, but she can be outspoken. That she might sometimes be wrong, however, has not occurred to her.

Emma decides to make friends with a young woman called Harriet who attends a local school for orphans. It’s rumoured that Harriet is the illegitimate offspring of a nobleman, and Emma is modern enough to feel that Harriet should not be punished for her parents’ behaviour. Harriet is in love with a local farmer, but Emma feels that she’s made for higher things… in particular, the new and rather handsome clergyman, Mr Elton. 

Apparently Jane Austen deliberately made Emma somewhat dislikable to her readers, and in a sense this mini-series veers away from that. Despite her faults, Emma has a great deal of charm and vivacity, and she can be very generous. Her neighbour Mr Knightley (brother of Isabella’s husband) has been her mentor for many years. He regularly criticises Emma for things she has done wrong or thoughtlessly, and on the whole she takes it well. Mr Knightley is played to perfection by Johnny Lee Miller. 

It’s a bit of a comedy of misunderstandings; it’s also something of a coming-of-age story for Emma. She slowly becomes aware that she is fallible, and that sometimes people need to choose their own marriage partners. Love, she discovers, can’t be turned off and on, and needs to find its own path. She finds it hard to accept other people’s intuitions or instincts, convinced that she understands better than anyone. 

I had wondered how the book, condensed into 90 minutes for the film, could be expanded to fill four full episodes of nearly an hour each. But it didn’t drag at all. I very much liked the extra parts at the beginning, showing Emma growing up. They were totally in keeping with the spirit of the book. There are one or two places where I felt that a shot of people smiling or laughing was perhaps a little too long, but it didn’t matter. There’s a ball, and a picnic, both of which are given a good amount of time: not so little that they seem rushed, but not so much that they drag out. 

There’s some beautiful scenery, and many shots of people walking. There are a few extra scenes too, such as a snow-fight which I don’t recall from the book, which don’t feel at all out of place. I don’t recall the book in detail as it’s a while since I read it, but nothing struck me as out of place, and I couldn’t remember anything that was left out. It’s all set firmly in the correct era, the early part of the 19th century when it was written. The details of the sets and the costumes are superb - there are ‘extras’ on the DVDs giving insights into both. 

The language, too, is that of Jane Austen. And yet.. the whole has an oddly up-to-date feeling to it, at the same time. Perhaps it’s that human nature really doesn’t change. Emma sometimes looks like a 21st century person in 19th century dress, as do others of the cast; but I think this was probably deliberate on the part of the series producers. Jane Austen, after all, did not write ‘historical’ fiction. She wrote contemporary novels, based on people she knew and situations that would have felt quite ordinary to her. Her characters are slightly caricatured, but very much alive, and that comes over in this mini-series. 

All in all, we thought this a wonderful adaptation of ‘Emma’, one I would recommend very highly, although Austen purists might prefer a more traditional adaptation. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Dog who Saved Christmas (Gary Valentine)

(Amazon UK link)

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 (‘The Christmas proposal’) so had a good idea what to expect…

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Daniel Radcliffe)

(Amazon UK link)

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. We first saw this in 2017 although I re-read the book a couple of years later, so I was reasonably familiar with the plot. 

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. 

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. 

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…

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

‘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).

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.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Proposal (Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds)

(Amazon UK link)

I don’t know how the DVD of ‘The Proposal’ appeared in our collection. Perhaps I saw it at a church book sale; perhaps I bought it at the local Thrift Store. I don’t even know how long we’ve had it on our shelves. But last night we finally decided to watch it. It claimed to be ‘comedy gold’ on the front, and a ‘laugh-out-loud romantic comedy’ on the back. So we hoped for a light evening’s entertainment.

The film features Sandra Bullock as the pushy, controlling Margaret, who is the editor in a New York publishing company, and Ryan Reynolds as her hard-working assistant Andrew. He somehow manages to pander to her every wish, and hasn’t yet been fired.

There’s a bit of humour at the start, as Andrew oversleeps and races his way to the office, with two takeaway coffees that he attempts to hold, but it’s slapstick, making us cringe rather than smile. It quickly becomes clear that everyone dislikes Margaret; messages are sent around the company’s computers when she’s on her way, and when she’s in a particularly bad mood. Andrew clearly dislikes her but hopes for promotion…

Margaret, we learn, is Canadian and her visa has expired. She’s due to be deported until she comes up with a solution… once again coercing Andrew to agree to do something he really doesn’t want to do. He puts himself at risk of a huge fine and imprisonment if he goes ahead, but he stands by Margaret, and then realises he actually has the upper hand. So he starts to negotiate.

Much of the film takes place in Sam’s family home in Alaska. His father Joe (Craig T Nelson) owns most of the local stores, and had hoped that Andrew would stay and take over the business. But he and Andrew have a difficult relationship, and Andrew insists that he’s happy in his work. Andrew’s mother Grace (Mary Steenburgen) is kind and diplomatic, easing the stresses where possible, and Andrew’s grandmother Annie (Betty White) is enthusiastic, lively and rather weird… despite celebrating her 90th birthday when she might be expected to slow down a little.

There’s a marked contrast between Margaret’s solo life (her parents died when she was a teenager and she has no siblings) and Andrew’s extended family and local friends, all of whom care for him despite the tensions with his father. And the film cleverly demonstrates her gradual thawing, with some insecurities showing, and Andrew’s growing strength as he begins to make some decisions.

There are undoubtedly some humorous moments; it’s a light-hearted film that revolves around a bizarre proposal, but I don’t think there was anywhere where we laughed aloud. There’s situational humour, with some nice choreography but there’s a lot of poignancy too, as Margaret and Andrew continue on the path they have agreed, in danger of making his family very upset and angry if they discover the truth.We thought overall that the film was very well done, even if a bit predictable at the end. The chemistry between all the actors - not just the principals - was just right, and the pace excellent.

The rating is 12 which reflects the nature of the story, some minor bad language and nudity (albeit not full frontal). I can’t imagine that this film would be of the slightest interest to children anyway.

We watched the ‘extras’ afterwards. There were a couple of deleted scenes which were well done, but we could see why they were cut as they weren’t necessary. There were also a few outtakes, mostly showing forgotten lines or sudden laughter that shouldn’t have happened, and a commentary from the director and writer. There’s also an alternative ending shown, one which was quite fun, but a bit long-winded.

All in all we thought it well worth seeing, and look forward already to watching it again in a few years time.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

Nativity (Martin Freeman)

(Amazon UK link)

Having decided to watch only Christmas-related DVDs during December, our choice fell on ‘Nativity’ last night. We first saw this rather unseasonably in July 2013 and while we recalled the general outline of the story, we had entirely forgotten most of the details.

Martin Freeman is excellent as the primary school teacher Paul Maddens. We see a brief cameo of him in his former life as an actor, with his girlfriend Jennifer (Ashley Jensen) and friend Gordon (Jason Watkins). None of them is enjoying their roles as dancing elves.. So Paul and Gordon retrain as teachers, and Jennifer flies to the United States, as her dream is to become a director or producer.

The main story takes place a few years later, when Gordon is a rather snooty teacher at a private school, while Paul is at the local state Catholic school. He’s still heartbroken by Jennifer’s defection, but he’s a fairly good teacher, albeit rather uptight and rigid in his classroom persona. Then he’s given two unwelcome surprises by the school head, Mrs Bevan (Pam Ferris). She announces that Mr Maddens is going to produce the school Nativity play that year, and that he’s having a new classroom assistant.

Paul is horrified at the thought of trying to pull the unruly children into any kind of presentation, and even more appalled when he meets Mr Poppy (Marc Wooten) who is like an overgrown child: full of wild ideas, ready to join in the children’s games and encourage them to ignore their teacher. It turns out that he’s Mrs Bevan’s nephew, so he can’t be fired. And gradually he and Paul do develop a kind of wary friendship.

The bulk of the story sees the children gradually pull together, with some ideas from Mr Poppy and some from Mr Maddens, and some from the children themselves. This is alongside seeing Graham’s ultra-posh and well-disciplined class determined that their performance will be better than ever. And there’s also an unfortunate consequence of a lie told by Paul, when he gets angry with Graham’s boasting… a lie that magnifies out of all proportion, as children, parents and staff expect something that’s never going to happen.

Apparently this film was not really scripted - the director had ideas, but gave the cast a lot of freedom to come up with their own lines. Even more surprising, the children are not from a stage school - they’re random children from ordinary backgrounds who auditioned for the roles - and as a result come across as a real, likeable class.

There’s a lot of humour, some of it slapstick as the two schools clash in a snowball fight, and some of it more subtle. Martin Freeman’s expressions are superb, conveying his emotions, at times, without any need for words. Some of Mr Poppy’s ideas are also amusing in their oddness, and some of the dialogue is unexpectedly funny too.

There’s also an important message about the importance of truthfulness, and the way that a silly lie, told on the spur of the moment, can grow to such an extent that dozens - maybe hundreds - of people can get hurt. We loved the way that the real message of Christmas shines through the glitziness and silliness, and the final performance (unsurprisingly) is extremely well done.

There's a low-key romantic thread too, involving a highly unlikely meeting in Hollywood and another during the school performance. But it doesn't matter. It's a bit schmalzy, but means there's another subplot involving Paul moving from a Scrooge-like hatred of Christmas to embracing it whole-heartedly.

Some of the extras are worth seeing, particularly the ‘deleted’ scenes, one of which is possibly my favourite ever deleted scene, involving the school priest talking to the children about lying.

Not to be taken seriously, but definitely recommended for light-hearted family viewing at this time of year.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Driving Aphrodite (Nia Vardalos)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s nearly nine years since we watched the light romantic comedy’ Driving Aphrodite’. I didn’t remember much about it, although it’s a somewhat predictable story. I did recall that there were some cultural references and jokes that we could appreciate after living in a Greek culture for many years.

Nia Vardalos stars as Georgia, a young Greek American woman who is a historian, specialising in Ancient Greece. She has applied for jobs lecturing in American universities, but so far has been unsuccessful. So she’s living in Greece for a while, to work as a tour guide. She finds it quite stressful, as she’s usually given a group with the difficult passengers, the old bus and fairly grim accommodation.

The bulk of the film is about her tour, which she expects to be her last. Her driver Poupi (Alexis Georgoulis) does not appear to speak any English, and her tour group consists of a diverse bunch of people. They include an elderly woman who steals from market stalls, some young women who have recently ended relationships and insist they have given up men; an uptight couple with a sulky teenage daughter; and a late middle-aged man, Irv (Richard Dreyfuss) who tells bad jokes…

Georgia believes that people come to Greece to learn about the culture, and the ancient monuments. So her tours are primarily educational. Her colleague Nico (Alistair McGowan) always gets nicer groups of people and a more modern bus and is popular with the tourists as he takes them for ice creams, shopping tours and to the beach. He gets good reviews while Georgia doesn’t, so she decides that this is going to be her last tour as she doesn’t want to compromise her principles.

However as she gets to know her group, she realises that they’re mostly likeable people with their own problems and griefs. She is persuaded, mainly by Irv, that she needs to lighten up a bit. She’s quite uptight and very keen to stick with her schedule - this contrasts well with Nico’s relaxed, materialistic outlook.

The pace is good, with plenty of low-key humour and a developing romance, even if Georgia gets the wrong idea for a while. There are some sad stories too, and a dramatic climax to the book just as she is beginning to realise that she should be more Greek in her outlook and stop worrying about time and appearances.

It’s not the greatest film, but Richard Dreyfuss as Irv - once I managed to stop thinking of him as Mr Holland - is superb, and Alexis Georgoulis as Poupi does a believable and smooth metamorphosis. Other characters are caricatured but that doesn’t matter at all. Digs are made at several cultures, including Australians whose speech is impossible to understand, and Canadians who really, really don’t want to be thought of as American.

We smiled in a few places, and it made a good film to watch when we were both tired and in need of relaxation.

The rating is 12 in the UK (PG-13 in the US) which seems about right. There’s nothing explicit, but plenty of innuendoes as well as an implied scene; and a great deal of discussion of sex (or the lack of it). No major bad language, and only minor violence, mostly intended humorously.

Recommended to anyone who likes this kind of lightweight romantic comedy with a Greek cultural twist.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Julie and Julia (Amy Adams, Meryl Streep)

(Amazon UK link)

We watched the film ‘Julie and Julia’ nearly nine years ago, and liked it very much. So we decided to watch it again last night. I had forgotten the plot, but did recall that it was based on a true story, and also that it was about cooking.

What we had not remembered, until it got going, is that it’s actually based on two true stories. One is that of Julia Child, who was an American living in France in the 1940s. In the film, played brilliantly by the wonderful Meryl Streep, she is quite an outspoken woman who adores French cooking.

Julia's husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) is a diplomat who is regularly posted in different places, but Julia doesn’t like to be inactive. So she decides to take cookery classes, and ends up amongst a group of men training in Cordon Bleu. And when - eventually - she finishes, she determines to write a book that will help American women learn to cook in the French way.

It’s a long and complex journey to publication, but the end of the film sees her holding in her hands a copy of ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’. It’s not a spoiler to say this because the other storyline, running concurrently through the film, is that of a young woman called Julie (Amy Adams), in 2002, who is persuaded by her husband Eric (Chris Messina) to start a blog. For her theme, she determines to work her way through every one of the recipes in Julia’s book in the course of a year.

In a sense there isn’t much plot. We know that Julia’s book is eventually going to be published, and we assume that Julie is going to succeed in her challenge. But there’s a great deal of characterisation, and many little subplots, laced with some humour and also some poignancy. Julia’s relationship with Paul is contrasted subtly with Julie’s relationship with Eric. Both are strong, loving marriages, but Julie’s inevitably has a different kind of balance; for one thing she’s working full-time as well as learning to cook.

There’s also a huge contrast in the large house where Julia and Paul live, versus the small flat with a tiny kitchen where Julie and Eric find themselves. And Julia is a much stronger personality, while Julie is sensitive and easily upset. They have friends; Julie does a lot of entertaining with the dishes she produces, and Julia collaborates with various people over her book.

But the four main characters carry most of the story.  And they’re all excellent, but of course Meryl Streep still stands out; she IS Julia. Stanley Tucci is great as her husband, and the two have quite a believable chemistry. But he’s still Stanley Tucci, and I was reminded, several times, of other roles I’ve seen him in. I didn’t recognise the younger couple at all, so they were easy enough to believe in. But Meryl Streep is unique. We’ve seen her in many, many roles but each one is entirely different. Other than a few facial expressions and a characteristic eye roll, we kept forgetting that it was an actress, let alone one we’ve seen in many other parts.

The ending is a little strange and abrupt, but generally encouraging. And there’s a ‘making of’ documentary with our DVD which was watched, and found very interesting. 

Rated 12A, which seems a little high; there's some bad language but it's not excessive, and nothing explicit. The only bit I really didn't like in the film was a scene involving a live lobster (shudder). Overall, I would recommend this to anyone with any interest in cooking, or who would like to see something rather different from most films. 

 However it's not likely to be of interest to children anyway.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Did You Hear about the Morgans? (Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker)

(Amazon UK link)

We wanted something light, perhaps mildly amusing, and not too long. We picked out several possibilities from our drawer of unwatched DVDs, and decided on ‘Did you hear about the Morgans?’ starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. I assume Amazon recommended this one to me because I’ve enjoyed other films with these actors. It was given to me for my birthday earlier in the year.

Hugh Grant plays Paul - at least, his character’s name is Paul, although he doesn’t seem any different from most of the other characters Hugh Grant has played. It doesn’t matter. His slightly self-deprecating very English style works extremely well in this, a story which is essentially about a marriage.

Sarah Jessica Parker is Paul’s wife Meryl, who has a high-powered business leading an estate agency in New York. She's a slightly ditzy extravert. Paul is also a business tycoon, and we quickly learn that their marriage has broken up. They have been separated for three months. Paul is much keener than Meryl to get back together, or at least to spend some time together. During the dinner which they manage to squeeze into their busy schedules, we learn a fair amount about them both, and some of the strains that caused them to separate.

Then they go outside and witness a terrible crime… and the perpetrator sees them both. Their lives are in danger, so they’re sent, by the local police, to a tiny village in Wyoming. It’s about as different from New York City as is possible, and Meryl is at first quite resistant…

There’s an underlying tense thread relating to the criminal who is determined to find them. Interspersed with their attempt to fit into life in small-town Wyoming we see brief scenes of their PAs back in New York attempting to get on without them, and we see just how easy it is for them to be traced after a couple of foolish mistakes are made…

However the majority of the film is about Paul and Meryl’s marriage, as they are forced together in fairly small quarters, united in their culture shock in such a tiny, relaxed environment which is such a contrast to their usual lives. Gradually they learn to adjust, in ways that are sometimes quite amusing in a low-key kind of way. There are some great one-liners, mostly delivered by a straight-faced Paul. Hugh Grant excels at this kind of thing.

‘Did you hear about the Morgans?’ fit our requirements perfectly. It’s not the greatest film, although I’m sure we’ll see it again at some point. But we enjoyed it, and afterwards watched one of the extras which showed the locations of the film and how they were chosen.

The crime thread makes it a bit different from the average rom-com. There’s some violence though no gore, and some quite tense scenes, not just the ones involving the criminal. The UK rating is PG which slightly surprised me, but I suppose that’s because of the lack of bad language and intimate scenes.

I wouldn’t want a sensitive child to see this. Some of the tense scenes could lead to nightmares in some young children. I would have rated it 12, and note that the more conservative US censors have given it a PG-13 rating. However, given the subject matter, I can’t imagine anyone under the age of about fourteen or fifteen would have any interest in it anyway.

Recommended.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson)

(Amazon UK link)

We had a bit more time available than usual, so decided to watch a film that’s been waiting in our drawer for quite some time. I was reluctant at first to see the Harry Potter films; I did watch the first couple at the cinema, but found the second one rather disturbing, and when I heard that the later ones were ‘darker’, I determined not to see them.

However they came out on DVD, and since I have enjoyed the books so much, we decided to acquire the DVD versions to watch at home - a much less disturbing scenario than the cinema. It’s a while since we watched the fifth in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, but despite the dark ending I thought it excellent. So finally we sat down to watch the sixth film.

It’s some time since I’ve read the book ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’, indeed more than time for a re-read. But the benefit of that is that although I remembered the main plot points, and the dramatic ending, I have forgotten all the details and conversations, so wasn’t disturbed by finding the film - as is inevitably the case - rather different from the film.

The story opens with high drama, as parts of London are being destroyed, and people are becoming terrified. We don’t meet Harry at the Dursleys this time; instead Professor Dumbledore takes him on some visits, in particular trying to persuade an old friend, Professor Slughorn, to come and work at Hogwarts.

After a short stay at his friend Ron Weasley’s, with yet more problems arising, Harry and friends set out for school, discovering high security everywhere.

There’s not much action taking place in the classroom, other than the lab where Harry discovers an old textbook that belonged to the mysterious ‘half-blood prince’. He is now clearer as to what his destiny is likely to be, and a lot more grown up than in previous films.

There’s low-key love interest in the book, with some jealousies and a lot of ‘snogging’, though mostly off-stage and what’s scene is fairly discreet. There’s minor bad language too, in a few places, but the reason for the UK ‘12’ rating is, I assume, that there’s a lot of suspense and some violence, with a lot that would be very disturbing if seen by a sensitive child who did not know what was coming. The US rating is PG, perhaps because there's no 'strong' language, or nudity.

The acting is excellent, and I found myself caught up in the story, hardly noticing two and a half hours going by. The pace was rapid but not so much that I got lost; it helps, of course, to have read the book, and to have been aware of what happened earlier in the series.

All in all we thought it extremely well done, preparing the way for the finale, which is in two parts and which we have still to watch.

Highly recommended, but in my opinion it's best to watch the earlier ones (or read the books) first.

Reviews of the other Harry Potter films:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2)

Review copyright 2017 Sue's DVD Reviews

It's Complicated (Meryl Streep)

(Amazon UK link)

I happened to spot this DVD in a charity shop when I was in the UK. Meryl Streep is always good value. Moreover, I was intrigued at the idea of her working with Steve Martin, who is listed as one of the co-stars. The plot sounded like a typical light romance, so I forked out a pound and brought it back to Cyprus.

We thought it would make ideal viewing for an afternoon when we were both somewhat tired but wanted to snuggle up on the sofa together. I hoped it would be uplifting. But I hadn’t expected it to be such a thoroughly enjoyable film, if perhaps a tad slow to get started.

Meryl Streep stars as Jane Adler, a contentedly divorced woman who has three young adult children, and is about to experience an empty nest. Her ex-husband Jake (Alex Baldwin) is rather irritating, although smooth-talking, and is now married to a much younger woman, who has a rather hyperactive small son.

Jake and Jane find themselves meeting at mutual friends’ parties, and then at the graduation of one of their sons Jane is priding herself on being relaxed and polite around him, when circumstances throw them together one night, and they wonder whether there’s still a spark of attraction….

Steve Martin, meanwhile, plays an architect who is designing and overseeing a major extension to Jane’s house. His character is very like most other parts he has played: charming, a little shy, and prone to clumsiness. That was fine in this film, as he provided a very likeable contrast to the somewhat bumptious and jealous Jake. But of course Meryl Streep’s part is the most complex and also the most interesting; as ever, she plays it to perfection, utterly believable in the role of a middle-aged, attractive woman who is a great cook and slightly over-protective mother, but rather insecure about relationships.

There were a couple of places (involving Steve Martin) where we laughed out loud; his timing is excellent, and he worked well with Streep. Jake and Jane’s future son-in-law Harley (John Krasinski) was a surprising hit too, a likeable young man who saw things he shouldn’t have done, and if a little exaggerated in his role, did it very well. I found myself warming to him rather more than their three children, who never really developed characters of their own.

The pace wasn’t rapid, and there wasn’t a whole lot of plot, but until the end I wasn’t certain where it was going to go. It was quite emotive at times, and we were both totally absorbed in the film. Bad language was pretty mild and although there are several intimate bedroom scenes, they are tastefully done, with implications rather than anything explicit.

I was surprised that it had a 15 rating (R in the US): there’s no violence at all, nor anything remotely frightening. I suppose it’s due to there being a fair amount of drinking and some use of soft drugs, although mainly for comic effect. However as the plot features a middle-aged romance, it’s unlikely to appeal to teenagers.

All in all this made a nicely made and enjoyable ‘rom com’ - recommended to anyone who likes this genre.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Invention of Lying (Ricky Gervais)

(Amazon UK link)

I doubt if I would have considered watching this film, as the reviews are very mixed. However our twenty-something son had bought a second-hand blu-ray after seeing it somewhere else, and suggested we watch it as a family. He said it was ‘interesting’ and ‘different’, and he wanted to know what we would think.

‘The Invention of Lying’ is set in a world where everybody tells the truth. All the time. Some genetic quirk means that nobody is capable of telling a lie - thus everybody is entirely trustworthy. 

It's an interesting premise, and one that leads to some mildly amusing scenarios. For instance, people greet each other in ways that seem quite rude, yet nobody takes offence. There’s a bit of a fine line between blurting out everything as one sees it, and keeping quiet about some truth, which is not really explored. But the point is well made.

Ricky Gervais plays the main part, that of the screenwriter Mark. He’s a bit short and dumpy, and takes himself rather too seriously. Screenwriting in this world, of course, simply consists of the re-telling of history. Fiction, like lying, is an unknown concept. And Mark has been allocated such a dull period of history that he ends up losing his job.

Unsurprisingly, there is also a romance in this film. Mark is attracted to Anna (Jennifer Garner) who agrees to go out on a date with him for a friend’s sake. She lets him know that she is not interested in him but then finds that she quite enjoys her evening.

Then, when Mark is at rock bottom, about to be evicted from his flat, something dramatic goes on in his mind. We see the cogs whirring - and he tells the first lie. He gets away with it, because nobody else can even imagine that he might not be telling the truth. After the first time he finds that he can make things up and mislead people as much as he wishes. The only thing he can’t convince anyone about is that he’s saying things that ‘aren’t’. There’s no word in this world for lies, or even for truth.

All of which is light-hearted fun, and quite thought-provoking. Then suddenly the movie alters to be propaganda for atheism. It’s quite cleverly done, subtly but with the same kind of satirical humour. However we felt that it was rather a sneaky way of expressing one’s message in what is supposed to be entertainment.

That apart, the film is nicely done. The characters are rather exaggerated, but that doesn’t matter much. We were a bit shocked to learn that the rating is only 12A or PG-13. While there’s no violence, and only a few instances of bad language, there are several sexual references - some very direct - which should surely have made this at least a 15.

I doubt if it would be of any interest to younger teenagers anyway. But parents should be aware of the content - the IMDB site has a good parental advisory - if watching it with children around.

It was certainly worth seeing once, and led to some interesting discussions. But it's not a film that I expect to see again, and not a DVD that we plan on acquiring ourselves. 

Review copyright 2014 Sue's DVD Reviews

Nativity! (Martin Freeman, Marc Wootten, Jason Watkins)

(Amazon UK link)

Yes, it’s July.

But our son gets fed up of Christmas films and songs in December, so we decided to watch this highly rated movie last night. Perhaps, we thought, it might detract a little from the heat and humidity that plagued us...

It’s the story of a struggling Catholic school where Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) is a frustrated and often irritable teacher of small children. Once upon a time he went through a drama course, appearing on stage as an elf, and in a serious relationship with the beautiful Jennifer (Ashley Jensen). But then she went to the US in the hope of becoming a Hollywood producer, and so Paul decided to become a teacher. He also determined that he would never enjoy Christmas again.

So he’s not at all happy when his school Head (Pam Ferris) decides that he will be in charge of the school Nativity play that term. To make it worse, Paul’s old college friend Gordon (Jason Watkins) is a teacher at a local private school, where he gets rave reviews each year for his Nativity plays. And while Gordon isn’t exactly a villain, he’s rather snooty about Paul’s school and his chances. So Paul, thoroughly provoked, pretends that Jennifer will be bringing a Hollywood crew to see his school play. he doesn’t mention that he lost touch with Jennifer some years previously.

He doesn’t really suppose that Gordon will believe him, or that anything will come of his remarks, but unfortunately they’re overheard by Mr Poppy (Marc Wootten) who is Paul’s new classroom assistant. Not a normal quiet helper, he’s like a big kid himself, joining in with the children with great enthusiasm, and trusting everything he’s told. So he passes on the ‘news’ to the school Head (his aunt)... and the press get involved... and the silly lie gets more and more out of hand.

Most of the play is about Paul’s attempts to produce a Nativity play - or, rather, a musical - using children with little or no experience. And it works remarkably well. I don’t mean that he eventually produces a wonderful extravaganza - that’s pretty much taken as read, with a family Christmas film. But the children themselves are an absolute delight.

We wondered how stage schools managed to produce such natural kiddies - and learned, when we watched one of the ‘extras’, that these were not stage school children, but ordinary ones, since the director wanted them to be natural. And that’s exactly what they are, although apparently the audition process took many months.

The film - as we also learned from the extras - was not closely scripted. Much of it was improvised, which probably explains why it really does feel like a typical British primary school, with a bunch of very ordinary children who, when gently pushed, do some fairly extraordinary things.

There are humorous scenes, one or two moving scenes, and a wonderfully schmaltzy ending which we had pretty much foreseen, although not entirely so. The whole is rated U (or G in the US), meaning that it’s entirely suitable for young children; certainly there’s no violence or bad language, and the romance, such as it is, consists of a few kisses and a little sliding about in snow.

There are some great performances by the children - they are all stars, and I hope that at least some of them have continued with their drama careers. The adults all play their parts well, with caricatures, admittedly - Paul Maddens is really very irritable, and Desmond Poppy so very boisterous - but it all works, and makes for a totally captivating hour and a half. Even if we did see it in July!

The extras - deleted scenes, interviews and ‘making of’ - are well worth seeing too.

Wonderful stuff. Don’t expect any depth of plot (although the point about a small lie growing out of control is well made) or character, or even any great surprises. Watch with your children or grandchildren, or perhaps your grandparents... and have a good clean laugh, and the satisfaction of a fairytale ending.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Doctor Who: The Complete Specials (David Tennant)

(Amazon UK link)

It was not until we reached the end of Doctor Who Series 4 (starring David Tennant) a few months ago that I realised that Series 5 opened with Matt Smith established as the famous time lord. We had expected him to regenerate at the end of Series 4, but he didn’t. Research led me to the revelation that series 4 was mostly broadcast in 2008; series 5 not until 2010.  In the intervening year, there was no full series; instead, fans were treated to five longer ‘special’ episodes, as found in this box set.

The first episode, 'The Next Doctor', is a ‘Christmas Special’ broadcast in December 2008. The Doctor is in England in the middle of the 19th century, and meets someone else claiming to the ‘the Doctor’.  He has a sonic screwdriver - of sorts - and even a tardis, though it looks a little different from the usual police box... Meanwhile, the Cybermen are kidnapping children, and the two Doctors - naturally - sort this out.

The second episode, ‘Planet of the Dead’, was shown as an Easter Special in 2009.  There’s a rather cool upper class jewel thief, Lady Christina, who joins the Doctor on a bus as it travels through a wormhole to a strangely deserted planet. They have to figure out what’s going on, while experts back on earth try to work out how to get the bus back again without killing all the passengers.

The third ‘special’, 'The Waters of Mars', is more violent than the earlier two, and has some rather scary implications. The Doctor finds himself on Mars, meeting people he knows about from archive news stories.  He also knows that something terrible is going to happen, but - he claims - cannot do anything to change the course of history. In the meantime, something terrifying is happening to members of the crew...

The ‘specials’ end with a two-part episode, 'The End of Time', in which we finally have to say goodbye to David Tenant. It’s fast-paced and exciting, with the background of a prophecy by the Ood (from a previous series), and the regeneration of the evil time lord known as The Master, in a scene oddly reminiscent of Lord Voldemort’s regeneration in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'. While it was undoubtedly thrilling in places, and quite moving in others, I felt that this double episode was a bit over-long, and could probably have been condensed into just one episode.

David Tennant is excellent in this entire series, evidently determined to go out as one of the most memorable Doctors. His acting ability shines through, to the extent that the character even becomes a little scary at times with a tendency towards playing God which was a little at odds with the previous series.

In addition to the main episodes, each of the five DVDs in this box set comes with a ‘Doctor Who Confidential’, a documentary about the making of the episode; one that we very much enjoyed was about ‘Planet of the Dead’. It explained how the production team managed to transport a double decker London bus to a desert in Dubai... and the problems that hit unexpectedly! Well worth seeing.

Definitely recommended if you like Doctor Who (or, indeed, David Tennant), but I wouldn't necessarily suggest this box set as an introduction to the series if you are unfamiliar with it.

It's quite expensive for what it is in the UK - only a couple of pounds cheaper than the full 13-episode series box sets - and decidedly over-priced in the US (at the time of writing).

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

From Time to Time (Alex Etel, Maggie Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

The main character in this film is Tolly, a thirteen-year-old boy, played by Alex Etel. The story is set in 1944, at the end of World War II. Tolly’s father is ‘missing in action’, so his mother has gone to London to see if she can find out more information. The only place she can think of sending Tolly for the school holidays is to his grandmother, Mrs GreenKnowe (Maggie Smith).

Unfortunately there has been a rift in the family, so Tolly is a stranger both to his Granny, and to the house.

Mrs Greenknowe starts telling Tolly about previous inhabitants of the house. This is partly prompted by his interest in some of the portraits and other artefacts he spots. Her housekeeper and gardener also tell him snippets of history, about family members and also about a terrible fire that burned down an entire wing.

Then Tolly starts to see ghosts. At first terrified, he is reassured by his grandmother’s calm acknowledgement that the spirits of the former family members do appear - and then finds himself appearing to them. As he asks more questions, he is taken more often into the past ,where he gets caught up in racism, intolerance, and the unpleasantness of one of his ancestors as a young man.

This is actually a film for older children, an adaptation of a book called ‘The Chimneys of Green Knowe’. It is one of a series of books by Lucy M Boston based in the middle of the 20th century, featuring an old house with both current and past inhabitants.

I thought the film was cleverly done. With no preconceptions, and not having read the books, I was able to follow the story easily enough - which is not always a given for me. Tolly is a likeable boy, at first rather awkward and defensive, knowing that his grandmother did not approve of his parents’ marriage. Maggie Smith, of course, is brilliant. Gradually Tolly and his grandmother learn to respect and even love each other, and there are some positive themes about family ties and loyalty that shine through.

We watched this with an adult friend, and found it quite tense in places, moving in others. There are some moments of light humour too, particularly in the initial interactions between Tolly and his grandmother. Their slow acceptance of each other is done very well, as is the gradual unfolding of two stories alongside each other, both present and past.

There are, of course, plot holes from the time travel point of view. It would be difficult to avoid them. One such ‘problem’ is raised directly by Tolly, and cleverly answered by his grandmother in the sense of having to accept that something apparently illogical happened.  The ending of the film is perhaps a bit abrupt, and yet it works well without leaving too many questions open.

Apparently the setting and much of the story deviates quite sharply from the book, which naturally annoys those who are purists about such things. But this is explained in the one and only ‘Extra’ - a conversation with Julian Fellowes, who directed the film. He talks about wanting to make it for many years, and the way he had to make changes. These were based on the limitations of the media, and the need for images and drama that make a movie always somewhat different from a book.

All in all, we thought it well done and worth watching. The rating is PG in both the US and UK, which seems about right; some of the action is quite tense and even a little scary, and I doubt if it would be of much interest to anyone under the age of about ten or eleven.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Driving Aphrodite [US title: My Life in Ruins] (Nia Vardalos, Alexis Georgoulis, Richard Dreyfuss)

(Amazon UK link)

Sometimes I browse through Amazon, and check reviews for the various DVDs that it recommends to me, based on what I've already rated. It seems to have gathered that I generally enjoy light romantic comedies; it will also frequently suggest films starring actors or actresses whose films I have previously enjoyed.

So, a few months ago, I put 'Driving Aphrodite' on my wishlist; apparently the title of this movie is 'My life in ruins', in America. The star is Nia Vardalos, who became well-known for 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' about ten years ago. An added draw was that it also features Richard Dreyfuss, star of what is possibly my all-time favourite film, 'Mr Holland's Opus'.

I was pleased to be given this DVD for Christmas, and at the end of a busy day we decided to sit down and watch it, hoping for something light and undemanding.

We were not disappointed. While it doesn't have the brilliant one-liners and satire of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', this is a likeable film, with some humour that we appreciated all the more having lived in a Greek culture for the past fourteen years.

Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is an American tour guide. She doesn't really want to be; she came to Athens to lecture in Ancient history, but that didn't work out. Unfortunately her style is to try and teach holidaymakers about the history of all the ruins and artefacts visited on their coach tours around the city. But most of them are not particularly interested...

Georgia's co-worker (Alistair McGowan) would like to see her fired, so he and the boss arrange for her to have a difficult and motley crew in her coach, with non-working air-conditioning and a boorish driver (Alexis Georgoulis). The first day goes badly and she decides to quit; but an irritating elderly 'wise guy' on her bus (Richard Dreyfuss)turns out to be a fount of good advice, with match-making skills too..

It took a little while to get into this; in the earlier part of the film, the generalisations were a bit too obvious, and we wondered if it was going to be even slightly amusing... but as it progressed, we started to like the people concerned, and there were some quite funny moments alongside some deeper, more moving scenes.

All in all, we enjoyed it. Particularly recommended to anyone who has lived in Greece, Cyprus, or any of the Greek islands, and so is familiar with the culture that is somewhat satirised in this film.

Rated 12 in the UK (PG-13 in the USA), presumably because of one or two instances of bad language, and some mild sexual references.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Julie and Julia (Meryl Streep, Amy Adams)

(Amazon UK link)

Julie and Julia is a film based on a book, which itself is a true story written by Julie Powell. Julie is a bored and rather flighty young American woman who needs some kind of focus to her life. She decides to cook her way through a French recipe book written by Julia Child a few decades earlier. She determines to cook every single recipe, and to complete them within the next year. Her husband persuades her to blog about the experience... and the blog takes off in unexpected ways.

I had never heard of Julia Child, but apparently her book - for Americans to learn how to cook in the French style, written some decades earlier - is quite well-known in the USA. The movie cleverly switches between Julie's story in the 1990s to that of Julia herself, as an American living in Paris trying to find ways to occupy herself.

Meryl Streep is brilliant in the role of Julia; she seems able to turn her abilities to just about any character, and I found her entirely believable - larger than life (both literally and metaphorically), a mixture of confidence and insecurity. Amy Adams as Julie was lovable, too, and quite believable if a bit annoying and over-emotional at times. Their husbands - played by Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina respectively - were likeable too, their interactions with their wives realistic and engaging.

As much as anything the film is about food, and the art of cooking, with some wonderful looking dishes being prepared. The amount of butter and cream used seems a little unreal in today's low-fat climate, and I did have to close my eyes at the scenes using live lobsters. But I was rooting for Julie to get through her challenge - and also for Julia, even while knowing that her book must have been published at some point!

The ending was perhaps a little sudden with no real explanation about what was going on; I wondered if it would be clearer in the book, but most of the reviews I have seen rate the film as rather better than the book. Having enjoyed the movie so much, I don't want to spoil it by having negative impressions of Julie, nor am I interested in a book full of bad language.

'Julie and Julia' is rated 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the USA, probably due to a few instances of bad language - however they were rare and mostly in context. There are several implied bedroom scenes but no nudity or anything unsuitable for children is actually shown.

Definitely recommended. There's an interesting 'extra' with the director and cast talking about the film and their roles in making it, which was enjoyable to watch afterwards.

review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews 4th September 2011