Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (Donny Osmond)

(Amazon UK link)

I liked the songs from the 1970s musical 'Joseph', which I saw live once or twice when schools performed it. But had never thought that a TV or movie version would really be worth seeing - after all, it's just a group of people on stage. Right?

No. Not in this version, anyway. My son bought it, having seen it somewhere else, and insisted that we watch it. Expecting to be bored, even though Donny Osmond was one of the heartthrobs of my youth, I was absolutely riveted.

The musical has been done as a surreal stage production, involving a school with its Headmistress - played brilliantly by Maria Friedman - singing the narration of the story.

Donny Osmond is wonderful as Joseph, the rather obnoxious favourite son of Jacob in the Bible, who ends up in prison, rising quickly to great heights in Ancient Egypt.

Despite having seen it a couple of years ago, I was happy to watch it again last night with relatives who thought it sounded interesting - and who also enjoyed it very much. There are some excellent routines; it's a very clever idea that works extremely well.

This is one of the few musicals I could watch repeatedly.

(Note: I did then watch and review' Joseph' again, four years later)

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

The Court Jester (Danny Kaye)

(Amazon UK link)

I can remember seeing and enjoying the classic film 'The Court Jester' on television when I was a teenager. I had always enjoyed records featuring Danny Kaye's songs, and thought this film - with the famous 'Chalice from the Palace' scenes being most memorable - very amusing.

So I was delighted when I learned that it had finally been released (and digitally remastered to improve the quality) on DVD. It went on my wishlist, and I received it for my birthday.

Although it's not really my husband's kind of film, we had relatives staying who wanted to see it, also remembering it fondly from previous years. So we saw it last night.

The story features Danny Kaye as a naive young man, employed to be a court jester, despite not actually being very good at jestering. It's part of a complex plot to undermine the evil ruler who has usurped the true king. The real king is a baby, and is in the jester's care..

The plot is remarkably complicated. I'm not sure I ever fully untangled it in my mind, either as a teenager or an adult. But it didn't really matter. Danny Kaye is brilliant in his comic timing, and the story moves rapidly, from situation to situation.

The confusion with the chalice was a lot more complex than I had remembered. I had forgotten the 'vessel with the pestle' and even the 'flagon with the dragon'. I never did quite remember which one held the 'brew that is true'. But it was cleverly done, and amusing. My other favourite recalled scene was when the process for knighting the jester is speeded up more and more rapidly. But that one went by so fast that I almost missed it. It wasn't quite as amusing as I had expected.

Other than Danny Kaye, the acting is a bit wooden in places. The plot is so ridiculous that it wouldn't really work for today's tastes. But I enjoyed it anyway, and hope to see it again in a few years.

Recommended if you like 1950s style silliness with a few songs thrown in.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Notting Hill (starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts)

(Amazon UK link)

'Notting Hill' is one of those films that Amazon kept on recommending to me. I like Hugh Grant very much as an actor, I'm growing to like Julia Roberts as an actress, and my preferred genre is the light romantic comedy films, where the humour is light rather than slapstick. So it went on my wishlist, and I received it as a gift.

What an absolutely delightful film it is, too! William - superbly cast as Hugh Grant - is a not-very-successful bookshop owner, getting along well enough when into his shop comes Anna (Julia Roberts).

Anna is a popular and beautiful actress, and William doesn't really know how to relate to her... particularly when, meeting her again, he spills something down her front.

There's not much more I can say about the plot without giving the story away. Actually, there isn't really a whole lot of plot. It's a character-based film, gently paced, with several moving moments. The chemistry between the two principals is excellent. We thought it was very well done, the tone set right from the start.

I suppose it could be summed up as a light and somewhat predictable romance story, but it's one of those that leaves the viewer warmed and inspired.

A little surprisingly 'Notting Hill' is rated 15 in the UK although there's no violence, almost no bad language, and only the subtlest of sex scenes. The US rating of PG-13 is perhaps more suitable.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Chocolat (Juliette Binoche)

(Amazon UK link)

In recent years, I've realised that while adaptations of book on film are often disappointing, they can nonetheless, if well-cast, offer a depth of understanding that is somehow more rounded than the individual impression one gets from a book alone. In addition, movie versions allow me to introduce my husband to stories I have enjoyed which he is unlikely to read.

I had slightly mixed feelings about the book 'Chocolat' by Joanne Harris, which I read a little over a year ago. But, with the small French village location, I thought it could make a good film. Reviews were good, so it went on my wishlist.

The story is similar to that of the book. Juliette Binoche stars as Vianne, which she does in a believable way. Judi Dench is superb as the elderly Armande, estranged from her uptight - and upright - daughter. Johnny Depp makes a wonderful, passionate Roux. The photography is indeed good, and the scenes were set far better in my mind than they had been while reading the book.

The antagonism of the townfolk to this carefree, sensual chocolate-maker is well done, contrasting their rigid style of traditional Christianity with the freedom and luxury that Vianne tries to introduce. In the book, the priest is the most vehemently outspoken against Vianne, the 'bad guy', whereas in the film it's the mayor who is the most unpleasant character; I have to admit that I preferred that; I don't think the book was meant to be anti-Christian, but against rigidity and refusal to acknowledge the joy of life.

Other than that one change for the better, the film kept pretty close to the book, as far as can be done, and we both enjoyed it. The 12 rating (or PG-13 in the US) is probably about right, since there is some sensuality and violence, though nothing too explicit or gory.

Recommended for adults and older teens.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Jane Eyre (Sorcha Cusack, Michael Jayston)

(Amazon UK link)

Charlotte Bronte's classic novel Jane Eyre has been one of my favourite books ever since I first read it as a young teenager, for English Literature at school. Shortly after I had finished reading it, there was a five-episode BBC television adaptation of the book, which I enjoyed very much. However, there have been many other films made of this classic, and I did not think I would ever be able to watch this particular version again.

So I was delighted when, in 2006, this BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre was finally brought out on DVD. I watched it with my husband and teenage son, just one episode at a time, and we all enjoyed it very much.

Knowing the basics of the story in advance (as my husband did) did not spoil it, any more than knowing it well after re-reading several times over the years. There is melodrama, and some moments of extreme tension, even when I knew exactly what was coming.

With an episodic version of a book, made for TV, it's possible to keep much more closely to the original story than can be done with a 90-minute movie. I felt that this series kept very well to Charlotte Bronte's story, omitting little, and including much of the actual text of the book. Michael Jayston is excellent as the craggy Mr Rochester who employs Jane (Sorcha Cusack) as a governess for his ward.

The BBC always seems to do a superb job with period drama of this kind, even with a limited budget, and I was very glad to have been able to watch this again.

Definitely recommended. Rated PG in the UK, and unrated in the USA, but unlikely to be of much interest to children under the age of about 10 or 11.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Kind Hearts and Coronets (Dennis Price and Alec Guiness)

(Amazon UK link)

This film was highly recommended to us by a friend whose opinion we tended to agree with. However, our copy of 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' came free with a relative's newspaper. On balance, we were glad that we didn't pay for it.

It's a black and white film, made in 1949. There are two main stars. Dennis Price plays a young man who has been disinherited from his upper class family. He decides that he wants to inherit the title... so sets out to kill everyone else who is standing in his way. Alec Guiness plays several different parts - all related people, male and female - and does them extremely well.

However, the plot is extremely far-fetched, and the ending rather predictable. We don't have a problem with the bizarre or unlikely, but it was an odd subject matter to be treated as a comedy. There was rather a lot of slapstick, too, that left us rolling our eyes more than laughing.

I guess it was worth seeing once, as it's apparently considered quite a classic, and was well made for the era. But we probably won't bother seeing it again.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Bruce Almighty (starring Jim Carrey)

(Amazon UK link)

I expect that the film 'Bruce Almighty' ended up on our shelves due to a special offer, or perhaps a recommendation, or maybe both. Anyway, we decided to watch it as a family, with some friends who were staying, on Valentine's Day...

It's an interesting idea, different from the usual rom-com style that I tend to choose by default. In this story, Bruce (Jim Carrey) who is a TV reporter has been complaining about his life, and about God, despite being reasonably popular and having some good friends. But it seems as if everything is going on, and he moans just a little too much...

So God appears in human form (played, brilliantly, by Morgan Freeman) and says he'll take a break, and that Bruce can take over as God for a week to see if he can do the job better.

At first disbelieving, Bruce discovers that he does indeed have divine powers, which he can use to do pretty much anything he wishes...

We thought it was well made, and quite thought-provoking too. At first excited, then overwhelmed, then determined to do things efficiently, Bruce implements some of what he feels 'should' happen in the world, only to discover the wider implications... and, unsurprisingly, chaos ensues.

Some of this is a bit silly, but parts of it were amusing and it certainly made its point. On the whole we thought it well worth seeing. The 12 rating (PG-13 in the US) is due to some bad language, some mild sexual content, and some rather crude humour at times.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews