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Gandhi (2 Disc Special Edition) [1982]

starring: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Martin Sheen, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox
directed by: Richard Attenborough

February 12, 2007
This film was delicately acted with care and thought in a very effecctive way. Ben Kingsly's performance was flawless! The other supporting roles were done in such a way that they complimented Ben Kingsly beautifully. By the end of this movie you feel you have made a new friend. Some of the photography of India is breath-taking!

A very enjoyable film which moved me at several points but also made me smile. I came away from it not feeling depressed but feeling that I could make a difference both globally and in my own life.

A great film, one to have on the shelf!

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Sweet Home Alabama [2002]

starring: Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place
directed by: Andy Tennant

October 06, 2003
Melanie Carmichael is living the life of her dreams; her fashion line is becoming a success, she's dating a handsome politician, and she has a bright happy city life. What could possibly go wrong?

The past she ran away from to have it all is slowly catching up with her and her fiance's mother doesn't really want her in the family. The secret life Melanie left back in Pidgeon Creek in Alabama is about to make a huge impact on her life as she has to return back to finalise a divorce from her first husband - who she hasn't told anyone in her new life about.

Life hasn't really changed much in Pidgeon Creek, but Melanie sticks out like a sore thumb with her sharp tongue, cynicism and hoity toity attitude. And to make ... Read More:

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Boston Legal: Season 3 [2006]

starring: James Spader, Bernadette Peters, Michael J. Fox, Candice Bergen, Rene Auberjonois
directed by: Michael Pressman, Oz Scott

January 14, 2008
Looking at the other reviews I can see that people still think Boston Legal to be as good as it ever was. This is not my opinion. For me this season is where the series lost its way. Jerry Espenson, the assbergers (apologies if spelt incorrectly) sufferer became a semi-regular cast member in this series and this is where it began to lose its way. Jerry worked fine as a rare guest star but it appeared that all involved with the show thought his character to be so good that we simply had to have him every single week. Personally, whenever Jerry is on screen I lose all interest and find his antics irritating. Thankfully the brilliant double-act of James Spader and William Shatner is still prevalent. The other cast members (no idea who they are by the ... Read More:

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Boston Legal: Season 1 [2004]

starring: William Shatner, James Spader, Candice Bergen, Monica Potter, Rene Auberjonois

July 24, 2006
may I just start by saying buying this was a drunken mistake!
And as drunken mistakes go this would be up there with my most inspired.
Can't believe I'm saying this but William shatner is utterly brilliant!! he plays his character perfectly all the cast are excellent but without a doubt shatner and james spader are outstanding!
This series is hilarious and serious and moving and again I can't believe I'm saying this as it is american but it is original
and a must watch for anyone with a sense of humour
WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BEST COURTROOM DRAMA EVER TO COME OUT OF THE STATES

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Boston Legal : Season 2 [2005]

starring: James Spader, Robert Wagner, Parker Posey, William Shatner, Candice Bergen

March 05, 2007
I've always loved James Spader and his choice of quirky, sometimes troubled characters. Here he's on top form, wily, idiosyncratic, creepy sometimes but always funny and with excellent delivery of clever dialogue. William Shatner is harder to place - being a fan of TNG rather than TOS (yet the first Star Trek series was much more my era), I never found him funny, sexy or even a particularly good actor. Here however he's a revelation. He plays 'Denny Crane' (as he often keeps reminding us) with exactly the right tone and his pathos at possibly losing his mind, his vivacity for life and love means we sympathise rather than ridicule.

I used to like Ally McBeal but bored of it after about series 3. It was just a little too far fetched for my taste ... Read More:

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Miss Congeniality [2001]

starring: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, William Shatner
directed by: Donald Petrie

November 12, 2001
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A very funny film, with a first rate cast, MISS CONGENIALITY deals with examining the value of an American institution. When I was growing up one of the yearly television events I always recalled was the "Miss America" pageant (as well as the other beauty pageant for "Miss Universe"). Watching Bert Parks' singing the "Miss America" song was on the same level as watching the Thanksgiving Day parade or the Superbowl. In fact, when Parks was fired from "Miss America" in the 1980s, the pageant lost many viewers out of sympathy with Bert.

But that dropping of Parks was an example of what the producers of the show faced in the 1980s. There had been dwindling interest and ratings for several years. Many ... Read More:

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Steve McQueen Collection : The Great Escape / The Magnificent Seven / The Thomas Crown Affair / The Sand Pebbles (4 Disc Box Set)

starring: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Yaphet Kotto, Candice Bergen, Charles Bronson
directed by: John Sturges, Robert Wise, Norman Jewison

February 19, 2007
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A very funny film, with a first rate cast, MISS CONGENIALITY deals with examining the value of an American institution. When I was growing up one of the yearly television events I always recalled was the "Miss America" pageant (as well as the other beauty pageant for "Miss Universe"). Watching Bert Parks' singing the "Miss America" song was on the same level as watching the Thanksgiving Day parade or the Superbowl. In fact, when Parks was fired from "Miss America" in the 1980s, the pageant lost many viewers out of sympathy with Bert.

But that dropping of Parks was an example of what the producers of the show faced in the 1980s. There had been dwindling interest and ratings for several years. Many ... Read More:

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The Sand Pebbles [1966]

starring: Steve McQueen, Candice Bergen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Marayat Andriane
directed by: Robert Wise

April 18, 2005
The Sand Pebbles, Robert Wise's epic tale of gunboat diplomacy in the turbulent China of the mid-Twenties is hugely ambitious and hugely expensive, yet, as with the best of his work, the focus is firmly on people, the momentous political events kept in the background until their consequences begin to overwhelm the principals. Even then, they are only drawn out of the small worlds they create for themselves (for Steve McQueen his engine room, for Candice Bergen her teaching in a remote mission) for purely personal reasons.

More than any epic of the Sixties, The Sand Pebbles seems to draw heavily on the chaos and the confusion of the then ongoing Vietnam War, so it's a real surprise that Wise seemed genuinely unaware of any parallels. Yet, perhaps because of ... Read More:

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Gandhi [1982]

starring: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard
directed by: Richard Attenborough

May 21, 2007
Richard Attenborough's epic film of the life of the man whose policy of active passive resistance against the British helped lead India to gain its independence is a big epic in the grand tradition, beautifully crafted and stands alone in his canon as a director in that it has a genuine sense of vision.

Aside from its beautifully framed Scope composition, it is full of striking visual moments from waves of protesters passively lining up to be beaten in a 'raid' on a salt factory to the shot of the solitary Gandhi standing at the well in Amritsar after a massacre there. The crowd scenes are plentiful and truly massive and on a scale we are unlikely to ever see again, yet the focus is always on the man and what he stood for. Much of the credit for this goes to ... Read More:

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View From the Top [2002]

starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Mark Ruffalo, Candice Bergen, Joshua Malina
directed by: Bruno Barreto

May 10, 2004
Hadn't heard of this lesser known comedy until stumbling on it while on Amazon. Thought I'd give it a try, both wife and I found it hilarious in places. Mike Myers was hysterical, if you can find a long running joke about a wonky eye funny. I thought Gwyneth had never looked more pretty than in this film. Not raucous, full on comedy all the way through, but gentle love story with light hearted comic turns. Pleasant enough, and recommended for an evening in.