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Atonement [2007]

starring: Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, James McAvoy, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave
directed by: Joe Wright

February 04, 2008
Reading reviews on Amazon always bemuses me. Why some people seem to get so angry about a film, its diversion from the book or one or another actor confuses me. Anyway no anger here.

I have always been an enormous fan of Ian McEwan and think that atonement is one of his greatest novels. But, like all great tragedies (and believe me this is a tragedy), it leaves you with an empty feeling. The book manages to convey the deep erotic and almost painful love of C and Robbie in a way that was always going to be difficult to convey in a mainstream movie. So maybe that's where it falls down.

But. This is a beautifully shot movie with gorgeous backdrops, wonderful cinematography and a marvellous score. There are those who seem ... Read More:

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Wanted [2008]

starring: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman
directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

October 20, 2008
This may not be the best film, but it has all the ingredients needed to be.

Wanted has what I would say a very interesting cast choice, I would never have picked James McAvoy for an action role but he did play it with some grace - I think the fact Wes starts off as a hopeless waste of space allows McAvoy to really play it well going by some of his previous roles. Morgan Freeman was a little surprising but you give him any script and he will be able to do it. Now Angelina Jolie, she adds the glamour needed in an action film and she is pretty good at the action films.

I know the laws of physics don't really come into this film, but I don't rightly care as I just see it as a little bit of fun and should make for good VG. It has been ... Read More:

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Penelope [2007]

starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage
directed by: Mark Palansky

June 23, 2008
For some time (almost 2 years) I have known about, and waited patiently for this Reese Witherspoon production; wondering if it ever would come to fruition on DVD in the U.K. On 12th August, I found it in a local Super-Market, and bought my copy there and then.

I have to say that my first thoughts when I watched it for the fist time were not very complementary. But, unusually for me after such thoughts, I let the film continue, watching it to the Happy Ending that it duly deserved. As I watched that first time, the film slowly "GREW ON ME", to the point where I couldn't walk away and forget it; I just HAD TO WATCH TO THE END.

It's a fable about a young (25-year-old) woman, Penelope, played by Christina Ricci (who I had never heard of ... Read More:

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The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005]

starring: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Sophie Winkleman, Liam Neeson
directed by: Andrew Adamson

April 03, 2006
I would give this book a five star rating because narnia is absolutely brilliant.whenever I read it I cat put it down that is how good C.S Lewis is.Also ,the drawing's init are excellent.woul recamend this book to people who like adventure stoies.Thebook is fiction and I also love it because it is in a fantacy would but it seams real at the same time.

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Becoming Jane [2006]

starring: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith

September 10, 2007
This was much better than I thought it would be having read that the story didn't hold together and wasn't based on any real fact. If it was intended as a love story then it's ok. Are biographical films ever based truly on reality? Julie Walters is excellent as Jane's mother and thanks to another reviewer for mentioning where I'd seen Anne Hathaway before.

I'm not keen on Jane Austen's novels (forced to read them at school), except perhaps, "Northanger Abbey", for which the recent TV adaptation was excellent. "Becoming Jane" has more depth than was portrayed in the poor cinema trailer. It's not as good as say, "Miss Potter" but worth a watch on a rainy Sunday evening.

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Atonement [HD DVD] [2007]

starring: Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, James McAvoy, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave
directed by: Joe Wright

March 10, 2008
I think you have to look past the hype and see the film for itself. In that regard, James MacAvoy was as usual superb, and brought his character (Robbie) to life. Saoirse Ronan as the young(est) version of Briony, showed us all of the intensity of a 13-year-old on the cusp of adolescence. Her motivation is clear - she has strong feelings for Robbie, feelings which she cannot express, does not know how to express, but somehow must do; and then she catches her sister and Robbie together, intimately, and it is the resulting bottled-up rage that destroys all three of them.

And what of Keira Knightely? I thought she was convincing. In the first part of the film her dialog is mainly cliches, but that would have been the way her character would have lived: moneyed, privileged, and probably ... Read More:

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The Last King Of Scotland [2006]

starring: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington
directed by: Kevin Macdonald

May 14, 2007
A skewered plot and an awful performance by James McAvoy combine to make this film a painful viewing experience.

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Wanted [Blu-ray] [2008]

starring: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman
directed by: Timur Bekmambetov

December 01, 2008
A skewered plot and an awful performance by James McAvoy combine to make this film a painful viewing experience.

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The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [Blu-ray] [2005]

starring: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Sophie Winkleman, Liam Neeson
directed by: Andrew Adamson

June 16, 2008
Great film, enjoyed it despite initial misgivings about watching a 'kids film'. Not going to review it in depth since so many others already have on the DVD section.

The picture on the bluray disc is excellent throughout, which does mean that some of the more dodgy special effects are shown up - though fortunately not too often. For the most part the graphics are very good, Aslan in particular is impressive.

The sound offers 5.1 and uncompressed. I could not get the uncompressed sound to work initially, but all was ok after a play around, and the uncompressed sound is very good. Footsteps in snow never seemed so loud! The 5.1 sound is also good, but does lack the detail of the lossless format.

One issue was that if I stopped playback on the ps3 (and went to the ps3 menu screen) ... Read More:

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Shakespeare ReTold [2005]

starring: Sarah Parish, Shirley Henderson, James McAvoy

December 26, 2005
Before I begin may I just compliment Amazon for it's amazing service. Not only is this dvd fantastic value (being four movies for £4.98) Amazon also had it shipped to me here in Ireland within two days. So if you're one of those people who used to be like me and afraid of online shopping I urge you take the chance and start today. You won't be disappointed.

Well what can I say about these adaptations. Fantastic isn't the word. I, myself am a fan of Shakespeare but had never read any of the plays in this series but I am definitely putting it on my list of things to do following this exceptional series, which certainly proved that it is possible to take well-loved stories and make them relevant in the 21st century.

'Much Ado about nothing' is sharp, witty and funny. Setting it in a news studio ... Read More: