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The Tudors: Complete Series 2 [2008]

starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Natalie Dormer, Jeremy Northam, Henry Cavill, Maria Doyle Kennedy
directed by: Michael Hirst

October 13, 2008
The Tudors is the best period drama series I have seen on the TV in years! so much so that I bought series 1 and have ordered series 2. I thought series 1 & 2 were both brilliant and now I can't wait to see series 3. I am fasinated by the Tudor years and know alot about them. As The Tudor series progresses, yes there are inaccuracies, but for those compaining about it............ it is SUPPOSED to be a drama series, not an actual history lesson!

The acting is excellent, the costumes are amazing and the backdrops, props and scenery are all as one would imagine England to have been like at that time.

And finally, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is not only brilliant at playing King Henry, he is gorgeous too so thank goodness ... Read More:

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Emma [1996]

starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, James Cosmo, Greta Scacchi, Alan Cumming, Denys Hawthorne
directed by: Douglas McGrath

June 15, 2006
What makes this version of Emma enjoyable is the exquisite costumes, locations and colour. I love the portrayals of Miss Bates, Mr & Mrs Elton & Mrs Weston (or poor Miss Taylor). Gwyneth Paltrow makes a pleasant Emma, but although I love her as an actress, I don't think she has really identified with the character of Emma. I am not convinced of Harriet Smith or Frank Churchill either, they are just not authentic to the characters. Mr Knightley is just about passable. The main problem with this is that the story has been severely condensed and I feel alot of the important scenes in the book have been dropped, which has greatly reduced the effect of the story. The TV version starring Kate Beckinsale & Mark Strong have much stronger character ... Read More:

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The Invasion [2007]

starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond
directed by: James McTiegue

February 25, 2008
I don't understand why people don't like this film.
Okay, so it isn't as good as the orignal, but what remake ever is?
Nicole Kidman is very realistic as the phycologist and single parent who must save her child from emotionless clones.
Daniel Craig is the doctor trying to find the cure.
The film has two big actors and they both did well in their roles. I was interested all the way through and there were a couple of scenes which gave me the shivers.
I have heard reviewers comment on the ending of this film and I will agree with them there, but you can't hold that against it.
Overall, this film, all though won't keep you talking about it in twenty years time, is defianetly worth seeing.

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The Tudors: Complete Series 1 And 2 [2007]

starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam, Henry Czerny, Gabrielle Anwar
directed by: Steve Shill, Alison Maclean

October 13, 2008
I don't understand why people don't like this film.
Okay, so it isn't as good as the orignal, but what remake ever is?
Nicole Kidman is very realistic as the phycologist and single parent who must save her child from emotionless clones.
Daniel Craig is the doctor trying to find the cure.
The film has two big actors and they both did well in their roles. I was interested all the way through and there were a couple of scenes which gave me the shivers.
I have heard reviewers comment on the ending of this film and I will agree with them there, but you can't hold that against it.
Overall, this film, all though won't keep you talking about it in twenty years time, is defianetly worth seeing.

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Wuthering Heights [1992]

starring: Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Janet McTeer, Sophie Ward, Simon Shepherd
directed by: Peter Kosminsky

December 22, 2003
I'm a bit of die hard WH fan and have seen all the versions. So if you loved the romantic Laurence Olivier version of WH then don't bother watching this. If you thought Laurence simply WAS heathcliff then im afraid you have never really read the book.

Quite simply put, Ralph Fiennes is Emily Bronte's Heathcliff. Heathcliff isnt meant to be a mills and boon hollywood hero, he has been twisted and shaped by forces in his life into this cruel shadow of a man. Heathcliff is all about passion and revenge. Byronic hero anyone? the whole point of Heathcliff was as a warning... love like theirs is fine within the pages of a book, but to actually pursue this man in real life? isabella is a stark warning to women everywhere

so why then would you want ... Read More:

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The Tudors: Complete Series 2 [Blu-ray] [2008]

starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Peter O'Toole, Natalie Dormer, Jeremy Northam

October 13, 2008
I'm a bit of die hard WH fan and have seen all the versions. So if you loved the romantic Laurence Olivier version of WH then don't bother watching this. If you thought Laurence simply WAS heathcliff then im afraid you have never really read the book.

Quite simply put, Ralph Fiennes is Emily Bronte's Heathcliff. Heathcliff isnt meant to be a mills and boon hollywood hero, he has been twisted and shaped by forces in his life into this cruel shadow of a man. Heathcliff is all about passion and revenge. Byronic hero anyone? the whole point of Heathcliff was as a warning... love like theirs is fine within the pages of a book, but to actually pursue this man in real life? isabella is a stark warning to women everywhere

so why then would you want ... Read More:

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An Ideal Husband [1999]

starring: Minnie Driver, Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Jeremy Northam
directed by: Oliver Parker

April 10, 2000
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place over the course of three days. "Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past.

The movie is classy and captures uppper-class London to perfection. The language is wonderful and the lines really amusing like "Women have a wonderful instinct about things. They can discover everything except the obvious" or "Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear" or "To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.". ... Read More:

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Possession [2002]

starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey
directed by: Neil LaBute

May 05, 2003
What is it about films like this? They're based on good source material and attract a good cast but when it finally makes it to the screen it seems as if the furniture is putting in a better performance.

With Possession you're left thinking that this was just another opportunity for Gwyneth to showcase her English accent and nothing more and even she's acting a bit like death warmed over.

There's the usual parade of familiar Brit thesps (Tom Hollander, Toby Stephens, Trevor Eve) all acting up a bit too much in tweeds and making Aaron Eckhart look by turns as if he's not making enough effort or everyone else is really hamming it up. Strangely, the scenes you'd think would be worst, ie the flashbacks to Victorian England are by far the best bits with Jeremy ... Read More:

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Enigma [2001]

starring: Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northam, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
directed by: Michael Apted

May 01, 2007
If this is the version I've seen, it must be the most coy rendering of actual events I've seen. It's well known that the most significant figure in the Bletchley/Enigma project was Alan Turing. Yet I don't remember that he was ever mentioned in this film. Instead, a sweet romance was shoehorned in. Turing, we should understand, was homosexual - and was made to suffer for it, to the point of suicide. He was never honoured in his lifetime, or even until very recently, largely for that reason. This version is truly Hamlet without the prince. Come on, directors, we're all grown up now.

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The Tudors: Complete Seasons 1 And 2 [Blu-ray] [2007]

starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam, Henry Czerny, Gabrielle Anwar
directed by: Steve Shill, Alison Maclean

October 13, 2008
If this is the version I've seen, it must be the most coy rendering of actual events I've seen. It's well known that the most significant figure in the Bletchley/Enigma project was Alan Turing. Yet I don't remember that he was ever mentioned in this film. Instead, a sweet romance was shoehorned in. Turing, we should understand, was homosexual - and was made to suffer for it, to the point of suicide. He was never honoured in his lifetime, or even until very recently, largely for that reason. This version is truly Hamlet without the prince. Come on, directors, we're all grown up now.