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Cranford : Complete BBC Series [2007]

starring: Judi Dench, Philip Glenister, Francesca Annis, Michael Gambon, Lesley Manville
directed by: Simon Curtis

February 11, 2008
Absolutely brilliant adaptation and a great ensemble cast. I have to single out Eileen Atkins performance as the one which affected me most - the scene where she sits struggling with her ideas of convention as to whether she can attend the funeral in support of her friend is breathtakingly good - so much of what you understand is going on is not dialogue based but entirely down to her performance.

More drama of this quality please.

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A Room With A View (Special Edition) [1985]

starring: Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Graves, Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench
directed by: James Ivory

October 29, 2007
I hadn't read the book when I saw this and now maybe won't read the book...you will watch this often I feel as it has a wonderful feel of its time and places. I suspect that it also has the essence of the book as Howards End which I have read has a similar feel to that captured here.

Whilst Maggie Smith is central to the film so is Bonham Carter and anyone more waif-like though with such a copious amount of hair can't be imagined. The rest of the cast is ideal including Callow as the vaguely homosexual vicar, Dench as the wayward romantic novelist...wonderful, makes you want to read the book actually.......

Absolute classic!

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Casino Royale (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [2006]

starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
directed by: Martin Campbell

March 19, 2007
this is the best movie ever made i have seen it 300 times and it never gets old

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Casino Royale [Blu-ray] [2006]

starring: Daniel Craig, Claudio Santamaria, Jesper Christensen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
directed by: Martin Campbell

March 19, 2007
Considered a good demo film for blu-ray but not as startlingly good as for example Planet Earth. The film is quite different to most Bond films and lacks the futuristic gadgets of the others. It has a lot of violence for a 12 rated film but fortunately none is too explicit - and the absence of unnecessary swearing is a welcome relief. Might take you some time to understand what the film is all about, but you do have nearly two and a half hours to catch up!

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Pride & Prejudice - 2005

starring: Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander
directed by: Joe Wright

February 06, 2006
I was eager to watch this film after reading the book, and also loving the BBC adaptation of the story. However, I was slightly dissapointed with this. Maybe it's missing a certain Colin Firth as Mr Darcy.

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Chocolat [2001]

starring: Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss, Judi Dench, Antonio Gil (VI)
directed by: Lasse Hallström

November 26, 2001
Mother and daughter, both outsiders, blow into stuffy old-fashioned French village (cobbled streets, quaint houses, romantic lamplight, no cars, no uncouth farmers) and bring with them the power to release the claustrophobic and straight-laced community from its inhibitions - not the first time on screen that this formula has been employed. What is unusual is the medium they use. Delicious and irresistible chocolate confectionery tempts everyone, and turns then into better, more liberated people. In the end, good defeats bad, love triumphs over hate, and everyone is released from cramping conventions to do their own thing. Very much a message of our times, in other words, and perhaps none the worse for that - though whether self-indulgence is always ... Read More:

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Casino Royale [2006]

starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Eva Green, Claudio Santamaria, Jeffrey Wright
directed by: Martin Campbell

September 17, 2007
(no spoiler)

I've loved all the Bond movies, ever since Dr No.

Yes, some are better than others. Some Bonds are *certainly* better than others. But they're all the the same action-packed, no-brain-required, formulaic-but-fun glorious mess of boys' toys (explained by a grumpy 'Q' - 'DO try to pay attention, 007...'), glamor girls, explosions, wacky bad-guys and political incorrectness. Yep, this is the good stuff we've come to expect from a Bond Movie.

And then they made Casino Royale...

I'm sure a lot of people will love to see Bond reinvented like this, but if you're an old time fan like me, you won't. All the traditional elements are gone. It's all become deadly serious, to the point where it verges on ... Read More:

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Shakespeare In Love [1999]

starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Simon Callow
directed by: John Madden

February 02, 2004
Writing a play is a tiresome burden when you don't have the faintest idea what it is going to be about but you need to hand it over real soon. Fortunately, Will Shakespeare finds his muse and the authors of the screenplay also had at least a brief encounter with theirs.
Basically a romantic comedy SIL offers much more that the standard "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" scenario - they present it in a fantastically well rendered setting taking as much as they could from the Swan of the Avon.
A perfect way to spend an afternoon - you get your share of romance, adventure, and literary history (the latter should not be taken at face value, however). Do you need more?

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Henry V [1989]

starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson
directed by: Kenneth Branagh

June 17, 2002
Shakespeare's Henry V is lavish, poetic and dramatic. The plot is simple: Young Henry V lays claim to the French throne and invades France to claim it. The rag tag English army make their way through France conquering city after city. On their way to Calais, they are met by superior, better equipped and better trained French army at Agincourt.

The English, aware of their inferior numbers and training, begin to despair. Henry V, the leader that he is, inspires his men in the famous words:

If we are marked to die
We are enough to do our country loss
And if [we are] to live the few men the greater share of honour
God's will I pray thee wish not one man more
He who outlives this day will stand a-tiptoe when this day is named ... Read More:

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Casino Royale (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray] [2006]

starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen, Giancarlo Giannini
directed by: Martin Campbell

October 20, 2008
Shakespeare's Henry V is lavish, poetic and dramatic. The plot is simple: Young Henry V lays claim to the French throne and invades France to claim it. The rag tag English army make their way through France conquering city after city. On their way to Calais, they are met by superior, better equipped and better trained French army at Agincourt.

The English, aware of their inferior numbers and training, begin to despair. Henry V, the leader that he is, inspires his men in the famous words:

If we are marked to die
We are enough to do our country loss
And if [we are] to live the few men the greater share of honour
God's will I pray thee wish not one man more
He who outlives this day will stand a-tiptoe when this day is named ... Read More: