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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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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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Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone [HD DVD] [2001]

starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith
directed by: Chris Columbus

November 12, 2007
Great Movie, Surely Everyone and their Dog have seen this fim by now, HD REALLY makes Hogwarts look AMAZING.

Incidently, for those wanting to know, the main feature is coded in 1080p resolution, while the extras are 480i/p.

Still worth it if your potty for potter.

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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire [2005]

starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
directed by: Mike Newell

July 24, 2006
Upto now I have quietly enjoyed the first 3 movies although they were nothing special. In previous reviews I gave all of them 3/5 and to be honest up until the final 20 minutes I was about to award the same for 'the Goblet of Fire'. The finale' certainly makes this film and we see Lord Voldermort at his evil best. Actually, it is a darker more absorbing film than the others and carries on in a similar vien to 'The Prisoner of Askaban'. The downside to this film is that it does drag on for a bit but that doesnt really bother you until you watch it again. For your children, they will find this scarier than the others .... but not too scary. Enjoyable for kids, enjoyable for adults.

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The Secret Garden [1994]

starring: Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Maggie Smith, Laura Crossley
directed by: Agnieszka Holland

October 25, 1999
I never got to the cinema much as a child and could count on one hand how many times I went, but I do remember out of all of them, The Secret Garden moved me the most. As an adult, I rarely watch TV or films and have a low boredom threshold, but I can watch this film over and over and cry every time. Mary Lennox is played superbly by Polly Maberly and the film is one of those rare gems that is truly as good as the book.

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [2001]

starring: Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Saunders Triplets, Daniel Radcliffe
directed by: Chris Columbus

October 24, 2005
Never read the books so I came with an open mind when watching this film. Like the book, the film is for children but can be enjoyed by adults.

Unfortuneatly this came out at the same time as the excellent 'Lord of the Rings' and it cant really compare with Tolkiens classic (same with the books really) but you can enjoy it on its own merit, especially if you havnt bother reading the novel first. If you have, then it could be an up hill struggle. However, the acting and the characters are enjoyable and the whole movie leaves you interested enough to watch the follow-up movies.

This is certainly a better film than some other recent fantasy films like Narnia, The Golden Compass, The Seeker (Dark is rising) and the truely terrible Eragorn.

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Sister Act / Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit [1994]

starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Keitel, Mary Wickes, James Coburn Jr., Maggie Smith
directed by: Emile Ardolino, Bill Duke

September 26, 2005
Cheesy, corny and totally daft but really enjoyable all the same! The first movie is the best of the two but both are easy to watch, fun and the music is pretty good too.

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Keeping Mum [2005]

starring: Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze
directed by: Niall Johnson

March 20, 2006
I really enjoyed watching this film! What a great cast and hilarious storyline, "Keeping Mum" has, it certainly deserves every single bit of it's great acclaim as the whole thing had me in stiches.
This is a DVD of which you'll want to play again and again, so, do yourself a favour and BUY IT before it's too late!

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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2 Disc Edition) [2005]

starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
directed by: Mike Newell

March 20, 2006
I love the Harry Potter books and enjoy all the films. The only problem is that as the books are getting longer more & more is getting cut out when they're made into films. I'd rather have this film longer & have all the story in. Still fantastic though!

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Die Hard 4.0 [Blu-ray] [2007]

starring: Justin Long, Bruce Willis, Maggie Q, Timothy Olyphant, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
directed by: Len Wiseman

October 29, 2007
John is back and doing what he does best saving the day! If your looking for a film with none stop action then this is the one for you, the film never gets boring there is a story to follow and its easy enough to get into its in a nutshell about a computer hacker thats trying to destroy the usa by taking all the countrys money. John is as always in the wrong place at the wrong time but hes the man to save the day and he does so.