"All that she wants is gossip, and she only likes me now because I supply it."
Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 31

Jane Austen around the blogosphere for the week of October 6th

Actress Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility 1995) has reached national treasure status according to  interviewer Karen Price of the Western Mail who spoke with her before the opening of Brideshead Revisited in the UK this week. She is always a surprising and amusing in life, and on the screen. I saw this version when it opened in the US in July and enjoyed her performance, though the adaptation by Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice 1995, Emma, Northanger Abbey 2007, and Sense and Sensibility 2008) had to be so condensed for the two hour movie that it seemed like an entirely different story than the BBC miniseries of the 1980's or the Evelyn Waugh novel. Her co-stars Hayley Atwell (Mansfield Park 2007) and Joseph Beatie (Mansfield Park 2007) were also excellent, and the movie is well worth renting the DVD of just for the locations and fabulous costumes.

Even though Matthew Macfayden went all Byronic on us as Mr. Darcy in the 2005 movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, he can also do comedy and drama with equal aplomb. Pride and Prejudice (2005) Blog was updates on all his latest projects including Frost/Nixon and Incendiary.

Have lunch with Andrew Davies (well almost) and interviewer John Lloyd who thinks that Davies has shaped the literary imagination of millions (that may be true, but it is a daunting thought for this writer). His latest project airing this month on the BBC is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit staring a formidable cast of classic actors including Austen connects with Matthew Macfayden (Pride and Prejudice 2005), Robert Hardy (Northanger Abbey 1986), and Judy Parfitt (Pride and Prejudice 1979). Mabe it will make it acrosss the pond to PBS next season? Hope so.  

Did Jane Austen like children? Old Fogey blog takes a shot at his interpretation of Jane Austen's view of children in her books and letters with his post on More Cake than is Good for Them. I always enjoy reading his insights on Austen, even though I may not always agree with him!

Classic Reader a website of e-texts of many classic novels offers a nice brief biography of Jane Austen and includes the six major novels and novella Lady Susan for reading online. Also included are is an extensive library of classic titles such as The Castle of Orantano by Horace Warpole, Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, poetry and nonfiction works, so check it out! 

Austen and Austen-esque book reviews for the week: Just Jane, Persuasion, A Cure for All Diseases, Mansfield Park, Jane and the Man of the Cloth, Lydia Bennet's Story, Pride and Prejudice, Bride and Prejudice Movie, The Jane Austen Handbook, Persuasion, The Jane Austen Book Club, The Darcys and the Bingleys, Me and Mr. Darcy, and The Independence of Mary Bennet.

Australian author Colleen McCoullough's new Austen-esque book The Independence of Mary Bennet is getting a bit of press in Australia since its release there on October 1st. The interviews of the author are bristly as she is quite outspoken, ahem. The reaction by Austen enthusiasts is not surprising, since we do defend our Jane, and are unguarded and outspoken about others those who use her name or characters to make money. Here are few reactions from Austenblog and Barbwired. 

Austen-esque author Sharon Lathan asks, Another 'Pride and Prejudice' sequel...Really? on the Casablanca Authors blog, then proceeds to explain her reasons which I can not argue with but some may. Jill Pitkeathley of newly released Cassandra and Jane chats with A Circle of Books,  Jane Odiwe of Lydia Bennet's Story is interviewed by Ms. Place (Vic) of Jane Austen's World,

The  beautiful color 2009 A Year with Jane Austen wall calendars produced by JASNA Wisconsin are available and a very worthy addition including great daily events through the calendar year from the novels and significant events in Jane Austen's life. Be informed every day of what happened in Jane Austen's world. What Janeite could need more, well maybe a book and a movie or two.

The AGM of JASNA concluded in Chicago and now we get to read about all of the wonderful experiences had by many there. Janeite Deb of Jane Austen in Vermont blog does Day 1, shops (bless her), and tells us all about the great books she found, and now on to Day 2. Mags of AustenBlog gives us a daily breakdown of, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4. Now that is dedication!

Emma the musical officially opens tonight in St. Louis, Missouri at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Penned, scored and lyrics by Paul Gordon, the Toni nominated composer of Jane Eyre, the reviews have been mixed, so we shall see how Miss Woodhouse charms the audience.  

The Cleveland Heights Janeites had an Austen celebration last week, and it was all things Jane all around. Read this charming article by reporter Laura Johnston of the The Plain Dealer, who must be a Janeite herself to be so knowledgeable (or good at her research).

Find out why Elizabeth Bennet never got fat! Enuf said!!! and all about miniature portraitist George Englheart who has more Austen connections than Jane Austen's boy toy Tom Lefroy.

Reporter Judith Egerton gushes about the new Jon Jory production of Pride and Prejudice on stage in Lousiville, Kentucky through November 2nd. I wonder if her love of Jane Austen is genetic? Could she be a descendant of Thomas Egerton who first published Pride and Prejudice in 1813?  ;)  

Go Gothic with Northanger Abbey continues here at Austenprose until October 31st. The group read is progressing and we are up to chapter 10 as heronine in the making Catherine Morland was just danced with Mr. Tilney (lucky girl). It's not too late to join in the group read and all the guest bloggers and giveaways. You can read the progress to date at my co-blog, Jane Austen Today. Thanks to the many bloggers and readers who went Gothic with us and are joining in; Kimberly's Cup, Blue Archipelago, Tea, Toast and a Book, This is so Silly, KimPossible, and Kindred Spirits. It has been great fun to read your opinions. Keep them comming! 

Until next week, happy Jane sighting,

Laurel Ann

As usual class was just meh. I don't really care for this class, but I love that it lets me go to the theatre, so I put up with it. It tends to be hours of her droning. I feel like I am the only one who is paying attention. No one ever seems willing to talk, except for me and about 2 other people, so it gets old. Fast.

So tonight we saw Anton Chekhov's Ivanov in a new version by Tom Stoppard. Kenneth Branagh played the lead, and he was quite excellent. I really enjoyed the play. Even though not a lot happens (it is Chekhov after all) it was very powerful. Stoppard had taken the play and updated some of the language, so even though it was set in Russia in the 1880's it was very British and felt kind of contemporary. I know that may seem odd, but it worked. I loved that you can't just make easy judgements in this play. You sympathise with Ivanov even though he is clearly a flawed character who has done some bad things and has hurt many people, including his long suffering wife. The doctor, who is the most honest character in the play, is also the most despicable. It is interesting to watch the way that he uses completely brutal honesty as a weapon.

Everyone in the play was good and we could hear everything well, even if we were stuck in the worst seats in the house. I suppose in IES's defense, these were really hard tickets to get because of Kenneth Branagh being in the play, but still. I could see fine, everything was just so far away. But I've gotten used to it, because that's how most of our seats have been.

So after the play was over we decided to wait outside the stage door to see if we could get Kenneth Branagh's autograph. No luck. Apparently he's just too good to come out and sign things. The other actors said he never comes out. Oh well. I'd be a lot more disappointed if I really liked him. He's one I'm only neutral about. Most things he is in that I've seen I only watched because Emma Thompson is in them too. Except for his Hamlet. His Hamlet is excellent. I love it. The only real downside of the theatre tonight was that it was also plastered with photos of Judi Dench, because she is appearing in a play in the same theatre next March. It was like they were all mocking me, saying "She's going to be here. In this theatre. And you can't see her. Sucks for your team." Oh well. I'll content myself with the thought that I probably couldn't have gotten tickets anyway.

Well that's all for me for tonight. Now it's off to bed to so I can get up for my day trip tomorrow. I'm off to Oxford for the day. Hooray!

--My name is Robert Neville. I am a survivor living in New York City. I am broadcasting on all AM frequencies. I will be at the South Street Seaport everyday at mid-day, when the sun is highest in the sky. If you are out there... if anyone is out there... I can provide food, I can provide shelter, I can provide security. If there's anybody out there... anybody... please. You are not alone.

Francis Lawrence’s previous claims to fame were directing music videos for Britney Spears and Janet Jackson before his 2005 Keanu Reeves film, Constantine. It may seem odd to put a rather new director at the helm of a huge Will Smith science fiction movie, but it does seem like a natural progression to go from Constantine to I Am Legend. This is the third adaptation of the famous Richard Matheson novel. The first was 1964’s The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price, and the second was 1971’s The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston.

I think the casting of Emma Thompson as Dr. Alice Crippin, the scientist who creates a “cure” for cancer, is brilliant. Thompson’s persona as a movie star is very close to Will Smith’s: someone that we instinctively like and trust and that warm fuzzy feeling counterbalances the cynical little voice in our heads that says this is too good to be true. We just know that any vaccine she creates is out of the goodness of her heart with the best possible intentions. Unfortunately, we all know that the path to hell is paved with good intentions.

This parallels our journey with Will Smith’s Robert Neville. Smith gives an incredible performance. In the first two-thirds of the film he is practically the whole show …except for Neville’s dog, the flashbacks to his family, and the encounters he has with the remaining infected inhabitants of New York, there are no other characters for a significant portion of the running time. We see Neville’s daily routine and while there are small flashes of wit (my favorite being the dog on the treadmill), Smith wisely reins in his comedic impulses and focuses on the poignancy and isolation of being the last uninfected human being in New York. The scene where he begs a dummy to say hello to him was amazing.

I was not as impressed with the CGI created infected human beings. They never looked very real to me, and I’m not sure why Lawrence decided to change his original plan to use live actors in those roles. The other problem I have is with the original ending. There is an alternate ending that works much better for me and fits a little better with the themes of the Matheson novel. The alternate ending reminds me a bit of Bladerunner: the protagonist makes the realization that he has made serious misjudgments and that in some ways the beings he has been pursuing are more human than he. It’s a powerful epiphany for him as well as the audience. We trust Will Smith and we’ve suffered along with his character, so we naturally lean toward his side of the story. To see that other side is important, and actually pays off moments that have been hinted at throughout the previous two acts. Without this pay off, the movie feels hollow.

Once again, I emphasize how important sound can be to a good scare. I jumped as creatures popped out at Neville, but the real shivers came from the night noises. Sound creates and holds tension whereas visuals can relieve that tension. Ambiguity is a horror movie’s best friend, and sound can provide much more of that than most pictures. Sound is also used in an effective manner in this movie by the constant Bob Marley references. I loved Neville listening to “Three Little Birds” and then crooning to his dog, Sam, “Don’t worry ‘bout a thing.”

While I still prefer I, Robot or Bladerunner, I think this film (with the alternate ending) is a worthy addition to the post-apocalyptic genre. Will Smith’s performance and the thought provoking questions that the script raises, resonates. I hope that the forthcoming prequel will take its cue from the first two acts and not from its disappointing third.

Strangely enough, I found Will Farrell more fascinating here than in his other films where he usually plays a dumb goofball. His character is mature but has his moments of absolute silliness, sentimental and sensitive, and best of all, we care about what would happen to him. Farrell's performance is equalled by the supporting cast: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Queen Latifah. All of them are intelligent characters that capture the essence of regular people in real life. I think this is the kind of movie that one would do better without questioning every logic. Yes, it's imaginative and quirky (and some events that drive the story are impossible) but that's part of the fun. It's a surreal comedy and we just have to accept it for what it is. I found this film to be very literate and involving; not to mention pretty much everything that's going on in this film, from Thompson's writer's block to the romance between Gyllenhaal and Farrell, works. Lastly, I thought it was a smart move when the filmmakers decided to let Farrell and Thompson meet a little bit more than the half-way mark. I thought that their big reunion would happen in the end, so I was surprised. That way, we get to really understand the many complex issues between the writer and her subject. I think this is a really good film that is comparable to "Being John Malkovich" (though less grand in scope) in many respects.

Mozart and the Whale
[ 2 stars out of 4 ]

While I was watching the film, I caught myself smiling from time to time because the story and its characters are very cute and nice. And that's the movie's problem: it's just nice. I feel like the filmmakers could've aimed at something higher than a cute romance between Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell, two really talented and underrated actors. I don't know much about Asperger's syndrome so I don't know how accurately the film portrayed those people who have that disability. However, upon reading other reviews who do have relatives that have the disability, they claim that the portrayal is inaccurate. It's unfortunate because I wanted to know more about people who have Asperger's, especially after watching Heather on "America's Next Top Model" Cycle 9. The direction could have used some work because the film started off really good. But as the ending approached, the movie kind of fizzled out. I would've given this picture a three stars if it would've at least maintained its momentum. The chemistry between Hartnett and Mitchell worked and they looked good together. It's a shame most people don't realize that Hartnett is more than just a heartthrob; he can be a serious actor if he so chooses. As much as I liked this movie, I can't quite enthusiastically recommend it because it could've been so much more.

Bedrooms and Hallways
[ 2 stars out of 4 ]

I usually like gay and lesbian films from Europe because most of them are more honest and are able to delve more into the lives of their characters than American films. However, this is one of those unfortunate exceptions. Overall, I liked the movie: the acting was okay, the cast is pretty good, and the story was tolerable. However, I didn't like the movie's ultimate message because it's very inaccurate when it comes to portraying homosexuality. With that egregious ending, I was completely turned off by the film and I almost gave this a one star out of four prior to writing my review. But I did like it up until the ending so I decided to give it a break. It's a really disappointing picture because, with a little tweak in the story here and there, this could've turned out to be an insightful commentary about gays that are entering or in their thirties. That issue of wanting to find the one and ultimately settling down is not fully explored, but only glossed over. The chemistry between Kevin McKidd and James Purefoy was cute but nothing groundbreaking. I also thought the bit about the friend (played by Tom Hollander) and the real state agent was distracting even though it provided the much needed humor. Overall, this movie had serious problems and needed a complete rewriting (especially the end) if it were to end up a good movie.

Douglas and Main both agree with Melissa's assessment of Emma Thompson. She can make anything better.

What Sarah Vowell is to audio books, Emma Thompson is to movies.

I'm quite a fan of Marc Foster, the German born Hollywood movie director and I do rate him as one of the best Directors. Even his list acclaimed film "Stay" will be on my short list of favorites. I had only one movie of Mar Foster left which I didn't watch. That was "Stranger Than Fiction" which I watched a few days ago. And, yeah, I've been mesmerized by that movie also. What I love most about Marc Foster's work is that his movies are always captivating. Whether it's about sensitive issues like "Monster's Ball" or a fantasy romance like "Finding Neverland" or even an absurd flick like "Stay", it always keeps the eyes and mind of the viewer busy, through every moment of the film until it finishes. And usually keeps the mind of audience captivated even hours after it is finished- you have to watch his film with full attention, will be moved by it if not you are a total dumb, and should be think over it, at least a couple of times.

Stranger Than Fiction is a fantasy film, but not like Finding Neverland in anyway. Stranger Than Fiction is a pure fantasy, kind of absurd screenplay with some magic realistic twist. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an IRS auditor. He is a number-maniac, every least detail of his life is scheduled and assigned with a specific number signifying time or count. His life is basically a series of daily repetition of same activities at the same time. His life stays so until he starts to hear a woman's voice narrating his life. Later he came to understand that he is the main character of a novel which is being written by a woman whose voice is chasing him from the thin air. And the novel was revealed to be a tragedy ending with the spectacular death of the main character i.e. Harold Crick. The author, Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), an eccentric and perfectionist writer who is known for her tragedic ends, also became upset to find out the existence of the main character of her supposedly 'fictitious' fiction. But it was too late, she already devised how Harold will die and wrote it in a scrap. And without this ending, the whole novel means nothing, the literary value is totally lost. So, the tension builds up, and the viewer start anticipating about how the movie can possibly end. Well, the ending was not disappointing at all, rather it was the most enlightening part of the movie. Though this was the main stream of the film, many little accounts and other interesting characters added more to the movie. The main cast are (from wikipedia):

• Will Ferrell - Harold Crick, an IRS auditor, who thinks he is hearing his life as it's being narrated, causing him to seek professional help.
• Maggie Gyllenhaal - Ana Pascal, a baker that Crick meets when he is sent to audit her.
• Dustin Hoffman - Professor Jules Hilbert, a literature professor who attempts to help Harold with his narration problem.
• Emma Thompson - Karen Eiffel, a famous writer and Crick's narrator who is known for killing off her protagonists.
• Queen Latifah - Penny Escher, an assistant to Eiffel whom her publisher has hired to make sure that she completes her new novel.
• Tony Hale - Dave, Harold's only real friend at work, with whom he stays after his apartment is partially demolished.

The film is kind of an educating one. It teaches the value of little blessings of life which we tend to ignore everyday. The film is capable to inspire, to change the perspective with which we judge ourselves and react towards life.

And, an interesting thing about the movie was that the naming of the characters was connected with famous scientists and mathematicians in like; Francis Crick, James Watson, Gustave Eiffel, David Hilbert, Nicholas Mercator, Blaise Pascal, Arthur Cayley, and Gösta Mittag-Leffler.

Imdb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420223/
Rotten Tomatoes page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stranger_than_fiction/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj4MC8Nqpjg

mFacts:

01. Everybody likes cookies.
02. You're never too old to go to space camp.
03. IRS agents are not allowed to recive gifts but are allowed to give them.
04. No girl can resist when a guy brings her flours.
05. That insignificant objects are here to save our lives.
06. Will Ferrel can ACT!
07. Young Maggie is way hotter than old Maggie (like in The Dark Knight)

Friends of the Earth has just launched a new campaign that will take the green message into homes around the UK. 

It has teamed up with GirlGuiding UK to encourage girls to become Climate Champions – and since around 50% of women in the UK were once girl guides or brownies – it is obviously a campaign that could make a massive difference.

Backed by actress Emma Thompson, the campaign includes a variety of environmental and energy saving measures that the girls can get involved in – including many that they will do at home.

And hopefully that means parents who have been burying their heads in the sand when it comes to climate change will be answering many awkward questions about their lifestyle.

Girls across the country will be trialling a range of green solutions – from switching off appliances rather than putting them into standby – to installing solar panels and using greener transport.  They will then be asked to report back on those they found “do-able” and worthwhile.

 The results will be presented to ministers at UN climate talks next year and  it is hoped they will encourage governments to look at ways in which householders can make a difference. 

Along the way hundreds of thousands of  girls will be learning about climate change, how to reduce their carbon footprint and how to influence others to lead a greener lifestyle.

And that’s a really important aspect of the project. Once they grow up, our children will be the ones dealing with the climate change issue so it’s vital that they learn about the environment and the importance of a green lifestyle. So hopefully, we’ll see a lot more initiatives like this in the future. 

You can find out more and register for the project here  

Susan

The exhibition was terrific: Father in Law was exhibiting his watercolours (over thirty of them) alongside an Oxford contemporary with whom he is still in touch, fifty years later (I find this amazing: the only one of my University contemporaries that I am still in touch with - other than the virtual world of Facebook - is Me As A Protestant: and that's only fifteen years ago). Maybe it's family pride, but I thought Father-in-Law's work was infinitely better than his co-exhibitor's: and fortunately there were enough little red dots on his work to suggest that a good number of people at the opening felt similarly enthusiastic.

Australian Brother in Law was there, his opening gambit being: "It's rather like that scene in "Brideshead Revisited" isn't it?"

I think he must have meant the scene about half way through the novel, where Charles is exhibiting his work in London, when Anthony Blanche reappears in the narrative. Given that the point of that scene is for Blanche to expose Ryder's paintings as unfelt "ghastly daubs", I thought that the comparison was a slightly unfortunate one - but it soon became obvious why the novel had raised its head: Australian Brother in Law had a name to drop.

"Have you seen the new film?"

"I haven't: I don 't want to, actually." (Andrew Davies' idiotic and grossly offensive remark about wanting to give the film an "anti-Catholic ending" still plays in my mind as reason enough not to see it.)

"Oh but you should: it's wrong to see it as an adaptation of the novel..." [so why give it the same name, credit Evelyn Waugh, and mention him all the film's publicity, I wondered, silently]"...I call it "Brideshead Revised", not "Brideshead Revisited"."

It will come as no surprise that Australian Brother in Law is a journalist, given that turn of phrase: and he made an interesting point about the film's story being Charles Ryder's attempt to take possession of Brideshead by any means necessary (Sebastian or Julia), rather than about what Waugh himself said it was about: "the operation of divine grace on a group of people". I may see it: I am a huge fan of Ben Whishawe, and of Emma Thompson - but the horror of doing anything that might be seen to endorse the repulsive Mr. Davies' world view gives me considerable pause.

Piracy Is Not Theft, It's Piracy. "Piracy is not theft. Also, quick tip… They’re not even spelled the same… I know, I know… difficult concept to grasp, but we use different words to connote different concepts… Well, most of us. The rest are mouth breathing, shaved apes with neckbeards, dragging their knuckles around…"

“I am the combined effort of everyone I have known.” - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Go Card musings! 1, 2, 3

Wired.com: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and is said to have called it his best work. So we asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves. (via rainbow hill)

This film is fast becoming a favourite of mine. There is a quirkiness and originality to it that I love. It's hilarious and sad and just plain lovely. The casting is perfect. I highly recommend watching it. The soundtrack is wonderfull, as well. Trailer.

Tras una breve documentación, sólo gráfica, acerca de las grandes parejas rotas de Hollywood en los últimos años me he divertido lo suficiente como para desear compartirlo con el mundo. Para que luego no digan que los célibes somos inhumanos y egoístas. No, qué va, las eunucas metafóricas somos en realidad filántropas espléndidas.

 Aquí van pues un par de ejemplos:

KENNETH BRANNAGH Y EMMA THOMPSON

Supongo que se conocieron en el catering del primer día de rodaje del culebrón british que coprotagonizaron en los ochenta. Como el tipo no paraba de hablar de Shakespeare utilizando citas literales de catedráticos muy superiores intelectualmente ella se tragó por completo el cuento y se casó con un adolescente tardío fanático del teatro isabelino confundiéndolo con un genio. Él había leído, no recuerda donde, que Emma Thompson era un sex symbol en Gran Bretaña y en vez de dejarse guiar por su instinto que le gritaba desesperado "¡No!! ¡por dios! ¡con esa cara caballo, nooo!" acabó llevándosela al catre no sin antes pasar por el altar - que Emma es mucho más lista que antilujuriosa, si cabe -. Al cabo de un lustro apróximadamente Emma estaba hartita de tanto llevar corsé, hablar en verso y dar besos celuloides a la boca tajazo de su pomposo marido así que decidió fugarse con un secundario guaperas -tipo anuncio de Calvin Klein pero en light - que conoció en el set de Sentido y Sensibilidad mientras Kenneth con la libido tan por lo suelos como la taquilla de sus insufribles y coloristas adaptaciones pensó que ya entrados en una depresión ¿por qué no enrollarse con Helena Bohan-Carter? From lost... to the river:

 Ken y Helen miran con pelusa a Emma y su esposo bomboncico.

Por supuesto Helena dejaría a Kenneth por las mismas razones que Emma unos años más tarde pero demostrando un gusto altamente pésimo escogiendo como compañero de cama a Tim Burton. Dicen que Kenneth Brannagh duerme con un busto de Shakespeare en la cama de su pensión tras haber vendido todas sus propiedades para pagar las deudas tras estrenar Trabajos de amor perdidos; una peli que se sospecha que si la ves entera mueres caramelizado.

BRUCE WILLIS Y DEMI MOORE

 Lo sé, lleváis años preguntándooslo, pero yo no creo que fuera por la contrariedad que supone que de su cruce se hayan creado no una, ni dos, ¡si no tres! chavalas francamenta abominables y perfectamente predispuestas al lesbianismo. No. En mi opinión y aún sin rendirme a la evidencia de que Ashton Kutcher está como un queso creo que sencillamente Demi se hartó de la irritante escasez de acción en su matrimonio. Discutían con tan poca frecuencia e intensidad que después el sexo era francamente soso. Apenas hacían variaciones de la posición del misionero y tras el cuarto año de vida de la pareja como tal gozaban únicamente de la friolera de un coito al trimestre y siempre en la cama o, a lo sumo, cuando se sentían suficientemente intrépidos en el sofá de la sala de estar de su mansión de vacaciones en la Toscana, cuando las niñas estaban en Eurodisney con la asistenta.

Aquello era demasiado frustrante para él que aunque seguía sintiendo atracción por su esposa cuando la veía en la pantalla; ignorando incluso la ausencia de talento interpretativo de la misma y focalizando correcta y amorosamente la atención sobre su fibrosa figura, era incapaz de, paradójicamente, ser él el que estuviera a la altura de las espectativas creadas por su propio alter ego en la ficción. Ni siquiera se sentía poderoso probando el truco de la camiseta blanca interior de tirantes. Todo era excesivamente convencial en el matrimonio Willis-Moore. Las orgías masónicas de la secta de Sidnead O'Connor tampoco lograron reavivar la mecha:

Finalmente, y siempre gracias a Tom Cruise (que sin duda alguna es el vínculo central de toda la farándula a nivel universal) Demi fue sorprendida por Ashton en una macrodiscoteca californiana mientras ella festejaba que por fin su abdomen empezaba a parecer el de un ser humano en lugar de la cola de un lagarto tras Streeptease. Y mientras la lujuria inhundaba los lavabos del megagarito en otra esquina del planeta Bruce versionaba canciones de Paolo Conte en un karaoke de Boston y seducía a jóvenes aspirantes a top model.

El día en que su hija mayor, Rumer, decidió dedicarse a la interpretación a Demi le salió una nueva arruga y Bruce se refugió en películas bélicas. El matrimonio había terminado tras trece años de aburrimiento. Desde entonces su vida sexual ha mejorado mucho. Los tres se lo pasan de vicio:

 A pesar de que Ashton tiene ladillas.

Angels in America is available at Amazon for $12.95. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Wit
• Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes : Perestroika (Angels in America)
• And the Band Played On
• The Laramie Project
• Latter Days (Unrated Edition)

Angels in America is available at Amazon for $12.95. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Wit
• Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes : Perestroika (Angels in America)
• And the Band Played On
• The Laramie Project
• Latter Days (Unrated Edition)

Anyway, my tutors (professors) seem to be quite nice. Mary, my tutor for The Bloomsbury Era, is your stereotypical kind of dowdy, a little spaced out English professor. Juilian, my tutor for History of London, is probably my favourite. He is an absolute riot. He is full of energy and is exciting, and lectures quite well. Unlike some, he isn't monotone, which is a great because classes last for 2.5 hours. Michael (British Lit into Film) is allright too. He seems to have a good sense of humour. Also he likes The Remains of the Day and has set it for our course, so that gives him a bit of cred with me at least to start (if you don't know how much I love The Remains of the Day, I'll just say that I watched it 11 times the first week I bought it).

So after all that, plus the commute back home, I didn't do anything last night. I made myself stay awake until 10 and then I went to bed! It was great.

This morning was the same deal, up and off to class. Luckily I only had one today, which was nice. I really think that I am going to like this one, 19th Century British Women Novelists. I've read about half of the books before, so I can just skim them I hope, and really read the one's I've never read before. Juile, the tutor, seems very nice. Although then when I admitted how much I had read off what she had set and the other stuff I've read (because Dr Hitchmough rocks and had assigned me tons of 19th Cent lit.) she asked if I was sure I wouldn't be too bored there.

I will say, though, it is really weird calling the tutors by their first names. It would be like walking into Dr Wilson's office and sitting down and saying, "Well good morning Carol" or running into Dr Hitchmough and Dr Chalmers in the coffee shop and saying, "Sally, Alan, nice to see you this afternoon. How were your classes today?" It just doesn't seem right. But, when in Rome...

Also today, we toured the Senate Library. Cool fact, they use it in movies sometimes, one of the inside bits was used in Batman Begins and the facade was used in Richard Loncrane's Richard III. Also, apparently Hitler had marked that building as the one he wanted as his headquarters when he invaded London. Thankfully that never happened. IES bought us borrowing rights there, so I got a library card and now I can check out books when I need to do research for papers and presentations and the like (which hopefully won't be too often).

Then I came back to the res hall and embarked on The Great ASDA Adventure. ASDA is the British branch of Wal-Mart, so the prices were a bit better than they are at Marks and Spencer or Waitrose. Well anyway, ASDA is about 2 miles away from the res hall. Take the 49 bus to Clapham Junction. I got all that just fine. Got on the bus, got off at approximately the right stop and then promptly managed to get lost in Battersea. Well not lost really, I knew which street I was on, and where the bus station to get me home was. What I could not find was ASDA. I looked all over. Up and down this street and up and down that street. I must have spent 40 minutes looking for it (although some of that time was spent browsing through TK Maxx, which is just like TJ Maxx, aside from the different initial). Finally, finally I found it, and it was worth it. I got some things that I needed, although I forgot peaunt butter. It was smaller than American Wal-Mart, and it didn't have everything I needed. For example, no binders. But I did buy another pillow. Thank the Lord, because one pillow wasn't cutting it. All in all, to go the 4 mile round trip to ASDA it took 2.5 hours. Hopefully, the next ASDA adventure will go a little more smoothly.

I never thought that I would think this, but I miss my Jeep. I don't like to drive. I think of it as one of those necessary evils. I learned because I sometimes have to drive myself places so I can go shopping or visit friends or go to the cinema. However, it is not unusual for me to park my Jeep at Wofford and not move it for 2 weeks. But I have the option of going somewhere any time I want to, on my own timetable. I don't really love having to wait on a train to show up or standing at a bus stop waiting on the 49 or 19 or 11 to finally arrive or the frustration that is getting to the platform or bus stop just as the train or bus pulls away.

Tomorrow should be a good day. I don't have to be in class until 1 and then tomorrow night we are going to the theatre to see Margurite. I know nothing about it other than the posters in the Tube say that "It is everything a West End musical should be." I'm looking forward to it. Later in the semester we are going to go see Ivanov starring Kenneth Branagh! He isn't my favourite, but he is a pretty good actor and I've seen a lot of his stuff by virtue of the fact that he was in a lot of stuff with Emma Thompson and because I love his version of Hamlet. I just hope that he is in it that night and we don't get stuck with his understudy or something.

That's all for me, so over and out from Chelsea.

Under the guise of being early for "HAIRSPRAY", I discreetly asked the usher to print out a ticket for Harry Potter's "Order of the Phoenix".

My first shock? The price of admission. Friday's evening show was a whopping $12.75.

Oh well, there was enough of my allowance left to scrounge up some cash for a "kiddies' combo" as I slunk into the theater with dark glasses firmly affixed to my snoz.

A plush seat upfront and center screen beckoned me and I flopped into it for the big event.

Gee, as I surreptitiously glanced about the room, it was quite evident to my keen eyes there were a number of adults in the room without any kids in tow!

A few minutes later, and with little fanfare, the fantasy feature began.

Right off the bat, there was a perfunctory introduction to a handful of the delightful characters we've come to recognize and love.

A number of the roles have been diminished somewhat this time around, though, like Maggie Smith's character.

Obviously, the screenwriters kept a tight rein to amply provide requisite screen time to introduce a new character - Doris Umbridge - an evil new Headmistress integral to the Phoenix's plot twists in the popular enchanting franchise series.

The character is sort-of a cross between Leona Helmsley and Ann Landers - a portly woman trussed up in shades of lavender - who clicks her heels when she walks. With razor-sharp aim, she's quite adept at zapping a cantankerous young wizard or two when they step out-of-line.

Essentially, the storyline focuses on the return of the "Dark Lord" and his diabolical efforts to secure an oracle that portends the future. Of course, Harry Potter is in the thick of it all.

The humor still abounds.

Occasionally, there are cackles from the adults in response to jokes that sometimes zing over the youngsters' heads.

For instance, a housewife infers a naughty innuendo when she wickedly admonishes a couple of teenage boys "for whipping out their wands" at whim.

Of course, the word has probably leaked out; without much advance warning, young Harry embraces a young beauty - and lo and behold - clinches his first screen kiss.

When his mates ask how it was, he quips: "Wet".

Curiously, the scene cuts to a shot of the lad tossing and turning over a nightmare about a long thick slithering snake.

One wonders, what would Freud think of this?

Clearly, the boys are coming of age!

The young heroine, Hermione - on the other hand - doesn't appear to be hankering towards any hanky-panky with the opposite sex just yet. Although her hair is coiffed and pretty, she acts more like one of the boys than the object of their desire.

Perhaps that is why the producers introduced a pretty waif-like femme fatale to waft on and off the screen now and then.

Emma Thompson performs in what amounts to a throw-away role. I didn't think it was possible to overact in a part that amounts to about a minute or two of screen time.

Gary Oldam also makes an unassuming entrance or two, winks at Harry, then disappears off-screen. What a waste of high calibre talent!

Basically, the celebrated sequel is all intrigue and bluster and teenage angst over this and that.

The ending - what amounts to a lot of state-of-the-art lasers and cataclysmic explosions out of an industrial-light show highlighted by to-the-death struggles between the forces of good and evil - appears to be coined from a well-executed Star Wars sequel.

Well, if you have to copy anyone, why not imitate the best of the genre?

Sure to enthrall the kids and even a less-sophisticated adult or two.

Apparently a musical impromptu should create a facade of perfect spontaneity, intended to hide the careful, almost mathematical constructions that make them work. It should feel almost improvised, as if it is being created at that very moment.

The title of this film by James Lapine refers explicitly to composer Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu but could just as well describe the style of the piece. Here we are introduced to a cast of brilliant, extravagant artistic personalities and we watch them interact and attempt to hide their machinations and true purposes from one another.

Impromptu tells the story of noted author George Sand (real name Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin) who became noted for taking a man's name, smoking cigars and dressing in male attire. She shocked the establishment at the time by refusing to dress or act like a conventional woman and lived a scandalous lifestyle, marrying a baron and then leaving him aged 27 to go to Paris where she led a number of high profile affairs.

Judy Davis plays Sand and invests her with an appealing swagger exuding self-assurance and sexual energy. Like many great artists she lives life with a passionate energy, picking an obsession and then chasing it. From the earliest scenes of the movie we see this play out in the creation of her novels as she works long into the night and then sleeps through half the day.

We follow Sand's attempts to ensnare Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, a sickly and timid young man who seems to be permanently at death's door. When she hears his music she is entranced and is determined to have him, despite making a poor first impression on him.

Like a musical impromptu, this film has its purpose but delights in running off in comical whims, such as a duel between two of her former lovers, and throwing in unexpected twists and turns. This lends the film a floaty, dreamy quality as the characters dance around each other and the rhythm of the piece changes.

Hugh Grant is cast opposite Judy Davis as Chopin but has little chemistry with her. Characterisation of that legendary composer is slight, consisting of little more than a cough and looking a little bit sorry for himself. The film is far stronger when talking about his maladies and his temprement than when it tries to show them to us.

The film also portrays several other notable artists of the period including playwright Alfred de Musset, composer Franz Liszt, Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix and novelist Felicien Mallefille. Each are superbly portrayed by an accomplished cast but all are upstaged by Emma Thompson's turn as the Duchess d'Antan, an aspiring socialite who wants to be surrounded by the greatest artists of her time. One scene when she welcomes them to her home, giving each a laurel wreath, is a particular delight.

These scenes set in the d'Antan estate are lively and frequently very funny, veering from bedroom-hopping farce to slapstick to teasing wordplay and a literally explosive ending. As well as satirising the misguided attitudes that patrons of the arts can develop, these scenes also explore the corrosive relationships that can develop between artists as they push each other to self-destructing ends.

Once the characters depart the estate the film sadly takes a turn towards the conventional, morphing into a more traditional romance albeit with female and male roles reversed. In these sections the film's impromptu facade falls and its structure becomes more evident as we are guided towards an uncomfortably clean ending.

Films full of famous figures run a significant risk of revelling too much in the fame of their characters rather than entertaining with a good story. On too many occassions such films can degenerate into checklists of historical figures of the period. Thankfully Impromptu focuses instead on narrative and characterisation.

Hugh Grant's wet Chopin is the weakest link in the film, diminishing the character's presence to portray the composer's fragile health. He tells us at one point that he feels almost as if he is a spirit, floating in music yet Grant conveys little sense of detachment from his physical self. It is Judy Davis as Sand that makes him believeable and her passion gives his character the stature it needs.

I wished at points that it was more ambitious and more challenging as a film. That the story would match the off-kilter nature of its central character. Yet whilst Impromptu never pushes boundaries as hard as it might, strong performances from Davis and the supporting cast and enjoyable comic moments ensure that it is a film that succeeds more often than it fails.

Writer/Director Todd Solondz (Palindromes) is giving his 1998 film Happiness a sequel. The first movie focused on three sisters and their respective families in New Jersey, dealing with sex problems and stuff. The as yet untitled movie, which stars Emma Thompson (Brideshead Revisited), Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) and Demi Moore (Mr. Brooks), will start shooting in Puerto Rico this October. It should be a sequel "in spirit only", with its characters struggling to find their place in the world (aka new people with sex problems) and probably won't feature any link to the original.

Source

Josh Pothen

3.5 stars out of 4

Love Actually is a shameless dive into romantic melodrama, but a somewhat intelligent one. It is a movie full of optimism and happiness, using clichés of scenes and scenarios to wring out as much happiness and optimism as possible. Watching the film, I was fully aware I was being emotionally manipulated, but I could not help but allow myself to be acted upon.

Having said that, I must admit to a nagging voice of reason in the back of my head whenever I watch these movies. It tells me that romantic attraction does not work the way it does in this film. That half (or more) of the couples in this movie are not really in love, but simply mutually infatuated. That almost all of them will end in fallouts, breakups and divorce. (Which is true). That I must grow up and accept the truth about attraction. But that’s the beauty of film—it allows us to pretend. All I can say is that it is just about the best possible film that could be made from this material. Were it the best, my voice would be silenced completely during the film. But more on that later.

Now, would it be worth it to describe the plot? There are ten different storylines running in tandem around Christmastime. The best of these are the more realistic ones, such as the Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson storyline of two elderly people in love who are growing more and more lukewarm towards each other as each week of Advent passes. Or the story of Bill Nighy as an aging rock star who is forced to record a terrible (to put it kindly) Christmas version of one of his hits because he has lost popularity, and then regains it by lampooning it and acting crassly on every media outlet he stars in. Or the story of Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, whose love for an aide forces him to make some difficult decisions involving her as well as the President of the United States (in a cameo I will not reveal).

To go on would involve describing more storylines involving the blooming of love, as well as further English cameos. In fact, one of the film’s pleasures is seeing the wide array of English film stars in it, from Kiera Knightley to Laura Linney. Even Rowan Atkinson of “Mr. Bean” fame has a tremendous appearance which is funny on its own terms, but all the more funny if you are familiar with his work. (You can also spot Thomas the Tank Engine if you look carefully on one of the buses). But what’s particularly fun is that the storylines impact each other, driving each other forward. It’s the antics of Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson that allow the final scene in an airport to take place, for instance.

The film’s plotting is up to par, but unfortunately not all of its writing. I never bought the subplot about the English waiter who goes to Wisconsin looking for American girls who will treat him as a sex idol, or the overly contrived and sentimental dialogues between Liam Neeson and his son. The most egregious subplot is the one between Colin Firth and a Portuguese lady, who can't understand each other since they only speak and understand their own languages. Here is one scene where it lost even optimistic me: He’s writing a manuscript. She accidentally causes the pages to blow away into a lake. She runs over to the lake, and immediately strips to her underwear in front of him to jump in and save it. It gets better: She immediately swears, “F---, the water is cold” in Portuguese. He jumps in, and immediately says, “F---, the water’s cold” in English. This leads to a series of lines where he says something in English, and she then says the corresponding lines in Portuguese—all without using hand gestures or a English-Portuguese dictionary. Clearly not a scene with the same quality of writing as Bill Nighy's rocker gives a speech about drugs on national TV.

Consider Paul Haggis’s Crash, a film about chance and human interaction or Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, also about chance and happiness. Both of these films are more realistic, true, but the different storylines are all on the same level of writing. Better to have consistency throughout your stories so that the illusion of the movie does not become obvious. But at the end of the day, Love Actually is like eating a box of chocolates. Some aren't as good as others, but you have a big smile by the time you finish the last one.

Brideshead is one of those heartrending movies with heartrending scores and performances.  Costumes are to die for too. 

Charles (Matthew Goode), with the grimmest father in the world, goes off to Oxford and by a chance of drunken projectile vomit becomes friends with Sebastian Flyte, a man who carries a teddy bear, is an alcoholic, and doesn't take being gay as a phase in 1920s England. Ain't he impressive? 

This friendship acts mainly as Charles observing Sebastian, then the rest of his oppressed family at the House Charles Falls in Love With: Brideshead.  And okay, maybe he also likes Seb's sister Julia too.

The important thing is that Charles is an artist, an atheist, and is intrusted with keeping Sebastian's blood alcohol levels under control.  Oh, and staying away from Julia because his mother (played by the wonderful Emma Thompson) thinks atheists are too middle class to marry her daughter. 

As a film, the story is based on relationships: Between friends, lovers, siblings, parents, and God.  The aspect of Roman Catholicism is used as a means of keeping the Flyte children under heavy control by their mother and later on affects them through their relationships, most notably Julia and Charles.  To Sebastian it stunts his growth, leaving him an impudent child prone to not getting what he wants and in love with attention.

The  Brideshead estate acts like a player in the story, but more as a metaphor for the family as a whole.  It is seen only once as a whole through Charles's eyes.  To him it is the most majestic place on earth, but every otehr scene with the house in it, it can only be seen in pieces.  As the story progresses it falls into disrepair, with the stone work getting shabbier or with pieces falling out of the stairs or with the statues turing black, the big foutain of Once Upon a Time Male Skinny Dipping stopping it's streams.

All that remains perfectly in tact inside th house are the religious works, the painting Sebastian admits to loathing and the family chapel, the only connecting pieces Charles has to the family for his appreciation of art and the mother's love of the religion.

Charles cannot come out of his relationships with any members of the family unchanged, but after years away from those closest to him, he cannot abandon the memories.  The house brings them together, the house let's them fall.  Another must-see of the summer.