While I adore Jeremy Northam in the Winslow boy, Mark Strong is outstanding as Mr. Knightley in this much more human version of Emma. She is, as Jane Austen rightly stated, not our favourite character, and in the Gwyneth Paltrow version she is even more vain and manipulative. In this version, Kate B makes her very young and yet willing to learn. I liked it very much and hope the two main characters get picked up very quickly for more movies so that we in Canada can see them more often.
Reviews
5 Reviews
A Midsummer Night's Dream
(1999)
for the sheer fun of it
1 October 1999
Being brought up on Tommy Steele and Cagney, I was most impressed with Stanley Tucci's Puck. Sardonic and unnerving, truly mischievous, thoroughly enjoyable yet unnerving. The playfulness of the production certainly fits the play and yet it needed more editing. Some of the long visual moments were too long. On the other hand, my 8 year old boy was entranced by the play within the play and the Bottom as the Ass as a fool--no mean feat.
Dead Again
(1991)
"Sleuth with Romance"
1 October 1999
A brilliant movie: drama, suspense, comedy and romance. Remember "Sleuth". Similarly, this movie is brilliant, cold, and the suspense is killing. However, this movie is funnier and compassionate. All the twists of fate are intertwined with the uncertainties of modern life. The acting is superb. Each character is well defined and easily remembered. The story line, however, is complex and each viewing brings more to it. A movie to buy rather than borrow.
The Lion in Winter
(1968)
"All families have their ups and downs"
1 October 1999
By far the most brilliant line in the movie is Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the most terrific fight, dragging herself up against the wall. The understatement confirms that "all families have their ups and down". With brilliant performances from the main cast, the history is blended with some natural feelings of two powerful parents, loving and hating each other, in their fight to preserve England and France for their favourite but weak sons. The colours, the emotions and the humour returns every time you think back to this movie, but seeing the movie again brings back its overwhelming sense of vitality.
Chattahoochee
(1989)
A brilliant portrayal of simple heroism
24 May 1999
This under-rated movie is an excellent portrayal of the heroic. True love and friendship fight despair and tragedy. The military betrayed its men, the doctors betrayed its sick, and a marriage betrayed its partners. One man is compelled to try and do something about it. The acting is superb, drawing one into the film and leaving one to reflect on one's own life and the society we live in.
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