Valentine Marathon: Sense and Sensibility (1995)

We’ve come to the final movie of the Valentine’s Marathon. My schedule has been sporadic and I even skipped a fun post yesterday but I’m taking this as a Valentine’s weekend of sorts so I might have a morphed up mash-up post later on today.  The problem is that I have a million ideas and I can’t do it without bombarding you with posts and I don’t like to do that. Regardless, lets get this last one done!

I had to make some serious decisions about this one.  On one hand, I wanted to see a few Netflix choices but I also received my package of Amazon a few days ago.  I finished Sense and Sensibility (the book) a few days ago and I just had to get the movie and it came in a timely fashion.  I also ordered another movie recommended to me for this marathon which I promise to watch soon but I just couldn’t resist the urge to wrap up this marathon with Sense and Sensibility.

Let’s check it out! 🙂

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995)

Director: Ang Lee

Cast: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Laurie

When their rich father Mr. Dashwood dies, he leaves his fortune to his son while making him promise to treat his three half-sister in his second marriage well and help in whatever way they could.  However, under his wife’s influence, he ends up leaving them with close to nothing.  The two eldest daughters, Elinor and Marianne, are at the age of marriage and its then despite the opposite personality, one emotionally reserved ruled by sense while the other full of romantic sensibility respectively, they find their love and fall into similar fates.

Sense and Sensibility is a wonderful adaptation of the novel.  If anything, because I didn’t enjoy Sense and Sensibility as much as Jane Austen’s later novels (that I’ve read), I may actually have enjoyed the movie more.  There is no shame in admitting that especially when its full of a talented cast.  Last year, on Valentine’s Day, in a mish-mash post, I confessed that I have a massive girl crush on Kate Winslet and she is extremely darling in this one.  I watch a little less of Emma Thompson normally but I love everything that she does.  She fully immerses herself in a role and just owns it every single time.  Both of them as Marianne and Elinor respectively are fantastic.  What I really do love most about these movies is the music: so elegant, beautiful, sweet.  And I don’t even think it has to do with the fact that I love piano music because thats the instrument I play 🙂

You know how sometimes adaptation have this really ridiculous casting choices and you can’t even picture that person you read on those beautiful pages as this person on the big screen? Its not the case here. I agreed with the choice of Marianne and Elinor, as I mentioned above.  The moment Greg Wise (who I know nothing about) popped on the screen as Willoughby, I was completely convinced. This guy who bashes in Marianne’s affection and attention but shows no restraint to his emotions even if he can’t really be the one.  He is charming and handsome and his character is kind of sad in the end.  Although they cut out the scene I thought was pretty important between Willoughby and Elinor, they did a fabulous job of putting to life is character.

Willoughby would not be as charming if we didn’t have the contrast of Colonel Brandon, same as Marianne to Elinor.  Alan Rickman is the perfect perfect person to play this role.  He can pull off that really unromantic person with hidden emotions but still kind of show his intentions in this quiet subtle way.  Thats the power of Alan Rickman because he is just so talented.  Honestly, Colonel Brandon is one of those characters who I love a lot in Sense and Sensibility.  He just deserves everything he desires because he’s such an honorable man, probably the most honorable in the story.

I kind of feel bad that I only took one paragraph to talk about the ladies while taking three to talk about the men.  Hugh Grant takes on Edward Ferrars, which is a role with rather little on screen time but has such an important role.  He literally has 3 actual phases in the story and its the same as the book in that sense.  Sure he’s sprinkled and we hear about whats going on.  There is no doubt that Hugh Grant was a great choice for Edward Ferrars and he really does a good job.  I mean, that ending scene with Marianne really defines his character a lot.  I read the book so I know what he does.

I love this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.  I actually think reading Austen before I watch it, made me appreciate this more even if I believe I ended up enjoying my movie experience a little more.  Still, because it was so fresh in my mind, the dialogue is really true to the book and thats also something I appreciate.  With an incredible cast, Sense and Sensibility is a brilliant watch bringing Jane Austen’s characters to life one by one.  That is no small feat but Ang Lee does it and the cast themselves as well 🙂 I highly recommend this one!

Have you seen or read Sense and Sensibility? What are your thoughts?

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

Remember, I have a finale post coming up later today (or tonight since I’m out of town for a day trip)!

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Movies every night, eh? Not sick of my reviews yet I hope! I’m trying to keep them assorted and last night I worked on the pile I had stacked on the side of my table and pulled up this romantic comedy Bridget Jones’s Diary.  I have never read the book of this.  Seems like there’s so many adaptations out there that I have actually read the source material.  This has Colin Firth and I love him 🙂 Plus it has Hugh Grant and he can be quite charming at times…Okay, let me get out of the swooning mode and to the review..

Director: Sharon Maguire

Cast: Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent

Bridget Jones is a early 30s girl who hasn’t dated very much and works at a publishing company. Every year on her mother’s annual party, her mother tries to match her up with single men.  This year, she sets her up with a childhood companion (who she does not remember) and is a barrister called Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).  When he turns out to be a disagreeable and rude divorced man.  She leaves in despair and she decides to start a diary to document her resolutions where she vows to stop drinking, quit smoking and lose weight.  At this time, her charming but not very respectable boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) shows an interest in her and sends her some provocative emails (which she returns) and eventually they go out for a dinner date.  As they grow closer, she also learns that he is actually seeing a woman and is engaged to her.  Afterwards, she quits her job and starts working as a TV presenter and its at this time,  she seems to be noticing Mark around her social circles more and more frequently and secretly find him more attractive.  When Mark starts showing interest, Daniel also returns to show his affections as well.  Due to past issues, they both end up fighting for her affections.

This has most probably shot up to my top 10 favorite romantic comedies if I had a list of one.  Its funny, quirky, witty and at times silly British humor which I love mixed with a cute and silly romantic adventure.  This movie is a gem.  Its just so fun to watch and I found myself laughing and giggling and doing all these girly things throughout the movie.

I`m not much of a Renee Zellweger fan.  I haven`t followed a lot of her movies but this role made me completely praise her. It looks that it would’ve taken a lot of courage to do this role.  Bridget is a role thats hard to do because she had to expose a lot of craziness. The character itself was a girl that would binge alcohol and smoke a lot, but at the same time she was somewhat of a ditz.  She was looking for a man who would just love her the way she was as an average girl.  Renee Zellweger did this amazingly.  She was funny, quirky and extremely likeable.  Her reactions and the things that she did was sometimes hilarious.  Her chemistry with both Hugh Grant’s Daniel and Colin Firth’s Mark was awesome. Plus, I felt connected with her character quickly into the movie. Thats always a good thing 🙂

I’m just going to start with Hugh Grant.  I like him a lot of roles however I’ve never really seen him as a guy who was all about fun.  He felt somewhat pretentious. I’m guessing his role needed that because he’s supposed to be somewhat of a person scared to commit to long-term however, he was also seeing two women at the same time.  Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant played off each other well and the chemistry was really fun to watch as they engaged into a more fun and sexual relationship.  However, we could see that he was the man that she first resolved to not date and hoped that he wasn’t like that.

The chemistry between Colin Firth’s Mark and Bridget was different.  It was a building of emotions.  Things were slower as they got to know each other better.  Colin Firth is a charming actor as always.  He just plays the quiet and analytical character.  He’s a gentleman who doesn’t talk bad of others and somewhat holds in his feelings until they explode.  I guess Bridget is his exact opposite so he becomes attracted to her.  This is what makes the fight between him and Daniel is so much more hilarious. Funny thing though, is that I never quite understood why I’m so into Colin Firth’s characters.  He always looks so…serious, I guess, but I think its the way he emotes with his eyes.  Anyways, I love the man, just can’t pinpoint why.

I love this rom-com and highly recommend it.  Such a fun flick to watch packed with lots and lots of laughs.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)

I tell you I’m in an animation phase…but I’ve acknowledged it so I’ll be heading into the next real life actor movies soon.  I have been watching movies a lot so I have a few reviews lined up to be written over the next few days. I wasn’t too sure about this one though.  I’ve never been one to be in love with the whole clay animation concept (is that how you call it?).  However, this one did get an Oscars nomination for best animation of 2012 so when I could do the Bluray DVD exchange, I jumped at the chance.  I mean, Oscars are the coming Sunday night and I plan to have get to see at least part of it.  I had no idea what to expect for this one though, I’ve seen some good reviews and some bad ones.

Director: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt

Cast: Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek

Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) with his odd crew has been trying to win the Pirate of the Year Award for the past years.  This award looks at the pirate that has gotten the most booty and this is usually comparable to the wanted level that the pirate in question has.  The value of his reward if he were to be caught.  When he gets made fun of by Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Peg Leg Hastings, who are his main rivals in the race for the award, he sets out to sea to find the booty.  After several failed attempts, he lands on the ship of Charles Darwin (David Tennant) who was on an expedition to bring back a discovery worthy of making a reputation for himself at the Science Convention in London and to impress Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton).  When Charles Darwin sees Pirate Captain, he notices that the parrot he owns is actually not a parrot but one that could bring them untold riches.  With that, they all set off for London despite the dangers that it holds, especially with the hatred of pirates from the Queen Victoria herself.

This animation is an adventure that is filled with smart jokes and a good dose of silliness.  The characters itself is a whole lot of fun to watch. The plot has its up and downs and climaxes.  I haven’t seen any of the other Oscar nominees for best animation, but I’d say this one is definitely creative and witty enough to be part of it.  However, if this is the surprise pick (was it for those who did see all or most of the nominations), then the rest are quite promising! I’m looking forward to picking up a whole bunch of new animations in 2013.

The Pirate Captain isn’t worth too much, eh?

Everything was really good in this one.  It had a crazy amount of funny moments and to me, those are important especially in animations.  The character designs are really cool.  Hugh Grant did a fantastic job at being Pirate Captain.  I think this is his first effort in the voice work domain and he shines.  But then, I personally love Hugh Grant’s voice so this really works for me.  Just the appearance and reactions matched with the enthusiasm in the voice just makes you love watching the Pirate Captain in action.  His crew make possibly the best animated oddball crew ever.  They are an array of different character personalities and they just complement each other so well.

One of the best parts of this is the villain.  Queen Victoria is utterly evil. She looks and sounds the part. Imelda Staunton usually does a great job at these mean people/villainous roles, like when she did Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter with her sharp and snobbish voice, but it fits so well here.

Another one was the addition of Charles Darwin, young and smitten with Queen Victoria, he becomes a man who experiments the weirdest things.  This leads us to the hilarious addition of his experiment called a “man-panzee” turn butler, Mister BoBo.  There is no voice for him as he only talks with cue cards, but his character was possibly one of the wittiest ones in the Band of Misfits.  The idea of using that was extremely creative.

Fun and entertaining, quirky and smart are all how I would describe it.  From the first moment to the last, it really takes you on an adventure.  Definitely a pleasant surprise for me.

Christmas Marathon: Love Actually (2003)

LOVE ACTUALLY

Director: Richard Curtis (Pirate Radio or The Boat That Rocked)

Cast: Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Linney

I’d like to start this off with the quote that starts off the movie because I find it best describes the whole concept of this movie.

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion… love actually is all around.”

That is what this movie is about.  Love actually is all around us, especially in London.  It is promoted as the ultimate romantic comedy filled with separate stories from all the cast that we see in the beginning of the movie either in a wedding and the others in a funeral.  The wedding is for Peter and Juliet (Keira Knightley) and we see how it rolls into the story of unrequited love of Peter’s best friend, Mark (Andrew Lincoln) for Juliet.  This event brings together Jamie (Colin Firth) who we see ends up falling out of love with his cheating girlfriend and flying to France to spend his holidays where he meets a young Portuguese housekeeper, Aurelia.  At that same wedding, we also see Sarah (Laura Linney) who we get introduced to her not so secret crush to her co-worker, Karl and how sometimes you have to make choices for family that we love.  In her office, we see the relationship of her boss, Harry who is tempted to cheat with a younger employee while his wife, Karen (Emma Thompson) tries to rekindle their relationship and keep her own family together.  Her brother, the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) starts his position and meets his lovely “catering manager”, Nathalie.  The funeral however is where we get the shot of Karen who is there for Daniel (Liam Neeson) who has lost his wife and must take care of his stepson, Sam and help him get the love of his life who is a girl in school that will be going back to  America.  In the background, we have a old rock and roll singer, Billy Mack (Bill  Nighy) who tries to get top spot on the billboard.  Lots of love stories all twisted together is what makes up Love Actually.

Love Actually is one of those movies that I know is very awesome to watch, (however I forget during the year its awesomeness).  I love watching every minute of it because it makes me laugh and smile and then by the end, I get tears of joy because of all the sweet moments.  Here’s one of the especially sweet moments of Mark’s unrequited love for Juliet.  Of course, its only one of the many but I thought it was sweet and original.

The cast is just beautiful and charming and you start getting attached to all the love that is around during Christmas in this.  It consists of such a perfect group of actors and actresses that I adore like Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Liam Neeson.  On top of that, we also had a few cameos of Rowan Atkinson.  I love him in general and in this one, he’s just the spectacular even for that little moment he’s on screen.  Maybe some stories could’ve been more elaborate if there were less put together but I think the point is to show the simplicity of each situation, how love is just very simple and we can find it when and where we least expect it.  We’ll do things that we don’t expect ourselves to do for it.  So great concept and great little stories, I loved them all.  However, I found that the key to the success was the soundtrack that they put together to support everything that was happening.  Just listen and look at the beginning song that pops up at the wedding.

Its some fun stuff when you find that perfect song that gets the viewers moving.  Especially when another song had Hugh Grant dancing through his Prime Minister headquarters.  We had the hilarious Bill Nighy doing his best routine of laid back old rock and roll star and swearing here and there with “Christmas is All Around”. Then we have “All I Want for Christmas” also one of my favorite songs.  There’s just so much more.  This definitely enhances the movie.

I may forget about Love Actually and its awesomeness throughout the year but whenever I see it, it just makes me feel so good.  Acknowledging that love actually is everywhere and all around is something we all want to remember when Christmas and the holidays comes around.