Movies, Mom & Me

• Who's watched:  M & G, many times
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  Okay, I don't know whether to be ashamed or not to say that I not only love this movie, I am in love with it. It has the ability to both soothe and encourage me. So, we watch it a lot. I know my mother enjoys it and sticks with it every time. I don't know if she has the same kind of gut reactions to it that I do. Fairly recently, toward the end of the holiday season, I watched this movie on dvd in the evening with Mom then turned right around and watched the entire movie again on cable. My mother did not stay up for the cable viewing.
    Again, another post, written on 2/7/2005, that I managed to delete on 5/7/2020, found the hidden original, and have reposted it.
  Update 5/8/22:  This is a reposting of a previous post dated 2/7/2005 that I managed to recover.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Alan Rickman	Harry	Emma Thompson	Karen	Hugh Grant	David	Martine McCutcheon	Natalie
  Colin Firth	Jamie	Lúcia Moniz	Aurélia	Liam Neeson	Daniel	Thomas Sangster	Sam
  Bill Nighy	Billy Mack	Gregor Fisher	Joe	Chiwetel Ejiofor	Peter	Keira Knightley	Juliet
  Andrew Lincoln	Mark	Laura Linney	Rodrigo Santoro	Kris Marshall	Colin	Abdul Salis	Tony
  Billy Bob Thornton	U. S. President	Rowan Atkinson	Rufus	Heike Makatsch	Mia	Olivia Olson	Joanna

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2003
    Directed by Richard Curtis.

Labels: alan-rickman, Christmas, colin-firth, comedy2, emma-thompson, laura-linney, me-favorite4, popcorn-and-soda6, romance3

# posted by gail @ 17:00    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Roger Ebert didn't like this movie very much. He only gave it two stars and a middling review. Other reviewers were equally ambivalent. They, at the time and through time, were in the minority, although a rather large minority. Audiences, however, were not ambivalent. It's a crowd pleaser, a perennial favorite and, dare I say, one of my favorite Christmas movies.
    Despite Roger Ebert's dismissal of it, it's been re-reviewed and revisited twice since the movie was released: Once in 2013 by Matt Zoller Seitz and again in 2015 by Brain Tallerico when a commemoriative set of the entire series of movies was released.
    Truth be told, the only movie in the series I've seen is this one. In fact, until I read one of the articles above, I was only vaguely aware that there was a collection surrounding this character. I can't imagine that I'll be catching up on the sequels, but, this year, for some reason, I wanted this movie to be a part of my Christmas celebration, and the Christmas part of my movie collection.
    More later, when I watch it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Bruce Willis	John McClane	Alan Rickman	Hans Gruber	Alexander Godunov	Karl	Bonnie Bedelia	Holly Gennero-McClane
  Reginald VelJohnson	Al Powell	Paul Gleason	Dwayne T. Robinson	De'voreaux White	Argyle	William Atherton	Richard Thornburg
  Tracy Reiner	Thornburg's assistant	Clarence Gilyard	Theo	Hart Bochner	Harry Ellis	James Shigeta	Joseph Yoshinobu Takagi

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1988
    Directed by John McTiernan, Jr.

Labels: §, action3, alan-rickman, Christmas, dramaE, popcorn-and-soda7, suspense3, thriller2

# posted by gail @ 15:15    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  We watched this one afternoon on TCM and our interest in it surprised us both. Every performance is a delight. The film of the story is much better than the book, full of character scrutinizing scenes. My mother teared up at the end of the movie; very unusual for her. When I saw a copy of it being sold, I had to have it. We watched it again, the day I bought it. Again, my mother was transported to tears at the end. We'll be watching this again.
    It's notable that Roger Ebert reconsidered his initial two-and-a-half star review of this film. The article in which he talks about this is here, but surrounded by many other opinions on many other movies. Thus, I'm going to quote his reconsideration here:
  
  "I didn't give 'Sense and Sensibility' a favorable review when it was first released. I preferred one of the year's other Jane Austen adaptations, 'Persuasion,' a tougher and more thought-provoking film. But as 'S & S' began to emerge as the Oscar front-runner, I went back to see it again. I enjoyed it, yes, and if I had it to do all over again I might be tempted to give it three stars instead of two and a half. (I wouldn't change a word of my newspaper review, however, which expresses both what I liked and didn't like about the film.)
  "What 'Sense and Sensibility' has, above all, is the image of a high-minded, literate, respectable Oscar winner. It is from Britain (the Academy loves British films and actors). It is attached to Jane Austen, one of the most beloved trade names in literature. It has no negatives like sex, violence, or naughty words. Hollywood can honor it and feel good about itself: See here, it can say, what wholesome films we make!"
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Emma Thompson	Elinor Dashwood	Kate Winslet	Marianne Dashwood	Alan Rickman	Colonel Brandon	Imogen Stubbs	Lucy Steele
  Hugh Grant	Edward Ferrars	Greg Wise	John Willoughby	Gemma Jones	Mrs. Dashwood	Hugh Laurie	Mr. Palmer
  Imelda Staunton	Charlotte Palmer	Tom Wilkinson	Mr. Dashwood	Harriet Walter	Fanny Dashwood	Elizabeth Spriggs	Mrs. Jennings

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1995
    Directed by Ang Lee.

Labels: alan-rickman, emma-thompson, imelda-staunton, period4, romance2, shared-favorite, tom-wilkinson

# posted by gail @ 22:37    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I used to be a Shakespeare snob. Up until the late 70's when I took a college course in Shakespeare I just didn't get what was interesting or important about Shakespeare's plays despite the fact that I'd studied two of them in high school. The course I took finally opened up the language and the structure for me. The class took place as these BBC produced plays were being broadcast on PBS. They were recommended by the instructor. I bought a television just to see them. I get it, now. Although I have some other favorite productions of some of these plays: Laurence Fishburne's portrayal of Othello, for instance, my favorite version of Hamlet is the production starring Richard Burton and Hume Cronyn, the vocals for which I have on vinyl, and my favorite version of Macbeth is the production by Roman Polanski which I didn't see until the early 1990s, these BBC productions are excellent and do not disappoint. I hope to obtain the entire collection, since I've seen the entire collection.
    When I queue up these plays Mom tries her best but I think she's where I was before I took that course and, as well, she has trouble with British accents. It's easy for her to get bored and switch to her tabloids or take a nap.
    As for me, I'd love to obtain the entire BBC Television Shakespeare series. It's quite a bit beyond my pocketbook, now, though, so I expect I'll never manage it, which is a shame, because BBC did a masterful job! If you're unsure about your relationship to Shakespeare's works, try checking out a few of these from your library. I think you'll discover, Shakespeare is writing about you, and your world.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of this series. It's loaded with information, not only about the series in toto but about each production. If you're interested in these productions, don't ignore this link!


• 
  Hamlet
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Derek Jacobi	Hamlet	Claire Bloom	Gertrude	Patrick Stewart	Claudius	Eric Porter	Polonius

  
  → derek-jacobi
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1980
    Directed by Rodney Bennett.


• 
  Julius Caesar
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Richard Pasco	Brutus	Charles Gray	Julius Caesar	Keith Michell	Marcus Antonius	David Collings	Cassius

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1979
    Directed by Herbert Wise.


• 
  Macbeth
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Nicol Williamson	Macbeth	Jane Lapotaire	Lady Macbeth	Tony Doyle	Macduff	Jill Baker	Lady Macduff

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1983
    Directed by Jack Gold.


• 
  Othello
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Anthony Hopkins	Othello	Bob Hoskins	Iago	Penelope Wilton	Desdemona	David Yelland	Cassio

  
  → anthony-hopkins
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1981
    Directed by Jonathan Miller.


• 
  Romeo & Juliet
  
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Patrick Ryecart	Romeo	Rebecca Saire	Juliet	Celia Johnson	Nurse	Alan Rickman	Tybalt

  
  → alan-rickman
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1978
    Directed by Alvin Rakoff.

Labels: alan-rickman, anthony-hopkins, buddy, derek-jacobi, dramaA, haunting2, hume-cronyn, me-favorite2, period5, romance3, royals, shakespeare, tragedy2, TV2, violence3

# posted by gail @ 17:08    0 comments    email......this post