I just finished watching Two Weeks Notice. I love that movie
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,703MI6 Agent
Goldfinger
As I dive deeper and deeper into my UE DVDs, I watched Goldfinger . As of right now this is my favorite Bond movie. It's always been my favorite. The music, the plot, the Aston Martin. What else is there to say. Six stars out of five possible
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
As I dive deeper and deeper into my UE DVDs, I watched Goldfinger . As of right now this is my favorite Bond movie. It's always been my favorite. The music, the plot, the Aston Martin. What else is there to say. Six stars out of five possible
{[] Wonderful. One question, why only six stars? Why not a million? :v )
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,703MI6 Agent
As I dive deeper and deeper into my UE DVDs, I watched Goldfinger . As of right now this is my favorite Bond movie. It's always been my favorite. The music, the plot, the Aston Martin. What else is there to say. Six stars out of five possible
{[] Wonderful. One question, why only six stars? Why not a million? :v )
You talked me into it. A million Gold stars, it'll be worth 10 million by tomorrow though .
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
You talked me into it. A million Gold stars, it'll be worth 10 million by tomorrow though .
Thankyou. That's great to hear. {[]
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
'Fearless' starring Jet Li. One of the best films he's done.
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
"Papillon"
Haven't seen this one in years...but I saw it today with my Dad on TV, and was reminded anew of the tremendous skills of Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman...virtuoso performances by both, and an incredibly well-made film...
Bravo B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Sorry Daniel, but as much as I think your performance worthy of a BAFTA nomination for best actor, it's going to Forest Whitaker for his absolutely fantastic portrayal of the charasmatic but monsterous Idi Amin in this brilliant film.
The title of this film of course refers to the former dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, who's love of all things Scottish led him to believe he was descended from the Scottish royal line.
1970s Uganda, at the peak of Amin's murderous reign, and a young Scottish doctor fresh out of university meets Amin through his work at a mission. Amin convinces him to become his personal physician, and the two form an infectious bond.
James McAvoy as the doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, is also terrific and rather than a fairy tale story where he turns out the hero, you actually don't sympathise with him at all. His ego is stroked by Amin and he's obviously enjoying being able to tap into his power, at first ignoring the hideous and brutal crimes committed but slowly becoming more and more aware he's made a deal with the devil.
(From a name dropping point of view, I could hit McAvoy's house with a stone from my office window in Scotstoun, Glasgow, but I wouldn't do that as it's vandalism )
The film switches from character drama to white knuckle suspenseful thriller for the second half, and I really wasn't expecting a few grisly scenes, but thumbs up to director Kevin Macdonald for the seemless transition between the two halves.
Yes, I suppose the story itself is quite implausable, but that doesn't detract from a gripping ride and some truly fabulous performances. Always nice to see Gillian Anderson too.
It's deserving of it's award nominations and it's critical praise, and definitely recommended.
Sorry Daniel, but as much as I think your performance worthy of a BAFTA nomination for best actor, it's going to Forest Whitaker for his absolutely fantastic portrayal of the charasmatic but monsterous Idi Amin in this brilliant film.
The title of this film of course refers to the former dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, who's love of all things Scottish led him to believe he was descended from the Scottish royal line.
1970s Uganda, at the peak of Amin's murderous reign, and a young Scottish doctor fresh out of university meets Amin through his work at a mission. Amin convinces him to become his personal physician, and the two form an infectious bond.
James McAvoy as the doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, is also terrific and rather than a fairy tale story where he turns out the hero, you actually don't sympathise with him at all. His ego is stroked by Amin and he's obviously enjoying being able to tap into his power, at first ignoring the hideous and brutal crimes committed but slowly becoming more and more aware he's made a deal with the devil.
(From a name dropping point of view, I could hit McAvoy's house with a stone from my office window in Scotstoun, Glasgow, but I wouldn't do that as it's vandalism )
The film switches from character drama to white knuckle suspenseful thriller for the second half, and I really wasn't expecting a few grisly scenes, but thumbs up to director Kevin Macdonald for the seemless transition between the two halves.
Yes, I suppose the story itself is quite implausable, but that doesn't detract from a gripping ride and some truly fabulous performances. Always nice to see Gillian Anderson too.
It's deserving of it's award nominations and it's critical praise, and definitely recommended.
Thank you for that review Moonie. I have seen the trailer for this a few times and the adverts were always on when I was waiting to see Casino Royale in the cinema. I thought it looked rather good then and the praise it has been receiving seems to suggest I should check it out.
I'm glad that Whittaker appears to have captured Idi Amin well; *that* seems like a particularly difficult part to get right. There is a sort of humour in his oddness—the Scottish stuff, of course, as well as the title he decided to give himself (His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular). Nevertheless, to play it too lightly is risky given the hundreds of thousands of people who died at Amin's hand and the hatred of Israel. Still, your commendation of Whittaker would suggest that he excels in the role.
All in all I will catch this—and Gillian Anderson's appearance must be nice as ever. :x
The last film I saw was Layer Cake on the television. I have seen it a few times and find it an enormously enjoyable British crime comedy thriller in which Daniel Craig is fantastic as the nice-chap drug dealer. The soundtrack, incidentally, is especially memorable. Good stuff all round.
Blood Diamond, which I think is an outstanding film, documenting the struggles in Africa around the search for a prized diamond and another man's search for his son. The performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly are all excellent. Edmund Zwick's does a fine job directing. Excellent movie, one of the best I saw in the last year.
A new R1 release of a 1968 Michael Caine thriller with a wonderful score by John Barry. The extras include a featurette with Barry (!!) and an isolated music track! Double score!
Little Children, an odd and annoying film starring Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly. Basically a story of suburban life where everyone has something to hide, in most cases some sexual oddity. Much of the story is explained through narration, which I found very annoying. Winslet is fine as the suburban mother who just doesn't fit in and begins an affair with a neighborhood dad that is married to Jennifer Connelly. Connelly is underused, not sure why she ould take a role like this as she has little to do. One of the worst movies I have seen recently.
Little Children. . .One of the worst movies I have seen recently.
Interesting: the critics have been tumbling over themselves praising it, and there's talk that it will get Oscar nominations. And we wonder why there's no Oscar love for Casino Royale. . .?
Anyway, the last film I saw was Clerks II. Some of it is screamingly funny, but it lacks the spontaneity of the original. In fact, this one is downright conventional, with a standard "the-girl-for-you-is-right-under-your-nose" storyline and an "emotional" exploration of the meaning of friendship. C'mon, Kevin Smith!
London to Brighton... it's a far cry from Genevieve, that's for sure.
It's about a prostitute who escapes with a young 'un on the streets who has been roped in for some underage/paedo sex with some well-to-do gangster, but it all goes wrong and they have to escape their pimp and his retribution. So they head to Brighton to stay with a friend and lay low (no pun intended).
Great acting, a bit implausible (the older prossie is no looker, especially with a bashed up face, but manages to drum up work over better looking competitors...) and you can usually see how it's going to play out, but very effective all the same and I wasn't bored once.
I suppose you could put it on a double bill with Quadrophenia...
Long (2h 45m) portrayal of the formation of the CIA, starting pre-WWII at the ultra-secret Skull & Bones society at Yale and continuing through the botched Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath.
The story is told through the eyes of one man, played by Matt Damon as the anti-Bourne -- totally emotionless. The character is supposedly a composite of James Jesus Angleton (longtime head of CIA counterintelligence) and another real person. Damon does fine, although he's such a baby face that I didn't buy him aging 20+ years over the course of the film.
Basically, the film presents the un-Bond view of international espionage -- constant paranoia and distrust, and having to make sometimes-agonizing choices of country vs. family. There are betrayals piled on top of betrayals, and few are who they seem to be. But the film is not really a thriller, more of an unfolding historical fiction with a slight edge. My favorite scenes are those between Damon's character and his KGB counterpart -- mutual respect with a deep undercurrent of tension.
Rober DeNiro directs a star-studded cast that includes himself, Joe Pesci (who barely has more time than Branson in CR), William Hurt and Angelina Jolie. Michael Gambon steals the show as an eminence gris spy teacher, and Alec Baldwin (as an FBI man) continues to get better as an actor as his body continues to go to seed. The only casting misstep is Billy Crudup as a British spy -- annoying to see him fake an Oxbridge accent when there are so many fine British actors out there.
All in all, a few too many twists and turns, some of which are poorly explained, to make this a great film. To DeNiro's credit, he doesn't proselytize, which would have been easy given the subject matter and current political climate. However, this isn't a film that I will remember much of in a year. Wait for the DVD release rather than speding 3 hours in the theater.
Cheers Hilly, I was looking forward to this but at 2hr 45 mins maybe not. A bit put off by De Niro directing, don't like him as a bloke very much (he speaks highly of me I'm sure).
Another low-key gritty Brit flick. Sort of Rear Window meets Blow Up. It's set in Glasgow and is about a woman who has a job watching CCTV footage of the local area, looking out for potential trouble and phoning the police if necessary. It's grim shift work. Anyway she sees a known felon out of jail early and decides to stalk him via the CCTV cameras, charting his whereabouts in a stalkerish kind of way.
It's good stuff, but unless I blinked and missed it, I didn't see what the guy had actually done so as she got more involved we couldnt' see what kind of danger she was in - was he a rapist or a murderer? Did she know the guy personally? Would he recognise her or not then?
An overt oral sex scene ('performed' as they say, on the woman, which is never very photogenic, like watching a pig search for truffles... ) so not one for a first date really, it's not exactly erotic in this context...
Saw Night at the Museum, I am not a big Ben Stiller fan, I think he is a one trick pony, but Lady Rose gave the movie a positive review earlier in this thread so I took the family to check it and I enjoyed it. I thought the story line was very inventive and cleverly done with some very funny moments. Ben Stiller was Ben Stiller, but Robin Williams and Dick Van Dyke were very good. As LR said, a very entertaining family movie.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I just saw The Departed. Very enjoyable, with good performances all around. Not Scorsese's best,but quite good.
Also saw Superman Returns. Pretty lackluster. Kevin Spacey and Brandon Routh were very good, the rest of the cast was miserable. Jimmy Olsen? I wanted to kill him. Kate Bosworth, while very attractive, wasn't very good.
The movie was too slowly paced and dragged in many places. I'm not a fan of the original Superman movies, either.
Entertaining, well-made mix of fact and fiction, which uses the death of Princess Diana to show the differing reactions of the royal house, particularly HRH, and "the people" as embodied by the newly-elected Tony Blair.
First things first -- Helen Mirren is expected to win all possible awards for her performance as Elizabeth. Indeed, she is quite good, but I couldn't help wonder how tough a role it really was. It seems like we give actors so much credit these days simply for doing spot-on impersonations, which Dame Helen certainly does. But if that's the main criterion, there should be equal consideration given to Michael Sheen, whom I found mesmorizing as Tony Blair.
Some other thoughts that the film stirred in me:
-- Most people leaving the theater were not talking about the film but rather where they were when they heard of Diana's death. For me as well, all the memories came flooding back. Aside from 9/11, no event since the assassination of JFK so leads Americans to say "I remember where I was when..." I can't even imagine what it was like in the UK.
-- I had largely forgotten the furor regarding the royal family's immediate actions (or lack thereof) after Diana's death. In the US, there were so many news angles (was the chauffeur drunk, were the paparazzi to blame, countless Hollywood tributes, etc.) that the royals' reaction was just one of many stories. This film makes it seem like it was by far the biggest story -- was that true in the UK?
-- I don't know that much about the royals, but James Cromwell portrays Prince Phillip exactly as I imagine him to be -- not super bright, utterly pompous and out of touch. That may be unfair, but there it is.
-- Prince Charles is portrayed much more sympathetically than I would have anticipated.
-- Blair is presented almost as a saint. It's very ironic, given his popularity nowadays, which is not-so-subtly alluded to in the film.
-- All my old ambivalence about Earl Spencer was dredged back up. Hard to reconcile his almost populist rhetoric at the funeral with his "Champagne Charlie" image and his life of carefree privilege in South Africa. I guess a grieving brother should be allowed to say whatever he wants, and to be fair, we haven't seen nor heard much of him since 1997, at least not here in the States.
-- I will forever be grateful that Elton John's funeral version of "Candle in the Wind" was not part of the film.
All in all, this was an exceedingly pleasant way to spend a couple of hours -- sort of a cross between The History Channel and Masterpiece Theatre. However, as Moonraker5 pointed out in his review of Death of a President, I can't help but wonder if the film will be better received here in the States than in the UK, where Diana's death, its aftermath, and the royal family are much closer to people's everyday hearts and minds.
'Blood Rain.' Another Korean period film. It's about a gruesome series of murders on a small island that are linked to the wrongful execution seven years ago of a man and his entire family for practising Western beliefs. An outsider working for the mainland government arrives and tries to catch the killer, but uncovers dark secrets and corruption. It's a haunting film with stunning visuals. The authorities use their power to maintain the social order, while claiming they do so in the name of justice. The villagers do nothing for fear of being targeted next, and even good men find themselves compromised. You could remake this and set it in any number of different periods in history and it would still essentially be the same film. Highly recommended.
Entertaining, well-made mix of fact and fiction, which uses the death of Princess Diana to show the differing reactions of the royal house, particularly HRH
To quote from our founder, if I may correct you without weakening your case: our monarch is Her Majesty, not Her Royal Highness.
-- I had largely forgotten the furor regarding the royal family's immediate actions (or lack thereof) after Diana's death. In the US, there were so many news angles (was the chauffeur drunk, were the paparazzi to blame, countless Hollywood tributes, etc.) that the royals' reaction was just one of many stories. This film makes it seem like it was by far the biggest story -- was that true in the UK?
Absolutely- it ran 24 hours a day on the TV and the newspapers were full of little else (the Express still is!).
-- All my old ambivalence about Earl Spencer was dredged back up. I guess a grieving brother should be allowed to say whatever he wants, and to be fair, we haven't seen nor heard much of him since 1997, at least not here in the States.
Not here, either
I will forever be grateful that Elton John's funeral version of "Candle in the Wind" was not part of the film.
This is a late 60s film about Mussolin's invasion of Libya in 1930 or thereabouts under Mussolini. M is played by Rod Steiger, but he's only in this lenghty movie for about 10 minutes. The main battle is between Anthony Quinn as the rebel leader who organises random attacks against the Italian fascists, soon led by the ruthless Oliver Reed.
It was a box office failure, but it's epic in scope and gets better as it goes on. Rubbish opening credits though, very amateurish in design. A bit uneasy to watch sometimes, as you think, hmmm, this is how the radical extremists see the US forces in Iraq... mind you, no Muslim freedom fighters in this film are so thick as to blow up their fellow Muslims in the so-called name of Allah.
It's very widescreen, too, more so than any other films I've seen. Are the Bonds really in the right ratio, or do they trim a bit off the ends to make the letterbox image deeper?
But if that's the main criterion, there should be equal consideration given to Michael Sheen, whom I found mesmorizing as Tony Blair.
This grates on me everytime I see a review of this film. Mirren is good but Sheen was equally as good as Blair. It is such a shame that his performance is hardly mentioned.
Comments
Kill Bill is a real mix. It's equally wonderful, stylish, funny, weird, crap. Uma Thurman is compelling.
As I dive deeper and deeper into my UE DVDs, I watched Goldfinger . As of right now this is my favorite Bond movie. It's always been my favorite. The music, the plot, the Aston Martin. What else is there to say. Six stars out of five possible
You talked me into it. A million Gold stars, it'll be worth 10 million by tomorrow though
Haven't seen this one in years...but I saw it today with my Dad on TV, and was reminded anew of the tremendous skills of Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman...virtuoso performances by both, and an incredibly well-made film...
Bravo B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Sorry Daniel, but as much as I think your performance worthy of a BAFTA nomination for best actor, it's going to Forest Whitaker for his absolutely fantastic portrayal of the charasmatic but monsterous Idi Amin in this brilliant film.
The title of this film of course refers to the former dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, who's love of all things Scottish led him to believe he was descended from the Scottish royal line.
1970s Uganda, at the peak of Amin's murderous reign, and a young Scottish doctor fresh out of university meets Amin through his work at a mission. Amin convinces him to become his personal physician, and the two form an infectious bond.
James McAvoy as the doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, is also terrific and rather than a fairy tale story where he turns out the hero, you actually don't sympathise with him at all. His ego is stroked by Amin and he's obviously enjoying being able to tap into his power, at first ignoring the hideous and brutal crimes committed but slowly becoming more and more aware he's made a deal with the devil.
(From a name dropping point of view, I could hit McAvoy's house with a stone from my office window in Scotstoun, Glasgow, but I wouldn't do that as it's vandalism
The film switches from character drama to white knuckle suspenseful thriller for the second half, and I really wasn't expecting a few grisly scenes, but thumbs up to director Kevin Macdonald for the seemless transition between the two halves.
Yes, I suppose the story itself is quite implausable, but that doesn't detract from a gripping ride and some truly fabulous performances. Always nice to see Gillian Anderson too.
It's deserving of it's award nominations and it's critical praise, and definitely recommended.
I'm glad that Whittaker appears to have captured Idi Amin well; *that* seems like a particularly difficult part to get right. There is a sort of humour in his oddness—the Scottish stuff, of course, as well as the title he decided to give himself (His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular).
All in all I will catch this—and Gillian Anderson's appearance must be nice as ever. :x
The last film I saw was Layer Cake on the television. I have seen it a few times and find it an enormously enjoyable British crime comedy thriller in which Daniel Craig is fantastic as the nice-chap drug dealer. The soundtrack, incidentally, is especially memorable. Good stuff all round.
A new R1 release of a 1968 Michael Caine thriller with a wonderful score by John Barry. The extras include a featurette with Barry (!!) and an isolated music track! Double score!
http://www.amazon.com/Deadfall-Michael-Caine/dp/B000GUJZEQ/sr=1-1/qid=1168889181/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9302689-2998446?ie=UTF8&s=dvd
Interesting: the critics have been tumbling over themselves praising it, and there's talk that it will get Oscar nominations. And we wonder why there's no Oscar love for Casino Royale. . .?
Anyway, the last film I saw was Clerks II. Some of it is screamingly funny, but it lacks the spontaneity of the original. In fact, this one is downright conventional, with a standard "the-girl-for-you-is-right-under-your-nose" storyline and an "emotional" exploration of the meaning of friendship. C'mon, Kevin Smith!
It's about a prostitute who escapes with a young 'un on the streets who has been roped in for some underage/paedo sex with some well-to-do gangster, but it all goes wrong and they have to escape their pimp and his retribution. So they head to Brighton to stay with a friend and lay low (no pun intended).
Great acting, a bit implausible (the older prossie is no looker, especially with a bashed up face, but manages to drum up work over better looking competitors...) and you can usually see how it's going to play out, but very effective all the same and I wasn't bored once.
I suppose you could put it on a double bill with Quadrophenia...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Long (2h 45m) portrayal of the formation of the CIA, starting pre-WWII at the ultra-secret Skull & Bones society at Yale and continuing through the botched Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath.
The story is told through the eyes of one man, played by Matt Damon as the anti-Bourne -- totally emotionless. The character is supposedly a composite of James Jesus Angleton (longtime head of CIA counterintelligence) and another real person. Damon does fine, although he's such a baby face that I didn't buy him aging 20+ years over the course of the film.
Basically, the film presents the un-Bond view of international espionage -- constant paranoia and distrust, and having to make sometimes-agonizing choices of country vs. family. There are betrayals piled on top of betrayals, and few are who they seem to be. But the film is not really a thriller, more of an unfolding historical fiction with a slight edge. My favorite scenes are those between Damon's character and his KGB counterpart -- mutual respect with a deep undercurrent of tension.
Rober DeNiro directs a star-studded cast that includes himself, Joe Pesci (who barely has more time than Branson in CR), William Hurt and Angelina Jolie. Michael Gambon steals the show as an eminence gris spy teacher, and Alec Baldwin (as an FBI man) continues to get better as an actor as his body continues to go to seed. The only casting misstep is Billy Crudup as a British spy -- annoying to see him fake an Oxbridge accent when there are so many fine British actors out there.
All in all, a few too many twists and turns, some of which are poorly explained, to make this a great film. To DeNiro's credit, he doesn't proselytize, which would have been easy given the subject matter and current political climate. However, this isn't a film that I will remember much of in a year. Wait for the DVD release rather than speding 3 hours in the theater.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Another low-key gritty Brit flick. Sort of Rear Window meets Blow Up. It's set in Glasgow and is about a woman who has a job watching CCTV footage of the local area, looking out for potential trouble and phoning the police if necessary. It's grim shift work. Anyway she sees a known felon out of jail early and decides to stalk him via the CCTV cameras, charting his whereabouts in a stalkerish kind of way.
It's good stuff, but unless I blinked and missed it, I didn't see what the guy had actually done so as she got more involved we couldnt' see what kind of danger she was in - was he a rapist or a murderer? Did she know the guy personally? Would he recognise her or not then?
An overt oral sex scene ('performed' as they say, on the woman, which is never very photogenic, like watching a pig search for truffles...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Also saw Superman Returns. Pretty lackluster. Kevin Spacey and Brandon Routh were very good, the rest of the cast was miserable. Jimmy Olsen? I wanted to kill him. Kate Bosworth, while very attractive, wasn't very good.
The movie was too slowly paced and dragged in many places. I'm not a fan of the original Superman movies, either.
Entertaining, well-made mix of fact and fiction, which uses the death of Princess Diana to show the differing reactions of the royal house, particularly HRH, and "the people" as embodied by the newly-elected Tony Blair.
First things first -- Helen Mirren is expected to win all possible awards for her performance as Elizabeth. Indeed, she is quite good, but I couldn't help wonder how tough a role it really was. It seems like we give actors so much credit these days simply for doing spot-on impersonations, which Dame Helen certainly does. But if that's the main criterion, there should be equal consideration given to Michael Sheen, whom I found mesmorizing as Tony Blair.
Some other thoughts that the film stirred in me:
-- Most people leaving the theater were not talking about the film but rather where they were when they heard of Diana's death. For me as well, all the memories came flooding back. Aside from 9/11, no event since the assassination of JFK so leads Americans to say "I remember where I was when..." I can't even imagine what it was like in the UK.
-- I had largely forgotten the furor regarding the royal family's immediate actions (or lack thereof) after Diana's death. In the US, there were so many news angles (was the chauffeur drunk, were the paparazzi to blame, countless Hollywood tributes, etc.) that the royals' reaction was just one of many stories. This film makes it seem like it was by far the biggest story -- was that true in the UK?
-- I don't know that much about the royals, but James Cromwell portrays Prince Phillip exactly as I imagine him to be -- not super bright, utterly pompous and out of touch. That may be unfair, but there it is.
-- Prince Charles is portrayed much more sympathetically than I would have anticipated.
-- Blair is presented almost as a saint. It's very ironic, given his popularity nowadays, which is not-so-subtly alluded to in the film.
-- All my old ambivalence about Earl Spencer was dredged back up. Hard to reconcile his almost populist rhetoric at the funeral with his "Champagne Charlie" image and his life of carefree privilege in South Africa. I guess a grieving brother should be allowed to say whatever he wants, and to be fair, we haven't seen nor heard much of him since 1997, at least not here in the States.
-- I will forever be grateful that Elton John's funeral version of "Candle in the Wind" was not part of the film.
All in all, this was an exceedingly pleasant way to spend a couple of hours -- sort of a cross between The History Channel and Masterpiece Theatre. However, as Moonraker5 pointed out in his review of Death of a President, I can't help but wonder if the film will be better received here in the States than in the UK, where Diana's death, its aftermath, and the royal family are much closer to people's everyday hearts and minds.
This is a late 60s film about Mussolin's invasion of Libya in 1930 or thereabouts under Mussolini. M is played by Rod Steiger, but he's only in this lenghty movie for about 10 minutes. The main battle is between Anthony Quinn as the rebel leader who organises random attacks against the Italian fascists, soon led by the ruthless Oliver Reed.
It was a box office failure, but it's epic in scope and gets better as it goes on. Rubbish opening credits though, very amateurish in design. A bit uneasy to watch sometimes, as you think, hmmm, this is how the radical extremists see the US forces in Iraq... mind you, no Muslim freedom fighters in this film are so thick as to blow up their fellow Muslims in the so-called name of Allah.
It's very widescreen, too, more so than any other films I've seen. Are the Bonds really in the right ratio, or do they trim a bit off the ends to make the letterbox image deeper?
I picked this up for £7 on DVD at HMV sale.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
This grates on me everytime I see a review of this film. Mirren is good but Sheen was equally as good as Blair. It is such a shame that his performance is hardly mentioned.
Thansk L880 for highlighting that ... its just given me the biggest laugh of the day.
Absolutely! Couple this line with his "Dad" comment to JCSuperstar, and I think it's safe to say Nap is on a roll lately!
Roger Moore 1927-2017