A Very British Gangster (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Despite being an American, I'm very interested in England and am a bit of an Anglophile so I generally gravitate towards the country's films. A Very British Gangster was an exceptional documentary that revealed the full complexity of a man whose life seems to have already been decided. We discover at the end of it that he is going back to jail but his attitude and everything about his character suggest that his final destination is a foregone conclusion. The police follow him everywhere and it's quite likely that the filmmaker was not the only individual who recorded many of these conversations. What we find most is that Dominic Noonan is, in many ways, a normal man with a variety of relationships and concerns that must be negotiated. Most of his criminality is merely hinted at here, but it seems very unlikely that--even if he is re-released--he will conjure up the will to change his life. This is an endearing and well-crafted portrait of a doomed man.

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In A Very British Gangster, world-renowned, award-winning BBC journalist Donal MacIntyre dives into Manchester's underworld, revealing Britain's most notorious and powerful crime family--the Noonan dynasty. With surprising chivalry, Dominic Noonan answers to his poverty-stricken streets while lurking from trial to trial, dodging arrest on a slew of serious criminal charges. Dominic's 10-year-old son, Bugsy, wants none of the prestige his father holds, and his candid confessions of boxing dreams--hopeful words from the child of a very violent man--are heart-wrenching. DVD Features: Deleted Scenes.

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Secret Diary of a Call Girl Season 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL is one of the most suprising and exciting comedic series to have ever emerged! Coming from SHOWTIME (the cable network resposible for the addictive and Emmy-nominated series WEEDS), the show, as the title suggests, is about a call girl and her daily struggles in balancing work and life in London. In Season 2, Hannah, played by the amazingly talented Billie Piper (of Doctor Who fame), is forced to balance a relationship for the first time with her work as Belle (the name she goes by with her clients). As the 10-episode season progresses, Hannah finds it to be increasingly difficult having a boyfriend, especially when he has yet to learn what she does for a living. Yikes! Witty and utterly charming, this series immediately captures your attention (given its subject matter of course) and holds on to it with great writing and captivating performances. Billie Piper truely shines in her role as Hannah and commands the audience's attention every single time she appears on screen. Piper brings a lot of heart to her character and is truely the driving force that makes this series so great. For anyone who wishes to get into this series, I would suggest watching Season 2 first and then maybe going back to revisit Season 1 later, b/c I found the second season to be much better than the first. Definitely check SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL out. I promise, you won't be sorry!

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Belle is back for a new season with new tricks. Business is booming, but with her personal life heating up, Belle’s about to learn that life was much easier when she was all work and no play. Billie Piper stars in this witty and provocative Showtime series based on the real-life adventures of a notorious high-class London escort.

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Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season One Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen a few courtesan friendly movies, and this one is a wonderful series. Billie Piper does a wonderful narrative and lead heroine act, where she embraces the common taboos that society creates for itself, yet finds her own balance of the accumulation of pleasure, wealth, humanity, and even guilt. A great show, well written, well scripted, and yes, for those that appreciate the beauty of the female in general, you won't go wrong because this pretty much shows all her beauty, clothes and sans clothes, as well as her thoughts and hopes. I'm looking forward to seeing how this story unfolds with every episode. There is certainly more to this show than simple nudity, there is a humanity to it that is just as enjoyable.

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Billie Piper stars in the hit series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL, based on the real-life adventures of a high-class London escort. By day she's quiet and unassuming Hannah. But when night comes, she's Belle, the city's finest call girl. Juggling her own reality with her clients' fantasies can be difficult, but this savvy sweetheart knows every trick for doing it in style. Take a peek into SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL, the witty and provocative original series from Showtime. It's a good time you won't soon forget.

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This is England (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This story, both beautiful and disturbing in it's messages and imagery, is about many different themes, all brilliantly woven together by British director, Shane Meadows.
The themes cover Thatcherite England in the 80's, Skinheads (good and bad), racism, bullyism, and the loss of childhood innocence. The film is strongly influenced by Director Shane Meadows childhood experiences as a skinhead, both good and bad.
The outline of the story is that a young "Shaun Fields"(played amazingly by newcomer Tomo Turgoose) lives in a small un-named Northern English town in 1983. "Shaun" has recently lost his father in the early stages of the Falklands War. On the last day of the school term before summer break "Shaun" is harassed over his choice of hippy-like clothing by several cooler kids.
On his way home from school, Shaun chances upon a non-racist skinhead gang (which includes two Jamaican members), led by the charming and lanky "Woody" (played by the affable Joe Gilgun). "Shaun" immediately takes to "Woody" as a surrogate father figure and is soon admitted in to the gang. Admission means parties, a new girlfriend (Rosamund Hanson) a new haircut, a new Ben Sherman shirt, and a new pair of boots (purchased by his mother (Jo Hartley) in an extremely funny scene) as well as a whole new group of friends who treat Shaun as an equal.
All seems well in this quiet English town until one incident changes all of their lives about midway through the film. This is the return of "Combo" (the electrifying Stephen Graham in his first major leading role) from 3 years in prison. "Combo" is the former leader of this gang and wastes no time trying to re-establish his dominance in a direct confrontation with "Woody". "Combo" has become a racist during his 3+ years in prison and views skinheads as the prefect front line soldiers in the National Front's (an extremely conservative political party) war to keep England for "Englishmen."
This confrontation with "Woody" soon splits the gang, some siding with "Combo", others with "Woody". "Shaun" is now forced to choose among father figures and the movie takes a decidedly chillier tone from it's lighthearted first half.
The film is brilliant because all of Meadows characters are complicated and feel like real human beings. "Combo" even offers "Milky" (Andrew Shim), a black skinhead, the chance to join his gang because "Combo" views the immediate problem as the "Paki" (Pakistani) workers who have flooded his town in recent years, taking jobs and houses from Englishmen.
It's the complexities such as this that make the characters (such as the Swastika tattooed Combo) so approachable and compelling to watch.
Even Shaun still appears like an adorable little child as he dresses in an English Cromby coat to go "Paki Bashing" at the local store.
The movie comes to what seems like an almost inevitable violent clash between two of the main characters that, despite its predictability, still jars the viewer, hopefully leaving you sickened. Shaun is then left to decide where his future lies.
The movies story is set against the backdrop of the Falklands War, whose brutal images Meadows deftly juxtaposes against the current violent and desolate climate of 80's England. Meadows was, interestingly, granted full access to many war footage images that had never been released to the public previously.
The film contains a fantastic soundtrack of early "skinhead reggae" tunes, including several songs by Toots and the Maytalls, including "54-46" which is played over a collage of media clips from 80's Britain and the Falklands War. It's a terrific mood setter for the rest of the film.
Meadows shines so brightly (as does his cast) because he intimately knows this material and these characters, many of whom are based on or even named after childhood friends of his.
Some American viewers may initially be off-put by the idea of any "Skinhead" related movie if all they know of skinheads is what they have seen in the American press in the last 20+ years. It may surprise many viewers not familiar with the original skinhead scene (circa 1966-72) in Britain to learn the the original skins (now often called Traditional Skins, Trojan Skins, or '69 skins) were a multi-racial bunch who were an off-shoot from the Mods. They were known, like the Mods, for being sharp dressers and they chose as their music Jamaican Rocksteady, Reggae, and American Soul. The skinhead movement in England largely died out in 1972 and then saw a revival in the late seventies. It's this revival group that was penetrated by the likes of the National Front that Meadows covers here. If you choose to not watch this film based on it's subject matter, you are missing not only one of the best acting performances by a new-comer(Turgoose)in recent history, but you are also missing what will no doubt become considered landmark moment in British film history.

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School is out for summer, and 12 year old Shaun is about to find a dangerous new group of friends. Having lost his father in the Falklands War, life has been lonely in this grim coastal town in northern England.When Shaun meets the local skinheads, however, their companionship and even their violence appeal to Shaun’s hurt and rage. In Combo, an older volatile skinhead, Shaun finds a big brother and under Combo’s leadership, the gang and young Shawn will arrive at an irreversible act of violence.

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The Tudors: The Complete Third Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I thoroughly enjoyed Season Three of "The Tudors." In my opinion, Jonathan Rhys Meyers gives his best performances ever as King Henry VIII. (Warning: the next few paragraphs contain details that some people may consider spoilerish, but seeing as how this is a retelling of British history, I'm sure most people know what's going to happen this season.)
At the start of Season Three, Henry is married to Jane Seymour, a gentle woman who thrills her husband by giving him a son. Unfortunately, Jane's reign as Queen of England is short-lived, and Henry soon finds himself mourning the only one of his wives thus far who he has truly loved (or at least been able to appreciate at the very end). The impertinent Thomas Cromwell then convinces Henry that a new marriage to Anne of Cleaves would benefit the country. Henry reluctantly goes through with the marriage, but never consummates the union because, according to him, his new bride "looks like a horse." It doesn't take long for Henry to tire of this marriage as well, and he passes the time in the company of the ditzy young Katherine Howard.
As all these romantic entanglements are taking place, England is threatened by rebels, Princess Mary becomes even more disenchanted with her unfortunate circumstances at court, and Thomas Cromwell becomes less and less popular, as members of the court desperately try to find a way to bring him down.
Overall, this was a fast-paced and entertaining season. I still miss the Anne Boleyn years, but "The Tudors" has managed to stay fresh and engaging. I don't see how this show can go on for more than another season, unless it continues after Henry's death, which would be a very interesting twist. Let's hope Showtime decides to go that route, because "The Tudors" could continue to reign for a very long time.

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TV’s most sexy and scandalous hit drama is back with The Tudors: The Complete Third Season. Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Elvis) stars as a young King Henry VIII, a ruler whose reign changed the course of history forever. Now for the first time on DVD, the complete third season of this delicious and daring drama from Showtime is available in a 3 disc DVD set including every broadcast episode and loads of special features including and the first two episodes of Showtime’s hit show United States of Tara and an exclusive featurette called the Tudors Timelines. Plus unlock even more bonus features on your PC including interviews with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Annabelle Wallis, Henry Cavill, Joss Stone, and Max Van Sydow!

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Doc Martin: Series 2 (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)What makes this British Drama TV series so funny? What's so funny about a surgeon who is mentally and physically indisposed at the sight of blood? Why do you find yourself laughing at the sight of the townsfolk in this serene, beautiful little seaside Cornwall town of Portwenn? It is what happened with most scenes, in all 9 episodes of this 3 DVD series. In almost every scene, I'd lift my eyebrows to the Mrs (we watched together), she'd pick up a corner of her mouth, and we'd both begin laughing.
We thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the quirky British people of this small town. Doc Martin (Martin Clunes) and his stern, grumpy, all-business, rude, and seeming heartless bedside manner, just adds to the hilarity--as he fails to see any of the joy in the village. The medical conditions he is faced to address are often as hilarious as the character that complains of the symptoms. Mix with that a love triangle the Doc in involved in, but fails to acknowledge, and you have a season of some of the best British Comedy/Drama ever produced.
This second season (Doc Martin: Series 2) is even better than the previously released first season.
___For starters, it's 50% longer, 9 50-minute episodes rather than just the 6 in Series One.
___The episodes seem to have several plots woven together, much more complex stories, than in the original set. The action moves quickly and keeps you spellbound every minute. You'll be so happy, that by owning the DVD, you don't have to wait a week for the next episode. Episodes do tend to have a carry-over link.
___And this series, unlike the original set, has SDH subtitles, something we found to be helpful with some of the dialect as well as British terms. Their biscuit is our cookie, tea is a meal, etc.
___Extras include some star cast filmographies.
___I still recommend you watch Series One as well, but it's not completely necessary. But after watching series 2 you will want the earlier set.
After seeing the zany activity in Doc Martin's surgery (GP office), I decided if American doctors had patients as quirky and strangely symptomatic, all of them would give up and turn to plumbing or painting.
This comedy series about a doctor's practice, reminded me of the hugely funny comedy "Pie In The Sky", a British comedy/drama about a detective who really wanted to be a cook. I've reviewed both and recommend both.
Just a few Details:
Episode 1__Doc Martin gets a new receptionist (Katherine Parkinson as Pauline) only better in some ways. He gets in hot water with Aunt Joan (Stephanie Cole), because of her friend Muriel, who's son Danny, reunites with teacher, Louisa (Caroline Catz), whom Doc just recently kissed, a carry-over from Series One. I told you this had some woven plots.
2__Doc gets stuck with childcare for Peter while his mother gets stuck in the hospital. Bert Large (Ian McNeice), handyman, fries fish.
3__Doc has to compete with a herbal/nature remedy seller who is the sis to Mark (town cop) plus help the odd family with multiple problems who strongly object to house calls. Romantic question: Is Bert the REAL father of Al Large, now falling romantically for the new receptionist after being jilted by her sister?
4__Local radio host drinks and Mr. Cooke stinks--really, really stinks. And what's the new town's female bombshell doing with the local cop?
5__Mr. Pratt blames Doc for his wife's death but takes revenge by using pesticides that threaten Aunt Joan's organic farm license. Romance is muddled between cop/bombshell, Al/receptionist, and Doc/Louisa while another local teacher battles obsessive-compulsive disorder.
6___Doc's parents arrive in town to vex Aunt Joan. Doc forgets his manners while dealing with rapid weight gains of a local 50-year-old lady. Doc has to help his rival in the romantic triangle with Louisa. Doc, finally get's his own often used phrase, "Shut Up", told to him.
7__Mark (cop) and Al (his best-man after Doc rudely said "NO") get lost in the woods, Marks get's a snake bite, they get lost, the crazy forester who lived with a giant squirrel (season one) leads Doc toward them, and of course they both get lost too. Just another day of laughs in the forest.
8__Mark has an anatomy problem, his fiancee has her own problem, Doc is involved & making more problems, Danny and Louisa have a problem, the pharmacy neck brace lady has a problem, and Doc muddies the lives of all.
9__Birdwatchers, lunatics, explosives, guns, knives, romance and tourism all tickle the funny bone to an explosive degree.
Some touching moments, but mostly just beautiful scenery and hilarious activity in the life of a doctor in a small town. You will want more. But you'll have to wait for Series 3. That's the only negative I can state for this DVD set. "I want more."

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He’s surly, tactless, self-centered, and uptight--but he’s the only doctor in town.
As a hard-charging London surgeon, Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes, Men Behaving Badly) didn’t need a bedside manner. His patients were unconscious, so he could be as rude and arrogant as he pleased. All that changes when he develops a crippling fear of blood and is forced to give up surgery. Now a GP in a sleepy, picturesque Cornish fishing village, Doc Martin offends everyone in town, including the one person he wants to impress, beautiful teacher Louisa Glasson (Caroline Catz, Murder in Suburbia). Getting her attention proves even more difficult when Louisa’s old flame returns to the village and becomes his new rival.
Martin Clunes shines in this award-winning comic drama set amid eccentric townsfolk and spectacular scenery. As the doctor says, "It’s good to be loathsome."
DVD FEATURES INCLUDE photo gallery and cast filmographies.

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About a Boy (Widescreen Edition) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie is set in contemporary London and its story revolves around the life of playboy Will Freeman (Hugh Grant). Freeman is an independent man who enjoys a leisurely life carved into careful sections. His friends find him desperately lonely and unfulfilled, a notion he entirely disregards. Whilst trying to find creative new ways to meet single women for casual relationships, he meets a boy named Marcus (Nicholas Hoult). Marcus is the misfit at his school, overburdened by his freethinking and chronically depressed mother, Fiona (Toni Collette). Freeman and Marcus forge an unlikely but edifying bond that transposes their generation gap and differences. Culminating in a hilarious school music performance, the two discover new ways to navigate a changing world and terms in which to redefine the meaning of family.
Saturated by the amazing music of Badly Drawn Boy, this is an enduring and enjoyable comedy. Hugh Grant's character of the roguish unlikely hero seems ideally suited to him. Collette's performance as a seeming shallow liberal is wonderfully dynamic, bringing depth and heart to the character. The film tackles many social issues, especially problems of male (father-son) relations, from a compelling point of view. It's a picture of modern England that burrows into the largely untapped life of this fascinating country. The horribly undeveloped and unrealistic character of the rebellious teenage girl with whom Marcus becomes smitten is the only place where this film really lacks. Otherwise it is a pleasure to watch.

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ABOUT A BOY - DVD Movie

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The Tudors - The Complete Second Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you liked season one, you are going to love season two. However, if you only liked season one for the racy sex scenes, you will be disappointed. Season two focuses on the political aspects of Henry VIII's reign and the downfall of Anne Boleyn. The show received a ton of criticism for being historically inaccurate in season one, and thankfully, they really cleaned up their act for season two. I have since read several books (Alison Weir and David Starkey both have good ones) and the effort to make season two more accurate is obvious and I think that the viewers will appreciate that. I certainly did. Here is a summary of my favorite episodes from season two:
Episode 2- Henry tells Anne that he intends to marry her and make her Queen of England. He dubs her Marquess of Pembroke and they travel to France where Henry presents her to Francis I (King of France) as his future wife. She does an amazingly enchanting dance with her ladies for Francis I that will leave you drooling. Henry and Anne finally seal the deal; she becomes pregnant with Elizabeth I.
Episode 5- This episode is centered on the downfall of Thomas More. This is some of the finest acting work that I have ever seen. Jeremy Northam gives the performance of a lifetime. This episode will make any grown man cry. Henry makes the tough decision to execute the only man that has ever had the integrity to be honest with him and stick to his beliefs even during the political mayhem of the time. Without giving too much away, the ending sequence is breathtaking. Bravo to both Jeremy Northam and Jonathan Rhys Myers, both did a great job in this episode.
Episode 7- Anne realizes that she will never truly be Queen of England as long as Katherine is alive. She is starting to realize that her days are numbered and she is quickly losing the King's favor. Anne and Henry share a sex scene that will make your heart race. Amazing camera and editing work in this episode from the dance/sex scene to the final scene that I will explain in a second. Katherine dies and Maria Doyle Kennedy really shines as she hangs on for dear life until the very end. Anne and Henry have their infamous celebration in the courtyard and Anne has a very intense scene with her father at the very end where she announces that all is good in the world, "There is good news all around. Katherine is dead and I am pregnant. I am pregnant with the King's son. We are on the edge of a golden world!"
Episode 10- There is no doubt that season two belongs to Natalie Dormer as Anne, but here she leaves the viewers with no doubts. She IS Anne as she awaits her death in the tower and finally takes leave of the world. Calling her performance amazing would be an understatement. Everything from her quiet hysterics to her eerie calm to her infamous line, "I have a little neck." She captures everything that we know about Anne Boleyn and her final days in the tower. I have watched this episode over and over and over again and cry like a baby every time. They really paid a lovely tribute to this fascinating woman, even down to the color of her gown and her final words as she approaches the scaffold. Brilliant!! I definitely felt a sense of loss that Natalie won't be on the show next season, but we should be proud of her representation of Anne Boleyn. Natalie will truly be missed and the other cast members have big shoes to fill.
I do want to point out a couple of things that I did notice that were inaccurate just in case people want to discuss it here. In episode one, Charles Brandon tells the King that he has remarried and that his wife's name is "Catherine Brooke" when her name was actually Catherine Willoughby. He also said that he needed a mother for his young son, when in fact, he already had 3 children by this time. Also, in episode one there is a scene where Thomas Wyatt and Anne Boleyn are in bed together. They show this as some sort of dream or figment of his imagination, but I cannot figure out why they would do this in the first place. It is known that Thomas Wyatt did have some sort of affection toward Anne, but this scene may cause a bit of confusion for viewers that aren't as familiar with the story. Also, in episode ten, after they arrest the men (Thomas Wyatt included) Cromwell tells Wyatt that he will be freed and he yells after Cromwell, "But I am the only one who is guilty!!" I don't really think that this was necessary since there is no evidence to back up any type of physical relationship between the two of them or any proof that Thomas Wyatt had some sort of obsession/imaginary relationship with Anne going on in his own mind. However, I do think that historians generally agree that he was enamored by her.

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TUDORS:COMPLETE SECOND SEASON - DVD Movie

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Lark Rise to Candleford: The Complete Season Two Review

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(More customer reviews)Lark Rise to Candleford: The Complete Season One is a charming series that tackles myriad themes, and is adapted from Flora Thompson's semi-autobiographical novel. In the first season, young Laura Timmins (Olivis Hallinan) leaves her village of Lark Rise to work as an assistant to the postmistress in Candleford, Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha who was also brilliant in her role as Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)). Through the course of the first season, Laura discovers that she enjoys living in the more affluent town of Candleford, and experiences the pangs of adolescence, including romantic entanglements. Dorcas Lane, the kind-hearted and sensible postmistress also goes through some pangs of her own, largely to do with her friendship with squire, Sir Timothy Midwinter (Ben Miles) who is married to the beautiful and composed Lady Adelaide (Olivia Grant). In the first season, viewers got to see the themes of marital strife, conflicts between the upper and lower classes, romantic entanglements, and other issues played out.
By the second season, both Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide have moved to London, but there is still plenty of drama in Dorcas' life with the arrival of James Dowland (Jason Merrells), a former inhabitant of Lark Rise, a local boy who has done well in life. Being a self-made and wealthy man, James settles in Candleford, though he reacquaints himself with the residents of Lark Rise, especially Queenie Turrill (Linda Bassett) who used to take care of him as a young boy. James opens a fashionable hotel in Candleford, and tries to 'improve' the lives of the Lark Rise residents with mixed results. There is also a strong chemistry between James and Dorcas, though their relationship flounders between attraction and rivalry/conflict. Laura seems more mature and wiser, having learned a couple of enlightening things about the pitfalls of romance, and is taking on more responsibilities at the post office. But then, a young clockmaker, Fisher Bloom (Matthew McNulty) comes to town, and Laura finds herself attracted to Fisher, though he seems oblivious to her charms, initially. Laura's parents, Robert and Emma Timmins (Brendan Coyle & Claudie Blakley) who have always been a very close and loving couple find themselves facing some marital strife in their marriage, and this second season takes an intimate look at their dynamics as a couple.
There is also plenty of drama amongst the other inhabitants of Lark Rise & Candleford - the sisters Pearl and Ruby Pratt (Matilda Ziegler, Victoria Hamilton) who have a dressmaking/drapery store continue to pry into others' affairs whilst dealing with their own emotional dramas. Postman Thomas Brown's (Mark Heap)romantic (mis)adventures continue, and many more. This is truly a gem of a series, and I am hopelessly addicted to it. Each episode is well-crafted and credibly acted, drawing viewers into the lives of these mostly endearing & flawed characters, and making one feel at home in both Lark Rise and Candleford.For those who love period dramas, there's some wonderful productions (these are some of my favorites) to check out:
Cranford: The Collection (Cranford / Return to Cranford)
Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)
Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1980)
Daniel Deronda
Anne of Green Gables Trilogy Box Set
Road to Avonlea Season 1 and others in the series
Wives and Daughters
The Buccaneers

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The residents of Lark Rise and Candleford return for a second season of heart-warming adventures in this critically acclaimed adaptation of Flora Thompson's novels. The second season sees the arrival of a dashing and elegant stranger in Candleford. Rich, enterprising worldly, and without a wife, James Dowland is a successful businessman with a string of London hotels and has come to transform Candleford and bring it new prosperity. But not everyone welcomes his entrepreneurial efforts and it isn't long before he is sparring with thespirited yet suddenly flustered Dorcas and aggravating the pride of the male Lark Risers with his superior business acumen and somewhat overbearing manner.

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The Eagle Has Landed (1976) Review

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(More customer reviews)At long last, one of my favourite "fictional" World War II films is finally out on DVD and the transfer is excellent all round. And even better, there is now a "Special Edition" Region 2 release available on the Amazon UK website with an additional 17 minutes of footage, interviews with Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland & Donald Pleasance, theatrical trailers, biographies on cast & crew plus interviews from British news programs !
The 1970's was a decade when war movies were filled with mercenaries, commando's and full guns blazing action....and "The Eagle has Landed" is no exception, but a better told tale than many others !
Director John Sturges ( "The Great Escape", "The Magnificent Seven", "Ice Station Zebra" ) in his final directorial role shows once again why he was one sharpest action / suspense film directors of the 1960/70's with this exciting filming of the best selling Jack Higgins novel. What makes this film so enjoyable, and able to withstand repeated viewings is the talented cast at the centre of this twisting tale of spies and espionage. German officer Kurt Steiner (Michael Caine) is the disgraced leader of a group of crack German paratroopers that have been exiled to operate an MTB boat in the English Channel. Opportuntity comes their way in the form of Colonel Radl (Robert Duvall), with an incredible plot to secretly parachute into England and kidnap Winston Churchill from a country retreat. Donald Pleasance turns in a chilling performance as SS leader, Heinrich Himmler...Donald Sutherland in fine form as the IRA ally, Liam Devlin...Larry Hagman is the pompous and foolhardy Colonel Pitts and Treat Willians (in his first movie role) as the wiser and more wary American Ranger, Captain Clark. Attractive Jenny Agutter contributes the love interest as Molly Prior, and icy Jean Marsh puts in a cold blooded display as the Nazi sympathasier, Joanna Grey.
"The Eagle has Landed" has some great twists and turns and never lets the viewer relax as the story holds a keen balance between action, suspense, romance and tragedy. Highly recommended for those who like intrigue and adventure in their WWII movies !!
A highly entertaining and different WWII film that stands out from the rest.

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Blow Up (1966) Review

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(More customer reviews)Michelangelo Antonioni's view of Britain in the 1960's was a groundbreaking film that appeared at a time of turmoil and change in the lifestyles and mores of the Western world. Britain ruled supreme in pop music (Beatles, Stones, Animals) and in fashion (Mary Quant, Twiggy, Carnaby Street). The jazz stylings of Herbie Hancock were used as the soundtrack for the film, but the live Rock performance in the film was performed by the post-Clapton Yardbirds with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. To reflect the London fashion scene, Antonioni used the German model Verushka in a simulated photo shoot that has been called the sexiest scene in film history.
(As an aside, Verushka's real name was Vera and her father was one of the German army officers who attempted to assassinate Hitler in 1944; with the failure of the plot, he was executed and his family was interred in labor camps.)
When I first viewed this film in 1967, I was enormously impressed. The photography was brilliant and the audio was the first "surround-sound" I had ever encountered. (During the park scenes, I kept looking over my shoulder to see what birds had gotten into the theater!) When I again saw this film about 1975, it looked dated and out of fashion. Now, more than 40 years later, I see that it is a true period film that reflects much of the character and thinking of the time.
David Hemming's character in the movie (known as "Thomas") is not satisfied with his success as a fashion photographer and wants to become a "reality/documentary" photographer in the genre of Dorthea Lange or Henri Cartier-Bresson. To this end, he pretends to be a street person and spends a night in a doss house, a sort of cheap barracks accommodation with shared sleeping and bath facilities. Thomas sneaks his camera into this establishment in a paper bag and surreptitiously photographs the other guests as they shower and dress in the morning. The clicking and whirring sounds of his camera and the stop-action showing the photographs that were produced constituted the opening scenes of "Blow-Up". Thomas intends to use these and other such photographs in a book that he hopes will establish him as a "real" photographer. For some incomprehensible reason, this entire opening sequence has been deleted from the Turner/MGM DVD release. Instead, the movie opens with Thomas leaving the doss house in the morning, after the original opening photography sequence. In the original movie, Thomas then returns to his parked Rolls-Royce, places his camera in the glove box and drives away. We viewers are surprised; is he stealing the car? This scene has also been deleted. In this DVD release, he suddenly and inexplicably appears, already driving the Rolls down the street.
With the deletion of the movie's opening scenes, it is difficult to make sense of some of the later scenes in the film. At one point, Thomas meets with his publisher (an early appearance by Peter Bowles, later known for his performances in "Rumpole of the Bailey", "To the Manor Born" and "The Irish RM") and reviews the photographs he had taken at the doss house. This is the only brief chance viewers of the DVD have to see anything of the opening scenes.
Those opening scenes are important because they set the theme of the film. Thomas first appears as a down-and-out man, but turns out to be far from it. Viewers are put on notice that they can never be sure what is real and what is make-believe. This continues through the film's final scene, where the make-believe of the mimes' tennis game becomes more real than the murder that Thomas accidentally photographed.
The DVD is marred by additional deletions. Thomas develops the roll of film he shot in the park, studies the photos and sees something. (We viewers never really see what it is.) He makes a series of larger and progressively blurrier enlargements. Finally, he makes his largest blow-up, examines it, and instead of hanging it out in the open as he had the others, he conceals it between a pair of cabinets. This seems a fairly long sequence in the original film and it is only later that we learn of its significance. Of course, the name of the film comes from this scene. I can only assume that Turner/MGM felt this sequence was boring and deleted most of it from the DVD. When Thomas later finds his studio has been robbed, we don't even know what was taken or why he has this one enlargement left. There are other odd little deletions here and there in the DVD; perhaps there were some bad frames in the original film from which the DVD was made. When I purchased the DVD, I expected some of his romp with the two young "wanna be" models to be deleted. I did not expect the evisceration of the basic theme of the film by the deletion of the important opening scenes.
I might describe this DVD as a "Bowdlerised" edition, but perhaps "Turnerized" may be more correct. The DVD includes commentary by Peter Brunette, an academician. author and presumed expert on the films of Michelangelo Antonioni. I have carefully listened to his commentary twice through, and can only conclude that he never saw the original film. His comments refer only to this DVD edition. At one point in his commentary, Mr. Brunette notes that the clothes worn by Thomas at the doss house mysteriously disappear. Yes they do, because of another nonsensical deletion!
I would not normally recommend a DVD with so many deletions, but it seems that this flawed DVD is the only version of the film that is currently available. To see it in this form is better than to not see it at all. I give it 3 stars instead of the 4+ that the original film deserves.

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Taking photographs of a couple making love proves deadly when the photographer enlarges the image and discovers murder.The film and pictures are stolen from his studio and the body vanishes.In this elegant balance of deciet and trickery, the photographer must question the reality of what he has actually seen.

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The Tudors: The Final Season Review

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(More customer reviews)Ironically enough, I've had a tumultuous relationship with The Tudors ever since it first started. It was an odd, kind of on-again, off-again relationship that ranged from near-fanatic fandom to downright apathy. I was a fan of Tudor historical fiction novels before the show began, and was more than ecstatic when I heard that Showtime was bringing the infamous Henry VIII to the screen with his many wives.
Sadly, the series didn't always deliver for me. The biggest issue for me, especially in the first season, was the incredible number of historical inaccuracies. Even though this always bugged me throughout the entire series' run, I had to just put it aside and accept the fact that this show is a Hollywood-ized version of Henry VIII's reign. Perhaps the aspect that got me through were the lush sets, impeccable art direction and absolutely gorgeous period costumes and accessories (especially on all of Henry's queens) -even though the costumes were more like Tudor style mixed with modern couture influences (okay, they looked cool).
In season four -titled by Showtime as "The Final Seduction" -Henry deals with war with France, lingering religious issues, his own fading health and of course, wives five and six -Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr, respectively. By this point, of course, Henry should be very rotund (300 pounds) and nearing the end of his life. Even though Jonathan Rhys Myers does get the aging treatment in the final episodes and they try to dress him up in large, heavy clothing to make him look a little bigger it's doesn't quite work-though it's at least something.
The season, overall, is relatively entertaining, though some episodes are better than others. The first half deals primarily with the young Katherine Howard, her affair with Thomas Culpepper (and Lady Rochford's well-documented involvement), the oddly included misadventures of Lord Surrey (a supposed distant relative of Katherine, who is a boring and pointless character) and Henry's continued political troubles. While I didn't find Kitty Howard particularly likable, Tamzin Merchant brings a strong liveliness to the character and emphasizes her age, her questionable moral character, and the fact that she is a completely inept queen.
After beheading poor Katherine Howard, the married Lady Latimer (Catherine Parr) grabs Henry's attention. Once her husband dies, she reluctantly marries Henry, and decides to use her new position to advance her strongly Protestant beliefs. Henry, meanwhile, departs to France for war and Catherine dodges accusations of heresy. After the war is over, Henry's health starts to decline until he dies.
The highlight of this season should have been the much-anticipated and strongly rumored "dream sequence" in the final episode that would feature Henry's deceased wives. Though this ended up being somewhat disappointing (only three of the wives appeared), it was good to see some of the ladies return to Henry's life at the end, but it just wasn't enough. The fact that I felt let down by this, as well as the somewhat anti-climatic ending, left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end that even made me wonder why I had spent all of my time watching the show. You know what would have made this finale better? More Anne Boleyn -okay, maybe not, but I've seriously missed Natalie Dormer since she was knocked off at the end of season two. Not only was she a wonderful actress, but she portrayed a strong and compelling Anne who stands as the strongest and more interesting of Henry's wives, stealing the show in every scene she was in.
Thus ended my strange relationship with Showtime's The Tudors. Even though I had my doubts, I kept with it until the very end, and, unfortunately, wasn't satisfied but have to admit -journey getting there was entertaining and wonderfully done.

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The Tudors presents the rarely dramatized, tumultuous early years of King Henry VIII’s nearly 40 year, omnipotent reign (1509-1547).In addition to his famous female consorts and 20+ year marriage to Catherine of Aragon to the infamous dalliance with Anne Boleyn, the series delves in to Henry’s most notable political relationship and the deconstruction of the Roman Catholic Church in England.

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The Holiday (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Nancy Meyers' "The Holiday" has been seriously dissed by most of America's film critics--including one who suggested that any man who goes to see it should be forced to pay with a crucial part of his anatomy instead of money. "The Holiday" is indeed a prime example of what is condecendingly known as a "chick flick," and it's not a movie you can make great claims for. But "The Holiday" succeeds outstandingly in living up to its title; it provides an audience with a two-hour vacation filled with charming, likable actors playing charming, likable characters. The movie is set during the Christmas holidays in which two women with man problems--Iris (Kate Winslet), an English journalist, and Amanda (Cameron Diaz), an L.A. producer of film trailers--meet over the Internet. On a whim, they decide to switch houses for Christmas; Amanda ends up in Iris's picture-postcard-pretty cottage in Surrey, Iris in Amanda's luxurious, gated mansion in Beverly Hills. There, they discover new romantic complications: Amanda with Iris's brother Graham (Jude Law) and Iris with a film composer named Miles (Jack Black). There's also a subplot about the friendship that develops between Iris and an elderly screenwriter played by the venerable Eli Wallach. Nothing that happens in the movie is at all original or consequential. I could even quibble about an inaccuracy or two in Meyers' screenplay (Cary Grant was from Bristol in Gloucestershire, not Surrey). But seeing "The Holiday" makes you feel happy and light of heart, which is all it sets out to do. While the film's appeal is necessarily greater for women, I also think most men will find this a more-than-serviceable date movie. Sometimes you want a movie that's rich, gooey and sweet, that contains no sharp edges and requires no sharp utensils for its consumption. In an increasingly abrasive world, the need for cinematic confections is greater than ever, and "The Holiday" fills that bill.

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HOLIDAY - DVD Movie

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