Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary » Friday Film Reviews

Friday Film Review: The Swan

Jayne — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:33 +0000

The Swan (1956)
Genre: Historical Dramedy
Grade: B-

Here’s a golden oldie, or moldy oldie if you don’t care for it. The movie is based on a play written by Ferenc Molnar and was filmed twice before this final one was made. It’s Grace Kelly’s next-to-the-last film made before her marriage to a real Prince and she never looked lovelier.

It has always been the overriding ambition of Princess Beatrix (Jesse Royce Landis who also played GK’s mother in “To Catch a Thief”) to see her daughter Princess Alexandra (Grace Kelly) become a Queen. Their family was forced from the throne of their tiny middle European country by Napoleon (whose name Princess Beatrix will not allowed to be mentioned in her presence) and she’s aware that it’s probably their last hope to regain some stature by cementing the ties between their dispossessed family and their cousins, the reigning royal family headed by Queen Maria Dominika (Agnes Moorehead) and her son and heir Prince Albert (Alec Guinness).

[[Show as slideshow]]

When Beatrix gets word that Albert is on his way to visit them, she immediately pulls out all the stops and whips the palace staff, and her family, into a frenzy in order to present Alexandra in her best light. But after Albert arrives for his short four day stay, he spends more time duck hunting, inspecting the modern dairy and with Alexandra’s younger brothers than with the slightly shy Alexandra. What’s a mother on a deadline to do? Use a little old fashioned jealousy, that’s what.

She instructs Alexandra to invite the boys’ young and handsome tutor Dr. Nicholas Agi (Louis Jourdan) to the final night ball in the hopes that it will spur Albert to a proposal. Instead, to her horror, things backfire as Agi, emboldened by this chance of which he never dared dream, confesses his secret love to Alexandra. Now whom will she choose?

As I’ve seen mentioned in other reviews, the plot for this story is obviously dated even by the fifties. The world it depicts was long gone even then – either during WWI or by the end of WWII. But while I’m watching it, I try and lose myself in what it shows as still existing among a people who have no clue that their way of life is in its twilight. And yet, the film does hint at what is to come.

It’s all about the differences in classes – the old class of royalty who are shown doing little beyond ceremonial duties and being instructed in how to “be royal” and the rising middle class who will take over due to their drive, education and ambition. We see the best and the worst of both classes and are left to decide on our own if Alexandra makes the correct decision or not.

There is a great deal of dry comedy throughout the story which Alec Guinness pulls off in style. But he also shows great tact, after an initial spell of pique, in dealing with Alexandra’s conflicting feelings. Another surprisingly fun character is Symphorosa (played by Estelle Winwood) whose pithy one liners often embarrass Beatrix as she’s trying to make a good impression on Albert. Agnes Moorehead is regally grand and imperious in a role that had little time on screen but which she made the most of.

Landis beautifully balances Beatrix on the knife edge of likability. We can see her as a woman just trying to see to the future of her family – the scene when she offers contradictory advice to Alexandra on how to behave around Albert is quite funny – as well as a pushy, slightly snobby royal who is obviously shocked when one of the lower orders dares to have feelings for her daughter. Kelly floats coolly through her role until the moment when her passions are aroused and she comes to life. There’s a late scene when she lets Albert “have it” for the way he’s acted towards the family and of course the final scene where she comes to terms with the direction her life will take.

The movie has a slightly bittersweet ending. One might wish for it to end another way but given the way Alexandra has been raised her entire life, I wasn’t surprised. I’m not entirely convinced that her protestations of love for Agi are real. Perhaps or perhaps not. As Albert reminds her, she just kept her feelings so controlled and beneath the surface for so long that when they finally burst free, she’s not sure how to handle them.

As far as I can tell, “The Swan” isn’t available on DVD but there are two ways for it to be viewed. Someone has loaded it on youtube (type in “The Swan-part 1″ — note the hyphen is important). I’d love to know which language it’s subtitle in. It’s also being shown on Turner Classic Movies in November (right now it’s scheduled at midnight on the 26th/27th but check closer to the date to be sure).

~Jayne

FTC discloser – I watched this on television.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Latter Days

Joan/SarahF — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:23 +0000

Latter Days (2003)
Genre: Gay Romance
Grade: B

I’m an absolute sucker for coming out stories and especially, apparently, for “religious twink overcoming his background to accept who he is” stories. This film delivers quite nicely. I came to it oddly: I stumbled across a novelization of the film while cruising (so to speak) the gay and lesbian fiction section at Barnes & Noble. Being what I am, I read the end and loved it, so streamed the movie on Netflix. The ending in the novelization was actually better than the ending in the movie (a little more dialogue, a little more emotional depth), but I still wasn’t disappointed in the movie.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Christian is your typical — one might even say stereotypical — gay LA party boy: a gym rat who fucks a new guy every night and has a job as a waiter while he tries to break into acting (I think — not super-clear). (Jacqueline Bisset, BTW, still gorgeous, moonlights as his wisdom-dispensing, snarky boss.) Aaron is a Mormon from Idaho on mission to LA. He lives with three other Elders in the same apartment complex as Christian and Christian and his friends make a bet that Christian can seduce one of the Mormons. He goes after Aaron because Aaron isn’t a blatant homophobe, but Christian’s first attempt at seduction is aborted when he uses his “seducing straight guys” line of “it doesn’t have to mean anything” on Aaron and Aaron balks because, to him, his first kiss, his first sex DOES mean something. Because Aaron is for real. He really believes in his mission, he really believes that he can do some good, and he really believes that things should have meaning. He accuses Christian of being shallow, which, of course, is true, spurring Christian to undergo a Cher-from-Clueless-like shallow-person personality makeover that actually sticks and is quite cute.

When they finally get together, they are, of course, discovered, and Aaron is sent home in disgrace and shame. The emotional violence his mother inflicts on him will haunt me. I know the answer to this, but do people really do this to their children? I guess the question is, HOW can people do this to their children? How can belief overcome what should be unconditional love? How can a mother drive her child to suicide by rejecting him and then not understand that it’s her fault? These scenes were played sparingly and well.

The actor who plays Christian occasionally overacts in the really emotional scenes. The requisite scene in which he tells his own coming out story skirts the edge of farce where I kept expecting him to stop, smile, and say “psych!” which is not necessarily the response the film was attempting to evoke. But all that is nothing when confronted with his sheer prettiness. :) Additionally, the pacing is, at times, odd: slow then superfast, told, not shown — but not distractingly so. And I could have done with a little more lingering over the denouement, but then I’m a emotions-whore.

Fair warning (or, perhaps, enticement): the film is not shy about swearing and even less shy about nudity. Christian and Aaron take off all their clothes and you don’t get just discrete flank shots. While there’s no erect penises, there are certainly penises. And that’s very happy-making! :)

This movie is not a romantic comedy but it’s not a drama either, because it has its happy ending. The themes in this movie are not subtle, but they’re heartwarming and true, nonetheless: interconnectedness and community, character depth and worthiness, how we effect and affect everyone around us. The narrative does a great job of showing how one person’s small, unthinking kindness can work in others for good or ill in an ever-widening web. There are no coincidences, or if there are, they can still serve a purpose. Everything means something, in one way or another.

And love is love is love and deserves to be recognized as such. Grade: B

P.S. I watched this again with my husband and it’s just as much fun the second time around and I felt the emotions more deeply, perhaps because I was comparing it with itself, rather than with the novelization. A happy, feel-good movie with a great message.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Dear Frankie

Jayne — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:46 +0000

Dear Frankie (2004)
Genre: Drama
Grade: A-

Gerard Butler, please stop acting in rubbish films that have heroines put in vibrating underwear and do more like this one. This film is wonderful. And it’s wonderful without overdoing the important moments or slathering on the pathos in order to yank on our heartstrings.

Lizzie Morrison (Emily Mortimer) has carried on a deception for years. When her son was a baby, she took him and fled her abusive husband. Living with her mother, Nell (Mary Riggans), they’ve moved from town to town to avoid Davy. But she’s kept all this from Frankie (Jack McElhone), instead telling him his Da is a merchant sailor and writing to Frankie as if the letters come from his father.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Their latest move has taken them to Glasgow and unintentionally brought about the thing Lizzie has always worried about. The name she randomly chose for the ship Davy supposedly serves on is actually the name of a real ship and it’s coming into port soon. When Frankie’s new classmate bets him that Frankie’s Da won’t come to visit while his ship is docked, Lizzie sets out to find a stranger to play the part for a day. But the Stranger (Gerard Butler) might turn out to be more than either Frankie or Lizzie ever hoped for.

Director Shona Auerbach hit the jackpot with her cast who all turn in spot on performances. Mortimer conveys a woman who’s put up barriers against being hurt and against seeing her child get hurt. Then she has to pull them down to reach out to this stranger and allow him to know the hidden hurt of her world. For her son, she’ll do it but she still stands ready to defend Frankie and the lie she’s perpetuated to give him some contact with a father.

Butler displays an awkwardness one would expect of a man trying to pull a fast one on a 9 year old child. But then slowly warms and thaws to the role of being an absentee father beginning with watching Frankie at football then finding him the perfect stone to skip across the water. Later he’s the one who wheedles Lizzie into allowing him to spend one more day with the two of them, extending his role of having this family for a brief moment longer.

But McElhone, as Frankie, steals the film. He’s not above using his deafness to get his way, as with a librarian he guilts into letting him check out more books but he’s a decent kid who actually knows far more than he lets his mother think he does. And he can hold his own against the classmate Ricky played by Sean Brown with cheeky charm. Frankie also has a girlfriend of sorts, Catriona (Jayd Johnson) who defends him against Ricky then gets him into trouble herself with her knowledge of where mothers store things in order to hide them.

Everything about the film is subtle and scaled perfectly. There’s no overblown orchestral score or soaring violins to hammer us with the knowledge that this is an Important Emotional Moment in the film. The music backs up the acting and the acting is done with finesse. There are looks and glances, spacing to emphasis the awkward first meeting between Lizzie and the Stranger and time to catch the shock on the Stranger’s face when he finally learns why Frankie’s real Da isn’t part of his life.

When I rented the film, I wasn’t expecting much beyond some nice eye candy moments from Butler. I hoped that it wouldn’t be too mushy or maudlin. I hoped that the ending wouldn’t pull out all the stops to manipulate me and force the film into a “feel good” resolution. The film avoids the pitfalls I was worried about and still gives me eye candy. It’s a film that uses silence and physical space to let the actors tell the tale. It’s a charmer and a film I’m glad I took a chance on.

~Jayne

This is currently available in DVD form but it ain’t cheap so my thanks to Susanna Kearsley for pointing out that it’s posted on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZY-xUzLoAw

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Shaun of the Dead

Jayne — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:11 +0000

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Genre: Romantic zombie comedy
Grade: Effing hilarious

When I looked ahead on the October calendar and saw that this last Friday would be the day before Halloween, I realized I needed some kind of horror film or monster film or, well you get the picture, to tie in with it. But since that genre isn’t something I normally watch and I wanted some romance in the film, I was a bit panicked. “What can I watch?” I muttered as I chewed a fingernail. A quick check of my Netflix queue and the day is saved. I’ll watch “Shaun of the Dead!” I said.

[[Show as slideshow]]

The plot is fairly simple. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 29 year old appliance salesman who’s having problems with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) who is dissatisfied with their relationship, primarily because it revolves around going to “The Winchester,” Shaun’s favorite pub, every night. She wants something different, a nice dinner at a nice restaurant somewhere other than the pub. But Shaun screws even that up and tops it off by giving her flowers, complete with card, that he’d bought for his mother. She dumps him and Shaun and one of his flatmates, Ed (Nick Frost), head to the pub to drown Shaun’s sorrows.

The next day, something weird seems to be going on in the streets of London. At first they’re almost deserted, though Shaun barely notices anything different until he and Ed see a young woman in their small flat garden. They eventually realize she’s a zombie then retreat inside where the telly news announcer informs London that zombies are taking over the country and the only way to kill them is to remove their heads or destroy their brains. Armed with this knowledge and some weapons improvised from the garden shed, they dispatch her and another zombie. Worried about Shaun’s mother (Penelope Wilton), Liz and whether or not they’ll have to kill Phillip (Bill Nighy), Shaun’s stepfather who’s apparently been bitten by one of the undead, the two devise a plan to pick everyone up and drive to the Winchester where they think they’ll be safe.

But with the numbers of the undead flesh eating zombies growing, is there anywhere in London that’s safe?

As I said, I don’t watch horror films beyond the occasional “Hammer” film so a lot of the delicious homages to the film genre passed right over my head. But don’t worry, you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this film. Pegg and his co-writer Edgar Wright, who also directed the film, also include a number of other homages to British TV shows and video games. Again, if you catch these it’s great but you certainly don’t need to know all the references to have fun with the movie. I had a great time picking out various actors and trying to remember where I’d seen them (It’s “Dawn” from “The Office!”).

The gore is fairly low key and generally consists of face paint and off screen deaths until the final scenes at the Winchester. Here, with Shaun and the others using the namesake rifle from over the pub bar, things get bloodier. The death of one of their number who gets dragged outside by the zombies is fairly graphic but it’s over quickly. In the storyboard “Plot Holes,” which are part of the DVD extras, we learn that another person actually survives being hauled amongst the undead.

We never actually learn how the zombie apocalypse begins and the ending features a major deus ex machina, but the film is so funny and enjoyable that I don’t care. At times, such as when Shaun is battling his way to Liz’s flat, I was literally holding my sides laughing as I screamed, “It’s like whack-a-mole!” The scene in the Winchester when several of their hearty band bludgeon the zombie pub owner to the beat of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” is hilarious.

Recently, DA has received offers of a number of zombie books for review and Jane mentioned that zombies seem to be the new vampires of UF. Hopefully they’re not like these zombies or I’d have to ask, as an aghast talk show host character does in the film, “You sleep with that?!” But if you’re looking for a great film for Halloween, do check this one out. I’m off to watch it for a second time now.

~Jayne

FTC discloser – I rented this from a movie rental service though I plan to buy my own copy.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Rachel and the Stranger

Jayne — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
Genre: Historical frontier romance
Grade: B

Here’s another movie from ‘way back when’ that I first saw years ago courtesy of the AMC TV channel. In my quest for movies to write Friday Film reviews on, it came to mind. When I noticed that it’s going to be shown on TCM in early November, I hauled ass to my stack of old VHS tapes and pulled it out. Thank goodness it’s being broadcast as I’ve learned the hard way that VHS tapes are not eternal.

The film could also be called, in true romance book fashion, “The Indentured Bride.” We’re on the Ohio frontier – exact time never specified – and David Harvey (William Holden) is in need of some feminine influence around the cabin. His beloved wife Susan died recently and since then, the homestead is going to hell and his young son (Gary Gray) is taking full advantage of the lack of supervision to ignore his schoolwork in favor of going fishing and playing with his hound dogs. But it’s not until his friend, and former suitor for Susan’s hand in marriage, Jim Fairways (Robert Mitchum) takes a break from his wandering ways to pay them a visit, that David finally acknowledges how bad the situation is.

[[Show as slideshow]]

After Jim heads off hunting, David, and a complaining Davey, ride in to the stockade to see who might be available. Pickings are slim but there is one prospect, an indentured woman named Rachel (Loretta Young). David is really just looking for a servant but caves into the lectures from the preacher that decent folk don’t live together unless they’re married. Rachel doesn’t have much say in all this but the look on her face as David puts the ring on her finger testifies to the fact that she’s not immune to marriage and the chance of a home of her own.

They arrive back at the Harvey homestead where Rachel is treated as little better than a servant. David is considerate but definitely views their relationship as more practical than romantic while Davey is dead set against anyone taking his ma’s place. It’s not until Jim arrives back on the scene, and sees Rachel for the lovely and desirable woman she is, that David wakes up to what he’s got. But is it too late for him to win her back?

The movie is fairly short in its current length (80 minutes vs the original 95) but it packs a lot into those minutes. This is the hard life that people lived on the frontier and which no one complained about. Fetching firewood, milking cows, churning butter, cooking over a fireplace, warding off hawks that are after your chickens – the fun just never ends. But it also shows how dependent upon each other couples were then. It was definitely sink or swim. Just watching Rachel – in her Edith Head designed costumes – fake this for the camera makes me want to hug my kitchen appliances.

I also enjoyed a movie with no sex, no sexual innuendoes and no swearing. The look in Jim’s eyes as he admires Rachel is enough to convey what he’s feeling as is the startled realization of David that he’d better get with the program or risk losing Rachel. His entreaty to Rachel after she’s decided she’s had enough and is on her way back to the stockade is enough to make me roll my eyes – just as she does – at the stubbornness and stupidity of men no matter what the era.

All 4 lead characters are excellent in their roles and that includes young Davey. He’s supposed to be a somewhat whiny young boy who doesn’t want to stop playing in order to get any kind of education and that’s how he comes across. I can see Rachel come to life from Jim’s attention and cheered her on when she chewed out all the males for the way they’ve treated her – including Jim whom she’s pissed at for wanting to buy her indenture ($18 down and 4 owin’).

There’s a Shawnee attack on the homestead towards the end of the film but it’s not un-pc, unlike other films of the time, at least not IMO. I did have to wonder what Rachel thought she’d accomplish by riding back when she could have reached the safety of the stockade but she and David have to be brought together under fire to realize they have genuine feelings for each other. An added bonus is getting to hear Robert Mitchum sing (yes, he could) and play a good guy while Holden shows he could play what amounts to an anti-hero.

This is another movie that baffles me as to why it hasn’t been released on DVD in the US. Maybe someday but until then, catch it on TCM November 3rd or in installments on youtube.

~Jayne

FTC discloser – I watched this on television.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Say Anything

Jayne — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:43 +0000

How did I miss this? Srsly, where was I? Dunno. I’ve heard about the “holding up the boom box” scene. I’ve seen it on so many “Gawd, these are the best films evah!” lists and heard from so many people that “you have to see this film, I mean it!” that I should have seen it before now. But it took doing these reviews and scanning Top Films lists for more film ideas to finally make me do it.

[[Show as slideshow]]

No one thinks Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and Diane Court (Ione Skye) will ever last. In fact, everyone’s surprised they ever got together in the first place. Including them. The first time Lloyd asks Diane out, she says yes then has to check their recent senior high school yearbook to even know who it is she just agreed to go to a party with. But as their relationship progresses, they find something special. She feels totally comfortable with him and he starts to trust in himself because of her.

Then things start to go wrong. Her father (John Mahoney) is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the time before she’s due to leave for a prestigious fellowship in England is ticking down. Diane feels with all this going on, that she doesn’t have time for a romantic relationship and reluctantly breaks with Lloyd. Which devastates him. But he keeps trying until he finally accepts it’s the end. Or is it?

Lloyd is every woman’s dream guy. Or he ought to be if she’s worth having. Diane tells her father that on their first date, Lloyd stopped her and steered her around some broken glass on the pavement so she wouldn’t hurt her bare feet. And it’s this moment that she thinks of every time someone asks her what she’s doing with a guy like Lloyd. Lloyd is considerate, he’s a gentleman, he looks after his friends and even drunk people he’s never met before when they’re stranded at the party with no way to get home.

No, he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life but he’s honest about that instead of bullshitting some answer just to make the grownups feel better. And he loves Diane and loves being with her so much that after the first time they make love, he’s shaking. And then there’s the scene where he puts it all out there with music for everyone to know how he feels about her.

And I kept waiting for Diane to mess with him. To tell him that he’s not good enough for her brainiac “I have this fellowship” self. But she doesn’t and her reason for breaking with him, though it hurts him, is more what is going on in her life than anything she feels or doesn’t feel about him. And since she’s going through a lot with her beloved father accused of crimes and she’s about eighteen, I’ll cut her some slack. Which as I get older, I’m less and less willing to do so that says something to me about how good this movie is.

When her world caves in around her, it’s Lloyd she runs to. It’s Lloyd she needs and wants and God bless him, he’s there for her. He’s holding her hand on the plane, helping her over her fear of flying as they wait for the ding. Those of you who’ve seen the movie will know what I’m talking about and it’s an incentive for those of you who haven’t. Probably only three of you since I’m so behind on seeing this.

The secondary cast is outstanding. Mahoney plays the father who Diane feels comfortable saying anything to and who we’re not sure about until the end. Lili Taylor is one of Lloyd’s female friends who already realize what a gem he is. Eric Stoltz and Jeremy Piven, among others, are Lloyd’s guy friends who think he’s cool and offer guy advice. Cusack’s real sister Joan plays his sister here and Glenn Walker Harris, Jr is Lloyd’s nephew and fellow kickboxing enthusiast.

I think Cameron Crowe does an awesome job directing this and letting us see these two falling in love and just enjoying being with each other. As the plane takes off for England, I don’t see two totally different people heading off together who probably won’t last in the long run. I see two people full of hopes and dreams and belief in each other. And these lines nail it.

Diane: Nobody thinks it will work, do they?
Lloyd: No. You just described every great success story.

There’s a 20th Anniversary edition DVD due out in November which is supposed to have cool stuff – though from what I’ve seen, the original DVD has about all the same cool stuff already. Maybe they’ll work on the crappy subtitles…

Anyway, if you haven’t seen this – try it. If you have seen it, maybe you feel, as I do, that this is more than the usual 80s teen “angst filled” “nobody understands us” film. This is one that makes me happy even at my creaky middle aged age.

~Jayne

FTC discloser – I rented this from a movie rental service.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Outlander

Jayne — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:13 +0000

Outlander (2008)
Genre: SF, Viking, horror, fantasy
Grade: B-/C+

No, this isn’t about Gabaldon’s opening to her epic – and then some – TT series. It’s, as many people have said, Beowulf crossed with outer space. But wait, there’s more for romance fans. It’s also got a Rothgar! I kept thinking of JB’s “waiting for Rothgar” and laughing as I watched the Viking edition. Moth recommended this film as one that “initially wouldn’t be thought of as a romance.” So true. It’s another mishmash genre film that at first doesn’t make too much sense – outer space alien crossed with Iron Age Vikings – but somehow it all works out in the end.

I’ll just present the notes I jotted down after I watched it.

[[Show as slideshow]]

I just finished this and – I’ll be honest – I’m still not sure exactly what I just watched. A cross between SF and some Iron age Viking saga. SF guy (Jim Caviezel) crash lands on Earth. SF guy crawls out of his wrecked space ship before it sinks in a lake then passes out and awakes to find his friend dead. SF guy heads off and discovers a ravaged village then gets captured and beaten up while being questioned. Lots of getting beaten up in this movie. Viking babe (Sophia Myles) helps wash up SF guy after “questioning.” He escapes. Village where SF guy is being held gets attacked. SF guy is caught (again) and blamed all over the place but gets the King (John Hurt) to listen to him when he says that he didn’t do this. They all head off after the “bear” that Vikings now think did this. And guess what? They kill a bear. A bear of bears but…SF guy knows the real ravager is still out there. SF guy and Viking babe exchange lots of looks. The survivors (Ron Perlman) of the first ravaged village show up looking for revenge and are attacked by a beastie. All witness this and realize, hey, SF guy is right. It’s not a bear…it’s a … well, WTF is that?

It’s one mean muthafucka, glow in the dark, agile, armor plated beastie, that’s what. SF guy knows what it’s capable of and basically tells villagers that “we need a bigger boat.” SF guy and Viking babe share quiet, introspective moment when he tells her about how his people took over the beastie’s planet and it all ended horribly when his people were killed. Are we supposed to feel sorry for the beastie? Dunno but the action moves back to hunting it. Villagers rig trap, lure beastie to it, set it on fire and – whoa, party time! We killed it. Whoo-hoo! Only… they merely flame broiled it because…..it ain’t dead and it’s brought along a friend. Now where’d that come from? Dunno that either but now it’s double your fun.

SF guy dives for his crashed ship, loses Viking babe then heads back to village with Viking guy (Jack Huston). They build a bigger boa – um, I mean forge better swords and head out hunting. Only they dive down the village well into…caverns, or something. Lots of dead people down there. Or body parts of dead people. Only are they all dead? Hell no. Viking babe is being terrorized by beastie then…. violent stuff happens. And people die. And beasties are killed. Okay so that’s a spoiler but what did you think would happen? So…does SF guy stay with Vikings or phone home for pick up? The movie does have some romance so you decide if you haven’t seen it.

Did I like it? Actually, somewhat.

Did I understand it? Um, sorta. I got lost in the cavern part – no pun intended.

Caviezel and the main Viking dude, Jack Huston, are some serious eye candy. The other Viking guys aren’t bad either but most of ‘em end up dead.

Sophia Myles is cute and feisty and starts off wearing a darling little leather skirted number as she and her father sword fight. Thankfully she loses that – um – interesting getup fairly quickly and spends the rest of the movie in a period dress.

For a man from an advanced civilization, Caviezel doesn’t seem to have many special powers or anything to help keep him from being slapped around. Even his method of learning the local lingo looked painful – and nauseating. Good thing he learns a swear word straight off the bat. It’s a funny moment too.

Was it gory? Yes, but not as bad as I was thinking it might be. At first the killing is at night and we don’t see much. Later on things get more grisly but I still didn’t close my eyes or ff through it. I wouldn’t let any children see it though.

Am I glad I watched it? Sure, it was entertaining even if it was hard to follow exactly what was going on.

Is there sex or mental lusting? No sex and a little eye contact/yearning between SF dude and Viking babe.

But WTH is with the lighting? During the night scenes, you can’t see a damn thing. Was this on purpose to cover exactly what the Morwen is until later in the film? Was it to cover the lack of special effects money? Was it to simulate the fact that this is the Iron Age and no one had electricity? Did someone on the production staff just forget to turn the lights on? I don’t know but it bugged me because the creature seemed pretty cool and I wanted to see more.

There’s still lots of sword fighting and old fashioned killing. I do find it hard to believe that this beastie could have been on the SF space ship and no-freakin-one knew it. How’s that work? And I’m also not sure about the reason for telling us about how the beastie’s planet was taken over by land greedy SF people.

Caviezel does a good job underplaying his role. He doesn’t go all freaked out “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE PEOPLE! WHY WON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?!?” on them. He presents the facts of the matter, he demands to go along on the initial hunt and when the Vikings think they’ve got the beast, he lets them celebrate knowing the beast will appear again and THEN they’ll be convinced. And the convincing shot – you have to see it – when the torch is thrown towards the beast and it rears up and roars, is coolio.

Overall, it’s not a bad little movie. Interesting concept, cool creature that I wish I could have seen more of even in the early scenes when we’re still not supposed to know/see exactly what they’re up against, good actors, pretty good set/costumes and it’s not overly overdramatic/played-up. Thanks, Moth, for the rec.

~Jayne

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: Saving Face

Jayne — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:36:21 +0000

Saving Face (2004)
Genre: GLBT, Asian Immigrant, Romance, Family
Grade: B

Yeah, you read the genre right. This one is truly a mixed bag but the magic is that first time director Alice Wu pulls it off so well. It’s got a great cast, wonderful location shots, a good score and best of all a top notch script for all to work with.

Surgical resident Wilhelmina ‘Wil’ Pang (Michelle Krusiec) heads off to Queens for yet another Friday night dance at what she calls “Planet China” during which she knows her widowed Ma (Joan Chen) will try and set her up with yet another Chinese son of one of her friends. Wil’s not interested in any of them except as friends but someone else catches her eye this particular night. Beautiful ballerina Vivian Shing (Lynn Chen) and Wil exchange glances but don’t get to talk until a few days later.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Vivian goes directly after what she wants but Wil still needs a little time to loosen up and accept the chance of a relationship. She’s also dealing with her mother moving in with her when her mother’s out of wedlock pregnancy is revealed causing Wil’s grandfather to throw his shameful daughter out of his house. Can Wil balance her career, her mother, her mother dating and seeing Vivian without losing her mind?

Alice Wu wrote the script as well as directed the film and since she’s of Chinese American descent as well as a lesbian, I would assume she knows what she’s talking about. After I watched the movie, I turned on the director’s commentary and enjoyed hearing Wu’s take on how she directed the film as well as tidbits about the culture being portrayed on screen. She says she wanted to show parts of NYC not often seen on screen as well as the perfect candy vending machine. You’ll have to watch the film to see how it’s incorporated into a flirting scene. The colors, lighting and shot selections are a visual delight.

Since Wil is supposed to be a busy surgical resident, I was glad to see that Wu had her be busy and make comments about lack of sleep. While I would have enjoyed seeing shots of Vivian in her dance world, I would guess budget constraints ruled that out.

I think the film is one that’s pretty open and accessible for people of all sexual persuasions. There is one sex scene between Wil and Vivian which is more tender than hot. They also share some kisses and apres sex cuddling but don’t look for raunch.

However, the lesbian relationship is not the solo in the film’s spotlight. There is also the plot thread about Wil’s Ma and how this pertains to her relationship with her elderly Chinese parents, her friends – aka the “Chinese biddies” (as Wil calls them) – , as well as the dating scene for middle aged women in NYC.

Ma isn’t telling who the father of her child is so her friends cut her socially as they worry about whether or not their husbands might have strayed with Ma. Her socially prominent father both worries about who will look after his daughter and her baby after he’s gone as well as feels shame in front of his peers for her actions. Wil’s lifestyle is getting cramped since Ma is now camping out in her apartment cooking Chinese food, commenting on Wil’s friends and watching Chinese soap operas.

As the film progresses, I noticed how Wu treats all her characters with dignity, gentle humor and compassion. No one is singled out to be the villain, the prat or the hero. No one’s lifestyle choices are either glorified or vilified. The situations simply “are” and we’re allowed to watch them unfold without being preached at. Some characters don’t accept Wil and Vivian’s relationship while others help foster it. Some characters are envious of Ma once the truth about her baby’s father is revealed while others are shocked.

Krusiac and Lynn Chen are wonderful to watch together as they “two steps forward and one step back” their relationship. Joan Chen is beautiful as always but she also gets to show Ma’s vulnerabilities while being exposed to NYC outside of the sheltered world she’s known. The scene before her first date lets her display her uncertainty at reentering the dating world at her age as well as showing Wil’s realization of her mother in this role.

I also love the mix of English and Mandarin (don’t worry, there are subtitles) as this mirrors what I used to hear while a former roommate of mine spoke with her Spanish mother on the phone.

“Saving Face” is a film that can be viewed on many levels. As a comedy, as a romance, as a view of immigrant society, as a family drama and as a GLBT film. The ending is more HFN though it has a slight touch of Hollywood “wrap up all the loose ends.” I’m disappointed to see that Alice Wu has only this film to her directing credit but I hope to eventually see more from her. In the meantime, check this one out for something special.

~Jayne

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: How to Steal a Million

Jayne — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:00:24 +0000

How to Steal a Million (1966)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Grade: B+

I first saw this movie years ago and fell in love with it. In the many times I’ve watched it since, I’ve picked up on some details which make little sense or which are glossed over to carry the plot but it still amuses and enchants me whenever I pull out my DVD copy. From the opening scene during the high price art auction, we know we’re going to be in a world of smart sophistication.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) despairs of ever getting her beloved, and art forging, father (Hugh Griffith) to stop pulling fast ones on the art world. His latest plan involves loaning a family owned statue to a Parisian museum for an exhibition. But instead of having been carved by the famous Renaissance sculptor Cellini, it was actually made by Bonnet’s father and posed for by his mother.

On the opening night of the show, Nicole catches a man who she thinks is a burgler in the Bonnet house. Simon Dermott (Peter O’Toole) is actually someone quite different from a burgler but he lets her believe that he is one while he charms her into not only letting him go but also driving him back to the Ritz.

Nicole thinks that’s the end of their relationship, despite his many efforts to talk with her, until she discovers she has need of a man with his talents. The museum is going to bring in an expert to test the “Cellini” before issuing an insurance policy on it and Nicole has only days to get the statue “stolen” in order to hide the forgery and keep her father’s actions from being discovered. Can Simon and Nicole pull off the heist from the well guarded museum? And why is Simon going along with the whole plan anyway?

This is a smart, glamorous crime caper that takes place in the City of Light. The whole plot is OTT and I doubt that the caper could have been pulled off then much less now, what with most museums having cameras and infrared alarm systems, but half the fun is watching Peter O’Toole overcoming obstacles while Audrey Hepburn marvels at his ingenuity.

O’Toole’s opening scene paints him as a cheeky rogue who drives a lovely little Jaguar and stays at the Ritz. How could a woman not want to fall in love with him? Hepburn is her usual chic self though she comes off as slightly stodgy since she’s playing the “straight woman” to Hugh Griffith’s delightful law breaking character and O’Toole’s charming burgler persona.

But all three have such a degree of chemistry with each other that I completely fall for them all. I think the relationship between father and daughter is key to the movie or how else will you buy into Nicole’s desperate efforts to keep her father, who is clearly breaking the law, from being caught out?

I want Hepburn’s wardrobe – because once again she’s looking fantastic via Givenchy, something which O’Toole makes fun of at one point in the film. Okay, I’ll skip the white rimmed sunglasses and helmet hat she’s made to wear but the rest of it – me wants. I want the Bonnet art collection. I want to be this witty and charming. And especially I want the Bonnet townhouse in Paris and Dermott’s car. Oh, what a lovely thing it is.

The film has a wonderful secondary cast with Eli Wallach and brief glimpses of Charles Boyer plus some delightful French actors playing the museum guards including one who can cleverly manipulate his moustache to great comic effect. I even love the layout of the art museum – it has character and style. A soul, if you will.

Director William Wyler has fun with this film, playing honest Hepburn off against her lovable but cheerfully dishonest forger father. The repartee between Hepburn and O’Toole sparkles and both display great comedic timing. I even adore the opening theme music. Check it out on DVD or watch it instantly on Netflix. B+

~Jayne

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Film Review: My Best Friend’s Wedding

Jayne — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:00:32 +0000

My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Grade B+

Let me be honest and say that Julia Roberts is not my favorite actress. I like her in “Steel Magnolias,” loved her in “Erin Brockovich” but beyond that, not so much. And make it a double if it’s a chick flick. So when “My Best Friend’s Wedding” was released, I didn’t see it. Nor did I make any effort to in the years that followed. That is until I started doing these reviews and checked out a few “Top romances” and “best romances” lists. This film kept making the lists. Finally I caved and clicked on it at Netflix and it was here that I read the Roger Ebert review that changed my mind about watching it.

[[Show as slideshow]]

Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts) and Michael O’Neal (Dermot Mulroney) are two people who’ve been best friends since college. He’s always been her standby, the man she thought she could fall back on if, and when, her romantic relationships failed. But one night he stuns her with a phone call and tells her he’s fallen in love and is getting married to Kimmy Wallace (Cameron Diaz). He wants Julianne to be there at the wedding, hence the title of the film.

Julianne is rocked back by the news. She’s always loved him but never thought she was in love with him. Until now when she realizes all she stands to lose. So Julianne decides to make her move but will it get her what she wants?

What I love about the film is how it turns so many of the standard chick flick moves on their heads. Just when I thought I’d get the kind of silly movie that Julia Roberts seems to specialize in, there was something different, something deeper. Standard plot lines that I’ve rolled my eyes at and fast forwarded through took new and unusual directions. The director, PJ Hogan, surprised me and I love that in a film.

Yes, we get scenes of Julianne plotting and scheming to break up the wedding but things don’t go according to plan. And far from being the usual clueless morons upon whom the main character works her wiles as we, the viewers, groan and shout to the screen, “How can you not see what she’s doing?!” Kimmy and Michael are surprisingly astute at several times about what is going on. Not always, of course, or the whole movie would be over quickly but enough so that they don’t come off as idiots.

And then there’s the question of who will end up getting Michael. Does Julianne win the day or are Michael and Kimmy the ones to walk back down the aisle. For the few of you who haven’t seen the film, I won’t ruin the surprise but suffice it to say that the best woman wins.

There are several scenes in the film that linger pleasantly in my memory. I’ll never be able to hear Dionne Warwick sing “Say a Little Prayer” and not think of giant crab claws waving in the background. Ditto when I hear “Annie’s Song” and think of chipmunks singing under balloons. And then there are the many times that Julianne calls her editor, George, to loudly complain about how things are going and to beg his advice and help – all of which are overheard by the people he’s with at the time. Oh, and the catfight scene in the women’s bathroom of Comiskey Park.

No, I haven’t been magically converted into a rabid Julia Roberts fan based on this one film but I am very glad I decided to give it a chance.

~Jayne

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Dear Author earns a small referral fee if you use these links to buy Harlequin books. Click only if you are interested. (Thank you to those who have been clicking and buying!).

It's a Moonlight Madness sale.
eBooks Backlist Bookshelf: Get 15% Off Newly Released Backlist eBooks! More eBooks just added this month!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary » Friday Film Reviews

Friday Film Review: The Swan

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Latter Days

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Dear Frankie

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Shaun of the Dead

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Rachel and the Stranger

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Say Anything

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Outlander

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: Saving Face

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: How to Steal a Million

Related Posts:

Friday Film Review: My Best Friend’s Wedding

Related Posts: