TV Series Review- Lark Rise to Candleford

How to write a review? This series filled my sister and I with such joy and we would wait eagerly for each season to come into the library so we could watch it. At times though it would aggravate us to no end. That's why they're called period DRAMAS. ;)

Synopsis from IMDB: An adaptation of Flora Thompson's autobiographical novel "Lark Rise To Candleford", set in 19 century Oxfordshire, in which a young girl moves to the local market town to begin an apprenticeship as a postmistress.

Lousy synopsis but how to summarize four seasons of a TV series?
So first off I haven't read the books this series is based off of so I can't compare there. I do own them (picked them up at a used book store!) so I hope to someday soon.

Spoilers follow! And just so you know this will be rather a disjointed review as my mind jumps around.

Let's talk characters.

Laura Timmins is the main character but honestly, and I've heard others say this before she doesn't always float my boat. I like her but sometimes she really aggravates me. Mostly when it has to do with her love life. I think she lets guys kiss her too easily... in my opinion. Her 1st season boyfriend, Phillip, was okay but not great. His and Alfie's rivalry was humorous though but then it got to be too much. Fisher in season 2 was good but honestly the best part about him was his accent... Just saying that was an adorable accent. However, when Fisher returned in season three I wasn't as taken with him and I kind of realized then how immature he could be. That of course brings us to Daniel Parish. When he first came of course we were intrigued and then hated him and then finally came to like and accept him. As others have said though, you didn't realize how attached you had become to Daniel until Fisher comes and tries to win Laura back. Those were a traumatizing couple episodes. Overall though I'm glad Laura ended up with Daniel as I think he was the best guy for her. At the beginning I did want her to end up with Alfie (who I'll get to in a bit) and was so mad at her for not liking him (and then mad later on when she was interested in him and he had moved on from her!). In retrospect though I think that she wouldn't have been completely happy with Alfie as she did have a lot more education than him and I think it might have caused some tension later on.

Dorcas Lane (The actress is Julia Swahala who I know for playing Lydia in Pride and Prejudice) is the best! No not my favorite character (that comes later) but close! Yes she's meddling and interfering and all but you can't help but love her! I was so frustrated every time she lost a love. Lord Timothy.... bah! That didn't count. And while we're on that topic I think she acted fairly well with that whole thing; most of it was Sir Timothy's doing, but she wasn't blameless. James Dowland... well that was complicated. I was rooting for them at the beginning but then you find out more about his character and then I was against it! I thought maybe in the future there was potential but that's not the path that ended up happening and I'm glad for that in the end. It was nice though that Dorcas got Sydney of that whole mess. :) Now Gabriel Cochran I wholeheartedly approved of! My sister and I were already excited about him when we saw him on the cover and realized the actor that played him was the one that played our favorite Dr. Woodcourt in Bleak House. Naturally we rooted throughout the final series for them to get together and of course they did.

My favorite character though has to be Alfie Arless. He's a man. While his mother was off drunk or in prison he basically raises his siblings. He worked so hard for everything and you couldn't help but root for him. It was also rather sweet how he tried to help Emma (Laura's mother) while Robert (Laura's father) was away working. Him and Minnie were pretty stinking cute too. And is anyways else wondering what happened to Nan? Obviously though the real match for Alfie was me. ;)

This is Minnie. :) 

Minnie... well Minnie was Minnie. At first I was like yikes but as time went on Minnie did mature. I was talking to my sister about how I felt that while thought her and Alfie were adorable together Alfie was so much more mature and responsible than her and he had gone through so much more that made him a man. However, when thinking again about that Minnie had gone through a lot herself with her father (step-father?) but she just always kept that cheerful attitude and put that behind her. I think Alfie needed that. So while sometimes she does annoy me a little for her immaturities I think that it is really a way for her to forget her past and keep going.

My sister's and my favorite quote! 

The Pratt sisters. You can't talk about one without the other. My sister and I were talking about how much we wanted to rewatch the first season because the Pratt sisters are so different then as compared to how they conclude. They are characters that really grow. In the first season most of the time I wanted to throttle them. Pearl especially. As time went on though they became softer. Ruby going off to Pontefract was kind of a sudden change for them and even though in the long run it didn't work out I think it helped to facilitate bigger change. My sister and I both agree that Pearl's softening came more when Daniel started boarding with her after Ruby left. I think it really brightened Pearl and caused her to be kinder. Ruby is played by the actress who plays Mrs. Forster in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. I never would have noticed but I was looking her up and found that out.

Queenie (I know the actress from Call the Midwife in the later seasons) and Twister Turrill. First off, who else was profoundly disturbed on finding that they weren't' married yet. Sure they get married but.... ugh! I like Queenie for the most part. She's is so sweet and motherly and is always looking after everyone and giving sage advice. I don't like her superstitious mumbo jumbo though and frankly I would never have married Twister Turrill because I cannot put up with him! Apparently she can though. I do like Twister but he is SO annoying most of the time. But he's a dear.

Robert (I know the actor from North and South when he plays Nicholas Higgins) and Emma (I know from playing Charlotte Lucas in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice) Timmins are Laura's parents but they also have four other children that are younger. My sister and I agree that those two are definitely the cutest couple in the whole show. I love them!!!!!!!!!!! :) They're so sweet and stubborn, independent and proud. Their arguments and trials are struggled through brilliantly. I can't get enough of them! I was so sad when Robert was away the whole of season four working. I'm going to guess that they couldn't get the actor back for the season. :( Also a note for Laura's siblings here... they are such cute kids and Edmond really grows up. It's super sweet how he tries to look after Laura when their parents are away and Fisher comes back.

Thomas Brown is a mailman at the postoffice. He's kind of hyper religious which is made fun of which I don't like. Yes it is humorous but it is annoying that the religious person in the show is made to look ridiculous. I love Thomas though. He goes through a lot of character development in the show and I'm so excited Margaret and him ended up together. At first I was kind of so-so on Margaret but as the show went I really came to love her. AND SHE WAS PREGNANT AT THE END!!!! :))))

I think that's all of the main characters listed. There is such a wide variety of characters in this show. As I went through listing them I tried to include other period dramas I'd seen these people in. There were also other random characters that just appeared once that were familiar.

This show is pretty drama filled and pretty romantic but like an Austen novel it's filled with so much more. It's about life. It's about growing up. It's about taking responsibility. I love the show for that. Obviously though it's not up to the level of an Austen novel.
A few things I didn't like about the show were as I mentioned above... the superstition, making fun of the religious Thomas Brown and really the theology is fairly off in the whole show which is my major complaint. Thankfully my sister has a solid theological background (yay mom and dad!) so there was very little I had to be like "this is not right" that she didn't already know.

Objectionable material? Nothing bad is ever shown but there are a few things talked about. As I mentioned above Twister and Queenie have been living together for years and we all thought they were married but they weren't until the second season. That was just dumb. One of Dorcas's wooers, James Dowland, turned out to be rather an immoral man when it came to the ladies, having had a child out of wedlock and also being in a immoral romantic relationship with a widowed woman while also trying to woo Dorcas. Not cool! It is just talked about though and most likely will go over children's heads. There is also an episode dealing with an unmarried pregnant teenager but it's handled quite tactfully. Also as mentioned above Sir Timothy was married but still quite in love with Dorcas Lane but nothing ever happens there that we know of except they embrace once, which is seen by his wife and because of that Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide leave for London. I think there's also a few veiled innuendos that went over my sister's head I'm sure. I think those are the main things.  I'd say there's nothing worse in in than is in Pride and Prejudice. As I said it's quite appropriate for the whole family.

This is a fun show and my sister and I enjoyed watching it together but in my opinion when you're watching it with younger children you have to keep your eye out for the superstition and erroneous theology to correct it.
So watch it and enjoy! :)

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Film (Miniseries) Review- Rebecca (1979)

For the Period Drama Challenge I'm reviewing the 1979 miniseries adaptation of Rebecca.

Synopsis from IMDB: A young English girl in Monte Carlo falls in love with a rude, handsome stranger who proposes to her and rescues her from the drudgery of being a hired companion. But when he takes her to his country estate, Manderly, all her confidence disappears, especially in the face of Maxim's dour and mysterious housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, and as odd rumors reach her, the second Mrs. de Winter decides to find out everything she can about her predecessor, Rebecca.

First off, thank you Hamlette for turning me on to this adaptation! I'd seen the 1940 version with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine before and enjoyed it but I was intrigued to watch an adaptation that was more accurate to the book. While I still prefer how the 1940 version slightly changes the ending making it slightly more moral I do think overall the 1979 miniseries got more right. And no, I shouldn't compare but I am. ;) A miniseries just gives you so much more screen time to tell the story!

I loved the casting. First we have Jeremy Brett (of Sherlock Holmes fame and he also played Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady when he was quite a bit younger) playing our mysterious Mr. Maxim de Winter. Brett does a great job of portraying Mr. de Winter, very reminiscent of Olivier's portrayal I thought. Then we have Joanna David (plays Mrs. Gardiner in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and she's also played several other random parts in random period dramas that I haven't seen yet, most notably Elinor Dashwood in an old version of Sense and Sensibility) playing the second Mrs. de Winter (the character is never given a name so that's as good as you get!). I really liked Joanna David in this part. She's sweet, youthful, innocent. Simply perfect for the role. Anna Massey (Mrs. Norris in the 1983 version of Mansfield Park and Miss Prism in the 2003 adaptation of The Importance of Being Ernest) plays the sinister Mrs. Danvers. She does a great job creeping me out so yes, good job with the part. I also just noticed when typing out her name that she's a "Mrs.". Who in their right mind married her?!?!??!?!?! Just random weird observation that I should have noticed years ago. The other more minor characters are brilliant portrayed as well. The actor who played Rebecca's cousin Jack Flavell had the creepy weird laugh down perfectly. Ugh! I also liked that the minor characters, like Frank Crawley for example who is one of my favorite characters, get more screen time.

As far as the screenplay goes I thought it was great. It was very accurate to the book but it didn't feel stilted like the actors were just quoting from the book.

Now when it comes watching it the sad truth is you have to watch it on YouTube because it was never released to DVD I guess and the quality is not so great at all.

As far as costumes go they're pretty plain but that fits with the story. The prettiest one you get is the dress that the second Mrs. de Winter tires to wear to the costume ball. The music isn't that spectacular either.

I'd say the film is family friendly but SPOILERS it does deal with an unfaithful wife, which is discussed but would probably go over young viewers heads. I know that when watching the 1940 version as a kid it did. END SPOILERS. So family friendly overall. :)

Overall I really enjoyed this. Interestingly enough I saw that this one is rated slightly higher on IMDB than the 1940 adaption (which I think is considered the definitive version). I'm not sure if I have a favorite of the two though. I like them both equally and to be honest I haven't seen the 1940 version in a while. Watch or not? I say watch! :)

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Movie Review- Vanity Fair (1998)

A couple years ago I read William Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair. I always meant to watch a film version of it but it's obviously taken me a little while to get around to it.
So (finally) for the Period Drama Challenge I watched the 1998 miniseries of Vanity Fair.
Spoilers follow.

Summary: School friends Becky and Amelia leave school together, Amelia for home and Becky for a quick visit with her friend before leaving for a life as a governess. The sweet Amelia becomes engaged to her childhood sweetheart George Osborne. The mercenary and beautiful Becky immediately sets about trying to seduce Amelia's gullible and indolent brother Joss but ends up failing in that endeavor due to George's interference, as he sees through her. Becky sets off to her first governess position and there tries to seduce first her employer and then both of her employers sons. She captures Rawdon Crawley's heart and they marry much to the disapproval of his rich aunt who disowns him. Meanwhile Amelia's father goes bankrupt and therefore George's father forbids him to marry Amelia. George's friend William Dobbin though convinces him to go through with the marriage though as he knows it will break Amelia's heart if he doesn't. George and Amelia marry and soon after head out with the militia as well as Rawdon and Becky. At the military base Becky shamelessly flirts with George Osborne to get back at him for dissuading Joss from marrying her. George is already wearying of his marriage and returns Becky's flirtation, even inviting her to run away with him. The battle of Waterloo interrupts the flirtation though and Dobbin, George and Rawdon must all go to battle. George dies in battle, leaving Amelia brokenhearted and pregnant. Several years later Amelia and her son are living with her destitute parents, secretly supported by Dobbin. Becky also had a son and with Rawdon they are living in a fashion far above what they can afford in order to climb the social ladder. Becky's methods of climbing though are far from moral and Rawdon finds her with Lord Sedley. Rawdon, who until then had always thought Becky faithful to him, though of course she had her little flirtations, realizes this is not so and they separate. Dobbin finally confesses his love to Amelia who cannot see past her love for her first husband so refuses him. Two years later Dobbin, Joss, Amelia and Amelia's son are touring in Germany and run into Becky, who has fallen in life, drinking and gambling. She once agains tries to seduce the gullible Joss who then encourages Amelia to welcome back her old friend. The ever affectionate Amelia does, much to Dobbin's chagrin who reminds Amelia how Becky once flirted with George. Amelia cannot bare to hear her revered husband so spoken of and throws George away. George leaves, concluding that he could never get Amelia to love him as she is wrapped up in the memory of her first husband. Becky though, in a turn of kindness, shows Amelia the note that George gave her so many years before asking her to run away with him. Amelia realizes that she has rejected the better man for a memory of someone she wished was better. She goes after George and they marry. 

As far as the book to movie adaptation goes it was pretty close. When you have 300 minutes though you can get quite a bit in. :)

Characters

Becky Sharp Crawley (Natasha Little)- She's like a mixture of Cynthia Kirkpatrick (Wives and Daughters) and Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With the Wind) on steroids of evil! She has no morals and no real feelings. She's in it for the money and power and she'll do anything for those. She's called an anti-hero but I think that's pushing it. I think the actress did a great job portraying her. She had not qualms about portraying the utterly immoral and heartless Becky Sharp portrayed in the book. I don't like Cynthia and I really don't like Scarlett and when you combine those on the aforementioned evil steroids you get someone I really despise. Becky Sharp is one of my least favorite characters in literature.

Amelia Sedley Osborne (Frances Grey)- Amelia is kind of like Melanie Wilkes from Gone With the Wind. I know I'm drawing a lot of Gone With the Wind comparisons.... sorry! She's sweet and kind and wouldn't think badly of anyone. Melanie I can tolerate pretty well and really I came to love her. Amelia just drives me nuts! She's obsessed with her idealized image of her dead husband and she can't see past that. Because of that, she never gives Dobbin a chance until Becky does the one nice(ish) thing and burst Amelia's bubble about her husband.

William Dobbin (Phillip Glenister)- The one character I like. He's so kind and self-sacrificing. He sticks by Amelia throughout it all, supporting her after her husband dies. He even helps to get her and George together even though he loves Amelia himself. He knows that Amelia will only be happy with George so he makes that sacrifice. If he hadn't ended up with Amelia after everything though I would have been so mad!

Rawdon Crawley (Nathaniel Parker)- You might recognize this actor from playing Harold Skimpole in Bleak House or as Arthur's uncle in The Adventures of Merlin. Rawdon is a lot like Becky in his mercenary endeavors. He is innocent though of the depths that Becky will go to. He seems to have a stricter moral compass than Becky when he is horrified by her affair with Lord Sedley and splits with her.

George Osborne (Tom Ward)- You might recognize this actor from playing Colonel Fitzwilliam in Death Comes to Pemberly. George is kind of complicated. He was raised in comfort to be selfish, vain and self-bosessed. He does some things right but overall he just messes up majorly. He fights back against his father to go through with marrying Amelia but some of that was by Dobbin's pushing and prodding. In the end though he would have betrayed Amelia for Becky.

Other actors that I personally recognized are Anton Lesser (Mr. Merdle in Little Dorrit), Sylvestera Le Touzel (Fanny Price in Mansfield Park), David Bradley (Filch in Harry Potter, Solomon in one episode of Doctor Who, Rogue Ridherhood in Our Mutual Friend and much more!), and Miriam Margolyes (Professor Sprout in Harry Potter).

Scenery

Not too much nature scenery is seen but the shots of the elegant London houses are beautiful. 

Music

One of the few period dramas where I'm not crazy about the music. There were a lot of weird trumpets. 

Costumes

I loved the costumes in this film! For the most part I preferred Becky's outfits to Amelia's. Becky's did tend to be more immodest though, which fit her character, but obviously I didn't prefer that part of her outfits. It is nigh next to impossible though to find pictures of this miniseries though so if you want to see the lovely outfits beyond what I've posted in the above pictures (which were hard enough to track down) you'll have to watch it.

Content Advisory

The story involves a woman who uses her sex appeal left and right with heavy flirting. This might go over young viewers heads as 90% of it is implicit and not explicit. As far as things being shown for the most part nothing is, which is surprising for the content matter. When Rawdon finds Becky and Lord Sedley together they are both fully clothed lying on a couch together but the implications are there. There are some low cut dress, mostly on Becky. George also tells Joss that Becky wasn't the kind of girl you had to marry "if you know what I mean". Besides those though it stays pretty clean. I felt comfortable watching it with my little sister and I never felt like I needed to fast forward or dim my screen. Everyone's standards are different though so before showing it to younger children I always encourage you preview the film first. 

Overall I though it was a good adaptation. Vanity Fair is not one of my favorite books but it is very interesting and for the most part enjoyable and I found this miniseries the same. 

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Movie Review- Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)

I'm participating in Olf Fashioned Charm's 2016 Period Drama Film Challenge. One of the first films Laurie herself reviewed was the 2015 version of Far From the Madding Crowd. I'd already been wanting to watch it since it has Carey Mulligan in it but had held off because I wasn't sure how appropriate it was. After reading her review though I felt comfortable watching it and I was able to enjoy it with my mother this past weekend.

Synopsis from IMDB: The story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan), who attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a sheep farmer, captivated by her fetching willfulness; Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba's choices and passions explores the nature of relationships and love - as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance.

I'm going to preface this review by saying it's been a little while since I've read the book so I'm not 100% sure on how accurate this movie is. All that to say, as far as I recall it was pretty accurate. Since it was a movie and not a miniseries it wasn't as complete of an adaptation and at times it felt a little rushed but for the time frame (approximately two hours) that it had I thought it was well executed. Watching the movie definitely made me want to re-read the book though!
Now on to the rest!

Casting

Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan)- I have loved Carey Mulligan in the roles I've seen her in and she did not disappoint this time either. She's gorgeous, she's got spirit and she is old enough to show the more mature side of Bathsheba but youthful enough looking to show her immature and impetuous side. She brought Bathsheba to life for me.

Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts)- Gabriel Oak is one of my favorite literary heroes. I'd never seen Matthias Schoenaerts in anything before but he did an incredible job with one of my favorite characters. He's honorable, caring, disciplined and also kind of handsome. ;) He was so perfect in his role and he made me fall in love with Farmer Oak all over again.

Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge)- Good but nothing spectacular. He does a good job of showing that he does seem to actually care for Fanny but he also shows his absolutely selfish and sensual nature.

William Boldwood (Michael Sheen)- Good job here! He doesn't act too old or too young. He plays a tortured man to perfection and I truly felt sorry for him.

Plot

This is more a critique of the book plot than the movie plot as this is a book based movie. I was so frustrated with Bathsheba throughout the movie. She's so immature and she thinks she knows what she is doing the whole time and she keeps messing up! I mean how immature is it to send poor Mr. Boldwood that Valentine? She kind of ruins his life. However Bathsheba does have a lot of gumption and she is always willing to do everything her workers do, which I admire about her. She is kind but she is horrible at giving a straight answer to men! I love that the whole time, with no expectations after being turned down, Gabriel Oak is always there standing by her, giving her advice and seeing her through her mistakes. Throughout the film I felt like Bathsheba needed a father to keep her in line and in a way Gabriel was like a father for her in how he looked after her.... But actually let's ditch that image because hello they get married! The romantic tension is heavy in this film and probably more so than is necessary and was in the book. Bathsheba and Gabriel so obviously belonged together! It's amazing to me that here Bathsheba was basically handed on a platter a choice of three men and out of all of them she chose the absolute worst. Something my mother pointed out when we watched this was that Sergeant Troy was proud and unwilling to wait for Fanny but Gabriele was the exact opposite and he constantly had to humble himself and was always waiting. The difference between a hero and a villain ladies and gentlemen! It think at the beginning Bathsheba wasn't ready for Gabriel. She needed humbling; there was so much she needed to learn. I love their journey together and while it is kind of sappy this may just be one of my favorite literary romances which may or may have not been mostly exponentiated by this movie. ;) 

Scenery

The scenery in this film was absolutely gorgeous! It was filmed in England on the beautiful countryside. It was all absolutely beautiful!

Costumes

I adored the costumes in this film! I'm not sure how accurate they were too the time period (Laurie spoke more to that in her review) but they didn't appear too far off at least. My one qualm with the costuming was that Bathsheba wore pants when riding her horse. Ummm.... no! Here are some of my favorites of Bathsheba's dresses besides of course that blue dress she's wearing in the picture above! 

Music

Lovely! Absolutely lovely! Is it a requirement for period dramas to have gorgeous music because it seems like they all do and this was absolutely no exception! 

There is even a duet sung by Bathsheba and Mr. Boldwood that is lovely! 

Questionable Content

The film is rated PG-13. It has two brief sexual moments but not explicit and in my opinion not too bad and easily fastforwardable (I know that's not a word but it should be). I'm the queen of dimming my computer screen when there's objectionable content and I utilized that method quite effectively with this film. Overall, it's cleaner than I thought it would be but obviously not as clean as I would want it to be. I'd be comfortable showing it to my little sister and just fast forwarding or dimming the screen for those scenes. However, everyone's standards are different so I always recommend IMDB's content advisory/parent's guide which you can view HERE. 

Overall I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. As I stated at the beginning I'm not positive how accurate it is to the book but even just as a movie it's very enjoyable though I think if you don't know the storyline you might be a little lost at times as it does move fast. 

Have you seen it yet? What did you think? 

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Fair warning... this review will contain spoilers. SPOILERS!!!!! Read forward only if you've seen the film or don't car about spoilers.... though if you don't care about spoilers what kind of human being are you???

Synopsis from IMDB: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a rag-tag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.

How can I even begin to write this review? My emotions are so mixed! I might feel differently about this movie after a second viewing but here's my thoughts for now.
First off.... I did like it. The main complaint I've heard about The Force Awakens is that it is basically a remake of A New Hope. Now I'll agree that it is very reminiscent of the originals but as a big fan of the originals I'm not sure I mind that too much... though I do mind it some.
I like the new characters that the movie introduce, especially Rey and Finn. Finn makes me laugh a lot. :) Of course BB8 was cute.
The inclusion of Han Solo and Chewbacca was maybe my favorite part. I'm a huge fan of Han Solo and obviously he was and still is the best part of Star Wars. That first look at the Millennium Flacon and it being called "junk" made me squeal so hard! Then when Han and Chewy step into the Millennium Falcon and Han says "Chewy, we're home" I wanted to cheer!
One of my disappointments was there was minimal hilarious bantering between Han Solo and Princess Leia. I kind of get it because it was a very sobering time for them both and they were kind of separated but still! There were some touching moments with them though. Kylo Ren being their son was well done and mystery of his identity solved there.
This of course brings me to the MAJOR SPOILER.... Han dies! I mean I get it.... him dying made the most sense for the story. I complained that I'd rather Leia would have died but then admitted that no one would have really been sorry then. His death had the most emotional impact. I've got to say here how much I enjoyed Harrison Ford's acting and bringing back to life Han Solo. He may be several years older but he WAS Han Solo once again. It was beautiful. Did I mention how much I love Han Solo?
Overall I enjoyed this return to the Star Wars universe and I'm excited to see what the future movies will bring.

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Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

In preparation for THE FORCE AWAKENS (geek moment here!) my siblings and I watched The Empire Strikes Back.

Synopsis from IMDB: After the rebels have been brutally overpowered by the Empire on their newly established base, Luke Skywalker takes advanced Jedi training with Master Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader as part of his plan to capture Luke.

I live for Han and Leia moments and while this one doesn't have as many laugh out loud ones as A New Hope does it has a lot of "Awwww" moments so it works. ;)
With this one you learn a lot more about the Force and of course there's the big reveal about Darth Vader being Luke's father. If you don't know that yet then you live under a rock. ;)
Now some great quotes. :)

"Do or do not, there is no try"

Leia- "I love you."
Han- "I know."

C3PO- "Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1."
Han- "Never tell me the odds."

Leia- "Why you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder."
Han Solo- "Who's scruffy looking."

Han Solo: Hey, Your Worship, I'm only trying to help.
Princess Leia: Would you please stop calling me that?
Han Solo: Sure, Leia.
Princess Leia: You make it so difficult sometimes.
Han Solo: I do, I really do. You could be a little nicer, though. Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right.
Princess Leia: Occasionally, maybe... when you aren't acting like a scoundrel.
Han Solo: Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that.
[Han starts to massage Leia's hand]
Princess Leia: Stop that.
Han Solo: Stop what?
Princess Leia: [timidly] Stop that. My hands are dirty.
Han Solo: My hands are dirty, too. What are you afraid of?
Princess Leia: Afraid?
Han Solo: You're trembling.
Princess Leia: I'm not trembling.
Han Solo: You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm nice men.
Princess Leia: No, you're not. You're...
[they kiss] (And Lois cheers)

Han Solo- Well Princess, it looks like you managed to keep me here a while longer.

Leia- I had nothing to do with it. General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for anyone to leave the system until they've activated the energy shield.

Han Solo- That's a good story. I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight.

Leia- I don't know where you get your delusions laser brain.

Chewbacca laughs.

Han Solo- Laugh it up fuzzball! (Lois quotes this line daily)

Han Solo- Afraid I was going to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?"

Leia- I'd just as soon kiss a Wookie.

Han Solo- I can arrange that! You need a good kiss! 

Darth Vader- I'm altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.

Leia- Well I guess you don't know everything about women yet. 

Han goes into asteroid field

Leia- You don't have to do this to impress me. 

Overall I do like A New Hope better but The Emperor Strikes back is definitely my second favorite. 

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Movie Review- Doctor Who

For the 42 challenge I'll be reviewing the Doctor Who movie.
When I first heard about the Doctor Who movie I heard it wasn't that great... in fact awful. I thought people were probably overreacting.... they weren't. The movie was supposed to be an attempt to reboot the show... I see why it failed.
I liked Paul McGann as the Doctor... he was the best part of the movie. Sure the dialogue he was given wasn't great but he did the best he could with it. I would have loved to have seen him more as the Doctor besides that tiny clip before Day of the Doctor. I think with a good script he could have been a great Doctor. Also a nice nod to Sylvester McCoy in his little bit before he regenerates. Though that was the lamest way the Doctor has died yet!
The T.A.R.D.I.S. interior was interesting though... I'm not sure whether or not I like it or not... it was different.
The companion Grace Holloway wasn't bad but wasn't great. It's kind of cool that she's a medical doctor and that she was operating on the Doctor. I thought it a little funny how she ended up messing up the surgery because of his two hearts. When he pulls that probe out of himself though.....
The Master is the villain of the story but he was just super weird.... not in a funny way like in the New Who but in a really creepy and utterly stupid way. I was not at all taken with him... not that you're really supposed to like the Master but the whole thing with him was ridiculous.
Chang Lee the young Chinese-American just doesn't make any sense. Why is he there and why do we care? This of course brings us to the whole Eye of Harmony thing and that the Doctor is half human. I'm not sure I'm totally against the Doctor being half human though I know it's a controversial point and one fans like to pretend didn't happen. I don't think the movie is considered canon so we can pretend it didn't happen if we want to. ;) The Eye of Harmony thing though was just weird and dumb.
I think the film just suffered from a bad script and not the greatest acting jobs.
If you're a Doctor Who fan you might enjoy watching it just to see what it's like but you'll probably be disappointed. If you're not a Doctor Who fan... you'll just be confused and probably never want to watch Doctor Who so don't because I promise you the show is so much better!

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Movie Review- Star Wars: A New Hope

The greatest science fiction movie ever.... Star Wars!!!!! Well maybe that's a bold claim but in my humble opinion that's the truth. I actually watched this twice this year... once earlier in the year and then again just this week in preparation for STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS!!!! Not that I'm excited for it or anything. ;) Hopefully I have time to watch Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi too before Saturday (which is when I'm going to go see it!).

Synopsis from IMDB: Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the universe from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.

I just love this synopsis. So simple but so true. :) My absolute favorite part of the Star Wars movies is Han Solo's and Leia's bantering. It's what makes the movies for me. Luke annoys me most of the time. I also like R2D2 and C3PO though C3PO can get annoying sometimes as well. And Chewy! Chewy makes me laugh too. :) I love how this movie introduces the Force and the whole world of Star Wars. The opening credits and introduction with the epic music are amazing!!!! John Williams' music may be the second best part of the movies. ;)
I just have to include a few (and by few I mean a ton) of my favorite quotes... which may or may not largely involve Han and Leia. ;)

Obi-Wan-Kenobi- These aren't the droids you're looking for.

Han- Sometimes I amaze even myself.

Leia- That can't be very hard. 

Han- Wonderful girl. Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her. 

Luke (trying to convince Han to rescue Leia)- She's rich

Han- Rich?

Luke- Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be...

Han- What?

Luke- Well, more wealth than you could imagine!

Han- I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit. 

Darth Vader- I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master. 

Obi-Wan-Kenobi- Only a master of evil Darth. 

C3PO- We're doomed!

C3PO (to R2D2)- This is all your fault. 

Leia- Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?

Luke- So what do you think of her Han?

Han- I'm trying not to kid. 

Luke- Good.

Han (Baiting Luke)- Still she's got a lot of spirit. I don't know. What do you think? You think a princess like her and a guy like me...

Luke (quickly)- No! 

Luke (about Leia)- They're going to execute her! Look a few minutes ago you said you didn't want to just wait there to be captured. Now all you want to do is stay?

Han- Walking into a detention area was not what I had in mind. 

Luke- But they're going to kill her!

Han- Better her than me! 

C3PO- I suggest a new strategy R2; let the Wookie win. 

Leia- This is some rescue! You came in here, but didn't you have a plan for getting out?

Han Solo (indicating Luke)- He's the brains sweetheart! 

Leia (indicating the Millennium Falcon)- You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought. 

Han- Nice! Come on! 

Leia- Put that thing away (Han's gun) away, you're going to get us all killed!

Han- Absolutely your worship! Look, I had everything under control until you led us down here. 

Han (indicating Obi-Wan-Kenobi)- Where did you dig up that old fossil? 

Luke- Ben is a great man.

Han- Yeah, great at getting us into trouble. 

Leia- Looks like you've managed to cut off our only escape route. 

Han- Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, your highness. 

Han (about Leia)- No reward is worth this! 

And one final though... Han shot first. ;)

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Movie Review- Emma (1996- Gwenyth Paltrow)

Though this was not the version of Emma I grew up watching I still do enjoy it. It's a very light version of the story that's perfectly accurate to the book but is enjoyable.

Screenplay

The screenplay is okay. Not perfect and it does stray from the book in some areas but I've actually found this to be just a light enjoyable version of Emma that I don't think we're really supposed to take seriously. However, I still can complain about it's accuracies to the book. ;) 

Casting

Emma- I think Gwenyth Paltrow was a great pick for Emma. I really like Kate Beckinsale as Emma but I think Gwenyth Paltrow does an awesome job as well. She gets the pride (not quite to the extant Kate did), she's elegant and refined and she does the controlling very well.

Mr. Knightley- Jeremy Northam is a decent Mr. Knightley but not my favorite. While he does get on Emma's case often enough, he does it in a far too good humored manner. The only time I ever felt like he was truly frustrated with Emma was at Box Hill. As eBeth said, he's a little too tall dark and handsome for the role. Besides that I think he's good. :)

Mr. Woodhouse- Not bad not good. Just there. And, might I say it is nigh near impossible to find a picture of this Mr. Woodhouse!

Mrs. Weston (aka Poor Miss Taylor)- A good Mrs. Weston but not my favorite. I really do like her in the role though.

Miss Bates- I like this Miss Bates she prattles on delightfully and really my only complaint is that they make her far too young. Besides that well done!

Frank Churchill- I can't ever quite wrap my head around Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill but that's probably more due to the fact that I'm used to him being a jedi. Plus his long hair annoys me.... this is the only version where Frank doesn't go get a haircut in London.... and he actually needed one! He wasn't bad in the role but he wasn't great.

Jane Fairfax- An elegant and beautiful Jane. Not real complaint with her.

Harriet Smith- A good Harriet but I think they almost make her too stupid in this version. She's good humored and pretty though. Not bad. :)

Mr. Elton- A fine Mr. Elton but something about him just doesn't seem right to me. Not sure what it is though.

Mrs. Elton- A well done Mrs. Elton. No complaints. In fact I would say this is the character every movie consistently gets right for some reason.

Music

Lovely! Already added to my repertoire! I love listening to it on repeat. 

Scenery 

Lovely. No complaints

Overall an enjoyable but not perfect adaptation. 

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Guest post- Movie Review- Emma (1972- Doran Godwin)

This is a guest post from the lovely Heidi at Along the Brandywine. Check out her blog! You will love it! Also be sure to check out her original post HERE. 

Enjoy! 

I was quite curious about this adaptation as it was the only (available) Emma I hadn’t yet seen—and as I was finding it hard to gather much concrete information on it. Imagine my excitement when I found our library did indeed have it!

To begin with, the theme music is sprightly and light-hearted (in fact, my sisters and I agreed it would be fun to add to our piano repertoire). As a whole the film is very 70’s, but if you’re willing to overlook some things (and know what to expect in that regard), it definitely has its merits.

On the dress, the main item I wasn’t sure about was why Emma—and Harriet—often wore caps (as my understanding has always been that women would don caps after marriage). I was looking at some portraits, however—principally by Joshua Reynolds and Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin (both in the 1700’s/early 1800’s)—and the young girls there are occasionally wearing indoor caps. Emma takes place about 1803 and the pictures I found were also mostly of nursery age children (excepting the married women, of course) and maids (who may or may not have been married)—so I’m not sure my research was conclusive, but it was interesting.

Simplicity: A Portrait of Miss Theophilia Ghatkin, 1785

by Joshua Reynolds

But back to Emma! Several of the costumes reappear in later films (a number of them in the BBC 1985 P&P) so—along with the dresses—it was fun to see Emma in Jane Bennet’s pelisse and Jane Fairfax wearing Lizzy’s (or rather the other way round).

Emma herself does appear older in this version. But she does also have a dignity, a warm enunciation, and a collected liveliness of manner for an Emma. (In her turns of expression, she actually sometimes reminded us of Gwyneth Paltrow.) Occasionally, I think she does seem a bit more like a governess, a bit schoolmarm-ish (particularly with Harriet and when she’s trying to be especially calm), but she did quite all right with the part.

And Mr. Knightley! Mr. Knightley is Sir Nigel!!! (Do pardon my excitement, but we love the b/w Richard Green Robin Hood tv show—and it’s always thrilling to discover a friend from there elsewhere. :))

So yes, (ahem!) Sir Nigel was very good as Mr. Knightley. With dry flashes of humor, he managed his entire role (including his management of Emma) most excellently well.

Mr. Woodhouse is quite good.

Mr. Weston was open and friendly, and Mrs. Weston certainly gentle and ladylike. (And they have a real baby at the end…well done, indeed!)

Mr. Elton was always eager, smiling, and obliging—if awkward—and I thought it easy to see how Emma could misinterpret his character.

Mrs. Elton is quite adequately rude, vulgar, and funny.

Harriet is very sweet, pretty, and perfectly naïve.

We get to see Robert Martin in a conversation at the end, which is very nice.

And also a lot of Miss Fairfax! Miss Fairfax I very much liked. Gentle and soft, maddeningly reserved, elegant and fascinating—I think she was just about perfect.

And Frank Churchill is high-spirited and engaging—playing his part quite well.

The John Knightleys visit for Christmas…

Isabella is fine.

While John Knightley is quite perfectly John Knightley-ish (and has one of my favorite lines in the film). Referring to Elton, “With men he can be quite simple and rational, but with ladies…ha! I confess he makes my boot itch.”

And now some more particulars: at 270 minutes, this is the longest Emma and oddly enough, I felt to be the one with the most alterations. (There will be some spoilers ahead.) A number of scenes—along with some both major and minor details—are changed (rather unaccountably so due to the length of time). For a few instances: Emma sends the apples to Miss Bates (thus weakening the Knightley-Fairfax puzzle a bit), the Dixons become a completely unrelated couple wanting to hire Jane as a governess, and Jane (and Mr. Elton) are not present at the Box Hill picnic. The John Knightley’s are to end up moving into Donwell and Jane breaks off her engagement not because of Frank’s behavior to Emma—but apparently because of his long absences waiting upon his aunt.

The script was changed quite a fair amount—in general softening or abridging some of the lines (particularly Mr. Knightley’s). I felt those changes did weaken the theme and even some plot connections—creating less tension and a much calmer tone. Looking at it, I’ve decided they were trying to emphasize the danger of flattery. To illustrate, near the beginning Mr. Knightley is concerned about Emma keeping company with Harriet mostly because she is inadvertently a flatterer—and there is a following emphasis on the lines referring to flattery at both the ball and the end proposal scene. There is also a line change at Box Hill. When confronting Emma about her speech to Miss Bates he says, “Emma! Emma! That you—of all people—should allow the flattery of a moment to cloud your judgment so!” At the same time, Emma is never quite as taken in by Frank and since his influence is less, Mr. Knightley never gets particularly jealous of him.

Overall, I don’t think they twisted the story, but I do think that by emphasizing the flattery lines they missed some stronger unifying threads.

As to a few more particulars on certain scenes (and this example is a bit of a side note), but this version has the distinction of having the most forward Mr. E. proposal of any (not the most dramatic, but quite possibly the most mushily romantic—if you can so call the Elton experience). It’s entirely easy to enter into Emma’s feelings on the occasion!

And as I mentioned earlier, you get to see a delightful amount of Jane Fairfax, especially near the end (and including the scene with Emma calling on Miss Bates where Mrs. E. is also present, dutifully awaiting her lord and master).

It’s delightful to see Jane’s gracious warmth and civility, and to see her and Emma laying the foundation for a friendship. Quite satisfying!

Thank you so much for this great guest post Heidi!

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