We'll Meet Again Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Compelling war drama about a USA Air Base in England. Struggling B-17 crews find solace among British ladies. The Yank's money is appreciated but not always their ways with alcohol and women. This is a story of the small village of Market Wetherby and it's war-weary locals, and how they cope with the new arrivals, American bomber soldiers who freshly join the war, and expect to win overnight.
The British TV has always been excellent in period television series, war dramatizations, and this is no exception. War nostalgia. It is surpurb, with added interest of half a cast of Americans joining British actors. Brits have the preserved buildings to pull off a period series. They use that to advantage. Beautiful 1943 scenery, costumes, props. This show was actually filmed in the 80s but because of the historical setting, it is a timeless DVD set; classic. Perfect for those with war interest, awesome for those interested in what it was like living in a country waiting to be invaded by Hitler's army. It is something of a cousin series to the more recent homeland war drama of "Foyles War" (a must for all British Drama fans) and "Enemy at the Door" (also good).
WE'LL MEET AGAIN cleverly mixes in actual bomber air strip and bombing raid footage. But much of the action takes place in the village homes and the local pub. Dr. Helen Dereham (by Susannah York) and Maj. Jim Kiley (Michael Shannon) are only two that show the extraordinary work that war leaders had to complete, as well as the struggles romantically of working so closely in life/death living. There's is not the only romance. Plenty of hardship and lives lost. Very believable, although I'm too young to know first-hand, being a Baby Boomer.
The series ends well; but with a potential for another season, which, alas, never came. This set has no subtitles or CC. It's box warning of partial nudity refers to one breast exposed for 3 seconds.
My wife and I both enjoyed this, both sorry there were no additional episodes after the 13 provided in this set.
Episode details (each about 53 min.):
1 ALL DAY AND EVERY DAY-Market Wetherby, Suffolk, April 1943. American Air Force arrives in England ungraciously.
2 HANDS ACROSS THE SEA-Cocky American crews fail to perform well in the air & on the local ground.
3 THE MILK RUN-Letty's Uncle Sid arrives with contraband booze while she falls for a Yank on a 'milk run'-safe mission.
4 ONE STEP FORWARD,TWO STEPS BACK-Some romance buds but overall relations remain tense.
5 THE BIG ONE-Market Wetherby & the American Base find some agreeable relationships. 'The Big One' mission heads over Germany.
6 UP THE SMOKE-Some Yanks get London R&R while Dr. Dereham ponders her feelings between her injured husband & US Maj Kylie.
7 FIGHTING MEN-2 men in English woman's lives seems to become a minor epidemic, plus secrets are found out.
8 A WING AND A PRAYER-Yank marries a local just prior to a dangerous raid.
9 YOU'LL NEVER KNOW-2 Brit wives contemplate continued relations with Yanks. 3 sec. of female nudity.
10 OLD ENOUGH TO FIGHT-Maj Kiley halts his romantic relationship causing poor results at work.
11 ONE DAY AT A TIME-Maj Kiley gets more active in the air & personally as death touches others lives.
12 EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES-Dr. Dereham adds more bedside time to her manner dealing with Maj Kiley's injuries.
13 THE END OF THE BEGINNING-It's love & war and time to choose permanent sides on romance issues.

Click Here to see more reviews about: We'll Meet Again

Click here for more information about We'll Meet Again

Read More...

True Women (1997) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Hallmark Entertainment offers a sweeping drama about the three women living in the South, from the time of "Alamo" to the Civil War. I am afraid that your teacher of history cannot allow you to use this TV series as a text for American history, and that is simply because it is too melodramatic, in the fashion of that famous Margaret Michell's book. The story is too fast; the characters are too many; but the film never stops, and something happens every ten minutes -- war, lynch, dead bodies (including children), commentary about slavery, rights for women to vote, human rights for native Americans. In a sense, this is a modern version of "Gone with the Wind" with smaller scale.
Georgia and Euphemia are good friends, but the latter is forced to leave her in order to go to Texas (until then, it takes only ten minutes). The film traces the life of the two women separately until their reunion of many years later. Now Georgia and Euphemia (with her independent sister) are both grown up, after the happy and sad times, and as you will expect, their environments changed what they once were; though they know they are no longer the best friends who played together by the peaceful riverside, they come to understand each other after the many plights of life in time of war.
There are so many events that happen every five minutes (as the editorial review say rightly) that it is impossible for me to summerize the whole story. The film goes just like turning pages of paperbacks: now you see delightful scenes, and suddenly, a war or epidemic breaks out. Now you see Georgia meets a man, and next, you see their pledge of love. The film gives no time to think. But that is probably the point.
So, it would be best for us to see the actors. Angelina Jolie and Anabeth Gish are both good, and it is a bit surprise that their characters in childhood are played respectively by lovely Rachel Leigh Cook and Tina Majorino (who stole every scene from Kevin Costenr in "Waterworld." Male character players like Powers Boothe and Tony Todd appear, alongside with Micheal York, but their roles are smaller they should be. But it is a film about women, and female players all shine, of course, with Dana Delaney.
So, see this one as such, as a melodramatic rendition of the Southern history. It is a laudable attempt to spotlight the women's roles in the Western genre, but perhaps the film gives you an impression that there is another way of describing it. My honest feeling is that "True Women" works as a melodrama, and women's life of this time, which deserve our attention more, should be treated with deeper characters and a slower story. Still intriguing.

Click Here to see more reviews about: True Women (1997)

Click here for more information about True Women (1997)

Read More...

Emma (2009) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Being an avid Jane Austen fan, I have watched every single adaptation of Emma (as well as Austen's other works). The older 1972 BBC adaptation, Emma (BBC, 1972) was quite tepid and the lead actress was not very inspiring in her role, lacking the upbeat, and sunny disposition that one associates with Austen's character. Then there was the A&E version starring Kate Beckinsale in the title role, in Emma (A&E, 1997) which though much better than the 1972 version (which also suffered from inferior production qualities), was still not the best adaptation. Finally, there was the movie version of "Emma" starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and until this current adaptation, this was actually my personal favorite (even though I personally found Paltrow's accent rather stilted)- it was a gorgeous movie with beautiful cinematography and the chemistry between Emma (Paltrow) and Mr. Knightley (Jeremy Northam) was simply wonderful and altogether credible.
This is truly a stellar production in terms of casting, and production qualities. The title role of Emma is credibly portrayed by Romola Garai, who has also been in other notable productions such as I Capture the Castle,and Daniel Deronda. She is perfectly cast - luminously beautiful, snooty, a busybody matchmaker wannabe who feels self-justified in her quest to pair off couples regardless of their own wishes, and yet possessing of a warm and sunny disposition. Romola Garai convincingly portrays all of Emma's characteristics - both her lovable and annoying qualities, her immaturity and impetuousness, and also shows her ability to transform from a self-centered immature young girl into a mature woman who realizes her flaws.
The other lead is of course Mr. Knightley, and he is also convincingly portrayed by Johnny Lee Miller, who had portrayed Edmund Bertram in the 1999 movie adaptation of "Mansfield Park"Mansfield Park (1999) which was rather reviled by critics and purists alike for its liberal adaptation of Austen's classic. Miller was also excellent as Lord Byron in Byron.I was quite concerned initially because I had always thought Jeremy Northam's portrayal of Knightley to be the best thus far, but Miller comes close, and in fact brings a new interpretation to the character that I really appreciated. There is this one scene in the series where Emma invites Knightley to dance, and as they dance...viewers get the sense that these are two individuals who are gradually realizing their real chemistry, not just as childhood friends and relatives-in-law, but as true soulmates. It is definitely one of the most romantic parts of the series and a highlight!
The other characters are also generally well-cast - Mr. Woodhouse is played to delightful effect by Michael Gambon (aka Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movie franchise); Harriet Smith is portrayed by Louise Dylan (though I still prefer Toni Collette's portrayal of Harriet in the movie version); the talented Jodhi May plays Emma's governess turned Mrs Weston (Jodhi May is a veteran of BBC productions and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 BBC Version), as well as others, including the coincidence that she was also in Daniel Deronda cast as the Jewess Mirah Lapidoth who attracts the attentions of Daniel Deronda, showcase her diverse acting talent); Frank Churchill is portrayed by Rupert Evans and I must say this particular adaptation portrays Frank Churchill in a thoroughly unflattering light - the man is simply infuriating, and gives Mr. Elton a run for his money! Mr. Elton is played by Blake Ritson who recently portrayed Edmund Bertram in Masterpiece Theatre: Mansfield Park.
The cinematography is excellent, capturing the beauty of the lush English countryside through the seasons, and the score is memorable (I still cannot get the music from the Emma-Knightley dance out of my mind!). The costumes are gorgeous - simple in their beauty, yet detailed and period-accurate, and the other production qualities are impeccable (the English manor houses picked for the various residences such as Hartfield etc are well-chosen).
Austen purists might take issue with some of the liberties taken here - the way the characters are portrayed, missing dialogue, the sequencing of certain story arcs, etc - but I still loved this adaptation - it is sunny, and bright, and all that I love in an Austen adaptation, and it is certainly my favorite adaptation of "Emma" thus far!
DVD features
Contains the scenes deleted from the PBS airing, and in addition:
Emma's Locations - this nine-minute featurette focuses on the locations used during Emma's filming, and why these places were chosen. I just loved the places they used (as is the case with most BBC period dramas) and found this illuminating.
Emma's costumes - this twelve-minute featurette explores the details behind costuming decisions for this period drama, including the choice of fabrics, color, etc. It's really a wonderful opportunity to see what goes on in the costume department, and these folks certainly take their jobs seriously, to wondrous effect!
Emma's music - this ten-minute featurette explores the music behind Emma with a brief description of how one goes about creating a score that matches the mood of the drama (I'd say they did a great job, especially on that Emma-Knightley dance!), and how important this is as the score should complement and not detract from the show itself.
Emma's Mr. Woodhouse - fans of Michael Gambon (aka Dumbledore) will rejoice in this thirteen-minute featurette. This veteran actor is truly a great talent, and this interview covers his career from his early beginnings in the craft until today. It's more of a special focus on Gambon, not so much on his role in Emma, but it is a nice touch nevertheless.
I did wish they had a director's commentary (I guess we'll have to wait for a special edition release for that, and spend more money!), and other cast interviews, sigh...but I'm happy to have the drama itself on DVD so that I can enjoy repeat viewings, and have an Emma adaptations marathon (the 1972 BBC adaptation, Kate Beckinsale's A&E adaptation, and of course, Paltrow and Jeremy Northam's pairing in the movie version). Enjoy!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Emma (2009)

Beautiful, clever, and rich Emma Woodhouse is convinced she is good at matchmaking after her older sister and her governess both marry suitable husbands. No matter that as Mr Knightley drily observes, in reality, she had nothing to do with these relationships. Yet Emma, certain of her talents, plays a dangerous game as she persuades her new friend, the young, pretty and socially inferior Harriet to reject an advantageous marriage proposal to a local farmer in favour of dashing Mr Elton. So begins a story which challenges Emma's naivety, her social preconceptions and her relationship with Knightley. Fresh and funny, this perceptive adaptation, featuring a stellar cast, brings Jane Austen's comic masterpiece to life.

Get 44% OFF

Click here for more information about Emma (2009)

Read More...