Last night I watched The Duchess, courtesy of Netflix, starring Keira Knightly. This was one of the movies I really wanted to see in the theater and I didn't get to. Here in Montana, there are not a lot of movie theaters, so movies do not stay very long in order to make room for the next round of movies being released. It is very annoying, but that is the way it is.

Anyway, back to the movie......

In true Period Drama style, there is not a lot of action. The entire story is about relationships - which is boring to a lot of people, but this is one of my very favorite sorts of movies. Keira Knightley stars as Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. Basically, the movie chronicles Georgiana's very unhappy marriage to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes).

Trapped in a loveless marriage and unable to produce a male heir, the Dutchess uses her charms and wit to become the center of society and uses that platform to advance her somewhat radical political views. In the process, she becomes involved with fellow radical thinker Charles Grey and the two eventually have an affair.

I won't go into further detail as I don't want to spoil the plot lines for those of you who have not seen this movie. One thing I appreciated was that while this movie deals with some very adult themes, the producers and writers kept it to a PG-13 rating - so a lot of very graphic stuff is absent.

Overall, I liked this movie and was glad that I watched it. My only question is this: Is Keira Knightley the only British actress who will wear a corset? For goodness sake! Every period drama of late seems to have her in it. It's not that I don't like her or think that she is not talented, but - I would like to see some other faces on the screen in period dramas. Perhaps I am just watching the wrong ones?

Overall rating: 7.5 out of 10 stars...... Costumes and backdrops are stunning and the story is a good one. Certainly worth you time to watch!

Finally, FINALLY I had the chance to watch the 2008 BBC Production of Sense and Sensibility! Recently, we have been blessed with access to a PBS channel and I happened across the first of the two episodes last Sunday night. I was thrilled - and the rest of my family were not - LOL! They groan when I want to watch something like this, but in the spirit of true family unity, my husband kept the kids busy playing games while I watched.

Can I just how how wonderful it was? Sense and Sensibility has always been my favorite of the Jane Austen books and this rendering was the very best onscreen telling of it I think. It is impossible not to compare it to the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet version and though I still love that version, this one was superior in getting the story across to the audience.

The very strongest part of this movie was that the producers and writers took the time to tell the audience *why* Marianne falls in love with Colonel Brandon. That was a serious miss in the feature film version.

As much as I still love the feature length movie version, this one has eclipsed it. The casting was better for almost all of the roles - most notably, the character of Edward. Now, I like Hugh Grant, but the man oozes bad boy from every pore. He can't help it. The actor portraying Edward in this version, Dan Stevens, was much more suited to the role in my opinion.

So, needless to say, I highly recommend this version of Sense and Sensibility if you are an Austen fan or a period drama fan. It is well worth the almost four hours of your time!

*All image icons courtesty of crazed_dreamer

I actually went to the movies yesterday - one without animated characters and with a rating over 'PG'. My friends and I went to see the much anticipated Twilight and I have to say that I was fairly impressed.

First of all, as book adaptations go, I thought this one was very good. All of the major plot points and scenes that the very rabid fan base were expecting were there. Yes, there were some additions and subtractions, but for the most part, the movie and book were pretty much in sync.

Secondly, I thought that it would be weird going to see a movie about a love story between a 'teen aged' vampire and a mortal girl, but about half of the audience was in the over 30 crowd. It was totally unweird - which was nice. I have shared before that I had felt strange about first reading these books and then becoming an outed fan of these books. A friend pointed out to me though that this series was written by a woman the same age as me - who is a Mom just like I am - and that the Young Adult genre of books is a very loose definition. Young Adult covers a very wide range of books.

I had also not understood the big darn deal over Robert Pattinson. After seeing him as Edward Cullen though - I get it. Every female out there with any romantic inclination at all will get it - of that I am confident. Mr. Pattinson's American accent was outstanding and he did a great job. Proven wrong once again! LOL

So, over all, I really enjoyed this movie. It was romantic in a dark and brooding way - not your typical happily ever after. There was a lot of action and the story clicked right along. Never a dull moment. I am not going to say too much more because I don't want to ruin the movie experience of this book for anyone. If you have a free afternoon, this movie is definitely not a waste of your time.....

.....unless you are a die hard vampire fan. If you are way into vampire movies, skip this one. You won't like it. This movie about vampires who don't want to necessarily be vampires. They are trying to go straight so to speak. There is a bit of gore, but nothing that will satisfy the true vamp fan. The movie is more about the relationship between Bella and Edward and the impact that relationship has on their families. It is a dark romance, not a blood sucking horror movie. Also, there is a very prominent lack of raunchy sex in this movie - which seems to be cornerstone of vampire movies.

So, my overall rating is 9 out of 10 stars. This movie is aimed at the Young Adult crowd. There is no nudity, no sex, the two kissing scenes are romantic and sexy without being overly sexual, and having sex with Bella is not an option for Edward. Very good handling of the subject without glossing over the realities of falling in love with someone you should have nothing to do with.

The other night I had a chance to hang out, paint my toe nails and watch a good old fashioned chick flick. I chose Made of Honor, on a whim....no real reason why. I am not a huge Patrick Dempsey fan - and I must be the only woman on the planet who isn't! - but I thought that it couldn't possibly be THAT bad.

As I was watching it, the only thing that kept popping into my mind was that this guy - the character played by Mr. Dempsey - was a selfish moron who didn't really deserve a good woman. I wanted the girl to take off and marry the Scottish guy. Yes, yes, I know....I have a thing for Scottish guys. Well, obviously not THAT big of a thing because my husband is English and German and he wouldn't wear a kilt - ever. Trust me. I have begged and all for naught.

So, all in all, it was an okay movie. Not a great movie, not something that I want to watch again or own, but certainly not a total waste of time. It had it's funny moments and it's sweet moments - but it was sort of hollow at the end. There never was any real jeopardy for the two main characters. You always knew that she was going to leave Mr. Handsome Kilt Wearer and go back to him.

Anyone else?

Not feeling all that well last night, I pulled out my copy of North and South - a BBC Production based on the novel of the same title by Elizabeth Gaskell. I believe it was actually a miniseries as it is about 4 hours long - and a wonderful way to spend four hours.

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the BBC America series Robin Hood. One of the stars, playing Sir Guy of Gisborne, is Richard Armitage. Mr. Armitage plays John Thornton in North and South and has had women swooning for year over it. If you are a fan of Richard's, this is the one to watch - and if you are not a fan of his, you have been missing out so get this on your list of 'Videos to Watch' right away!

From the Amazon website:

North & South is a splendid, four-hour adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's 19th century novel about an unlikely, and somewhat star-crossed, love between a middle-class young woman from England's cultivated south and an intemperate if misunderstood industrialist in a hardscrabble, northern city. Daniela Denby-Ashe plays Margaret Hale, forthright and strong-willed daughter of a former vicar (Tim Pigott-Smith) who relocates his family from a pastoral village outside London to unforgiving, largely illiterate Milton, a factory town where John Thornton (Richard Armitage) and his mother (Sinead Cusack), survivors of poverty, rule their cotton mill with an iron hand. Thornton befriends Margaret's father but incurs her wrath for his severity with his workers. What she doesn't notice is Thornton's core sense of responsibility for his employees' welfare. On the other hand, he misinterprets some of Margaret's own actions and intentions. Equally stubborn, the two drag out their obvious attraction over many painful months and events.

Pride and Prejudice lovers will likely love this story as well. It has all the angsty elements of a good love story, a brooding and handsome leading man who gives an outstanding performance and a headstrong leading lady who fails to see the forest for the trees mostly because of her own self.

And....there was a preview of The Way We Live Now starring the totally edible Matthew Macfadyen! Ah...silver linings!!

**All images are borrowed from photobucket and not owned by me

The next in line of my string of Pride and Prejudice related books that I need to post about was a wonderful read. This one is by one of my very favorite Pride and Prejudice 'variation' authors - Abigail Reynolds.

Ms. Reynolds has written several Pride and Prejudice variations - which means she takes the story and changes the timeline, an event or the timing of an event. All of them are good and well worth your time to read if you are interested in that sort of thing.

In this particular variation, when Elizabeth Bennet finds out that Lydia has run away with Wickham, she and Mr. Darcy are much more open about their feelings for one another rather than assuming that they cannot go on from there. Instead of automatically assuming that Mr. Darcy would never have anything to do with her now that Lydia has disgraced her family, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have a precious few minutes to talk - and it takes the story in a wholly different direction.

Granted, the climax and angst of the original story is very altered - and that is fine. This was a very light and fun read - very romantic and full of fun little trysts (all almost perfectly innocent) between Mr. Darcy and Lizzy Bennet. This book focuses almost entirely on Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet and the broader cast of characters is greatly reduced.

Favorite line...

Mr. Darcy has just asked for Lizzy's hand in marriage and had gotten quite a hard time from Mr. Bennet over it. So, Mr. Darcy asks Mr. Bennet why he gave him such an ordeal while he gave his consent very easily to Mr. Bingley when he asked for Jane's hand. Mr. Bennet replies...

"Very well, if you wish to know, when Jane brings home a puppy dog, I pat it's head. When Lizzy brings me a full-grown wolf, I handle it differently."

Abigail Reynolds is a wonderful writer and if you are interested, you can check out her website via this link: Abigail Reynolds.

When I first saw this book on Amazon, my first thought was - Oh! That looks like a lot of fun. The possibilities are endless....

Little did I know that I truly would have been better off if I had lit my $14.00 on fire and saved myself the time I spent reading this book. Actually, I did not read *all* of it - I just could not take anymore.

The following is from the back cover:

Your name: Elizabeth Bennet. Your mission: to marry both prudently and for love, avoiding family scandal. Equipped with only your sharp wit, natural good sense, and tolerable beauty, you must navigate you way through a variety of decisions that will determine your own romantic (and finanacial) fate. Ever wonder what would happen if Elizabeth accepted Mr. Darcy's proposal the first time around? Or ran from his arms into those of Persuasion's Captain Wentworth? Now is your chance to find out."

In hindsight, what was I thinking?

Basically, as you 'travel' through this book, you are supposed to pick up 'points' that will show how successful you are at accomplishing the above 'mission'. Alright - but that seems a bit ludicrious to me so I chose not to keep score - I just picked which action I would do next as I went along. I got bored with this little game very quickly because, basically, if you do not follow just what Elizabeth Bennet chooses to do in the original novel, you fail. I was expecting some funny or clever reworkings of the original story, but alas....I was sorely disappointed.

My final word - don't even bother. If you must bother, send me a message and I will send my copy to you. I would be glad to be rid of it.

Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field

This was a super fast reading book. The reason? It was nauseatingly predictable. Perhaps it is because I have overloaded myself with the essence of this story or perhaps because the author of this book just basically followed the storyline of Jane Austen's original work - and did not really deviate from it at all.

The one thing that always bothers me is that in just about every single Pride and Prejudice rewrite, variation or continuation, the 'Lizzy' character is always made out to be something that she is not. For example, the 'Lizzy' in this rendering is called Jasmin - or Jazz for short. She is a journalist who goes to audition for a play - and we can all guess who the producer of the play is going to be - and, predictably, she gives an auditorium shattering performance. I understand that somehow she has to find her way into proximity with the 'Darcy' character, but please. A bit more imagination!

All in all, it gets a 'Meh' from me. It was not terrible, but it was not *very good* either. A definite 'check out at the Library' book.

My hubby and I watch Death At A Funeral last night. This is a British comedy in the classic sense - lots of slap stick and 'freaking out' sort of humor. Someone says the word sh*t every other sentence - no kidding. It started off a bit slow, but once drugs were introduced into the plotline, things picked up considerably.

Most of the cast is British and likely unrecognizable to the average American audience with the exception of Matthew Macfadyen who played opposite Keira Knightly in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. Fans of BBC America's MI-5 will also likely recognize Keeley Hawes.

As an aside, some British as being fairly aggressive about claiming this movie as a 'proper Britsh comedy' and really do not want Americans commenting on it all that much. Not sure what is up with that, but I was surprised by that attitude when I went to the IMDb site to look for the spelling of a couple of names. I guess that is testiment to how well the 'British farce' that is the essence of this movie was done. Hate to break it to the Brits who are being so stingy, but Frank Oz, the director, is an....American.

All is all, I can recommend this movie - which is a story of a family trying to be what they are not and pull off being sophisticated and well put together at the funeral of their father who they dearly loved. Turns out, they are just like all the rest of us - flawed and just trying to make it through the day - and, they are funny!

I watched my brand spanking newly released copy of Becoming Jane last night. I have to say that this is one of those movies that surprised me. I did not think it would be as good as it was - and it is even better the second time around!



If you are familiar with Jane Austen, you will recognize almost all of her most promiment characters woven into the characters and storylines of this movie. It is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours and a pretty good pick for Valentine's Day.



I was very skeptical of Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, but in the end I was impressed. She was wonderful! And though I had never even heard of James McAvoy until I saw him in this movie, I count myself as a fan! Still need to see Atonement as I hear he is superb in it!



The very best part of this movie is that is shows Jane Austen and her family and friends as *real people* - not the super idealized caracatures we have made them out to be. For that alone, this movie gets thumbs up from me!

Well, the first thing I have to say about this book is - you take a gamble when you buy books, even when they are at the recommendation of a friend. I gambled - and lost my $12.99 with this little purchase.

My friend - who meant well, I know, said this was a great read - really funny and informative. In truth, I found it to be just the opposite. If you are looking for a book about how to be an 'extreme eater' and push yourself toward the 'Hollywood' view of body types and weight loss, this book is a great place to start. It is basically a thesis, written in coarse and vulgar language, about the sins of people who eat sugar and meat. It is meant to be funny and irreverant, but comes off as insulting and extreme.

In the view of the writers of this little literary jewel, you are a horrible person not fit to live if you eat meat - of any sort - and would dare to let sugar pass your lips. The explainations of why you should not eat meat are anchored in extreme vegan rhetoric and are far from indisputable fact.

In short, I am sorry I wasted my money and corrupted my mind with this drabble. The book is far more toxic than any food that I eat! So I say, eat those M&Ms - just don't eat a whole one pound bag!

I personally do not visit the Austenfans site, but I promised to pass this along for all the Jane fans out there. I actually read this book and thought it was okay. You can find my review in the archives. Have a great day!

Attention Austenfans:

Have you visited www.austenfans.com yet? If not, make sure that you check it out today! Austenfans is a website dedicated to conversation and community comprised of all things Jane Austen.Right now, registered members at Austenfans.com have exclusive access to content and video clips from the filming of the Jane Austen Book Club (2007). The movie is being released tomorrow (9/21) in select U.S. cities and nationwide on October 5th.Registration is free and it gives you the chance to be one of the first to see clips from the movie before it comes out!If you need some extra Jane in your life, make sure to also take a look at the many continuations housed in the Jane Austen Sequels section of Austenfans.com. Also, please feel free to pass this message along to anyone you know who is a Jane Austen fanatic!