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The Other Boleyn Girl (2003)
Very bad adaptation
I am not a fan of the original book but was expecting to see a better adaptation than the Natalie Portman movie, which I found awful. This version is even worse.
First, there is very little of Ms. Gregory's book in this script. The whole subplot of George Boleyn's sexuality is completely eliminated and in this version George is merely a flunky shuttling between his duty to the Boleyn family and his duty to the King. I thought the title of the book referred to Mary as the lesser-known of the Boleyn sisters, but here it is used to refer to Anne.
Second, the script has the characters periodically address the audience as if in confession. Apparently this is intended to give a bit of back story and explain their motives, but it is amateurish in execution.
On top of the bad script, the direction is stunningly bad. There are too many shots done with a circling camera which is none-too-steady at best and downright shaky at worst. Several of the speeches are delivered tentatively, as if in a first rehearsal. The production values for Henry's flamboyant court are minimal. The costumes vary: some are copies of historical portraits and others are from some costume designer's fevered imagination. And the King, the source of all power and favors, is often shown ALONE. No fawning courtiers, no servants in the background - where are all the people?? I am accustomed to Hollywood turning history into fantasy, but I expected better from a BBC production. Even based on a flawed book this production is BAD.
Zardoz (1974)
I've seen this plot before.
It was - well, basically it's kind of like that one SF short story about the Players and the people who live forever and the one guy's mortal so he learns that being mortal makes life worth living. That's the real message anyway. Story-wise, the world was going to hell, so the elite got together and created about 8 pockets of green healthy earth and all the human knowledge there was. Everbody else starved to death and reverted to basic hunter/gatherer status. Inside the safe-havens, one guy figured out how to re-spawn the same person so they stopped all new births after reaching the equilibrium population and evolved their psychic powers and the sappiest democracy you've ever seen. One man got delegated to watch over the outside populace (Brutals) and out of boredom and a desire to stop stagnation he ran a selective breeding program and forced evolution to a mortal form superior in potential to themselves. Sean Connery is one of those next-gen people and the majority of the movie is an attempt to be obscure about all of the setup. In the end, he destroys their immortality machine and brings in his buddies to kill all the bored Eternals, immediately after learning the sum total of all human knowledge and impregnating 6 Eternals to breed the next generation. Predictably enough, he runs off with the one Eternal who hates him the most, but for some unknown reason instead of hanging out with the other 6 women they go live in a cave with no amenities and apparently not using any of the sum total of human knowledge... movie-wise, there's a lot of artsy 70's psychedelic crap mixed in with some decent special effects and some horrible hippie acting. Watch it? Sure but keep the remote handy - we didn't, but you'll want to fast forward through some over-long trippy scenes.
The First Wives Club (1996)
If you liked the book...
If you liked the book, this movie will definitely disappoint you. The premise of the book required the men to be totally unredeemed so that the reader feels they have truly deserved their fates when their first wives take action. The movie changes names and characters and reinvents many of the relationships so that there is VERY little connection to Ms. Goldsmith's work. This movie has a top-notch cast; it was a pity that the script was so bad.
The World of Henry Orient (1964)
They don't make 'em like this anymore
This is the first movie I saw as a teenager that adequately captured the feeling of a first crush on an adult. The friendship between Gil and Val is both sweet and enduring, and I only wished I had been so fortunate.
The ensemble cast is superb and the humor is as funny today as it was then. I wish there were more movies like this!
Napoléon (2002)
interesting characterization
As an American I was not familiar with French actor Christian Clavier, but I was pleasantly surprised at his characterization of Napoleon. M. Clavier has the confidence and presence to personify a historical character of amazing charisma. I look forward to seeing him as Asterix! As for the overall production, it was very well-done and was a fair summary of a life that encompassed unimaginable highs and lows.