geoffgee

I've recently watched this live action version of Sleeping Beauty (on DVD) and enjoyed it from the outset. The film's telling of the fairy tale is, I think, quite a distinct and imaginative variation on the way Sleeping Beauty is traditionally depicted. I quickly became interested in the journey of William (the commander of the king's army and played by Robert Amstler), the pretty elf Alondra (Gemma Donato) and the wizard Samrin (John J. Welsh) to rescue Aurora. I also enjoyed the choices of outdoor landscapes (e.g. snowy forests, mountain views, lake side action) and thought the fights were well choreographed. The actors and actresses are all attractive (even the villains) and they all put in acceptable performances. For me the film has what I enjoy in a movie (i.e. a terrific story and fascinating characters whose fate I care deeply about) so I'm giving it a personal rating of 10/10.

I'd been looking forward to A Royal Night Out's release since first seeing the trailer a few weeks ago. Now, after seeing the film, I'm happy to report that I wasn't disappointed. The action begins slowly, but once the royal sisters become enmeshed in London's VE night revelries I found myself being carried along by events in ways that were at times funny, at times exciting, at times emotionally moving - even at times with feelings of national pride - but always with interest and anticipation. One 'bonus' I hadn't expected was that the story would also feature elements of a very touching love story. This latter, for me, endowed the story with a certain 'fairy tale' quality. (But it is a film of fiction ... so, why not??) The three leads - Elisabeth, Margaret and Jack - are all excellent. Supporting actors and actresses of the cast provide additional variety and entertainment and play their parts with apparent enthusiasm. A lot of work obviously went into recreating the crowd, traffic and London scenes of 1945 and clothing styles seemed authentic to me. All in all a worthwhile undertaking painstakingly and lovingly realised. Go see this film. My bet is you'll be glad you did. Highly recommended. 8/10.

Having, previously to seeing the film, read all four of the user reviews on IMDb.com - all of which expressed some degree of negative criticism of the film - I went to see The Face of an Angel somewhat apprehensive about what to expect. What had peeked my interest was that I'd also heard that this was more a film about a filmmaker struggling to discover what he believed to be an underlying 'truth' about the main female characters involved in the murder, as opposed to the 'good girl' / 'bad girl' sensationalism which he saw the tabloid media as focusing on. This, to me, sounded to be of far more interest than a movie merely purporting to solve or throw further light on the crime would have been. And, happily for me, that's how it transpired. As I watched I was fascinated by how the main protagonist (Thomas) had to wrestle with decision making in aspects of his personal life as well as in finding some way of telling the murder trial story as he thought it should be told. I found the acting and directing to be more than adequate and that there was more than one 'face of an angel' to add to the film's appeal. I enjoyed the film so much I saw it a second time the next day. Recommended. 7/10.