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Letters to Juliet (Blu-ray)
by diamond_sparkles
Maybe it has to do with the fact that my expectations were too high when I first watched this movie, Letters to Juliet ended up being quite disappointing to me. While I will not qualify this film as a waste of time, it certainly could have been better- and did not at all rise up to the hype that was surrounding it. Plus I was extremely, ... bitterly disappointed by Amada Seyfried's performance in the film (she was actually the reason I bought the movie in the first place!) However, the story is enjoyable; the plot could have used a little polishing off but is entertaining enough. Just don't expect too much from the acting though!
Sophie and her fiancé Victor embark on a pre-honeymoon to Verona, but once there, both parties indulge in their own, separate activities. While Victor indulges in his culinary talents, Sophie helps "The Secretaries of Juliet", an organization designed to guide people with their love problems. When Sophie finds a 50 year old letter written by a certain Claire, she decides to help the woman find her first love again...
The first thing which failed to impress me in the film was how long it took to dive into the main plot. I truly cannot stand movies which roam around endlessly for ages before finally debuting the real story. Of course, I do understand that the audience needs to be exposed to some character background and all that, but if according to me, it's absurd to drag the beginning of the movie around just to emphasize upon a couple of elements. I have to admit that I was quite bored at the very beginning and had to force myself to sit through. However, on a more positive note, the pace of the film quickens as it progresses and it becomes much less boring afterwards. Still, it was just a bit too easy to predict what would happen, which again spoiled things for me.
As previously mentioned, Amanda Seyfried's acting was just a pale reflection of her former performances in other movies. I usually adore her performance which is why I tend to buy every movie she plays in- but in Letters to Juliet, her acting was in dire need of seasoning. Her facial expression remained wooden, her lines poorly delivered and her body language virtually non-existent. That's not to mention how there was a blatant lack of romantic chemistry with her on-screen partner played by Chris Egan. However, Vanessa Redgrave's performance was quite great: she was the one who really held the plot together.
I would describe this film as one that gets better as it progresses. I hated it at the beginning but found it quite a pleasant watch as it went along; and by the end of the movie, I was disappointed but didn't feel like I wasted my time.
Extras:
Commentary tracks
Deleted Scenes
Extended scenes
The Making Of
Featurettes
The extras were quite nice, better than the movie actually. Amongst all of them, I certainly would recommend the Featurettes and Extended/deleted scenes. In fact, in my personal opinion, the movie would have worked better if they'd kept some of these scenes.
If you ask me, the commentary tracks are not worth it. They were a bit too rehearsed and artificial for me. I usually prefer commentary tracks with a bit more animation and producers/actors' personal opinions on particular scenes, but this Extra included none of it.
Cast List includes:
Amanda Seyfried as Sophie
Chris Egan as Charlie
Vanessa Redgrave as Claire
Franco Nero as Lorenzo
Gael Bernal as Victor
Overall, I would recommend this to you if you want some light entertainment and don't mind a couple of bad performances. Three stars because it's an average, mildly enjoyable movie but two stars off for the poor performances.
~Thank you for reading~
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Pride and Prejudice (Blu-ray)
by clairelouiser
Where to buy...
I got sent an email from Amazon offering me this BD for £12. I immediately jumped at the offer, however i note that the price has gone down - so all the better for you.
It is also available on the BBC website, i would imagine it is available at most major retailers. I haven't seen it available at ... supermarkets, so maybe not widely available.
The Story...
Really? You don't know? OK - a quick version - Girl meets rich man, she doesn't like him, he likes her, they meet a few times, he grows on her, happy ending. I'm really doing Austen a disservice, but that is a summary version.
I have said in my reviews of Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility that this is by far my favourite Austen. I love Pride & Prejudice. It is everything a romantic novel should be - suspence, a rollercoaster, a shock marriage, beautiful scenery, wealth and a happy ending.
This version is fairly loyal to the novel. The script sticks mostly to the dialogue in the book. Some of the scenes are reordered, but i've lived with it. There are a few artistic licences taken with additions to party scenes and things like that. But it is mostly true.
The Blu Ray...
This series was aired originally on the BBC in the mid 90s. It stars Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It has aged really well, and still remains contemporary.
My relationship with this story began when it originally aired on TV. Back in the day when we had 4 channels and TVs the size of a dustbin. How times have changed...
I then got the VHS version, moved onto DVD and finally have the Blu Ray. There was also an anniversary edition done not so long ago. The reviews weren't great and i'm glad i opted to wait and was rewarded with the Blu Ray.
The picture colour is amazing. They went back to the original negatives and remastered from there, it really shows. The remastering is incredible. In the opening scene, Lizzie (main heroine) is walking through the countryside. This is a slight divergence from the original story, but i've lived with that, and in this scene you can totally forget as the white of her dress is crisp and clean - even Daz would be proud! Compared to the DVD, this version is incredible.
Throughout, the colours are very impressive, the dresses the ladies wear (particularly the orange ones for some reason!), the scenerary - all looks so crisp and clear.
The opening sequences haven't ages so well, the credits look a bit dull, but that didn't bother me too much.
There are 2 discs, each containing 3 episodes of just over an hour. There are some optional extras, but i rarely bother with these. This one is from the director and a commentry on the longevity of this series.
There's also a really handy sequence which takes you through setting up your Blu Ray Player and TV to get the optimum picture - i found this really helpful.
My opinion...
I watch this series at least once a year. Usually at Christmas with a glass of mulled wine and Christmas presents to wrap, somehow the romantic in me loves the feeling the story gives me and gets me festive!
As an aside, i always found it genius that they managed to cast Colin Firth as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones - obviously he is Mr Darcy in this and that led to him being cast in that role. He is lovely, the scene with him coming out of the lake, dripping wet, hot, has become slightly iconic (that is a divergence from the book!)
Brilliant, fantastic, amazing, gorgeous - can you tell i like it?
Great Xmas present for someone who is a romantic at heart.
If you get one Blu Ray, get this.
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Letters to Juliet (Blu-ray)
by Juliet101
Sophie is engaged to a chef who due to his new restaurant opening decided to go on their honeymoon before the wedding. They go to Verona in Italy where her fiancé spends the majority of his time looking for ingredients all over the country and Sophie gets tired of this. She decides to do some sightseeing of her own and she comes across ... Juliet's wall where women write to Juliet and place the letters on the wall that is supposedly her house. She then sees someone taking down these letters and decides to follow her to see what she is doing. She discovers that the letters are taken by a group of women called Juliet's secretaries and they then write back to these women. One is a nurse, another has been married for 50 years to the same man, another has 12 children and the last reads the letters that are unreadable and then ones that involve a lot of heart ake. She then helps them collect letters and she comes across one which is 50 years old. A woman writes about a lost love and Sophie decides she has to write back. The author of the letter is Claire who comes back to Verona after receiving the letter with her grandson Charlie. She comes to look for Lorenzo her lost love and Sophie helps her to find him. They go on a road trip to find him, her Charlie and Claire. Will they find him, and what will happen if they do? Sophie wants to be a writer and at the moment she is a fact checker for a newspaper and this is a good story for her. This could help her to become a recognised and established writer.
I have wanted to watch this film for a while now after seeing the trailer and because the lead character was Amanda Seinfield who I thought was really good in Mama Mia. I also thought that the scenery was really good in the trailer. I do think that Amanda's performance was nothing special but it want bad either. Vanessa Redgrave's performance however left a lot to be desired and I was rather surprised that such an accomplished actress's performance was poor. I do think though this was due to the flimsy script rather than her acting abilities.
The plot is rather farfetched and predictable but to be fair that is what makes a movie, a movie. The thing is too early on I knew what was going to happen with Charlie and Sophie but I think I saw that coming when he first appeared in the film. The plot in my opinion was rather insensitive as Claire is a widow, but what if she wasn't? Would the same plot have worked, no it wouldn't. I think that its only because she was a widow that she came to look for her lost love.
I think the ending was too soppy and unrealistic but again this is a film so I shouldn't expect anything better, should I? I do think though that the relationship between Sophie and her fiancé was really bad as they had no chemistry and it was really hard to see why are engaged or even a couple.
The Italian country scenery was beautiful and so idyllic; it is also what stands out for me in this film. The movie was shot in Italy, in Verona.
I would recommend that those is search for a easy to watch, pretty film with pretty people would enjoy this film. I personally thought it could have been better if there was maybe a twist or there was more to the plot.
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