wlisa8583 Reviews

The Love Letter (1998 TV Movie)

Very silly movie

[6/10 · 12 October 2014]

I am flabbergasted to see such good reviews for such a silly movie.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good romance as much as the next girl, however this movie was, in my opinion, devoid of any true romance.

First of all the male lead was utterly dull and emotionless and I battled to believe that he was truly in love. The actress that played Elizabeth was not much better, and thus the romance they were trying to portray just fell flat.

Secondly, the love story itself was very unsatisfying. The two leads knew barely anything about each other, and had never met, yet they were suddenly madly in love after exchanging a couple of letters. Their entire relationship was shallow and insipid and not once was I rooting for their love to conquer all.

Thirdly, this movie trivialized true love by making it seem as though it is only a feeling that descends upon us (we don't even need to know the person nor anything about them, but we can still be in 'true love' ). This is not 'true love' , but just wishful thinking.

I must point out that it was indeed a clean movie and that is why I will give it 6 stars.

Downton Abbey (2010–2015)

Substandard acting ruined it for me

[6/10 · 6 May 2014]

This is one series I have tried to watch numerous times, however have not really been able to get into, which is surprising as the subject matter appeals greatly to me.

My major complaint is that each scene is far far too short. Just when it gets interesting, the scene is suddenly cut to the next with a new set of characters, and this happens continuously throughout the episode until most of the numerous characters have been in several very very short scenes. As you can guess, not one satisfying scene ever takes place.

Due to the short scenes, I never really feel like I connect with any of the characters at all, nor get very engaged in the story line. I find myself waiting for something to happen, but very little seems to happen at all.

I am also thoroughly disappointed with the acting, I have always considered English actors to be of the very best, but I find the acting in this series to be quite awful. The acting is for the most part quite flat, and certain characters even battle to speak clearly, mumbling their way through clearly put on accents.

I am rather disappointed as I expected a lot more from this series but perhaps my expectations were far too high.

Emma (1996)

The only Austin movie with a completely unlikeable heroine

[7/10 · 9 March 2014]

Emma is one of my least favorite Jane Austen novels, so it took a while for me to get round to watching this version. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found it much more enjoyable than the Kate Beckinsale version.

Gwyneth did a decent job, although I must state that the script portrayed Emma as a terribly spoilt snob, and I rather disliked her in the film and couldn't understand why Mr Knightley would admire her so when really, she was just dreadful. I certainly don't remember finding her so unbearable in the novel.

What I love about Jane Austin's work is that her characters are so witty and endearing, despite their faults, but that was not the case in this film. I certainly didn't care for Emma one bit and would have preferred it had the totally bland but sweet Harriet ended up with him instead.

Mr Knightley was a far better character in the film; far less critical, more gentle and appealing, and not the stiff, critical bore I found him to be in the novel. And the casting of Jeremy Northam was pure genius, for every girl knows that having a hunky romantic lead is essential in an Austen movie.

This film was well made and did justice to the novel. The acting was rather good, but I didn't love this film the way I do other Jane Austen film's, and wouldn't be compelled to watch it again.

That Awkward Moment (2014)

Cringeworthy

[1/10 · 10 February 2014]

I am so angry that I wasted my time watch this crappy movie.

The storyline was completely unoriginal and devoid of real humor and intelligence.

The jokes were tired and pointless and we have heard it all before, many times. The script was flimsy, and full of holes. The initial reason why Vera left Mikey rang hollow. Surely if you had a problem with your partners spontaneity, you would just tell them instead of requesting a divorce. And suddenly, after one act of spontaneous love making, they are on the road to recovery. I mean, how ridiculous is that. Just one of many, many examples of this foolish story.

The acting was the pits; Zac Efron is just not a good enough actor to be leading man material. The rest didn't impress me much either. There was complete lack of charisma and absolutely zero chemistry between any of the couples. Not funny, not fun and not interesting in the slightest!