Movies for a Saturday
Got in some movie watching yesterday, one in the theater and one at home. The theatrical film was Eight Below, a story of survival and love. Eight sled dogs are left behind by a scientific team in Antarctica when a bad storm forces them to leave. The storm gets so bad that the cannot go back and get them. While their handler tries to get back to them, the dogs are forced to survive on their own and do so in a most innovative way. It's an exciting and well made film, with the dogs outshining their human costars for the most part. Photography is beautiful and, on occasion, I found myself tearing up over events in the story. Well worth going to see.
The home video that I watched was a recommendation from an old friend of mine, Bill Rainey. I ran into him and his other half Caroline a few months ago and mentioned I had been to see Pride and Prejudice. He thought I had said Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood film and started raving about it. I was intrigued at the idea of Jane Austin's story being set in India and finally decided to rent it. It turned out to be a delight. The film is directed by a British woman with an international cast from India, England and the US. Lovely sets, very colorful costumes and lavish production numbers make this a very enjoyable film. The young lady who plays the Lizzie Bennett chaacter is one of the most stunningly beautiful women I've ever seen. Her name is Aishwarya Rai and is quite wonderful in thwe film as the outspoken and bright Lalita. The rest of the cast is quite good and I was surprised to see Marsha Mason playing Mr. Darcy's mother. The DVD includes some deleted scenes and extended musical numbers. The interviews with the cast are interesting. One of the men mentions he kept asking for a dance double because he didn't think he could do the strenuous choreography required, but he ended up doing it all. Martin Henderson, the film's Mr. Darcy, was only barely in one dance number, but the director made him learn them all anyway. He said he was very intimidated by it. Anyway, rent this film if you'd like to see the story not done in an exciting and innovative way, without all the empire dresses and stuffy British settings.
The home video that I watched was a recommendation from an old friend of mine, Bill Rainey. I ran into him and his other half Caroline a few months ago and mentioned I had been to see Pride and Prejudice. He thought I had said Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood film and started raving about it. I was intrigued at the idea of Jane Austin's story being set in India and finally decided to rent it. It turned out to be a delight. The film is directed by a British woman with an international cast from India, England and the US. Lovely sets, very colorful costumes and lavish production numbers make this a very enjoyable film. The young lady who plays the Lizzie Bennett chaacter is one of the most stunningly beautiful women I've ever seen. Her name is Aishwarya Rai and is quite wonderful in thwe film as the outspoken and bright Lalita. The rest of the cast is quite good and I was surprised to see Marsha Mason playing Mr. Darcy's mother. The DVD includes some deleted scenes and extended musical numbers. The interviews with the cast are interesting. One of the men mentions he kept asking for a dance double because he didn't think he could do the strenuous choreography required, but he ended up doing it all. Martin Henderson, the film's Mr. Darcy, was only barely in one dance number, but the director made him learn them all anyway. He said he was very intimidated by it. Anyway, rent this film if you'd like to see the story not done in an exciting and innovative way, without all the empire dresses and stuffy British settings.