Library

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Tradition Prepared Her. Change Will Define Her.

Summary: Good lord, where to begin. I saw this movie in theatres the second it opened here in Toronto; I wasn't particularly interested in the British Royal Family prior to having seen it and I didn't know much about Helen Mirren at all; I'd only seen her in Calendar Girls, but I thought the subject matter would be interesting and I was curious as to how they'd manage to pull off a depiction of Queen Elizabeth II.

I love this movie. I love everything about this movie, from the writing to the directing to the acting - especially the acting. Michael Sheen is terrific and captures the younger Tony Blair's boyish charm, enthusiasm, and knack for being in touch with what the public wants. James Cromwell and Sylvia Syms were great as Prince Phillip and the late Queen Mum, respectively, and Alex Jennings was adequate as Prince Charles; he at least half-convinced me that he was a whiner, which is what my opinion of Prince Charles was and still is. However, this movie of course belongs to Helen Mirren, who is a goddess of acting. She pefectly captures Queen Elizabeth II's grace, dignity, sense of duty, and dry wit, and manages to convey the sense of bewilderment that one would assume is natural for a person to feel when people who've loved you all your life suddenly hate you for doing what you think is appropriate. Regardless of Queen E's personal feelings about the late Princess Di, she did not stay holed up at Balmoral out of spite; she stayed there because she wanted to keep what was going on private. She doesn't believe in big public displays of emotion and never has, and prior to Princess Diana's death, the British public were by and large all right with that. How was she to know that in the blink of an eye, she was to abandon the way she'd always done things and behave in a manner that she considers to be distasteful?

This is a smart, sharp film, that tries to convey to the audience that no one is perfect, that everyone is human, and that everyone in it tried to do what they thought was right - and it reminds you that people have different ideas of what is right. For Tony Blair, it was obvious that the Queen needed to make more of an effort to convey that she was sad. For Queen E, it never occurred to her to express her feelings (aside from the statement of regret that had already been issued, which the movie does not make clear) in any other manner than was her custom: dignified, quiet, and private. The film is very informative and accurate, and everything about it is elegant and tasteful. Helen Mirren and the entire cast rule.

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: Dolby

Comments: In this town, you're either one or the other

Summary: Director Sam Raimi ("The Evil Dead") tries gamely to recapture the exotic mysteries of spaghetti Westerns in this stylish but empty film, which stars Sharon Stone as a stranger who comes to the town of Redemption in time for an annual shooting contest. Her real motivations for being there are the stuff that might have found their way into a film by Sergio Leone--in fact, much of this film is a pastiche of Leone's greatest hits, including "A Fistful of Dollars" and "Once upon a Time in America"--but one can't quite believe Stone in the role. Gene Hackman gives a predictably solid performance as the town tyrant, and Leonardo DiCaprio is good as a lucky young gunslinger who gets to kiss the heroine. But not even the cast can help this failed project. Raimi brings a lot of razzle-dazzle to his camera work, but it doesn't make the film any more substantial. "--Tom Keogh"