Elina: As If I Wasn't There ( Elina - Som om jag inte fanns ) Review

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(More customer reviews)I saw this at a foreign film festival several years ago. It is a really fantastic movie. I have been trying to find it in region 1 with English subtitles ever since. Amazing movie about the power of childhood, strikingly beautiful scenery.

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David Copperfield (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)A sumptuous, wonderful adaptation; unexpectedly and disarmingly excellent.
I was a little hesitant going into this: having read the novel a couple of times and declared it my own, I had long fondly imagined the scenes and characters without any need for assistance, thank you very much.
Consequently, I felt the way many Tolkien fans must have felt before those three recent movies came out: leery that my coveted imaginings would be sullied by what might prove to be a jarrring and irreversible contamination.
These fears were misplaced, however. The full vitality of Dickens's bittersweet classic -- all the heaping joys and sorrows of life -- comes through quite powerfully in this handsome BBC version. After about 25 minutes I was literally on the edge of my seat.
Oh, and speaking of this version: they spent some money on it, you'll be happy to know. It's not one of those innumerable stuffy BBC dramas that take place (for budget considerations if nothing else) in an intolerable series of drawing rooms and antechambers. No, they did this one right: the blokes went outside and built some proper sets, and it shows.
Yes, though fully prepared to dislike it, I find myself here with little ammunition for complaint. I wish Traddles hadn't suffered deletion; he is one character I have difficulty picturing and could have used some help. Also, the actress who played Dora was not exactly my conception of her . . . but this is nitpicking.

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The classic David Copperfield was not just Charles Dickens' favorite work. It has been the most popular of his books since it was first published 150 years ago. Micawber, Peggotty, Betsey Trotwood, Uriah Heep, Mr. Creakle, Mrs. Crupp, and Mr. Dick... never were so many of Dickens' famous and vest-loved characters gathered together in just one of his works.They are all brought to life by a world-class cast including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Oscar-winner Maggie Smith (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), Bob Hoskins (Hook), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Bullshot) and Pauline Quirke (The Elephant Man) in this sparkling adaptation.The most autobiographical of Dickens' work, David Copperfield often echoes the writer's own life. It tells a moving story of David's journey from birth to maturity, a journey which inextricably links his life with some of Dickens' most colorful and extraordinary families.Special DVD features include: Cast list; Masterpiece Theatre poster gallery; access to David Copperfield Web site featuring production notes, interviews with the cast and crew, a Dickens timeline, a guide to the featured characters, and more; scene selection; English audiotrack; and closed captions.One one DVD9 disc.Region coding: All regions.Audio: Dolby stereo.Screen format: Widescreen (Anamorphic)

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Ordinary Miracles (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an extraordinary movie. It deals with realistic situations and realistic people without being oppressive. When people stop associating with other people who are wrong for them and manage to fall in with the sort of people who are right for them, their lives improve dramatically, as happens in this movie.
Other reviewers have picked up on how the judge helped this teenage girl, but they didn't see how the girl helped the grown woman also. By being brazen enough, and smart enough to ask some searching questions, she helped. Also, the parallel in situations between the girl and the grown woman with regard to their respective fathers made for a rich story.
This movie should also be commended for having been brave enough to deal with a bright kid, and for understanding how bright kids are different and how even their emotional problems are different.
Quibbles: the transition for the girl was a bit too fast. It was not unrealistic, but it needed more development. This of course would have slowed down the pace of the movie, however, and most viewers would have liked it less. The movie is only 80 minutes long. It would have been better at the usual TV-movie length of 100 minutes.
Also, the father's reaction at the end was not credible to me. Maybe he did feel guilty, but he was also feeling a lot of other things. His avoidance reaction was just not credible.
In defense of the movie, however, against another commenter: there are ends left open at the movie's end. One cannot assume the exact nature of those resolutions and condemn the movie for making these resolutions which it in fact leaves open. Also, it is not at all unrealistic that the judge found the father: after all, she was looking through the records to do just that.
Bottom line: Don't miss this movie. There aren't many this good that deal with human problems and decent human beings.


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Ballet Shoes (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)BALLET SHOES (starring Emma Watson... celebrated for her lead roles in the Harry Potter films...along with an all-star acclaimed ensemble cast) is absolutely wonderful. I personally am in love it. Targeting a very large and underserved audience which is best defined as "moms and their daughters", Ballet Shoes is a film about realizing ambitions; a film where its tag line `dreams do come true' is really the `spot on' underlying message of the film... and the storyline. I believe it is destined to be a huge success for it is a tale of inspiration indeed.
A big-budget Granada film production, originally for the BBC, Ballet Shoes is based on the literary classic penned by Noel Streatfeild that women especially are very familiar with as key reading material from their childhood. A costume drama with absolutely stunning cinematography, the film portrays 1930's London with a sense of dreamy realism. For those who recall the box office smash "You've Got Mail", the book is the one being sought after that Meg Ryan launches into a verbal expose about. Ms. Ryan was right on the money, as is this adaptation of the tale.
Ballet Shoes is the story of three orphan girls; Petrova, Posie and Pauline (Emma Watson) who are raised as sisters after being brought together by a rich, world traveler as babies. As they grow up, each girl develops a dream of their own. Pauline wants to be an actress; Petrova longs to be an aviator; Posie wishes to dance. Circumstances bring them together, and together they vow to go down in the history books. "We three Fossils vow...". This vow launches the three Fossil sisters on their voyage, a journey that they travel individually as well as together, one that can only serve to inspire any young girl who watches the film.
On a personal note, I watched this film with my 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son. While my son fought to pay attention (not surprising), my daughter was riveted throughout the film. The appearance of `Hermoine' as a teen brought her into focus early on, and then the tale itself kept her eyes and ears wide open. She's asked repeatedly to watch Ballet Shoes again, which of course she has. My son, of course, is back to watching `his thing', Spiderman, Superman and The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers...
Ballet Shoes, in a certain sense, is a long form faerie tale, and I recommend it with no reservations whatsoever as superb family viewing.


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Dreams do come true… Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) stars in Ballet Shoes, a heartwarming and uplifting film based on the beloved, best-selling novel by Noel Streatfeild and featuring an award-winning cast that includes Emilia Fox, Victoria Wood, Richard Griffiths and Eileen Atkins. "We three Fossils vow to put our name in the history book, because it is ours, and ours alone…" With these words, three orphans, raised as sisters, leave their sheltered lives and embark on an exhilarating journey that takes them to the heights of the stage, screen and sky! DVD EXTRAS: Exclusive 20-Minute Interview with Emma Watson Deleted Scenes, Ballet Shoes Audiobook Excerpt

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