Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Review
Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) is a young girl married to a much older duke (Ralph Fiennes) for the sole purpose of producing an heir. Her passion and life causes her to be loved by the people of Briton, becoming a fashion icon and having a growing influence in the political arena. But at home things aren’t well. Her husband has continuous affairs and she is unable to give him a son.
The Duchess is set at the end of the eighteenth century, a time when woman had little power while men ruled uncontested. With beautiful locations, detailed costumes and forbidden love this movie will delight history-drama fans.
Keira Knightley shines in this picture as she goes through the emotional struggles of a free spirited woman imprisoned by her husband. She has grown tremendously as an actress but she is consistently playing period characters, from Pirates of the Caribbean to Pride and Prejudice. For her to grow as an actress she needs to take the risk and branch out into roles we have never seen her in.
We’ve seen so many period films that the interesting storyline and good acting seems wasted. It feels like we’ve seen it all done before. Although it may provide for an entertaining drama it is in no way a groundbreaking film which could hurt it at the box office.
Sensitive Viewer’s Points
The movie contains nudity and sex which is in the context of the film. It contains scenes of rape and unfaithfulness, again within the context of the film. It also seems to promote the idea that if one’s marital partner is having an affair it is fine for you to do the same. The rating is rightly set at sixteen.
Tags: actress, age restriction, costumes, Drama, duke, feminist, genre, Georgiana Spencer, history, images, Keira Knightley, locations, men, movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride and Prejudice, Ralph Fiennes, release date, review, sensitive viewers, South Africa, synopsis, The Duchess
Posted in Drama, Movies, Reviews | View Comments
Monday, September 8th, 2008
The Command and Conquer series is back with their third instalment of the Red Alert series. The series started out in World War II were Einstein had changed history causing the Soviets to be the major force bent on world domination. The series then moved to psychic warfare. Yuri, the new Soviet Premier’s right hand man, controls the new Premier’s mind and gets him to attack the USA. At the end, the allies defeated the Soviets again, but Yuri was still a fugitive. An expansion was launched for Red Alert 2 where Yuri re-emerges with a large army. The Allies go back in time to ensure he doesn’t win. The new release, due in November 2008, is born from time machine troubles again.
From EA: “The Soviet leaders meet to devise one final plan or surrender. It is now that their top scientist reveals to them his secret experimental time machine. They immediately use it to go back in time and remove the one man from history who is most responsible for the Allies’ technological superiority: Albert Einstein. This plan goes without a hitch, and when they return to their original timeline, the Allies are indeed weakened and at the mercy of the Soviet military. But before they can truly celebrate, they learn that their actions have unintended consequences. They have spawned a new threat and global superpower: the Empire of the Rising Sun. With the Allies weakened, Imperial Japan was left to expand unchecked over the decades. And now they are invading the Soviet Union!”
The cast for the live action scenes is amazing: Gemma Atkinson (the UK’s Hollyoaks), Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hunt for Red October), Andrew Divoff (LOST), Kelly Hu (X2, The Scorpion King), Jenny McCarthy (Scream 3, former Playboy Playmate of the Year),Ivana Milicevic (Casino Royale), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno), Autumn Reeser (The OC), Peter Stormare(Prison Break, Armageddon), George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes), and two of the most recognizable names in competitive mixed martial arts Randy “The Natural” Couture (former UFC Heavyweight champion) and Gina “Conviction” Carano (Undefeated Elite XC fighter, American Gladiators).
“This is by far the most exciting cast we have in over 13 years of shooting live-action movies for Command & Conquer,” said Chris Corry, executive producer at EALA. “The caliber of the performances we received, both individually and collectively, have really raised the storytelling bar for the franchise. We are really excited that we will be delivering such a high quality production that is on par with movies and television shows.” “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came in to work on a video game,” said Jenny McCarthy from the set of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 while playing Tanya, Allied commando and the most beloved heroine in the history of the Command & Conquer universe. “What I realized is Red Alert 3 is not just a video game, it’s absolutely an interactive movie. This is where the people at home get to move the story forward, and where seeing the plot thicken is a reward for a job well done. And that’s really cool.”
Tags: American Gladiators, Andrew Divoff, Armageddon, Autumn Reeser, Casino Royale, chris corry, Command and Conquer, EA, Elite XC fighter, game, games, Gemma Atkinson, George Takei, Gina Carano, Heroes, Hollyoaks, Ivana Milicevic, J.K. Simmons, Jenny McCarthy Scream 3, Jonathan Pryce, Juno, Kelly Hu, lost, Peter Stormare, Pirates of the Caribbean, Prison Break, Randy Couture, Red Alert 3, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spider-Man, Star Trek, The Hunt for Red October, The OC, The Scorpion King, Tim Curry, UFC Heavyweight champion, X2
Posted in Blog, Microsoft, Product Reviews | View Comments