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easheehan
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Ruby Herring Mysteries: Silent Witness (2019)
Hallmark casting needs a rehab
I generally like Taylor Cole in her Hallmark movies (and still do), but while this movie at least had some chemistry between Cole and Stephen Huszar other casting was way off.
-Debra Donohue and Shawn Christian: such a mismatch. In their first scene together, I was trying to figure out were they married? Was she the grandmother? What is going on here? Shawn Christian is barely old enough to be Taylor Cole's father (and looks even younger), but Ms. Donohue was wildly miscast. I think even the film editors noticed this, because these two were rarely in a scene together after that opener. Prediction: if there is another Ruby Herring, the mom will either be recast or she will be absent (died or away on a trip).
-The sister: out of all of the actresses at work in the U.S. and Canada why couldn't they find someone who at least looked like "Ruby Herring"/Taylor Cole? Also, someone who had stronger acting chops.
I agree with another commenter that Hallmark is rushing stuff and putting out poor quality. There's a place for these kind of movies (as seen by the ratings popularity), but have some pride in your product, Hallmark. You're damaging your brand.
The Rewrite (2014)
Hugh Grant & Marisa Tomei = great chemistry
What a fun and charming movie. It's so good to see Hugh Grant in a film that utilizes both his comedic timing and that let's him ground himself in things a bit more serious. It would be easy to dismiss this film as formulaic (and I suppose it is to a certain extent, but what movie isn't these days?), but it does allow Grant's character to peel back some layers to reveal a man more complicated and not quite so lacking in depth as you might expect at first. Marisa Tomei is wonderful as Grant's student and confidant. It's so nice to see two talented actors of comparable age building a terrific camaraderie and rapport with each other and the dialogue. JT Simmons is terrifically funny with a nice supporting role as the dean. In fact, the whole supporting case is great. This is the movie that happens when you have a tremendous cast, taking a nice story, and making it believable and funny without some of the hackneyed tics that Hollywood always likes to tack on. Really worth your time.
Persuasion (2007)
Disappointing
While I'm loathe to criticize any adaptation of Jane Austen's novels, simply because I love them so much, I have to say this is a very disappointing production. Random thoughts:
- The interpretation of Anne as a weepy, fluttery, diffident woman misses the mark of Austen's character (IMHO). Contemporary screen writers seem to miss the true strength of characters like Anne (and other Austen protagonists). They don't seem to understand the context of the times. Just because Anne rejects Frederick's offer of marriage doesn't mean she is some weak and weepy creature. In fact, it required great strength for Anne to walk away from the man she loved. Rather than being a bundle of nerves, in the book Anne is more stoic and self-contained - full of emotion but unable or unwilling to show it. As a young woman, she knows (or so she believes) her duty to her family and makes a decision to walk away from her heart's true desire. As she matures, she realizes her mistake and it takes (again) strength to realize that and to take steps to right that earlier decision.
- The interpretation of Sir Elliot as (primarily) an angry man. Again, in the book he is so self absorbed and filled with such a languid ennui you rarely see him rise above a burst of petulant whining. Here he is presented as almost someone to be afraid of with his tirades. This screen adaptation, like so many recent others, misses the humor of Austen's character(s). Sir Elliot is a vain fool, not an angry tyrant.
- Sister Mary. Such a cartoonish interpretation of this character. The facial expressions and strange vocals, I for a moment thought I was watching Molly Shannon from Saturday Night Live doing a take-off. Now here was a character that could have been interpreted with a modern edge and still have remained true to the character. A woman with no discernible focus in her life, she appears bored and unfulfilled - her petulance, hypochondria, and need for constant attention could have been subtly played and connected on a more sympathetic level with the audience.
- This abridged version of the book left out some of the minor characters and it suffers for it. The version I watched on Masterpiece Theater clocked in around 90 minutes. Gone are the relationship that develops between Louisa and the Captain, the Musgroves (what a waste of Stella Gonet and Nicholas Farrell!), and, yes, even the burgeoning relationship between Anne and Capt. Wentworth. Criminal omission -- Capt. Wentworth penning his letter to Anne while surreptitiously listening to her speak about a woman's constancy to Capt. Harville. Critical scene and curiously excised from this screenplay.
In sum, I don't understand filming this story yet again and not trying to produce something truly wonderful. I hope the upcoming films of Austen's novels are better.