American Skins

At first I was going to say, "This had better be good, because they have a lot to live up to." Then I realized that it looks like the same exact storyline as the first season of British Skins. Womp womp.

I know it's a show for teenagers, but if anyone is ever looking for anything to watch instantly on Netflix, Skins is where it's at.

Worth watching for a charming post-About a Boy, pre-A Single Man Nicholas Hoult, great soundtracks, gorgeous Effy, teen drama, amazing outfits, and teen drama. Also, teen drama.

I will probably give this MTV version a shot, but I'm not feeling optimistic. 

I like people who have an appreciation for Ellie Goulding.

1. Theophilus London 2. Chiddy Bang

My favorite film of 2009.

I loved every single thing about An Education--the costumes (Rosamund Pike's character wears the exact leopard-print coat that I'm searching for), the soundtrack, the fact that Nick Hornby wrote the screenplay, and most of all Carey Mulligan's incredible portrayal of Jenny. Love, love, love, love, love.

I'm going to teach my future babies to have English accents.

...I might also name them Theo.

Because I am a tremendous Jane Austen nerd.

Want to watch Mansfield Park for free? OK!:



Thank you, Hulu!

I'm no Jane Austen purist--to me, anything Jane is a-OK--so all of the deviations from the novel don't bother me a bit. Make yourself a cup of tea, snuggle down on the couch and watch this. Then tell me your favorite part. Mine is the surprise gift. I won't ruin it for you.

Sometimes real life is better than fiction...

...but other times, a good Jane Austen adaptation makes reality pale in comparison.

Sally Hawkins is the greatest Anne Elliot. The final scenes of the 2007 Persuasion:




Captain Wentworth's note from the novel:

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means
as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony,
half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings
are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart
even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years
and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman,
that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.
Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been,
but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath.
For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this?
Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even
these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have
penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing
something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can
distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others.
Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed.
You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men.
Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.

"I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither,
or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look,
will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house
this evening or never."

Excuse me...I have to go swoon now.

The Tudors

Given my love for historical fiction and period films, I can't believe it has taken me so long to watch The Tudors.

I'm three discs into the first season and the rest of season one and two are lined up in my Netflix queue.

The opulence of the costumes is to die for:


Since this is a Showtime program, there is a lot more sexy time than most historic dramas portray, but I guess since it's a historical fact that Henry VIII enjoyed the ladies, it's probably not that much of a stretch of the imagination.

Is anyone else a fan of the series? I can't wait to watch more.

I feel like today should be an international holiday.

Image from Wikipedia.

Today is Jane Austen's birthday. It's safe to say that Jane rocks my world.

She was snarky before snark existed and her characters were more realistic than other fictional heroines of the time--they were more than the sappy girls in Gothic romances. If they were wealthy and attractive (like Emma) they had selfish and meddling tendencies. If they were filled with common sense and wit (like Elizabeth Bennett) then they had less money and embarrassing families.

Some great Jane quotes:

* "Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody."
* "Good-humoured, unaffected girls, will not do for a man who has been used to sensible women. They are two distinct orders of being."
* "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."
* "I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me that trouble of liking them."
* "It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage."
* "It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before."
* "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."

Chandler may want to stay out late tonight, because there's a solid chance I'll be parked on the couch enjoying one of these:



What's your favorite Austen novel? Favorite adaptation?

The Duchess

Historic drama? Check. Gorgeous costumes, jewelry and hair? Check. Strong, independent heroine played by Keira Knightly? Check. Could this be Pride & Prejudice that I'm talking about? Or Silk? Or Atonement? Well, yeah. But it's not. (Even though it's become the formula for many films that I love.) Last weekend I saw The Duchess. It was fabulous, to say the least. I knew from my first viewing of the film's trailer that I wanted to see this, so I avoided reading reviews, so as to not give away any possible plot details. I was very pleased. I was tempted to read up on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire's life, but I realized that that would be just as bad as reading film spoilers, so I avoided that too. I was certainly surprised by many of the plot twists, and even more surprised to learn that they had actually happened.

If you want an engrossing film that makes you tear up at unexpected moments, this is for you. However, if you just want to sit and ogle gorgeous gowns, corsets, thigh-high stockings tied with bows, powdered wigs and faces, and some amazing jewelry and gigantic mansions, you'll have more than enough entertainment as well.

See it. Tell me what you think.

All for Bread?

If you've seen this post, you know that I appreciate a good commercial.

When I saw this one in my VSL email today, I had to share it. I love how some commercials can be like a short film...they show so much in just a few moments.

More Film Inspiration

I've talked about films that transport me far and away to Asia and Africa, like Indochine and Out of Africa, but I realized that I've been in love with stories like these even since I was little.

I loved reading Frances Hodgson Burnett's novels and adored the film versions--watching my favorite characters come to life was thrilling before my critical eye took over all angles of novel-to-film criticism.

I could watch films like




I have to say--I was really happy when the scriptwriters gave the film version the ending it did...they followed the Shirley Temple version, and instead of Sara Crewe's father being dead and she being adopted by his best friend who fought with him in battle, they let the dad live and just give him temporary amnesia. Whew!

and


I prefer the 1987 Hallmark TV version over the 1993 version--Colin Firth plays grown-up Colin in the Hallmark version...need I say more? I can't find any film stills of this version. Maybe I'll give the remake second chance.

I find that when I'm home sick, I still wish I had these movies around to watch when I'm curled up on the couch, eating soup and feeling sorry for myself. Frances Hodgson Burnett's characters very rarely felt sorry for themselves, even as penniless orphans who were very much alone in a big, cruel world. They managed to have gigantic imaginations and find beautiful, magical places and they'd charm everyone (even people who seemed intitally heartless at the beginning of the tale)and things always turned out for the best in the end.