Gideon's Daughter

I just saw Gideon's Daughter and absolutely loved it! People are probably tired of hearing me go on and on about how much I love Stephen Poliakoff as both a writer and director, so suffice it to say that he definitely did not disappoint (here is a link to my reviews for other Poliakoff films).

The film tackles many issues including the idea of family, grief and celebrity and takes place in the tumultuous summer of the New Labour election victory and Princess Diana's death.

As usual, Poliakoff delivered an excellent screenplay, but this particular film was really a character piece. The more important moment were the ones when nothing was being said at all. There were three key performances that made this film so wonderful and managed to make everything come together and work. No particular performance stood out. Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson and Emily Blunt were all fantastic (though at this point, I believe that I would be much more surprised if one of them gave a performance that was anything less than absolutely fantastic).

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

Dream Cast Thursday! Henry VIII

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Henry VIII. I was really excited to do this one, because I love 16th century English history. The story of Henry VIII and those figures that surround him have always captivated audiences. There have been many adaptations, but when deciding my dream cast, I looked at four specific ones. I looked at Henry VIII (2003), The Other Boleyn Girl (2003 miniseries), The Tudors (2007), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

The first character that I cast was Henry VIII. He has been played by Ray Winstone, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Eric Bana. For my adaptation, I cast James Purefoy.

The second character that I recast was Katherine of Aragon. She has been played by Assumpta Serna, Yolanda Vazquez, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Ana Torrent. For my adaptation, I cast Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

The third character that I recast was Anne Boleyn. She has been played by Helena Bonham Carter, Jodhi May, Natalie Dormer, and Natalie Portman. For my adaptation, I cast Emily Blunt.

The fourth character that I recast was Jane Seymour. She has been played by Emilia Fox, Naomi Benson, Annabelle Wallis, and Corrine Galloway. For my adaptation, I cast Sienna Miller.

The fifth character that I recast was Anne of Cleaves. She has been played by Pia Girard and Joss Stone. For my adaptation, I cast Ruth Wilson.

The sixth character that I recast was Catherine Howard. She has been played by Emily Blunt and Tamzin Merchant. For my adaptation, I cast Karen Gillan.

The last character that I recast was Catherine Parr. She has been played by Clare Holman and Joely Richardson. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Winslet. 

So what do you all think? Which adaptations have you seen and which one is your favorite? Who would be in your adaptation?

Dream Cast Thursday! Charade

For this week's Dream Cast Thursday, I will be recasting Charade. The original film came out in 1963. In 2002, a remake called the Truth About Charlie came out.

The original film was written by Peter Stone and directed by Stanley Donen. The two main characters are Peter Joshua and Regina Lampert. They were played by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

The 2002 remake was written and directed by Jonathan Demme. Regina Lambert was played by Thandie Newton, and Joshua Peters was played by Mark Wahlberg.

For my remake, Regina Lampert would be played by Emily Blunt, and Peter Joshua would be played by Eric Bana.

So what do you all think? Have you all seen Charade and the Truth About Charlie? Who would be in your remake? Leave your casts in the comments.

Young Victoria

I saw Young Victoria yesterday and really loved it. I was a little worried, because I have been looking forward to seeing it for so long, but it definitely lived up to all of the hype and anticipation. The film begins a year before Queen Victoria's coronation and follows her first few years on the throne. It was a beautiful film. The costumes and the settings were absolutely magnificent. Aside from the obvious aesthetic value, the film was also really interesting to watch. I have only every really seen the later years of Queen Victoria's life depicted. This was a really interesting period of time, that I never really knew about.

The cast was wonderful and included performances by Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, and Mark Strong. I had seen all of these actors in past performances, but the performance that I was most impressed with came from Rupert Friend. I had seen him before in the Libertine (2004), Pride and Prejudice (2005), the Last Legion (2007), and Cheri (2009). Upon watching this film, I found myself forgetting about all of the other characters that he has played. He completely transformed for this role and did a marvelous job.

In case you hadn't guessed yet, I would definitely recommend this film. If is DEFINITELY a must-see!

Dream Cast Thursday! Gone With the Wind

For this week's Dream Cast Thursday, I will be recasting Gone With the Wind (1939). It was really hard (because I love the original so much!). The hardest part was trying to get the ages about right. See, when I think of Rhett, I think of a man in his late forties to early fifties. He actually should be mid-thirties. I feel like this happens a lot with older films. I always want to cast someone fairly older than the original actor that played him or her. I see nothing wrong with the original cast. I just thought that it might be fun to recast it.

Scarlett was probably the second hardest to cast. She was originally played by Vivien Leigh. After giving it a lot of thought, I ended up casting Emily Blunt.

Rhett was definitely the hardest to cast. He was originally played by Clark Gable. I kept going back and forth between several guys. I ended up choosing Gabriel Macht (mostly because he was about the right age, and because I kept getting this Southern, bad boy feel from him).

Ashley was originally played by Leslie Howard. I ended up casting Patrick Wilson.

Melanie was originally played by Olivia de Havilland. I ended up casting Amy Adams.

Belle was another hard character to cast. She was originally played by Ona Munson. I kept switching back and forth between several older actresses. I ended up casting Charlize Theron.

So what do you all think? Who would you cast in your remake?

Dream Cast Thursday! (actually Friday) Emma

This week, I will be recasting Emma. It was originally a book by Jane Austen. There have been many adaptations. The two adaptations that I am familiar with were each done in 1996. The first Emma was made for television. The second Emma was a feature film.

First, I recast Emma Woodhouse. In the two original films, Kate Beckingsale and Gwyneth Paltrow were cast. I decided to cast Emily Blunt.

The second character that I cast was Mr. Knightley. The two original films cast Mark Strong and Jeremy Northam. I cast Toby Stephens.

The third character that I recast was Harriet Smith. The two original films cast Samantha Morton and Toni Collette. I recast Billie Piper.

The fourth character that I recast was Mr. Elton. The two original films cast were Dominic Rowan and Alan Cumming. I reacast David Tennant.

The fifth character that I recast was Mrs. Elton. The two original films cast Lucy Robinson and Juliet Stevenson. I recast Alex Kingston.

The sixth character that I recast was Frank Churchill. The two original films cast Raymond Coulthard and Ewan McGregor. I recast Rupert Penry-Jones.

The seventh and last character that I recast was Miss Bates. The two original films cast Prunella Scales and Sophie Thompson. I recast Sally Hawkins.

What do you all think? Who would you cast in a new adaptation of Emma?

Dream Cast Thursday! Hitchcock Edition

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is coming a day early. Some of you may know that it was recently announced that a remake of the Birds is being made starring George Clooney and Naomi Watts. I was so excited to hear this, that I thought that I would do a special Alfred Hitchcock edition this week. Rebecca has already been remade many times. Dial M for Murder (A Perfect Murder) and Rear Window (Disturbia) have all already been remade, so I thought that I would focus on three other films.


North by Northwest came out in 1959. It stars Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall, and James Mason as Philip Vandamm. I would recast Patrick Wilson (Thornhill), Emily Blunt (Kendall), and Jason Isaacs (Vandamm).


Vertigo came out in 1958. It stars James Stewart at John "Scottie" Ferguson, Kim Novak as Judy Barton and Madeleine Elster, Tom Helmore as Gavin Elster, and Barbara Bel Geddes as Midge Wood. I would recast Liev Schrieber (Ferguson), Peta Wilson (Barton/Elster), Vincent Perez (Elster), and Selma Blair (Wood).


To Catch a Thief came out in 1955. It stars Cary Grant as John Robie and Grace Kelly as Frances Stevens. I would recast Clive Owen (Robie) and Kate Winslet (Stevens).

So what do you all think? Who would you recast in these films? Are there any other Hitchcock films that youall would like to recast? What do you think about the Birds remake?