WE LOVE THE SMUT

 We just finished three discs of (mostly) highly-entertaining British Smut, courtesy of Masterpiece Theatre.  RECKLESS tells a pretty conventional story of lust, infidelity and bad decision-making, but thanks to the gravitas of the radiant Francesca Annis and our hero, Michael Kitchen, it generally rises above the somewhat unoriginal story.  Ironically, the weak link here is Robson Green, who I guess is supposed to be sexy and dangerous, but is way too beady-eyed for my taste.  (By the end, I was really tired of hearing him intone "I luuuv you" in his Manchester accent.)  Over-all, the story is well-paced and crisply acted.  Watch out for a lame ending, though, and Larry Mullen Jr.'s cousin as the Irish doctor friend.

Devilish

There she is, the magnificent Meryl. Isn't she just lovely? She completely stole the show in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, and I enjoyed every single moment she was on the screen.

The debate will rage on whether or not the character of Miranda Priestly is or is not Anna Wintour, but I really don't care. Meryl played Miranda like no one else could - her voice, her mannerisms, everything were pitch-perfect. The rest of the movie, as well as the rest of the cast, could not keep up with Ms. Streep. But it was entertaining, and for a summer movie, it was light and fun. And Stanley Tucci is a gem, albeit underused in the film.

Made me crave some more Meryl - especially comedic Meryl, which you don't get a lot. POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE is a favorite, and I actually liked HEARTBURN. Okay, the latter isn't so funny, but I do love the shots of DC from the 1980s. Plus, she wears a lot of awesome shoulder pads.

Perhaps I will see a PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION...she guest starred this past weekend at the Tanglewood 4th of July celebration, and she was fab.

P.S. I almost forgot - the sandy haired SIMON BAKER has a small yet crucial role in this film, and you get to see him shirtless. Hubba. Yes, Em, I wanted you to know.

And the nominations are...

Okay, I know, it's just the Emmys, but I did get a little excited when I saw that BLEAK HOUSE scored some nominations. Charles Dance for Tulkinghorn, Gillian Anderson for Lady Dedlock, and Denis Lawson for John Jarndyce. Plus, it has been nominated for best director, best writing, and best miniseries. However, Guppy and Esther were robbed!!

I do miss them, including goody two shoes Woodcourt.

Looking forward to the next season of MPT, whatever it may bring.

PASS THE ALOO GOBI!

Our last two features have left us extremely hungry for samosas and aloo gobi. Last week, it was A PASSAGE TO INDIA; this week it was the World Cup-inspired selection of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. I found both films to be totally delightful, though obviously on slightly different levels. I don't quite kn0w why it took me twenty years to see David Lean's grand tale of British-occupied India, but it did. And I absolutely loved it. It was a much more intimate, personal story than I was expecting. What was I expecting? Something a little more sweeping, I guess. Something a little more...well, David Lean. But with the incredibly dramatic and explosive backdrop of the impending political upheaval in India, Lean painted yet another gorgeous, epic-feeling masterpiece. Special kudos to Peggy Ashcroft for being the imbodiment of well-intentioned righteous indignation. Her Mrs. Moore was clearly ahead of her time, and just a general bad-ass. And Victor Banerjee as Dr. Aziz was mesmerizing. How come we never saw more of this guy in English-language film?

BEND IT LIKE BECKHMAN was certainly light fare, but I thought it told a sweet, simple story of a young girl fighting to express her true self in the face of intense familial and cultural pressure to conform to a prescribed notion of who she was "supposed" to be. Football is my new favorite sport, and this was a great way to fill the gap between World Cup matches.