Genre: Romance/ Drama

Run Time: 129 minutes

Rating: 12A

Director: Joe Wright

Actors: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald





Plot: This movie is set in 19th Century upper class society in Russia.  It follows the story of a woman, Anna Karenina played by Kiera Knightley who battles with the idea of marriage, divorce and affairs. She is wooed by an affluent Count Vronsky played by Jude Law. Although Anna is married she embarks on an affair with Vronsky. This adaptation shows how society treats those who stray from the sanctity of marriage.

Comments: Overall, I enjoyed this movie, it was compelling and kept me interested until the end. Knightley gave a convincing performance as she captured the anguish and torment which Karenina faced. My one criticism of this movie would be that I didn’t particularly enjoy how the movie was set on a stage and focused on the stage when changing scenes.

Genre: Romance/ Drama/ Classic

Run Time: 142 minutes

Rating: 12A

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Buchanan, Carey Mulligan




Plot: Set in the time of the First World War. This classic novel is about the life of the famous party- thrower Jay Gatsby. He is the “king” of West Egg- the elite place to live. No-one knows Gatsby very well. The majority of guests at his party have never even met Gatsby before. However Gatsby is not as he seems, his sinister behaviour leaves much to be desired. Other inhabitants of West Egg include Nick(the narrator), in the readers opinion  the most “real” person on West Egg, he is a part of the nouveau riche along with Gatsby. Nick is Daisy’s cousin. Daisy lives in West Egg with her brute of a husband Tom, they have a daughter together. Throughout the novel Gatsby’s secrets unravel and in their destruction leave the real inhabitants of West Egg.


Comments: I believe that Luhrmann did a fantastic job in recreating this classic. Although there has been much criticism about this adaptation, I found that it was true to the book and expressed the motifs within the beautifully; for example, the green light at the end of the dock and the lavishness of the life that Gatsby lived.  The music also fitted in perfectly with the movie. I couldn’t recommend this movie enough- I would watch it again and again! My one criticism would be that it was unnecessary for it to be in 3d.
 

Genre: Romance/ Drama

Run Time: 127 minutes

Rating: PG

Director: Joe Wright

Actors: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Simon Woods, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, Rosamund Pike, Talulah Riley, Carey Mulligan

Plot: Based on Jane Austen's novel 'Pride & Prejudice'. Mrs.Bennet is trying to find husbands for her five unmarried daughters. Their sights are changed when two rich men, Mr.Bingley and his friend Mr.Darcy arrive into town. Which of the Bennet sisters will grab the chance and will a higher class man fall in love with someone who is in a lower class than them.

Comments: The cast and Keira Knightley did a wonderful job and played their roles excellently. Even though the movie had to be cut down a lot to be made into a movie and many things were cut out it still was very good. There is also a BBC version which is 5 hours which is very close to the books description.

Genre: Romance/ Comedy/ Musical/ Bollywood

Director: Furinder Chadha

Run Time: 122 minutes

Rating: 12A

Actors: Aishwarya Bachchan, Martin Henderson, Daniel Gillies, Naveen Andrews




Plot: Bollywood style of Jane Austen's famous novel. Mrs.Bakshi is looking to find suitable husbands for her 4 unmarried daughters. When a rich American comes to visit India with a friend, the Bakshi's have high hops. But certain things threaten to get in the way of romance.

Comments: Chadha has made Jane Austen's novel into a colourful Indian musical. The musical numbers are very catchy and the choreography is very good. I have not watched many Bollywood movies but this is a great movie. 

Genre: Romance/ Comedy

Director: Nicholas Stoller

Run Time: 124 minutes

Rating: 15A

Actors: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt & Chris Pratt


Plot:After just of knowing each other, Tom(Jason Segel) proposes to his girlfriend Violet (Emily Blunt). However their wedding is not as soon as he hoped, when Violet gets a new job in a new city, Tom follows her, which postpones the wedding for a year, however a series of events leads to the engagement being prolonged even further. 

Comments:I hate to admit it, but this movie was a car crash from the start. The plot line was all over the place. There was no definite story as the couple fell in and out of love more times that I would like to count. Segel, despite his efforts didn’t connect with Blunt. It was a good attempt however it fell flat, and will most likely be forgetten in a matter of Hollywood minutes.

Genre: Drama/ Autobiographical

Rating: 12A

Director: David Fincher

Actors: Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield & Bryan Barter








Plot :Based on the worldwide phenomenom ‘Facebook’. This movie shows the rise of the multi- million dollar success of the social network. Following the moves of Mark Zuckerberg(creator) we see the lengths he had to go to to make Facebook a success. His original idea for Facebook started off with 5 friends but soon turns into 500 million friends, but how many of those friends can he really trust?

Comments:In my opinion I believe it was a fantastic idea to create a movie about facebook- a worldwide phenomenom all around the world. I liked how the director started off with Zuckerberg & a small idea which he created after his girlfriend split up with him to the development into the success that it is today. The contrast between good and evil is a strong theme throughout this movie. Justin Timberlake portrays the character of ‘evil’ perfectly convincing Zuckerberg to make his company go global. Overall this is a fantastic movie in my opinion with brilliant actors, directing & likeliness to the original story ere to edit.

Genre: Drama

Rated: 12A

Run Time: 117 minutes

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Actors:  Will Smith, Jaden Smith & Thandie Newton





Plot:Based on the true story of Chris Gardner. This movie is both a documentary as well as a movie following the incredible person that is Chris Gardner. Chris went from rock bottom to sleeping in a train station with his son to being a multi- millionaire in the stock market. How did he do it? Perseverance & a constant smile on his face! 

Comments:This is probably one of the best movies of the century in my opinion. It is a beacon of hope for all those who suffer from hardships in life. One of the aspects that made this movie special for me was how a classic story of rags to riches was turned into a breathtakingly honest view on life itself. The relationship between Chris and his son, Christopher, was portrayed perfectly by Will Smith & his son Jaden – who made it their own. I highly recommend this movie to all those who need to be reawakened to the beauty of human nature. 

Genre: Historical/ Drama/ Autobiographical

Rated: 12A

Run Time: 118 minutes

Director: Tom Hooper

Actors: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush & Helena Bonham Carter




Plot:This documentary- esque movie follows the journey of King George VI- who suffered with a severe stammer his whole life. It has always been an issue with George, but however it becomes a major setback after the death of his father, resulting in him becoming the King of Great Britain. Desperate to be able to deliver the all – important Christmas Day greeting George looks for help in the unorthodox ways of Lionel Logue, he may not have all the certificates and qualification as the other therapists George attended over the years but he was the one person who accomplished what so many speech therapists could not achieve- he gave George the confidence and freedom to speak without stammering- the best gift ever given to King George VI.

Comments:In my opinion there was no other actor able to perform as spectacularly as Colin Firth did in this movie. His depiction of both the regal and vulnerable side of King George was mesmerising. His interpretation of the stammer was not too overplayed or false. There was a perfect amount of stammering to keep in tone with his character. The way in which the movie was directed gave the audience a chance to feel as if they were in the same room as the king. Overall a fantastic movie – both actors and director did a great day and they deserve all the awards they receive

Genre: Historical/ Autobiographical/ Drama

Run Time: 105 minutes

Rating: 15A

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Actor(s): Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent & Richard E. Grant
 





Plot:The story is told through the eyes of an elderly Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep). The movie focuses around her struggles with dementia as she speaks to the memory of her deceased husband, Denis. As she tries to come to terms with his death she recalls poignant moments in both her personal life and her life as Prime Minister. She remembers low moments such as rising taxes and abandoning her children for work to winning the war on the Falkland Islands.

Comments:This movie had the right mix to be a fantastic movie; however I must admit it just didn’t work. I found it hard to navigate through the movie, the movie tended to jump and skip from place to place. I didn’t like how the movie focused on her struggle with dementia and much of the recap on her political life contained more negative achievements than positive. Although there is no doubt the effort was there however it just didn’t work. The best thing about this movie was Meryl Streep, I was spellbound at how she was able to transform herself into the character of Margaret Thatcher, capturing her real essence and personality. It was a great effort on her part. 

Genre: Historical/ War/ Autobiographical

Run Time: 121 minutes

Rating: 15A

Director: Terry George

Actor(s): Desmond Dube,Don Cheadle, Hakeem KaeKazim 





Plot:Set in the dangerous times of civil war in Rwanda, the thrilling tale of Paul and his hotel is told. Rebels are at large in Rwanda killing innocent civilians without remorse. The most important thing on hotel owner Paul’s shoulders is the safety of those dearest to him. Risking his life he opens his hotel to help those seeking refuge from the devastation around them. 

Comments:An exciting, heart wrenching story which captures the true emotions of those during the dark days in Rwanda. George captures this heart- wrenching tale of woe by using actual footage from when the rebels were at large, this creates a sense of realism which captures the heart of all that who watch the film. Although this movie is created around a fictional hotel, the events which occurred were still true so therefore this movie is more of a documentary than a fictional story.