Drama > L Drama > Oscar

Advantages: Interesting story, good acting
Disadvantages: Too darn long

...documentary about this film and the life of Howard Hughes just before Christmas and thought it looked like an interesting film, although Leonardo di Caprio seemed like an odd choice for the main character. The length of the film also put me off. Then one evening with absolutely nothing to watch on TV, I got it out. It would be hard to make a bad film about a man with a life like Howard Hughes', but even so, I was more impressed that I had expected ...
...with his own aeroplanes as the stars of the show. His sense of perfection led him to plough millions of dollars into the film and it was many years before the film was finally seen by the public. It was a huge success and solidified Hughes' career as a playboy film maker. He had a series of affairs, two of which with well-known actresses, Katherine Hepburn and Ava Gardner. At the same time, Hughes was battling with mental illness - obsessive compulsive ... Read review

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...home to his town of Cold Mountain in North Carolina to get back to this sweetheart Ada who he meet before the war. Escaping from the hospital, he begins the journey to his home. Ada is left alone in the town, struggling to run her rural farm after the death of her father. She has trouble surviving on her own because she's not used to the farm life and lives on the kindness of her neighbors until one of them sends over a woman called Ruby, a feisty ...
...old battle wounds. Based on the novel by Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain is the tale of two lovers torn apart and made to survive until they can reunite. Staring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Rene Zellweger, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman and musician Jack White. Directed by Anthony Minghella. ... Read review

Advantages: kills a couple of hours
Disadvantages: over two hours long

...also the manager of Lincoln airport where the action is focussed (as well as on the plane that is). Boy does he have his hands full? Not only is his son in law playing the field but the plane he is flying has a bomb on board AHHHHHHH!!!!! Of course the bomb goes off and everyone is in big bother. Joe Petroni (George Kennedy) gets in on the action trying to save the plane. Though given that the 747 is the best goddam plane ever built he hardly needs ...
...of tension, will they, won’t they crash? They don’t. But it isn’t happy ever after. Deano has a change of heart when he finds out that they are all going to be safe and that the wife and kiddies will be waiting for him. The one who does the best out of this plus two hour epic is Mr Kennedy. He got brought back for some of the other films in the series. If you have a couple of hours to kill and want to see what the basis was for ... Read review

Advantages: Well adapted from the novel, the film over-all holds up well.
Disadvantages: Some of the acting styles and conventions are dated.

From Here to Eternity is the highly regarded and awarded film from 1953, that explores the lives of hard drinking Army men stationed at Pearl Harbor, who don't always play by the rules. It's a film that is much more frank than most films of its era in its depictions of male camaraderie as well as romantic entanglements. It's the film that features that passionate embrace of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr on the beach as the waves roll in. It's the ...
...a married woman. From Here to Eternity however is far less corny and a much better film than 2001's over-produced Pearl Harbor. The special effects may not be nearly as impressive but the screenplay, acting and impact of the 1953 film is far greater than the recent one. Montgomery Clift plays Private Pruitt, a bugle player and boxer who has been transferred to the base because Captain Holmes expects Pruitt to be the star of his base boxing team. ... Read review

Advantages: Gripping, engaging story lines
Disadvantages: Can't think of any!

I've just finished watching House Series 1 on DVD, having come to this series late in the day. Each episode is like a self contained medical detective story. House is a great character, irascible and difficult to work with but forgiven for this because of his great intelligence and snippets of compassion that peek through. The ongoing game of one-up-manship with the hospital administrator adds spice. The story lines are good and production values ...
...an impression of what is happening inside the body, both with treatment and with illnesses. Hugh Laurie is a convincing American.The supporting cast provides a nice mix of characters and the more you watch the more you learn about their backgrounds, so their back histories unfold bit by bit. Great theme tune too! I watched 4 episodes back to back so you can tell how much I love it! ... Read review