TV Series of the Month – The Tudors

This month’s TV series is The Tudors (2007-2010).

The series follows the reign of King Henry VIII. The show was created and written in its entirety by Michael Hirst (a rarity). He also wrote Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. He is currently working on a Mary Queen of Scots film. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as King Henry VIII giving the best performance of his career (he is utterly compelling). The cast overall is very good. Henry Cavill (in a star making role), Anthony Brophy, James Frain, Sarah Bolger, Natalie Dormer, Max Brown, Nick Dunning, Rod Hallett, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Simon Ward, Jeremy Northam, Jamie Thomas King, Sam Neill, David O’Hara, Hans Matheson, Henry Czerny, Peter O’Toole, Gabrielle Anwar, Joss Stone, Joely Richardson, Tamzin Merchant, Annabelle Wallis, and Max von Sydow are all wonderful in support. Spanning four seasons, the series covers all of Henry’s reign, touching on the major events that shaped him. The story is interesting, but it is the performances that make the show great and well worth watching (especially for fans of period pieces and history). Aesthetically, the series is beautifully shot and the production design in fantastic. The Tudors is one of the better Showtime dramas to come out of their heyday of great new shows (with Dexter, Weeds, Californication, and Brotherhood – 2005-2007) that momentarily made them the best network for great series ahead of HBO.

Available on DVD and Streaming

From Paris with Love (2010) – Review

From Paris with Love is action packed, has character based emotion (be it veiled) and is fun, but attributes aside it feels phony. The action is that of video game sequences – John Travolta’s Charlie Wax kills like an expert player clowning around on easy in the amoral world of (many) fps games. It is an odd contrast, action versus the world it takes place in. The film exists in what could be called the real world, as issues that face our world today are those in the film, yet Charlie Wax is not of this world. Everything about his character and his interaction with the world is like a rift between our world and that of the silly outlandish and obtuse – much like Toons interacting with people in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? And yet, given the character having no real place in the world, Travolta brings onto him the affections of the audience (at least those not pondering how he escaped Toontown). The bigger issue that his character creates through his own complete emotional detachment is a similar detachment of the audience. Jonathan Rhys Meyers does good work here, and is the viewer’s emotional anchor, however even he is warped and transformed by the tearing of reality. The dramatic journey that he goes on is completely destructive, and few would recover from it, which makes his turn in the final scene (at the airport, not the embassy) completely ludicrous. And there is the flaw, where Pierre Morel succeeded with Taken, blending action with emotional stake in the characters; here he has even more over the top action, which he does try to blend again with the viewer’s stake in the characters (in their journey), but in From Paris with Love  the audience never quite connects. Thus, the film is fun, full of zany Travolta and outrageous action, but lacking the drama, the feeling, the quality that takes it from merely being entertainment to a piece that resonates with its viewers while entertaining them. However, again the film is fun and entertaining and another in the long line of Luc Besson action films. Kasia Smutniak is also good in the film, which is crucial to Rhys Meyer’s character connecting with the audience. Overall, come for the fun, for the action and for Travolta’s lunatic character. 6/10

Movie of the Week - Match Point

This week’s movie is Match Point (2005).

Directed by Woody Allen, the film is about a former tennis pro who marries into a rich family, but falls for a femme-fatal who is dating his brother-in-law. The film features an excellent cast including: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Emily Mortimer, Scarlett Johansson and small performances by Ewen Bremner and James Nesbitt. The film is also the first of Allen’s Scarlett Johansson trilogy, who he claims was his muse, all of which are set in Europe as opposed to New York (the other two are Scoop and Vicky Cristina Barcelona). But what makes the movie great is the tension Allen is able to build. He is able to create a compelling thriller in which the viewer feels the pressure as if they are the main character themselves. It is also one of Allen’s better visual films to go along with his classic dialogue. All in all, Match Point is clever and engrossing – a must for fans of Allen and thrillers. Check out the trailer.

Match Point [Blu-ray/DVD]