Directed By: Greg Mottola
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, Joe Lo Trugliou, Sigourney Weaver
Distributed By: Universal Pictures
Release Date: February 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------
Paul is an alien who definitely doesn't mince his words and the result is very funny!
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are great as Graeme and Clive, two British self-confessed sci-fi geeks who embark on a road trip through the U.S. to visit San Diego's Comic-Con.
Along the way they run into Paul, wonderfully voiced by Seth Rogen.
I love the look of Paul, his eyes carry such emotion and I simply can't stop staring at him every time he's on screen.
Kristen Wiig joins the trio as Ruth who's been raised to be a very strict Christian girl and she's very funny as Paul helps her realize what she's been missing out on. She and Simon Pegg have great chemistry and I love that Nick Frost's Clive seems almost childishly jealous at their sudden relationship.
Jason Bateman's Agent Zoil is on their trail and will stop at nothing to catch them and Blythe Danner gives a sensitive performance as Tara a woman whose life has been ridiculed through her encounter with Paul many years ago.
Sigourney Weaver delights as her bitchy character known simply as Big Guy confronts Paul and for those of us that have enjoyed many of her sci-fi roles in the past this is a sweet cameo!
Funny and full of pop culture references that sci-fi fans will love; this movie shows us that we aren't alone in the universe and that 'they' aren't too different from us after all!
~~Nikki~~
Directed By : John Madden
Starring: Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, David Westhead, Gerard Butler, Richard Pasco
Distributed By: Buena Vista International/Miramax
Release Date: July 1997
--------------------------------------------------------------
This wonderful movie tells of Queen Victoria's reclusiveness after the death of her beloved consort Prince Albert.
Judi Dench is superb and brings such depth to Victoria who is stern and somewhat distant but there is fragility in her heart and a longing to regain the type of companionship that she has lost and this is displayed in beautiful fleeting moments throughout the movie.
Billy Connolly is absolutely remarkable as John Brown.
I love that he treats Victoria as an absolute equal! He's brash and makes mistakes but the connection and friendship that blossoms between them is quite lovely, even when they are at odds with each other.
Gerard Butler gives a very good performance as John's younger brother and the two actors share great chemistry. Geoffrey Palmer is excellent as Henry Ponsonby and I also really like Antony Sher as Prime Minister Desraeli.
Credit also goes to David Westhead who makes Victoria's son Bertie seem quite arrogant but also brings across the need for some sort of display of love and compassion from his bereaved Mother.
The scenery throughout is beautiful and each actor contributes greatly in making this a heartfelt story about loss and service to your country.
Although the story itself is sombre there are some lovely moments of humour mixed in and this film really gives a glimpse of what this period of history must have been like and how love and grief affect us all regardless of status and that friendship and time really can help to mend a broken heart!
~~Nikki~~
Directed By: Greg Mottola
