The Imitation Game

What can I tell you about The Imitation Game? First of all, it is a wonderfully entertaining if not always historically correct film about the English mathematicians who cracked the Enigma code of the Germans and helped win the war.

Secondly...well truly that's all you need to know. Just go see it. You will enjoy it. Well, if you enjoyed The King's Speech, you will enjoy this one.

You'll see lots of familiar faces. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing. He is getting quite typecast in the slightly prickly genius role, but he does it very well. We have Matthew Goode (Belle, Death Comes to Pemberley) along with Allen Leech (Tom Branson from Downton Abbey) and Keira Knightley. Lets see...also Mark Strong, Charles Dance...you get the idea.

This film did make me want to know more about the real story behind Alan Turing and Bletchley Park so I went to Netflix and watched Codebreaker which is a dramatized documentary well worth watching.

I also went back to watch The Bletchley Circle again to get an idea of what some of the kick ass women at Bletchley were doing during and after the war. OK, it is fictional but pretty cool to know that not all the British ladies were just keeping the home fires burning during WWII. Some were code breakers working alongside Turing and friends. It wasn't just Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley's character in The Imitation Game) although she was likely the most intellectual of the many ladies at Bletchley.

Anyone else love The Imitation Game? Feel free to leave a comment below telling us how you liked it!

Cheers!

Parade's End

I watched the BBC production Parade's End which aired on HBO last week. I really liked it, although some viewers thought it was disjointed and hard to understand. Described by The Globe and Mail as "Downton Abbey on acid- or at least very drunk", this adaptation of the Parade's End tetralogy of novels by Ford Madox Ford takes place during the same time period as Downton Abbey and deals with the upper classes, but there the comparison ends.

Lead character Christopher Tietjens (Benedict Cumberbatch from Sherlock and War Horse) is a buttoned up Englishman worthy of an intensive psychological study as is his more than slightly frighteningly manipulative  wife Sylvia (played marvelously by Rebecca Hall from Vicky Christina Barcelona). I will only say that if you enjoy a thought provoking and many layered story, gorgeously filmed then this is likely for you. But I'll warn you that by the time Tietjens is in the trenches in France, I was feeling his angst. It rather put me in a funk, and yet I am so glad I watched it.

Well, I will leave it at that. I am not sure whether I will read the books now or not. I probably will, but the middle of a grey Canadian winter may not be the best time to tackle this heavy tetralogy of English literature. I think I may just stay on my mission to read every Georgette Heyer novel still in print. That will take me a while! And it will keep my spirits up until I see the first bulbs bloom outside my front door.

If you want a little more detail, the link to my previous post on Parade's End is here.

Ripper Street, Parade's End, Mr. Selfridge and more

Any fans of Matthew Macfadyen out there? You may want to check out Ripper Street, a BBC production coming to BBC America this Saturday January 19th at 9 pm. Called CSI Victorian London by The Telegraph, this is apparently a fairly gory but interesting and well produced crime drama, which just happens to be set in the 1880s.

There seem to be mixed reviews on this one. Some are really loving it, others are not so impressed. It is airing on Sunday nights in the UK right now and Mr. Selfridge, the much lighter-hearted story of the great retailer (ITV and Andrew Davies) is beating it out in ratings for the after Sunday dinner crowd. Any Brits out there who can weigh in on Ripper Street?

Parade's End, which airs on HBO on Tuesday February 26th is another one which is hard to make out. There are fabulous reviews and others ones which are lukewarm. Sumptuously filmed by the BBC, this adaptation of a classic English novel about the Great War may draw a few of us viewers just to see the gorgeous chameleon Benedict Cumberbatch. Apparently his fans in America (The Cumberbitches) will be thrilled. It is also packed with other stars such as Rebecca Hall, Rupert Everett, Miranda Richardson, Rufus Sewell, etc, etc. Too many to list!

I caught a snatch of this on YouTube before it was yanked and I liked it. However one viewer called it Parade Never Ends, so perhaps it drags toward the end. Again, anyone seen this and like to weigh in?

I am going to stick my neck out and predict that Mr. Selfridge, an ITV production written by the wonderful Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House, Sense and Sensibility) will be a little more universally appealing than the previous two offerings. Described as Downton in a department store, this one follows Harry Selfridge (Jeremy Piven) "The Showman Behind the Retail Empire" of Selfridges.

This one airs on PBS in March in 10 episodes (!!!) so all of a sudden, the winter looks shorter to me. Lots to look forward to.

The Bletchley Circle doesn't air until April 21 on PBS, but this story of 4 former code cracking ladies from Bletchley Park who find post-war Britain very dull and so move into solving a murder sounds like fun. Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House and Becoming Jane) is always wonderful to watch. We get the second season of Call the Midwife around the same time in the spring as well.

Not a period drama (but truly my cup of tea), Quartet is a light dramedy about the residents of a "retirement castle" (it is truly sumptuous) for classical musicians. The entire supporting cast are actually talented retirees and the stars are some of the best "experienced" actors that Britain has to offer. Dustin Hoffman directed this one and apparently had his hands full keeping Maggie Smith in line. I will be seeing this soon and will post a review.

Anyhow, there you have a sneak peek at some coming attractions. Anything else you are looking forward to that I neglected to mention? Or opinions on the above? Please comment below. We ALL want to hear from ALL of you!

10 Most Popular Posts of 2012

#1. Yes, ladies my number one most popular post of the year was the rather attractive and talented Tom Hiddleston. He has quite a following now after an exciting few years starring in The Avengers (Loki), War Horse and Midnight in Paris. He was already on my top 10 list for Miss Austen Regrets and Cranford. You will see much more of this talented actor in the future!

#2. The hunks were ruling this year with Jonny Lee Miller coming in second. He had quite a year as well, with his take on Sherlock Holmes, Elementary, set in NYC with a female Watson (Lucy Liu) doing quite well on CBS. Elementary is absolutely worth seeing, although as you can see from the photo above, he will always be Mr. Knightley to me (but his Edmund Bertram was pretty hot too)!

#3. Again, here we have another cutie. Matthew Macfadyen was wonderful in Anna Karenina in which he was working again with Keira Knightley and Joe Wright from Pride and Prejudice 2005. You will see him again soon in Ripper Street, as a Victorian police detective working on the Jack the Ripper case. I have to say that his role as Sir Felix Carbury in The Way We Live Now is still one of his best, IMHO.

#4. Michael Gambon was my fourth most popular post of 2012. He certainly belongs in my hall of fame with his appearances in Emma, Wives and Daughters, Gosford Park, Cranford, and The King's Speech among many other period drama roles.

#5. Great Expectations 2011/2012: Battle of the Miss Havishams was my 5th most popular blog post. I still can't comment on the Ralph Fiennes/ Helena Bonham Carter version as it has not yet had a wide release in North America. Here's hoping we get to see it in 2013. The miniseries version with Gillian Anderson was very good. Not earth shattering, but very good.

#6. One of my favourite posts of the year was a comparison of Sense and Sensibility 1995 vs 2008. Lots of comments on this post as so many of my readers have a definite opinion on which is the best version! And there was not a consensus of opinion by the way. Just what I was hoping for. A spirited discussion, as both versions are worthy of the designation of "best".

#7.  Although Benedict Cumberbatch was in the public eye for much of this year for his modern day Sherlock series, I prefer him in his many period roles. Although perhaps not in a powdered wig. And yet, the longer I stare at that photo, the hotter he seems to get...
Other films to get your Cumberbatch fix include Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and War Horse. Yum!

#8.  Happily, Castle Howard was my 8th most popular post of 2012. One of the most wonderful locations for shooting period drama, it is a main character in both Brideshead Revisited versions as well as the brilliant The Buccaneers from 1995. Having been there myself a few years ago, it is well worth the visit.

#9.  Romola Garai is one of the best actresses in England today. The fact that she does lots of period work is very lucky for a fan like me. Emma, Daniel Deronda, Amazing Grace, Atonement, Vanity Fair, I Capture the Castle...the list goes on and on. That reminds me, I still haven't seen her in The Hour. It looks brilliant!

#10.  Last but not least, Helen Mirren gets the nod as my 10th most popular post this year. Well deserved for films such as The Queen, Elizabeth I, The Last Station, Gosford Park and The Passion of Ayn Rand. I can't wait to see her with Anthony Hopkins in Hitchcock.

Parade's End debuts on BBC in UK

Parade's End

BBC literary adaptation Parade's End debuted in the UK last night to distinctly mixed reviews (critics loving it, viewers posting comments not so much). I can't comment myself, being trapped here in Canada unable to see it, but it is being hailed by critics as the "thinking man's Downton Abbey" or "Downton Abbey for grown-ups" the latter being partly in reference to the "two sex scenes in the first six minutes" according to the Daily Mail.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall as Christopher and Sylvia Tietjens 

Parade's End is an adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's masterpiece tetralogy of novels by the same name and is a big budget lavish production starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, War Horse) and Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) with screenplay by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) and directed by Susanna White (Bleak House, Jane Eyre). It is a tale of love and betrayal set in the Edwardian years leading up to WWI, a love triangle between a conservative English aristocrat, his heartless socialite wife and a young suffragette.

The supporting cast is just as impressive including Rupert Everett, Miranda Richardson, Anne-Marie Duff, Rufus Sewell and Geoffrey Palmer to list just a few.

Miss Fox, Mrs Wannop and Horsley

With more depth in it's characters (and less likeability if I read the online comments correctly) it may be a little harder to love for those of us used to the fun fluffiness of Downton. However, if the critics are not leading us astray, it may be worth hanging in through the mumbled upper crust accents and choppy story line to follow this 5 episode miniseries to it's conclusion.

I'll update this post after the conclusion and then review it myself after it airs on this side of the pond on HBO (when that will be, I have no idea!).

Australian actress Adelaide Clemens as Valentine the Suffragette

The actress playing Valentine, part of the love triangle involving the two leads, is Aussie actress Adelaide Clemens who had to prove herself to get the part. Apparently she loved the books so much that she devoted herself to learn the upper crust English accent required for the role.

Janet McTeer as Mrs. Satterthwaite

Jane Austen fans will recognize Janet McTeer (Sense and Sensibility 2008) as Mrs. Satterthwaite, the mother of Sylvia Tietjens. Keep IMDb handy for this miniseries!

Well, here's hoping we get this one over the pond here in the not too distant future. Has anyone heard? Perhaps I have time to read the novels first. Not a bad idea actually. It might help with the supposedly mumbled dialogue!

Cheers!

P.S. Check out the comments below for how to find this online if you aren't in the UK. Apparently it will come to HBO sometime in 2013. Also a great link for an article about the books from The Guardian. I have the greatest readers! And after seeing the first episode on YouTube, I give it two thumbs up. Way up! And although you can't walk away from it for a moment (or you will miss something) I didn't find the dialogue hard to understand. Perhaps my ear is getting tuned to the accents after so many years.

Sherlock vs Elementary

Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman

Sherlock: Series 2 starts tonight on PBS Masterpiece Mystery. Yay!!! If you haven't seen this modern version of Sherlock Holmes set in present day London, it is well worth a view. Benedict Cumberbatch is razor sharp as the borderline austistic/Aspergers Sherlock Holmes who uses computers and smart phones as well as his usual observational sleuthing to solve crimes. Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson is the perfect foil for Holmes who would get irritating if he were not humanized by his sidekick. I find it fascinating that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally wrote Dr. Watson as a physician recently returned from the Anglo-Afghan war in Afghanistan, so that shows you how long foreign forces have been fighting there.

Elementary with Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu

Across the pond, CBS has decided to cash in on the modern Sherlock Holmes idea by making their own version called Elementary starring Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone, Emma) as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Watson. Hmmmm. This is either going to be brilliant or horrible depending on the writing and the direction. It takes place in NYC (natch) instead of London but you will notice that Sherlock's looped scarf is the same, as is the posh accent on it's lead character. They are both gorgeous English actors which doesn't hurt with the female demographic and I suppose changing Watson into an attractive female takes care of the male demographic too. Again, good in theory but I reserve judgement until I see the finished project.

The last time American television tried to adapt a Steven Moffat/BBC production, Coupling, was a disaster. The British series is like a sexed-up version of Friends and is hysterical, but the Americanized Coupling was just...well...it shouldn't have been aired at all!

Sherlock with violin

So go with the sure thing for now and watch Sherlock on PBS for the next three weeks. If you miss it, it will be online for the next month or so. Tell me how you liked it!

And let's hope they give Jonny Lee Miller a good script for Elementary. He deserves it, and I would love to see what he does with the character.

Benedict Cumberbatch- Actor of the Week

Benedict Cumberbatch

Well, my choice of Benedict Cumberbatch for my actor of the week was easy after the enthusiastic response to my Sherlock post earlier in the week. Apparently he has quite a following and no wonder. Talented and very handsome (in a striking kind of way) he has also done a fair number of period dramas. He sounds like he has a good sense of humour, as is evidenced by his comment on his name and **ahem** other topics.

"Cumberbatch - it sounds like a fart in a bath, doesn't it? What a fluffy old name. I can never say it on a Monday morning. When I became an actor, Mum wasn't keen on me keeping it."

 "I always seem to be cast as slightly wan, ethereal, troubled intellectuals or physically ambivalent bad lovers. But I’m here to tell you I’m quite the opposite in real life. In fact I’m a f***ing fantastic lover."

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in Sherlock

On Martin Freeman (Dr. John Watson) in Sherlock at the 2011 Bafta awards- "It is a double act, and he’s my wingman and he’s just phenomenal, and he’s a joy to work with. In no small way, he keeps me afloat and happy during the day as well. And he’s just a brilliant presence to be around. He’s just a scream. And we adore each other. In a very *platonic*, non… you know, way."

Benedict Cumberbatch in War Horse with Patrick Kennedy and Tom Hiddleston

Recalling his audition for the part of Major Jamie Stewart in War Horse, based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, Benedict says: "Steven (Spielberg) wanted me to go and read a script. I went along, had a little chat about the part and off I went. A week and a half later I got another call from my agent who said, ‘Ben, he wants you to do it’. I was so excited. It was the most grown up moment of my life. I was told I couldn’t tell anyone. I was walking around with this huge grin on my face and couldn’t speak with excitement.”

He had to learn how to ride a horse for the role. Apparently although he attended the tony Harrow School with the horsy set of the English aristocracy, he had only minimal experience on a horse.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Paul Marshall in Atonement

As Paul Marshall in Atonement, Cumberbatch plays a creepy rapist who lets poor Robbie (James McAvoy) go to jail for his crime. Not my favourite role of his, but effective. Perhaps too effective!

Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Guillam in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

He has a meaty role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy however, why did they have to change the character of Guillam into a homosexual for the film? Not appreciated by the ladies!

Benedict Cumberbatch as Bernard in Small Island

Apparently, he won a best supporting actor BAFTA for his role as "dull and sexless" Bernard in Small Island. This looks very intriguing even if his character is dull and sexless!!! Anyone seen it?

Benedict Cumberbatch as Pitt the Younger in Amazing Grace

Phwoar! Methinks I like him in a powdered wig! As William Pitt the Younger in Amazing Grace, he makes one nice looking Prime Minister. Nothing against David Cameron but really...

Benedict Cumberbatch in To the Ends of the Earth

As Edmund Talbot, an English gentleman sailing to Australia to take up a government post, he makes the miniseries To the Ends of the Earth really look like it's worth watching. Especially if I tell you there is a lovely scene with his naked posterior (click here for a view of the elusive cumberbutt) running around the ship! Again, anyone seen this one?

He has done a few more period dramas including Creation, The Other Boleyn Girl, Tipping the Velvet, Dunkirk and  Van Gogh: Painted with Words. He also alternated roles in Frankenstein with Jonny Lee Miller for National Theatre Live. They each got to play the role of Dr. Frankenstein and The Creature on different performances.

We look forward to the next season of Sherlock, as well as his voicing of Smaug in The Hobbit and an as yet unnamed bad guy in the new Star Trek film. Rock on Benedict!

Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch

Sherlock

I am in the middle of watching series 1 of Sherlock, a 21st century take on Sherlock Holmes by the BBC and it is AWESOME! Sorry about the caps. But it really is. I wanted to recommend this to you now, because if you missed the replay of series 1 on PBS in January, you may want to catch up before PBS airs series 2 starting Sunday May 6th 2012. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement, War Horse, Amazing Grace) and Martin Freeman (Love Actually, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Hobbit).

Holmes and Watson

I was skeptical at first, but I had this series recommended to me from a few people I trust so I thought I'd give it a whirl. The Squire (my husband) protested at first that it was set in the present and not in Victorian times like the latest theatrical releases with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. In fact he sat through the first episode with his arms crossed. Harrumph! He couldn't wait however for episode 2 the next night, and we plan to watch episode 3 tonight! You can still catch series 1 online at PBS.org. 

221B Baker St. London

The stories translate especially well to the present day as in the original books, Dr. Watson was just back from medical service in Afghanistan which seems eerie. Does nothing ever really change? So the opening scenes of the first episode A Study in Pink show Watson having a nightmare about the war. And then he meets Sherlock!




Favourite quotes from Sherlock:

• Anderson, don't talk out loud. You lower the IQ of the entire street  
• Sherlock Holmes: Shut up.
  DI Lestrade: I didn't say anything.
  Sherlock Holmes: You were thinking. It's annoying. 
• I'm not a psychopath, Anderson, I'm a high-functioning sociopath, do your research. 
• Look at you lot, you're all so vacant. Is it nice not being me? It must be so relaxing. 
• Oh what now? I'm in shock! Look, I've got a blanket. 
• We've got a serial killer on our hands. Love those, there's always something to look forward to. 
• What it must be like in your funny little brains, it must be so boring!

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Anyone already a fan?