Cast: Keira Knightley (Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire), Ralph Fiennes (Duke of Devonshire), Dominic Cooper (Charles Grey), Hayley Atwell (Bess Foster)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Duchess page.
I really like Keira Knightley & Ralph Fiennes and enjoy period pieces, so I was looking forward to The Duchess. The cast is amazing, the costumes and sets are wonderful, and the story is very interesting. If you like period films, I highly recommend The Duchess. If not, I doubt you'd even consider it, but you should probably stay away. It's really amazing when you think about what women had to go through back then. Movies based on true stories are always interesting to me and this one is very well done. If you missed it in a theatre, I highly recommend renting it.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Dominic Cooper, drama, Hayley Atwell, history, Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann), Jack Davenport (Norrington), Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa)
For complete info, see IMDb's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End page.
It's a good thing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has a lot of action, since seeing a 3-hour movie at 11 on a Friday might have made staying awake very difficult otherwise. The original movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl will always be my favorite of the Pirates movies, but I think this one was better than the second.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End might be a bit too much of a love story for some, but I thought it worked well within the story they'd set up in the first two movies. Of course, they also left the ending open for a 4th movie.
The monkey was a bigger character in this movie than in the first, and the scenes with him were very amusing.
I would definitely recommend catching Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End in a theatre for the special effects. I'm sure it'll be there for a while, so you've got time.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, movie, Orlando Bloom
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann), Jack Davenport (Norrington), Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), Jonathan Pryce (Governor Weatherby Swann)
For complete info, see IMDb's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest page.
As soon as I saw the first ad for the original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl movie, I was sold on the franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest proved that the series of movies will continue to impress. I was so happy that they had beat out the opening day and opening weekend records right away, even though I couldn't be a part of that (I was away that weekend). I'm thrilled that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is still the number one movie in the box office. I wonder if it can stay there three weeks in a row...
I think they did a great job with the story and some of the action scenes were amazing. The whole sequence with the wheel really blew me away. I missed the pirates that would change from flesh to skeleton in the moonlight, but I have a feeling they might be back for the third movie. I guess we'll find out about that next year.
It's amazing that a series of movies based on a Disney ride could manage to be so impressive, while still having occasional nods to the original ride. And, of course, now the ride has characters from the movie in it. It's one of the things I'm looking forward to most the next time I go to Disneyland.
If you haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, I highly recommend that you catch it while it's still in theatres. The special effects are still wonderful, the cast is still great, and the story is very well done! This is definitely a must see on the big screen! The original movie was a bit more impressive, but I think it's just because we expected this movie to be amazing and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who had doubts about the first one.
All those people who were wondering if Disney made a stupid move making the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies together must be realizing that it was brilliant, which those of us who are fans of the movies knew all along. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is going to do better than the first movie and who knows how well the third movie will do. The potential is definitely amazing.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, action, adventure, comedy, Disney, fantasy, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, movie, Orlando Bloom
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Keira Knightley (Domino Harvey), Mickey Rourke (Ed Mosbey), Edgar Ramirez (Choco)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Domino page.
In spite of Keira Knightley being in Domino I wasn't sure it was my kind of movie. I was wrong. For a movie about a model-turned-bounty hunter, Domino has a surprising amount of humor. There's definitely violence, so if you can't handle severed body limbs, you probably want to skip this one or have someone with you tell you when you can look as you cover your eyes, but I think it's well worth renting.
I'm a huge Keira Knightley fan and it was great to see her in a roll that was very different from her normal movies.
The cameos in Domino and the way they were used make the movie even more entertaining. I won't spoil those for you, though, since when I first saw them appear I wasn't sure if I was right or not and the more I saw of them, the funnier it got. Very enjoyable movie for a movie about killing.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2005, crime, drama, Keira Knightley, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Bennet), Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy), Donald Sutherland (Mr. Bennet)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Pride & Prejudice page.
I was very interested in seeing this version of Pride & Prejudice, since I liked the book and the other versions of this story. From what I knew of the cast of the latest movie version, I was already impressed before I saw it. Keira Knightley did a wonderful job as Elizabeth Bennet and I'm glad she got the nomination for best actress. (I'm still glad Reese Witherspoon got the award, since she did an even better job as June Carter Cash, but it was good to see this performance).
The cast of the latest movie version of Pride & Prejudice did a great job. If you like the story, you will not be disappointed. Of course, if you found the first few boring (as I know some people I know did), this version will probably not interest you any more.
I've always enjoyed period pieces in the theatre and movies. This Pride & Prejudice was very well done and I definitely recommend it. Thank goodness for Netflix, since we never seem to get to see all the movies we want to catch when they're still in movie theaters!
Grade: B+
Labels: 2005, drama, Keira Knightley, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 9:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clive Owen (Arthur), Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot), Hugh Dancy (Galahad), Keira Knightley (Guinevere)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's King Arthur page.
I've always liked the story of King Arthur, so the latest version of the story interested me. The cast was amazing, as were the costumes and the music (I love Hans Zimmer). This King Arthur movie demystified the legend. It took out all the "magic" and concentrated on nature and relationships.
I enjoyed this version of the King Arthur legend, though I think that it could have been better done. Definitely worth renting.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, action, adventure, Clive Owen, drama, Hugh Dancy, Keira Knightley, movie, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bill Nighy (Billy Mack), Gregor Fisher (Joe), Colin Firth (Jamie Bennett)
For complete information on this wonderful cast, see IMDb's Love Actually page.
Since I loved the other movies they did, I was excited about Love Actually's release. In spite of my high expectations, Love Actually did not let me down. The cast of this great romantic comedy is amazing. The stories (about eight different couples) are so touching and very real.
The snipets and voice overs pull the whole movie together and make you realize that "Love actually is all around."
Grade: A
Labels: 2003, Colin Firth, comedy, drama, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Parminder Nagra (Jesminder 'Jess' Kaur Bhamra), Keira Knightley (Juliette 'Jules' Paxton), Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Joe)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Bend it Like Beckham page.
Bend it Like Beckham is such a good movie. It's more than just a difference in cultural beliefs and it's more than just a teenager rebelling against her parents. It's about fighting for what you believe in and caring enough to stick with something you love.
As a former soccer player, I was able to appreciate the love of the game, but I think anyone can relate to this story. Everyone has loved to do something (whether it's a sport or a hobby) and everyone has gone against their parents wishes at one time or another. Many of us haven't faced such an extreme example, but we can all relate.
I highly recommend that you put Bend it Like Beckham on your rental list.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2003, comedy, drama, Keira Knightley, movie, romance, sports
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swan)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl page.
A movie based on a Disney ride... My first thought was, "Man, Disney is desperate now." I laughed it off and said I'd ignore it and maybe rent it to fast-forward through it and see parts of it, but then I found out who was going to be in the cast and knew I had to see the movie on the big screen. Once I saw the first preview, I was convinced that Disney had somehow managed to make a good movie based on an attraction. I was shocked.
The special effects alone in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl are worth the price of the ticket. When you add the decent story and great cast to the mix, it's a must see.
I hope they make more Pirates of the Caribbean movies. If they do, I'll be there!
Grade: A
Labels: 2003, action, adventure, comedy, Disney, fantasy, Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, movie, Orlando Bloom
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:30 PM show | 0 screams