#Bertish

[detournementsmineurs]

“Les Carnets de Siegfried (Benediction)” biopic de Terence Davies (2021) - sur la vie du poète Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) - avec Jack Lowden, Tom Blyth, Calam Lynch, Jeremy Irvine, Matthew Tennyson, Kate Phillips, Simon Russell Beale, Suzanne Bertish, Lia Williams, Ben Daniels, Peter Capaldi, Anton Lesser et Gemma Jones, mars 2024.

[coeurdeverre82]

[warningsine]

[letterboxd-loggd]

Dance with a Stranger (1985) Mike Newell

July 6th 2024

[heyho-simonrussellbeale]

Your fame is spreading!

Simon Russell Beale as Robbie Ross in Benediction

[thebutcher-5]

The Nun 2

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Nello scorso articolo siamo tornati a parlare di animazione e, dopo veramente tanto tempo, abbiamo ripreso a discutere dei classici Disney, prendendo in esame un’opera che aveva degli elementi veramente interessanti ossia La principessa e il ranocchio. Tiana è una giovane donna afroamericana che lavora duramente per guadagnare abbastanza soldi e realizzare…

[kermodefan94-blog]

Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Movie Review. 

Is Hellboy the property that valuable to Dark Horse Comics /current rights holder Millennium Entertainment that we have to go through another round of failed franchises starting in something of an immediate response to the deserved failure of the embarrassing edge lord  David Harbour/ Neil Marshall effort from 2019.? It appears so.  The critical difference there was while the 2019 film had a…

[red-dwarfer]

THE TONGUES

[speakinc]

All In! - Chris Bertish

🌊📚 Dive into the incredible journey of Chris Bertish with his latest book, "All In"! 🌟

From conquering the world's most daunting waves to paddling solo across the Atlantic, Chris's story is a testament to the power of courage, resilience, and going all in on your dreams.

"All In" is not just a book—it's an inspirational guide that challenges you to push your limits, embrace adversity, and transform your life.

Whether you're seeking motivation, adventure, or a new perspective on overcoming obstacles, this book has it all. Get your copy today and join Chris on his extraordinary journey! 🚀💪

[jmunneytumbler]

'The Nun II': You Ain't Gettin' Nun

'The Nun II': You Ain't Gettin' Nun

Where’s Nunno? (CREDIT: Warner Bros. Pictures/Screenshot) Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, Bonnie Aarons, Katelyn Rose Downey, Suzanne Bertish Director: Michael Chaves Running Time: 110 Minutes Rating: R Release Date: September 8, 2023 (Theaters) I think The Nun should team up with Pistachio Disguisey from The Master of Disguise. Sure she’s got some other…

[oceanusborealis]

The Nun II - Movie Review

TL;DR – We get a film that terrifies in its opening and reigns with a bombast at the end. You just have to get between these two points. ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film. The Nun II Review – In 2023, I set myself a goal of dipping my toe more into the Horror genre, and while I am not sure how…

[detournementsmineurs]

Simon Russell Beale, Suzanne Bertish et Lia Williams dans "Les Carnets de Siegfried (Benediction)" biopic de Terence Davies (2021) - sur la vie du poète Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) - mars 2024.

[warningsine]

[thehauntologicalsociety]

Paperhouse is a 1988 British dark fantasy film directed by Bernard Rose. It was based on the 1958 novel Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr. The film stars Ben Cross, Glenne Headly and Gemma Jones. The original novel was the basis of a six-episode British TV series for children in the early 1970s which was titled Escape Into Night.

While suffering from glandular fever, 11-year-old Anna Madden draws a house. When she falls asleep, she has disturbing dreams in which she finds herself inside the house she has drawn. After she draws a face at the window, in her next dream she finds Marc, a boy who suffers with muscular dystrophy, living in the house. She learns from her doctor that Marc is a real person.

Anna sketches her father into the drawing so that he can help carry Marc away, but she inadvertently gives him an angry expression which she then crosses out, and the father (who has been away a lot and has a drinking problem, putting a strain on his marriage) appears in the dream as a furious, blinded ogre. Anna and Marc defeat the monster and shortly afterward Anna recovers, although the doctor reveals that Marc's condition is deteriorating.

Anna's father returns home and both parents seem determined to get over their marital difficulties. The family goes on holiday by the sea, where Anna finds an epilogue to her dream.

Charlotte Burke - Anna Madden, Ben Cross - Dad, Glenne Headly - Kate Madden, Elliott Spiers - Marc, Gemma Jones - Dr. Sarah Nichols, Jane Bertish - Miss Vanstone, Samantha Cahill - Sharon, Sarah Newbold - Karen.

Marianne Dreams is a children's fantasy novel by Catherine Storr. It was illustrated with drawings by Marjorie-Ann Watts and published by Faber and Faber in 1958. The first paperback edition, from Puffin Books in 1964, is catalogued by the Library of Congress as revised.

Marianne is a young girl who is bedridden with a long-term illness. She draws a picture to fill her time and finds that she spends her dreams within the picture she has drawn. As time goes by, she becomes sicker, and starts to spend more and more time trapped within her fantasy world, and her attempts to make things better by adding to and crossing out things in the drawing make things progressively worse. Her only companion in her dreamworld is a boy called Mark, who is also a long-term invalid in the real world.

[fictionturnedherbrain]

The Scarlet Pimpernel (BBC, 1999)

Episode 3, A King’s Ransom, or The Kidnapped King

I decided to dig out the DVDs and rewatch the less than popular 1990s BBC adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel books at a remove of some years and hopefully with a more objective review! However, I still haven’t recovered from the first episode and probably never will, so I decided to skip to the third instalment, which is a take on Eldorado.

Once again, Percy plans to rescue the Dauphin, who is randomly in an orphanage instead of the Temple, but the snag this time is that someone has beaten the League to the prize and run off with the young King Louis XVII, demanding a ransom from Robespierre, who for some reason wants the boy alive. The Incorruptible enlists Chauvelin’s help to recover the national hostage, while Percy and Marguerite stage a very public separation and she returns to Paris incognito to help the League achieve the same goal.

The good:

I must admit that I love the theme tune by Michal Pavlicek, and even bought the soundtrack on CD. The little ditty that the Dauphin is taught to sing at the orphanage – First we kill the King, then we kill the Queen, Send them both to the guillotine – is also annoyingly catchy.

There some neat ‘kisses with history’ in this episode, including Suzanne Bertish playing the Chevalier D’Orly, based on the real life transgender spy and swordsman, Chevalier D’Eon, and a national auction of émigré property and possessions to raise money for the Republic and the French Army.

I also like that Marguerite is shown to be an active part of the League – yes, she helps out in a couple of the original stories, and she is identified as a League member, but mainly her role is to wait and worry. The crazy plan to stage a public separation makes absolutely no sense, and neither does Chauvelin’s lovesick trust that she really has left her husband, but watching a brief glimpse of Marguerite St Just, toast of the Comedie Francaise (or Theatre des Artes, just to be awkward) is fun.

And I will take any nod to the original stories I can get, so bonus points for the League disguised as soldiers rescuing the Dauphin’s physician just before the real thing arrive to arrest him!

The not so good:

Along with stripping Percy of his disguises – Percy wears a tricolour sash and rosette over his own clothes and calls it a day – and drawing out the lazy love triangle from the 1982 film/Broadway musical, the motto of this series really is, ‘Screw that, we’re doing things our way!’ Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their two surviving children were lodged in the Temple from August 1792. The Dauphin was removed from his mother and placed with the Simons in July 1793, where he eventually died in 1795. So why the hell is the Dauphin now in the ‘Egalite Orphanage’? And also, why does Percy take the flaming uncrowned king of France back to England with him? Do the Blakeneys adopt him, or something? Let Austria have him, as planned. Far easier.

Speaking of the love triangle. Even assuming that Sir Percy would stage a screaming match with his wife in front of all their friends and a very convenient French spy – ‘Be silent, you damn French hoyden!’ is not how I ever imagined Sir Percy addressing his beloved Marguerite – I would expect Chauvelin to be more than a trifle suspicious. He even challenges Robespierre, while simultaneously blowing his only protection – ‘Why do you trust her when you know that she is the wife of the Scarlet Pimpernel? Blakeney – is – the – Pimpernel!’ – but doesn’t stop to wonder if Marguerite might just be in cahoots with said Pimpernel. It’s a weird subplot that both intrigues and irritates me.

And speaking of the Pimpernel. Richard E Grant’s portrayal is the laziest take on the character to date. Never mind the lack of disguises, he spends most of his time in Paris being measured for new clothes by Planchet the tailor, sitting around in frilly shirts while members of the League – mainly Sir Andrew, Planchet and another guy called Mazarini in this series – report back to him. Where is Sir Percy the micromanager of Orczy’s books? Nor will we talk about his advice to Marguerite, back in Paris and working with both Chauvelin and Robespierre, when she asks him how far she should go: ‘Only as far as the bedroom door. A woman on her back is a distinct disadvantage.’ MON DIEU, Percy would never!

And dear lord in heaven, he’s just Sir Percy, not Percival! If Marguerite doesn’t know that, perhaps they should call it quits.

The ugly:

Elizabeth McGovern, bless her, was not the best choice for Marguerite. Not only does she look older that her character in Downton Abbey ten years later, but her English accent really grates on the ears – ‘Passy!’ – and I had to laugh when Suzanne Bertish’s character told her, ‘Diction, Marguerite, diction! Lips, teeth, tongue!’ Why on earth didn’t they let the American actress speak naturally and pretend that she sounded different because Marguerite has a French accent – or you know, cast a French actress? She also has zero chemistry with Richard E Grant. Not a trace. The reunion kiss between Percy and Marguerite outside the theatre in Paris is the most awkward mashing of lips I have ever seen on screen. (I did enjoy Chauvelin’s double take at her guilty look afterwards, however!)

The dialogue. A sample:

Chevalier D’Orly: I’m proposing to kill you!

Percy: That’ll be interesting, I’ve never been killed before.

Also, all of the icky ‘flirting’ between Chauvelin and Marguerite: Perhaps we were never friends. But we were lovers. I have the memories to prove it. And then he’s actually gutted when he finally figures out that ‘the separation was a sham’.

I nearly forgot about the main fault of this episode: It’s one and a half hour long and about twenty minutes of that runtime is a tedious swordfight. That was the longest recap ever!

Honestly, compared to the first episode, this wasn’t too horrific – as a random historical drama. For fans of the books and the film adaptations, the treatment of Sir Percy and Marguerite – and even Chauvelin, who looks more like Gerard Depardieu playing Danton – still hurts. Sir Percy pimping his wife out to her ex (‘so the last piece is in place’ – ‘and such a pretty piece!’), relying on ‘the faithful Andrew’ to do all the work for him, and questioning a witness in public BEFORE agreeing to get her out of Paris and then being surprised when she is murdered. Marguerite somehow being accepted by the French public after running away to marry an English baronet – ‘Go back to England, you traitor!’ – when some random in the audience bursts into a round of La Marseillaise (and nobody knows any of the words). She stole that trick from Yvonne in Casablanca. Marguerite’s appalling lack of subtlety while spying on someone and then ransacking their dressing room when they leave – check for the maid first, Margot! Chauvelin getting in a snit with Robespierre and then casually announcing that BLAKENEY IS THE PIMPERNEL.

Other than that, though: 3/5

And I might cap the episode if I can figure out how!

[small-cs-traffic-warden]

Arlene Rimmer (Fan-AI-Art)

"Fanart" created by the Midjourney AI.

For some reason, I've always had a hard time accepting Arlene in "Parallel Universe" as the real female mirror version of Rimmer. Something didn't fit - I mean, in appearance. Perhaps mostly because of her age - Suzanne Bertish (unbearable wonderful acting) - is a nine years older than Chris Barrie (now that I look into it, Angela Bruce, aka Deb, was born in the same year - so she's older than Craig too, but for some reason it doesn't stick out as much).

So, I set this our contemporary Holly called Midjourney a task. And here's the result - a variation of Arlene Rimmer, combining photos of the original actress Suzanne, Chris and also Francesca Folan, the actress who portrayed Rimmer's hologram Camilla - I always thought they picked a very close type to Arnie there.