Matthew MacFadyen was pretty.

JZ-- I didn't hate it. It's not my OTP&P (the Firth/Ehle) one, nor even my old friend the Olivier/Garson one, but it did have some pleasures. I thought it gave us a great Mrs. Bennet. I finally understood why Mr. Bennet married her and she wasn't just a broad comedic supporting character.

Oh, wanted to add that we saw Little Children last night. Wonderful work from the cast. Kate Winslet has a pitch-perftect American accent and gives a luminous and intelligent performance. Jennifer Connolly is not only good, she is so freaking BEAUTIFUL in this that it takes your breath away. patrick Wilson, who is mostly a stage actor. was excellent, and looked nice naked. I was worried it was going to be another overwrought "adultery in suburbia" indie film, but it was more inventive and subtle than I expected. There are a few too many coincidences in the story, and some supporting characters who are a little too much, but that doesn't detract from a really powerful film.

I sort of liked the blowsy portrayal of the Bennett household but other than that, I thought it was complete shite. I HATE the rewrites. I was especially pissed in the director's commentary about how he thought Mr. & Mrs. Bennett were truly in love and showed them affectionate at the end. They were the prime example for making a match in which shallow affection died a quick death in the face of extreme silliness and stupidity. There were very specific passages in the book about how Mr. Bennett subjected his wife to the ridicule of her children and didn't respect her and how he was, essentially, no longer in love with her.

JZ, I just reread recently and I thought Charlotte DID marry for financial security. Yes, her father was a gentleman (and a knight) but she had brothers and they couldn't settle any kind of fortune on her. She thought her marriage very prudent in saving her from penury or at least dependence on her brothers as a spinster.

Sorry, Children of Men again. I think, if you invest in the characters, depends on how you experience the journey in the film. After the first third of the film, I was Theo. Which sounds pretty wank, but hey.

Robin - wanted to see that film. Now I will.

Robin, I did like just about all the acting -- and I think Brenda Blethyn did a particularly fine job, possibly because Mrs. Bennet is so hopelessly un-self-aware. She's never trying to be witty, she's comical even when she's serious, and so this production's Extra-Serious Seriousness didn't cripple her performance the way it did nearly everyone else's; Blethyn was grounded and comic at once, and, yeah, nicely connected with her husband.

It just really bugged to see so many fine performances weirdly hamstrung (oh, the poor actor playing Mr. Collins, who did a fine job but who was almost unwatchable -- a Mr. Collins who can't be laughed at is unbearable).

I just saw The Island. It wasn't that bad, actually. For the first half, it's a pretty interesting dystopian cloning movie, and for the second half, a lot of stuff blows up. Win-win!

I agree. I think my ideal P&P would be Blethyn's Mrs. Bennet in the Firth/Ehle production.

(oh, the poor actor playing Mr. Collins, who did a fine job but who was almost unwatchable

Ah, the new dethhppicable governor in PotC: Dead Man's Chest.

JZ just made me so happy that I never saw that P&P.

We saw ''The Good Shepherd'' last night. I really hated it. It seemed so pointless, and it bored me. If I hadn't been with 4 other people, I would have left after the first hour, and I seriously considered going out into the lobby to wait for them a few times.