Bridget Jones's Diary Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humour, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. --Leslie Felperin Bridget Jones 2: The Edge Of Reason Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking
The Holiday (2006): Iris is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe Amanda realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham and Iris with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles. Love Actually (2003): Love actually is all around. From the new bachelor Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) instantly falling in love with a refreshingly real member of the staff (Martine McCutcheon) moments after entering 10 Downing Street... To a writer (Colin Firth) escaping to the south of France to nurse his re-broken heart who finds love in a lake... From a comfortably married woman (Emma Thompson) suspecting that her husband (Alan Rickman) is slipping away... To a new bride (Keira Knightley) mistaking the distance of her husband's best friend for something it's not... From a schoolboy seeking to win the attention of the most unattainable girl in school... To a widowed stepfather (Liam Neeson) trying to connect with a son he suddenly barely knows... From a lovelorn junior manager (Laura Linney) seizing a chance with her long-tended unspoken office crush... To an ageing ""seen it all remember very little of it"" rock star (Bill Nighy) jonesing for an end-of-career comeback in his own uncompromising way... Love the equal-opportunity mischief-maker is causing chaos for all. These London lives and loves collide mingle and climax on Christmas Eve-again and again and again-with romantic hilarious and bittersweet consequences for anyone lucky (or unlucky) enough to be under love's spell. Wimbledon: A pro tennis player has lost his ambition and has fallen in rank to 119. Fortunately for him he meets a young female player on the women's circuit who helps him recapture his focus for Wimbledon at the cost of losing hers...
Hugh Grant stars in this satire of American identity, in which the President becomes a guest judge on the reality TV show.
Set against the stifling conformity of pre-World War I English society E.M. Forster's Maurice is a story of coming to terms with one's sexuality and identity in the face of disapproval and misunderstanding. Maurice Hall and Clive Durham find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. In a time when homosexuality was punishable by imprisonment the two must keep their feelings for one another a complete secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for 'the unspeakable vice of the Greeks' Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a young woman. Maurice however struggles with questions of his identity and self-confidence seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his undeniable urges. But while staying with Clive and his shallow wife Anne Maurice is seduced by the affectionate and yearning servant Alec Scudder an event that brings about profound changes in Maurice's life and outlook. Sparkling direction by James Ivory distinguished performances from the ensemble cast and a charged score by Richard Robbins all combine to create a film of immense power one that is romantic moving and a story of love and self-discovery for all audiences.
Own both sensational Bridget Jones films with this newly packaged double pack. Endless hours of laughter await you! Bridget Jones's DiaryThe fictional diary of a 30-something professional woman as she copes with the travails of singledom dieting career shifts and the search for love. Special Features: Directors Commentary Behind the Scenes Featurette Music Videos: Shelby Lynne Killin' Kind Gabrielle Out Of Reach Bridget Jones: The Edge of ReasonAfter finding love Bridget Jones questions if she really has everything she's dreamed of having. Special Features: Feature Commentary The Mini Break to Austria Deleted Scenes A Smooth Guide to Exotic Thailand The Big Fight Mark and Bridget: Forever? Bridget Jones Interviews Colin Firth Lonely London Bridget Jones: A Cultural Icon Bridget's Big Night World Tour of the Premieres
Titles Comprise: Bridget Jones's Diary: Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is a pretty and neurotic thirtysomething singleton (in her vernacular) who vows to take control of her life after being humiliated by handsome standoffish barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at her parents' New Year's party. Determined to lose weight and cut back on vices like wine cigarettes and workaholic-alcoholic-misogynistic men Bridget begins a diary to chart her progress. Unfortunately the P.R. executive hits a snag when her boss gorgeous cad Daniel (Hugh Grant) instigates a sexy e-mail flirtation. Despite her tendency to bungle book launch parties and any situation involving the ever-disapproving Mark Darcy Bridget's winning combination of charm vulnerability and wit intrigues not only the seductively dangerous Daniel but also the arrogant barrister. Bridget Jones - The Edge Of Reason: Having finally found the perfect man in gorgeous lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) 30-something ex-singleton Bridget Jones (Rene Zellweger) is now faced with the even bigger challenge of... keeping him! When her self-doubts return and her womanising ex-lover Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) reappears uninvited Bridget gets entangled in a comic mix of bad advice miscommunications and total disasters that could only happen to her. From embarrassing situations to romantic misunderstanding Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason will have you crying with laughter. A feel good movie to watch again and again. Love Actually: The story of a group of people who find themselves surrounded by love... There's the new Prime Minister who falls for his personal assistant the Prime Minister's sister Karan who realises that her husband is attracted to his secretary. Author Jamie who flees England to escape his unfaithful girlfriend and then falls for his housekeeper. Movie stand-ins John and Judy who become attracted to each other on the film set. Recently widowed Daniel who helps his stepson who is smitten with one of his class-mates and Billy Mack an ageing rock star who discovers that love can be found in the most unlikely of places... Notting Hill: William Thacker (Hugh Grant) is the owner of a bookshop in the heart of Notting Hill in London. One day by a one-in-a-million chance the worlds most famous actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) comes into his shop. He watches in amazement as she leaves and he thinks he'll never see her again. But fate intervenes - and minutes later William collides with Anna on Portobello Road. So begins a tale of romance and adventure in London W11. With a little help from his chaotic flatmate Spike (Rhys Ifans) and his friends Max and Bella (Tim McInnerny and Gina McKee) William seeks the face he can't forget...
After four blissful weeks with Darcy, Bridget discovers that life with her new man isn't quite as perfect as she thought...
Six stories spanning centuries. One soul. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry lead an all-star cast in interwoven tales as time shifts between past, present and future. As characters reunite from one life to the next, their actions generate consequences: A killer evolves into a hero. An act of kindness inspires a revolution. Cloud Atlas combines science fiction, drama, mystery, action and romance into a film that's utterly, wonderfully epic(Solvej Schou, EW.com). SPECIAL FEATURES A Film Like No Other: See how three visionary directors came together, divided their tasks and created a cohesive masterpiece Everything Is Connected: The cast and filmmakers delve deeper into the connections that tie the story together Spaceships, Slaves & Sextets: Unravel the mysteries, themes and subtext of Cloud Atlas with the cast, filmmakers, author and producers The Bold Science Fiction of Cloud Atlas: Explore the film's cutting-edge future with tales of cloning and extraplanetary exploration And More!
There are Victorian country-house shenanigans aplenty in Impromptu: novelist George Sand (Judy Davis, affected but pretty charming) has eyes for Franz Liszt's young protégé Chopin (Hugh Grant, solid as always, but burdened by a silly Polish accent and a script that never lets him stretch out), but various lovers, jealous rivals, and Chopin's own overdeveloped sense of propriety conspire to confound her. Impromptu is witty but overlong--probably 20 minutes of hijinks and repartee, not to mention several completely gratuitous and redundant characters, could have been sliced from the film. Davis plays Sand as an impetuous, overgrown tomboy, outraging her genteel hosts by wearing pants, chomping cigars, and falling off horses; her coterie of artist-friends assure us, in a series of naked plot devices, that she nonetheless has a heart of gold. It's all good silly fun, and about as feminist as your average Def Leppard video--the other two developed female characters are ugly stereotypes: a featherbrained, feckless social climber (Emma Thompson, who once again proves she's up for anything) and a spiteful, back-stabbing shrew (the ever-capable Bernadette Peters). Director James Lapine clearly belongs to the Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman school of historical accuracy, so don't expect to learn anything about the period or the artists themselves. --Miles Bethany
Extreme Measures loses credibility near the climax when it sacrifices its hold on reality, but this entertaining, intelligent thriller effectively applies a formulaic plot to the complicated ethics of medical research. It also gives Hugh Grant an opportunity to break free from lightweight comedy by playing an emergency room surgeon who discovers that a renowned neurologist (Gene Hackman) has been conducting secret experiments on patients. When Grant fails to save a patient whose body later mysteriously disappears from the morgue, his investigation leads to an underground community of healthy homeless people, some of whom have been test subjects in Hackman's revolutionary, but criminal research toward a cure for paralysis. Co-produced by actor-model Elizabeth Hurley and capably directed by Michael Apted, this otherwise conventional thriller rises above its limitations by asking morally complex questions that give its far-fetched plot an extra kick of dramatic impact. --Jeff Shannon
Maurice Maurice Hall and Clive Durham find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. In a time when homosexuality was punishable by imprisonment, the two must keep their feelings for one another a complete secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for 'the unspeakable vice of the Greeks', Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a young woman. Maurice however, struggles with questions of his identity and self-confidence, seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his ...
Now with NEW 16 page booklet with forward from Richard Curtis Behind the Scenes Photographs Interviews and Quiz! Ten years after its triumphant release the smash hit movie from the makers of 'Notting Hill' and 'Four Weddings and A Funeral' continues to spread joy all around warming people's hearts getting better richer and funnier every time you see it. With its fantastic all-star cast and an outstanding soundtrack it really is the Ultimate Romantic Comedy to enjoy again and again. The hilarious Love Actually explored the ups and downs of relationships in the weeks buidling up to Christmas. Boyfriends& girlfriends husbands & wives fathers & sons and rock stars & managers all combine to make Love Actually not just one story but ten very different ones. Because if you look hard enough you will find love actually is all around. Special Features: New 16 page booklet with forward from Richard Curtis Behind the Scenes Photographs Interviews and Quiz Audio Commentary with Richard Curtis Hugh Grant Bill Nighy and Thomas Sangster Deleted Scenes with introductions by Richard Curtis Music Highlights Christmas Is All Around music video The Storytellers
The second of the Merchant/Ivory films (A Room with a View, Howard's End), Maurice deals with a theme few period pieces dare mention--a young man's struggle with his homosexuality. It's not just a gay coming-of-age story, however. The hero wrestles with British class society as much as his personal and sexual identity.The film opens on a stormy, windswept beach, as an older man awkwardly instructs young, fatherless Maurice Hall (James Wilby) in the "sacred mysteries" of sex. The same turbulent, wordless struggle with passion lasts throughout this slowly evolving, beautifully filmed story. Novelist E M Forster's brainy, British melodrama hinges on choice and compulsion, as the pensive hero falls for two completely different men. First comes frail, suppressed Clive (Hugh Grant), who wants nothing more than classical Platonic harmony ... and a straight lifestyle. (Grant's performance is so convincing, one wonders how he ever became a heterosexual sex symbol.) After Clive's wedding, Maurice turns to hypnosis to cure his unspeakable longings. Unfortunately, his "cure" is interrupted by Clive's lustful, brooding, barely literate gamekeeper Scudder (Rupert Graves), a worker more at home gutting rabbits than discussing the classics. Maurice's love for a "social inferior" forces him to confront his illicit desire and his ingrained class snobbery. --Grant Balfour
An ensemble comedy from the makers of "Notting Hill" following a whole host of separate but intertwining stories of love in London.
Atonement: On the hottest day of the summer of 1935 thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley) strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) a childhood friend who along with Briony's sister has recently graduated from Cambridge. By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination and Briony will have committed a dreadful crime the guilt for which will colour her entire life. Sense And Sensibility: The story of two sisters; pragmatic Elinor (Emma Thompson) and passionate wilful Marianne (Kate Winslet). When their father Henry Dashwood dies by law his estate must pass to the eldest son from his first marriage. Suddenly homeless and impoverished his current wife and daughters find themselves living in a simple country cottage. The two sisters are soon accepted into their new society. Marianne becomes swept up in a passionate love affair with the dashing Willoughby (Greg Wise) while Elinor struggles to keep a tight rein on the family purse strings and to keep her feelings for Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) whom she left behind hidden from her family. Despite their different personalities they both experience great sorrow in their affairs but they learn to mix sense with sensibility in a society that is obsessed with both financial and social status.
Dishwasher and small-fry criminal Ray hits on a plan with his partners in crime to re-open a local pizza place and dig through to the bank down the street. As his wife can't cook pizza but does great cookies, that's what they sell. While the no-hope tunnellers get lost underground, the cookie operation really takes off and the team find themselves rich business people. But the other local money isn't quite ready to accept them.
When it was released in 1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral quickly became a huge international success, pulling in the kind of audiences most British films only dream of. It's proof that sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. In terms of plot, the title pretty much says it all. Revolving around well, four weddings and a funeral (though not in that order), the film follows Hugh Grant's confirmed bachelor Charles as he falls for visiting American Carrie (Andy McDowell), whom he keeps bumping into at various functions. But with this most basic of premises, screenwriter Richard Curtis has crafted a moving and thoughtful comedy about the perils of singledom and that ever-elusive search for true love. In the wrong hands, it could have been a horribly schmaltzy affair, but Curtis' script--crammed with great one-liners and beautifully judged characterisations--keeps things sharp and snappy, harking back to the sparkling Hollywood romantic comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The supporting cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow and Rowan Atkinson (who starred in the Curtis-scripted television show Blackadder) is first rate, at times almost too good--John Hannah's rendition of WH Auden's poem "Funeral Blues" over the coffin of his lover is so moving you think the film will struggle to re-establish its ineffably buoyant mood. But it does, thanks in no small part to Hugh Grant as the bumbling Charles (whose star-making performance compensates for a less-than-dazzling Andie MacDowell). Though it's hardly the fault of Curtis and his team, the success of the Four Weddings did have its downside, triggering a rash of inferior British romantic comedies. In fact, we had to wait until 1999's Notting Hill for another UK film to match its winning charm (scripted, again, by Curtis and also starring Grant). --Edward Lawrenson
Bridget Jones' Diary: In the screen adaptation of 'Bridget Jones Diary' Helen Fielding's international best-selling phenomenon documentary filmmaker Sharon Maguire has managed a rare feat: a film as captivating as the novel! Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is a pretty and neurotic thirtysomething singleton (in her vernacular) who vows to take control of her life after being humiliated by handsome standoffish barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at her parents' New Year's party. Determined to lose weight and cut back on vices like wine cigarettes and workaholic-alcoholic-misogynistic men Bridget begins a diary to chart her progress. Unfortunately the P.R. executive hits a snag when her boss gorgeous cad Daniel (Hugh Grant) instigates a sexy e-mail flirtation. Despite her tendency to bungle book launch parties and any situation involving the ever-disapproving Mark Darcy Bridget's winning combination of charm vulnerability and wit intrigues not only the seductively dangerous Daniel but also the arrogant barrister. Featuring a note-perfect performance by Zellweger a devilish one by Grant and the inspired casting of Firth (the object of Bridget's lusty fantasies in the book) 'Bridget Jones Diary' is a clever delightful romantic comedy guaranteed to please old fans and win new ones. Bridget Jones's Diary 2 - The Edge Of Reason: She's back! The perfect boyfriend the perfect life what could possibly go wrong? Four weeks into her relationship with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is already becoming uncomfortable. With the reappearance of old flame daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) things are about to get very complicated...
Featuring both of Bridget's cinematic adventures in one Special Edition box set. Bridget Jones' Diary (Dir. Sharon Maguire 2001): In the screen adaptation of 'Bridget Jones Diary' Helen Fielding's international best-selling phenomenon documentary filmmaker Sharon Maguire has managed a rare feat: a film as captivating as the novel! Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is a pretty and neurotic thirtysomething singleton (in her vernacular) who vows to take control of her life after being humiliated by handsome standoffish barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at her parents' New Year's party. Determined to lose weight and cut back on vices like wine cigarettes and workaholic-alcoholic-misogynistic men Bridget begins a diary to chart her progress. Unfortunately the P.R. executive hits a snag when her boss gorgeous cad Daniel (Hugh Grant) instigates a sexy e-mail flirtation. Despite her tendency to bungle book launch parties and any situation involving the ever-disapproving Mark Darcy Bridget's winning combination of charm vulnerability and wit intrigues not only the seductively dangerous Daniel but also the arrogant barrister. Featuring a note-perfect performance by Zellweger a devilish one by Grant and the inspired casting of Firth (the object of Bridget's lusty fantasies in the book) 'Bridget Jones Diary' is a clever delightful romantic comedy guaranteed to please old fans and win new ones. Bridget Jones's Diary 2 - The Edge Of Reason (Dir. Beeban Kidron 2004): She's back! The perfect boyfriend the perfect life what could possibly go wrong? Four weeks into her relationship with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is already becoming uncomfortable. With the reappearance of old flame daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) things are about to get very complicated... The Holiday (2006): Iris is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe Amanda realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham and Iris with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles.
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