Kcuaron

This movie has been given a bad rap. The beach scene with the life raft and the scene on the mountaintop are two of the funniest bits I've seen in a long, long time. Mr. Ford has always had a comedic gift for parody - Han Solo, Indiana Jones and now "Queenie." The only flaw in this perfectly casted film is, of course, David Schwimmer. I hope he has saved his money from his role in Friends because he certainly is bloody awful on the large screen. He doesn't even do selfish, egotistic, self-involved, whining wuss that well; well, perhaps I'm being too harsh. His whining and being annoying is well done. He always convinces me.

Everyone thinks New York, Houston or Detroit is the murder capital of the United States - think again! It's Cabot Cove, Maine. Jessica didn't move to New York to be closer to her publisher, to teach or be closer to the action. The six remaining residents held a town meeting and voted her out. It was nasty business - just awful. Jessica left Cabot Cove in disgrace.

Chow Yun-Fat gave an unparalleled performance as the King of Siam, so romantic and sensual; the cinematography and soundtrack were breathtaking; Costume and set designs were superb. Then, Jodie Foster opens her mouth and out comes the worst British accent on film (yup, worse that the 5 minutes Kevin Costner attempted one in "Robin Hood"). Her accent and wooden performance were so distracting, it was difficult at times to focus on the film. I would like to know why American actors fail to sound believable when using foreign accents when British and Australian actors affect American accents (even Southern ones) with such believability and ease(i.e., Cate Blanchette in "The Gift," Hugh Jackman in "Someone Like You").

I saw the original in 1960 and it was a piece of fluff even for back then. What I can't understand is who would want to remake a bad movie, except, perhaps, if your goal was to end the collective careers of everyone in the cast. All the actors were a little long in the tooth for the roles they played. Lisa Hartman Black looked like she may have been a professor at Heidi Fleiss University but a 21 - 22 year old co-ed? I don't think so. This movie was so awful, I felt embarrassed for the actors. Come to think of it, it did effectively serve as a career-ender for several of them. On the whole, I think it's only marginally better than the "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," which is generally believed to be THE worst movie of all time.

Jane Eyre has always been a favorite book of mine. I've read it several times. Even though the book is virtually memorized, it is difficult to identify this film as an adaptation of the book. The only similarity between book and movie is the title. It falls flat because it was badly written, miscast, badly acted and misdirected. Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance(or lack thereof) in the title role was wooden, sullen, and devoid of emotion. Ms. Gainsbourg created the only Jane on record for whom the audience felt no sympathy. Additionally, there was no chemistry whatsoever with William Hurt. She shouldn't feel too badly however; he is the perhaps the worst Rochester I've ever seen. Who ever heard of a feckless Rochester? Zefferelli? He doesn't get the genre and probably should avoid classics in the future. Ang Lee and Emma Thompson's "Sense and Sensibility", "Persuasion", or any of the other numerous "Jane Eyre(s)" are better done and capture their adaptations beautifully. Timothy Dalton and George C. Scott were great as their respective Rochesters.