Persuasion on Masterpiece Classic, February 21st 2010

Airing February 21 at 9:00pm on PBS, Masterpiece Classic will air an encore presentation of Jane Austen's Persuasion. It will air as one 90-minute episode

Synopsis (From Masterpiece Classic)

Unhappily unmarried at age 27, and dealing with family financial peril, hope is fading from Anne Elliot's (Sally Hawkins, Little Britain) life. Circumstances bring Captain Frederick Wentworth (Rupert Penry-Jones, Casanova), a dashing naval officer she once deeply loved, back into her life eight years after Anne was persuaded by her family to reject his marriage proposal. Having returned from sea with a new fortune, Wentworth is surrounded by swooning women while Anne broods at the periphery, longing to be in Wentworth's favor. Now Anne comes face-to-face with the deep regret of her old decision, and her abiding love for Wentworth, as she wonders if a long ago love can be rekindled.

Emma - On Masterpiece Classic, January 24th

Masterpiece Classic's version of Emma begins this Sunday, January 24th. It will be split into a three part mini series which will air:
January 24 - February 7, 2010 on PBS.

Synopsis: (From Masterpiece Classic)

Emma Woodhouse (Romola Garai, Atonement) was born with the sun shining down on her. The radiant, privileged girl grows into a remarkable talent for matchmaking, as observed by her loving but disapproving father (Michael Gambon, Cranford) and childhood friend Mr. Knightley (Jonny Lee Miller, Endgame). When the decidedly less privileged Harriet Smith arrives, Emma meddles with fate to find her a match, until her flawless intuition is called into question. Dissuaded from more matrimonial predictions, Emma nonetheless continues to cheerfully contemplate superior men — and meets one of her own in the handsome, gleaming Frank Churchill. But after being so busy managing everyone else's heart, does Emma know her own? A fiercely funny new version of the Jane Austen novel, Emma was adapted by Sandy Welch (Jane Eyre).

Sherlock Holmes...Old story, new look.

"The game is afoot" or should I say movie? This Christmas, Hollywood gave us the present of Sherlock Holmes, staring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams. This movie is a  fast paced, high action adventure that never slows down. With some humorous banter between Holmes and Watson and the unquestionable good looks of Holmes this movie would seem to have it all...

When first hearing that there was going to be a new Sherlock Holmes movie, I was ecstatic. Then when I saw the trailer I became a little wary of what they had done to the Holmes character. There have been so many adaptions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, but this one is by far the most edgy and loose interpretation. This is no suave and methodical Holmes, playing the violin in thoughtful silence. Instead he is more brawn then brains; from beating up villains with fists and sticks to wearing nothing but his pantaloons while participating in a boxing match.

- Here are some comparisons between the new Sherlock Holmes and the original.
                                                                                            
  New Version- Robert Downey Jr.

   Original Version- Basil Rathbone

The movie is set during Victorian England but has all the action, explosions, and crazy plots of today. The action never stops and can be a bit overwhelming at times. Besides the action, the plot is also intense, but that is better then no plot at all. The scene sets are very well done, the only complaint I have about them is that at times, I felt as if their clothes did not always flow with the time period.

Overall it is really a good movie, as long as you look at it with an open mind. If I compare the original and new version, I prefer the Sherlock Holmes played by Basil Rathbone in every way possible. Yet if I view this movie as if it's the first Sherlock Holmes movie I have ever seen and let it stand completely alone, it becomes a good movie.

Hopefully the rumored sequel will be more true to the original...even if just a bit.