Easy Watching for the Romantic In You

Advantages: simple, fun storyline, good cast
Disadvantages: may be too soppy for some!

...hearts, although the personalities of the women and how they show this differs greatly. In an attempt to get away from this and to try and forget their problems they make contact online and agree to switch homes for a while. So, Amanda travels to Iris' modest country cottage in England and Iris to Amanda's rather larger, luxurious Hollywood home. There are quite a few laughs here as the women adapt to their vastly different surroundings. The story follows the women and the interesting characters they meet, It turns out that both stumble across something that they weren't looking for, or expecting - romance. Amanda meets graham (Jude Law) Iris' brother and Iris meets Miles, an associate of Amanda's ex. The storyline is simple and easy to follow, the script is well written - with some good quips and one-liners. The characters are all...

katherineh123 06.01.2010 · Read review
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Review of The Holiday (DVD)

True Hollywood Glamour

Advantages: glamourous history
Disadvantages: Pricey room service

...I stayed at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in April 2004 on my honeymoon. We wanted to stay somewhere quite centrally located in Los Angeles as we didn't fancy hiring a car. The Hollywood Roosevelt was not only central but very reasonably priced compared to other hotels in the brochure. The hotel opened in 1927 and in 1929 hosted the very first Oscars ceremony. Legend has it that Bill "Bojangles" Robinson taught Shirley Temple to dance on the staircase from the lobby to the mezzanine, and the ghost of Montgomery Clift (who stayed at the hotle whilst filming From Here to Eternity) reputedly haunts the building. In fact the hotel has so much history it was mentioned on both fo the Hollywood/ homes of the stars tours we went on! I didn't see any of these particular screen legends during my visit but as the hotel is situated right...

lucyjws 01.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

I Like To Watch

Advantages: One of Hitchcocks best.
Disadvantages: James Stewart is not the most effective screen lover

...In his book "Hollywood Babylon II" Kenneth Anger claims that Alfred Hitchcock had a powerful telescope set up in his Hollywood home, focussed in on Grace Kelly's bedroom, in order that he could watch her undress. Believe that if you will, but what is a fact is that voyeurism featured heavily in Hitchcock's films: Anthony Perkins watched Janet Leigh take a shower in "Psycho"; James Stewart observed Kim Novak's daily life in "Vertigo"; Ronald Coleman, handcuffed to Madeleine Carrol, watched her as she undressed in "The Thirty Nine Steps". The same can be said of "Rear Window", except here the camera is on our eye level and we see and watch as avidly as the voyeur. L.B. (Jeff) Jeffries is bored. Seven weeks earlier he broke his leg whilst on a photographic assignment, and now he is confined to a wheelchair in his second floor apartment...

gerb 06.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Rear Window (DVD)