Pot luck (part the nth)

Bring on the 17th already! For now, some good old random links:

Daily Trojan reviews the new collector's edition of Pride and Prejudice. Verdict:

Aside from that, the "Pride and Prejudice: 10th Anniversary Limited Collector's Edition" is an example of what collector's DVD sets should be, and should be a part of any fan's of the series DVD collection.

Brief wrap of the same at Michael's Myspace.

Shot on location in the castles and countryside of England, this A&E/BBC co-production offers up the definitive interpretation of Jane Austen's classic with a grandly handsome look that sets off but never upstages the story. Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle headline the smartly scripted production, and the generous running time (about 5 hours) allows plenty of time for character development and side stories to play out at a strolling pace. Firth's brittle, brooding performance made him the quintessential Darcy and he was rightly celebrated in Bridget Jones' Diary. Details: Color, 300 mins, A&E, Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1. Supplements: 10th Anniversary Limited Edition Collector's Set; Gold embossed green fabric slipcase; Newly remastered widescreen print; Bonus Disc Features:; Jane Austen Biography episode; An exclusive new retrospective documentary about the making of the classic series; A 120 page deluxe companion book The Making Of Pride and Prejudice with photos, illustrations, and interviews with cast and crew. Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo). Optional subtitles.

On the blogs, there are squillions of "saw P&P, loved it" sort of posts, but Kirk's comment is cuter than most:

Colin Firth as Mr Darcy was perfect casting and Jennifer Ehle as Lizzie gave me a new level of woman to watch out for. She was perfect and Mr Darcy comes off as not perfect which makes his journey back to redemption that much sweeter.

Alpha Male review over at Habitus by Peter Malone:

For such a macho title, this film offers very laid back alpha males. This is the kind of drama that is associated with more up-market television channels, something of an old-fashioned British upper-class portrait.

The structure of the film is meant to keep reminding us of how the past has its effect on the future, as it moves from the present back nine years and keeps cutting to and fro, sometimes suggesting that the memories are those of different members of the family though that is not always clear.

The gist of the matter is that two well-loved, somewhat spoilt, children experience the death of their father which has dire traumatic effect on each of them emotionally and mentally. While we can accept that the death of a parent can affect a child, it is hard to see that these two have the right to be so adversely affected or why it has such effect, especially on the girl.

Danny Huston is very sympathetic as the father who is a successful businessman (making cartons for a variety of goods), who has great pride in his son and pampers his daughter (even suddenly getting her a treehouse overnight for her birthday – and trying to read her to sleep with a financial report). He dies. Jennifer Ehle (looking remarkably like Meryl Streep) is his wife.

The present time is a weekend for the son’s 21st birthday. He has not been home for three years. His sister mopes around the house. The mother has re-married but the son has not been able to accept this. The mother’s sister, with whom she fell out, is invited – and is offered a gift of a cheque for a million pounds. Things go much as you would expect, especially in such an affluent setting with such generally reserved British manners.

And another, at Regal Picturehouses:

ALPHA MALE is a perceptive and emotionally wrought story of family life that sensitively deals with the force of personality, family politics, repressed emotions, great love and devastating loss. When Jim Ferris (Huston, THE PROPOSITION) dies, leaving behind a family fractured by his absence, his young son Jack is prematurely burdened with the responsibility of looking after the family. When Jim's widow Alice (Ehle, POSSESSION) meets and marries a new man (Baladi, The Office), a firm wedge comes between Jack and the rest of the family. It is another eleven years before the rifts can even begin to heal as they all come together again for Jack's (Mark Wells, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA) 21st birthday weekend. Beautifully performed by a fine ensemble cast (Ehle especially sparkles), this is a film that is unafraid to tackle some of life's bigger questions.

Note Paula's message in the tagboard about the film being one of British Airways' in-flight selections for US to UK crossings this month. Thanks for the heads-up!

Over at Martha Plimpton's, word is that Voyage rehearsals are going well and they're past the complete and utter panic stage. Sweet. Speaking of Utopia, the LCT folks have replied thusly about student rush tix:

Generally, there will be rush tickets available for The Coast of Utopia, but we never guarantee that rush tickets will be available for any specific performance. Please visit the LCT box office up to two hour before a performance to purchase $30 rush tickets (subject to availability) and be sure to have your valid student ID to show the box office agent.