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David McK (3207 KP) rated A Knight's Tale (2001) in Movies
Mar 16, 2021
While the late Heath Ledger may always be remembered for his portrayal as The Joker in The Dark Knight, and speaking personally, that's actually NOT the first film I remember seeing him in.
This is.
Starring as William, the peasant squire of a Knight who partakes in the medieval sport of jousting - which is restricted to the nobility - and who, just as the film starts, impersonates said Knight (who has passed away), this is very (very) loosely based on Chaucer's 'The Knights Tale' in the Canterbury Tales.
Indeed, Chaucer himself is one of the key characters in this film, portrayed by a pre-Vision (from the MCU) Paul Bettany.
Yes, the soundtrack is completely anachronistic (Queen? David Bowie?) but also actually works in the context of the film!
This is.
Starring as William, the peasant squire of a Knight who partakes in the medieval sport of jousting - which is restricted to the nobility - and who, just as the film starts, impersonates said Knight (who has passed away), this is very (very) loosely based on Chaucer's 'The Knights Tale' in the Canterbury Tales.
Indeed, Chaucer himself is one of the key characters in this film, portrayed by a pre-Vision (from the MCU) Paul Bettany.
Yes, the soundtrack is completely anachronistic (Queen? David Bowie?) but also actually works in the context of the film!
ClareR (5589 KP) rated Templar Silks in Books
Aug 10, 2018
Historical fiction at it's best!
William Marshall is on his death bed and is looking back on his life. The Templar Silks of the story are the burial silks that he was given 30 years previously, when he became a secular Knight of the Templar Knights in Jerusalem. He promised that he would become a full member of the Order before he died, so he sends a trusted servant to collect the silk shroud from where he had entrusted it. While he waits for the silks, William slips into drug-induced remembrances of his time leading up to and during his time in Outremer. We learn of the riches of Jerusalem and those that ruled it; that King Baldwin had crippling leprosy, yet still ruled; and that those who ruled supposedly under the eye of God, did so only to gain more money and power (so, the same as everywhere else then, really!).
I'm sad to see that this is the end of William Marshall (I'm giving nothing away here!). I've enjoyed reading all of the books about him: even though they're largely speculation, Elizabeth Chadwick has still done her research in to the time very well.
I'm sad to see that this is the end of William Marshall (I'm giving nothing away here!). I've enjoyed reading all of the books about him: even though they're largely speculation, Elizabeth Chadwick has still done her research in to the time very well.
ClareR (5589 KP) rated Killing Jericho in Books
May 28, 2023
Killing Jericho was a thrilling, suspenseful ride!
Scott Jericho is back living with his traveller fairground family after a prison sentence that saw the end of his career as a CID Police Officer. He had violently attacked a Knight of Saint George - a far right thug he had been interviewing about the death of three Polish children. This also meant that he couldn’t be charged for the crime.
There’s some history of fairground travellers in this - all true, and both interesting and nice to know that we don’t call those more unusual fairground acts “freaks” anymore.
Believe it or not, Jericho has more problems than being an ex-con: he’s using drugs, has boyfriend trouble, and the man he was charged with attacking can’t seem to keep himself away.
Jericho’s life is complicated.
The murders are gruesome and really rather inventive!
And no one is as they seem, either. It’s a dark read.
There are a lot of surprises, and I enjoyed them all!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to William Hussey for reading along too. This is the first of a new series, and I’ll be interested to know what happens to Scott Jericho next!
Scott Jericho is back living with his traveller fairground family after a prison sentence that saw the end of his career as a CID Police Officer. He had violently attacked a Knight of Saint George - a far right thug he had been interviewing about the death of three Polish children. This also meant that he couldn’t be charged for the crime.
There’s some history of fairground travellers in this - all true, and both interesting and nice to know that we don’t call those more unusual fairground acts “freaks” anymore.
Believe it or not, Jericho has more problems than being an ex-con: he’s using drugs, has boyfriend trouble, and the man he was charged with attacking can’t seem to keep himself away.
Jericho’s life is complicated.
The murders are gruesome and really rather inventive!
And no one is as they seem, either. It’s a dark read.
There are a lot of surprises, and I enjoyed them all!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to William Hussey for reading along too. This is the first of a new series, and I’ll be interested to know what happens to Scott Jericho next!
ClareR (5589 KP) rated The Battle For England: Women at war in Medieval England (Wars of the Magna Carta #1) in Books
Jan 22, 2019 (Updated Jan 22, 2019)
Women in medieval England
This is a book packed with history, told from the points of view of a priest, a female castellan, a female Keeper of the Kings Forest and a Knight (he gets about a chapter). It must have been very unusual for there to be female Castellans and Keepers of the Forest in a time where a womans primary function was to get married and give birth to sons who could inherit a title. The women in this story seem to have to prove themselves constantly to outsiders - the people who live under their rule don't need to see the proof, they have experience of how good these two women are at their jobs.
The years after the Magna Carta was signed were very unsettled. King John had problems with Phillip of France, losing lands in France and allowing the French in to England to take over castles and land by force. With the death of John, his 9 year old son succeeds him and William Marshall becomes his Regent. I have read other books about William Marshall, and what I read here seemed to be in keeping (most writers seem to be in agreement at the kind of man he must have been).
Nicolaa of Lincoln and Matilda of Laxton were not weak females. I really liked how they were portrayed, and I enjoyed reading the chapters from their points of view as it showed how strong and independent they were. I really liked Father Barnards chapters too. It gave an objective look at how these two women reacted in their situations.
I am a real sucker for historical fiction, and I feel that this was a really well researched novel. There was nothing overly sensationalised, which made it more believable for me. I will probably read the next book in this series. I'm interested to see if there is more from these two impressive women.
Many thanks to Sapere Books for a copy of this book to read and review.
The years after the Magna Carta was signed were very unsettled. King John had problems with Phillip of France, losing lands in France and allowing the French in to England to take over castles and land by force. With the death of John, his 9 year old son succeeds him and William Marshall becomes his Regent. I have read other books about William Marshall, and what I read here seemed to be in keeping (most writers seem to be in agreement at the kind of man he must have been).
Nicolaa of Lincoln and Matilda of Laxton were not weak females. I really liked how they were portrayed, and I enjoyed reading the chapters from their points of view as it showed how strong and independent they were. I really liked Father Barnards chapters too. It gave an objective look at how these two women reacted in their situations.
I am a real sucker for historical fiction, and I feel that this was a really well researched novel. There was nothing overly sensationalised, which made it more believable for me. I will probably read the next book in this series. I'm interested to see if there is more from these two impressive women.
Many thanks to Sapere Books for a copy of this book to read and review.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Spencer (2021) in Movies
Nov 11, 2021
Diana hits rock bottom… as does the script.
Discordant strings sound as the royal party arrives at Sandringham for Christmas. “Is she here yet” intones the Queen. “No ma’am” her major domo replies. “Then she’s late”. Cut to a soulful choral version of “Perfect Day” as Diana Princess of Wales (née Spencer) arrives via a dramatic aerial shot. Hugs go to her sons William and Harry before she unhappily stalks through the corridors like a hunted animal.
This is the second movie in a row that I’ve intro’d via a positive emotional response to a great trailer. In the last case – for “Last Night in Soho” – the movie more than lived up to my high expectations from the trailer. But here – oh dear! It comes to something where the very best thing about the film is the trailer.
For, unfortunately for me, this came across as pretentious, vaguely insulting and with a dreadful script.
Plot Summary:
It’s Christmas 1991 at the Sandringham estate. Diana (Kristen Stewart) is the black sheep of the royal family, flouting tradition and always late for every formal event. She sees conspiracies at every turn, suspecting the household coordinator Major Gregory (Timothy Spall) of plotting against her. Her only allies that she can talk to are head chef Darren (Sean Harris) and her dresser Maggie (Sally Hawkins).
Mentally unstable, bulimic and self-harming, Diana must survive a tumultuous three days without destroying the Christmas spirit for her two sons and irreparably damaging her relationship with the wider royal family.
Certification:
US: R. UK: 12A.
Talent:
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris.
Directed by: Pablo Larraín.
Written by: Steven Knight.
“Spencer” Review: Positives:
Kristen Stewart does a simply fabulous job of impersonating Diana. She’s clearly studied a lot of video of the lady in getting to mimic the way she looks, walks and dances. Although I didn’t rate the film, the performance is a cut-above.
It’s an ironic touch that in all of her driving scenes, Diana never wears a seat-belt.
Negatives:
Oh man, Steven Knight’s dialogue here I found to be simply atrocious. Head-in-the-hands bad. I decided about half way through this monstrosity that “The Room” had had its day as a cult student classic, and that “Spencer” should take over in that role.
These things evolve organically over time, but I came up with the following basic rules for a student showing:
Every time Kristen Stewart does a ‘simp’ look to camera, down a shot;
When Darren utters the line “What are you going to do with wirecutters?” the audience yells as one “CUT WIRE!” **;
When Diana intones “Beauty is useless. Beauty is clothing”** the audience should strip to their underwear;
Every time a member of the hunt shouts “PULL!” you throw a stuffed pheasant in the air. Otherwise you keep the stuffed pheasant next to you, and engage in studious conversation with it as the film progresses;
Whenever Anne Boleyn appears, shout “OFF WITH HER HEAD”;
When a character says to Diana “I love you. And yes, in that way”**, the audience must shout “Aye aye” and every female audience member needs to passionately kiss another female audience member; and finally…
When Diana says “Leave Me. I want to masturbate”**, the audience throws dildos at the screen.
** I’d really like to pretend that I made these lines up. They might be paraphrased a bit, but honestly, that’s the gist!
Oh yes. It’s a sure-fire student classic of the future. You read it here first folks! I can see the filmmakers lauding me with praise for turning their movie into a post-release sleeper hit. “WHAT A CULT” they shout at me. “WHAT A CULT”!
The rest of the cast do a good enough job with what they have, but have the general vibe of being embarrassed to deliver the dialogue they’ve been given. Sean Harris – a fine actor – inexplicably spouts Shakespeare like Christopher Plummer in “Star Trek VI”! And one can only assume that Timothy Spall was given direction to act as if he had a whole lemon stuck inside his mouth for the whole movie.
I’ve been a fan of Jonny Greenwood’s music in other movies like “Phantom Thread“. I’ve seen Mark Kermode describe this soundtrack as “fantastic”. But, for me, the intrusive atonal strings and laid-back jazz vibe just didn’t work for me at all.
Summary Thoughts on “Spencer”
As you can probably tell, I hated this one. And the illustrious Mrs Movie Man 100% agrees with me in this assessment. The trailer promised a lot, but the movie delivered very little for me. It just all felt to me like an affront to the memory of Diana. Making a highly fictitious “fable based on a real life tragedy” just feels wrong. This seems particularly the case when the Queen, Prince Charles and (particularly) William and Harry are alive to watch it. What must they think if and when they get to view this?
I was a big fan of Larrain’s 2017 biopic on Jackie Kennedy – “Jackie” – which really covered the very similar ground, of a lady in the focus of publicity struggling with mental illness. But at least that had the benefit of historical distance.
I seem to be swimming against the critical tide here, since the movie currently has an IMDB rating of 7.4/10. But frankly, for me, I thought the recent series of “The Crown” did this so much better.
This is the second movie in a row that I’ve intro’d via a positive emotional response to a great trailer. In the last case – for “Last Night in Soho” – the movie more than lived up to my high expectations from the trailer. But here – oh dear! It comes to something where the very best thing about the film is the trailer.
For, unfortunately for me, this came across as pretentious, vaguely insulting and with a dreadful script.
Plot Summary:
It’s Christmas 1991 at the Sandringham estate. Diana (Kristen Stewart) is the black sheep of the royal family, flouting tradition and always late for every formal event. She sees conspiracies at every turn, suspecting the household coordinator Major Gregory (Timothy Spall) of plotting against her. Her only allies that she can talk to are head chef Darren (Sean Harris) and her dresser Maggie (Sally Hawkins).
Mentally unstable, bulimic and self-harming, Diana must survive a tumultuous three days without destroying the Christmas spirit for her two sons and irreparably damaging her relationship with the wider royal family.
Certification:
US: R. UK: 12A.
Talent:
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris.
Directed by: Pablo Larraín.
Written by: Steven Knight.
“Spencer” Review: Positives:
Kristen Stewart does a simply fabulous job of impersonating Diana. She’s clearly studied a lot of video of the lady in getting to mimic the way she looks, walks and dances. Although I didn’t rate the film, the performance is a cut-above.
It’s an ironic touch that in all of her driving scenes, Diana never wears a seat-belt.
Negatives:
Oh man, Steven Knight’s dialogue here I found to be simply atrocious. Head-in-the-hands bad. I decided about half way through this monstrosity that “The Room” had had its day as a cult student classic, and that “Spencer” should take over in that role.
These things evolve organically over time, but I came up with the following basic rules for a student showing:
Every time Kristen Stewart does a ‘simp’ look to camera, down a shot;
When Darren utters the line “What are you going to do with wirecutters?” the audience yells as one “CUT WIRE!” **;
When Diana intones “Beauty is useless. Beauty is clothing”** the audience should strip to their underwear;
Every time a member of the hunt shouts “PULL!” you throw a stuffed pheasant in the air. Otherwise you keep the stuffed pheasant next to you, and engage in studious conversation with it as the film progresses;
Whenever Anne Boleyn appears, shout “OFF WITH HER HEAD”;
When a character says to Diana “I love you. And yes, in that way”**, the audience must shout “Aye aye” and every female audience member needs to passionately kiss another female audience member; and finally…
When Diana says “Leave Me. I want to masturbate”**, the audience throws dildos at the screen.
** I’d really like to pretend that I made these lines up. They might be paraphrased a bit, but honestly, that’s the gist!
Oh yes. It’s a sure-fire student classic of the future. You read it here first folks! I can see the filmmakers lauding me with praise for turning their movie into a post-release sleeper hit. “WHAT A CULT” they shout at me. “WHAT A CULT”!
The rest of the cast do a good enough job with what they have, but have the general vibe of being embarrassed to deliver the dialogue they’ve been given. Sean Harris – a fine actor – inexplicably spouts Shakespeare like Christopher Plummer in “Star Trek VI”! And one can only assume that Timothy Spall was given direction to act as if he had a whole lemon stuck inside his mouth for the whole movie.
I’ve been a fan of Jonny Greenwood’s music in other movies like “Phantom Thread“. I’ve seen Mark Kermode describe this soundtrack as “fantastic”. But, for me, the intrusive atonal strings and laid-back jazz vibe just didn’t work for me at all.
Summary Thoughts on “Spencer”
As you can probably tell, I hated this one. And the illustrious Mrs Movie Man 100% agrees with me in this assessment. The trailer promised a lot, but the movie delivered very little for me. It just all felt to me like an affront to the memory of Diana. Making a highly fictitious “fable based on a real life tragedy” just feels wrong. This seems particularly the case when the Queen, Prince Charles and (particularly) William and Harry are alive to watch it. What must they think if and when they get to view this?
I was a big fan of Larrain’s 2017 biopic on Jackie Kennedy – “Jackie” – which really covered the very similar ground, of a lady in the focus of publicity struggling with mental illness. But at least that had the benefit of historical distance.
I seem to be swimming against the critical tide here, since the movie currently has an IMDB rating of 7.4/10. But frankly, for me, I thought the recent series of “The Crown” did this so much better.