Finding Neverland (2004) Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet.

"Warming, funny, sweet and inspired by true events" 9/10

Bridget Jones - Edge of Reason (2004 - Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant & Colin Firth)

DVD

3/10 "Do the opposite of what Nike want you to do! , same old script, different day, minor bits chucked in"

I must say that I really did like the first film. It made a man (rather than a stuttering idiot) out of Hugh Grant, it reinforced what the majority of the gawping female nation thought of Colin Firth (just plays himself, but drags a sense of arrogance around with him) and gave Renee Zellweger a place in the hearts of many lost and 'lonely singletons' ... there is a cloud with a silver lining out there somewhere between the nasty rainy showers, hail stones and knitted Christmas jumpers. The second installment see's ***SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE FIRST*** Bridget and Mark enjoying life living together and how minor diversions from the big T word (trust) can cause a match made in heaven to crumble and fall. Bridget ends up meeting with Daniel again (Grant) and again tries to lure her into his life/bed. It uses all the same jokes, introduces all the same characters in the same way and really does nothing new. I'm sorry Bridget fans. I haven't read the books so I am no Bridget expert, but I thought that Edge of Reason left much to be desired and I think I would have prefered to start the DVD over again on Bridget 1 rather than see the original run over in 2 and left in the gutter like road kill - purely a large remarketing campaign to get the girls thinking about themselves again.

The Terminal (2004 - Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta Jones)

9/10 "A satisfying movie that has all the right intentions and is quite moving"

I hated Hank's accent in the Ladykillers (which chopped and changed a bit) but I really enjoyed how he got into the role of a bumbling, lovable character without a State/Country to call his own. Zeta-Jones actually plays her part in the story really well, but I feel that maybe a little more aspects of her character could have been explored. 'Secondary' characters such as Gupta (the Indian cleaner) and Enrique are very lovable are the different comic persona's that make a very accessible film like this work. Nice one Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Hanks! ... heres to a real 'check-in'.

Maus - The Complete Maus (by Art Spiegelman)

Graphic Novel

9/10 - "Accessible and emotionally driven even to those without or little prior knowledge of the Holocaust"

This 'autobiographical' graphic novel is in simplistic black and white, pen-and-ink style and in comic-strip layout - but still conveys all of the power of a non-linear movie. Art Spiegelman writes from his point of view and represents all Jewish people as Mice (including himself), taking the role of the writer gathering information on his father's experiences during World War II, he carefully interweaves the past and the present and marries them with historical/external and internal struggles. The Nazi soldiers are represented as Cats with their compact faces and non personified dress. There are many layers that can be found in Maus and as a writer-in-the-making is a wonderful piece of media text to analyse and engage with. But I would not just recommend this to Media Students - anyone seeking a good story about family, love, life and death will find it in Maus.

Note: Hard to get hold of in normal bookshops as quite popular - your best bet is to try Amazon!