Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Prismark10 The Wind in the Willows is a live action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's famous book. A nervous Mole (Lee Ingleby) emerges from his hole and ventures out to the river where he encounters Ratty (Mark Gatiss) who takes him on a boat trip. They get taken on a caravan ride by Toad of Toad Hall (Matt Lucas) who then goes dashing about recklessly in a motorcar.Mole and Ratty join up with Badger (Bob Hoskins) to save Mr Toad from his reckless need for speed but he ends up in jail and then the weasles take over his manor.This is a fun family drama directed with some style by Rachel Talalay. Hoskins is suitably grumpy as Badger, Lucas is manic as Toad. There are some nice cameos from actors such as Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. However the weasels were a letdown.

danielpauldavis-405-150578 The movie begins with a brilliant idea that previous versions of Kenneth Grahame's book missed: animated animals are cartoons, not people. Grahame wrote his book with his main characters called by names of animals, living like animals (in the ground) sometimes, and living apart from humans (like animals). But they're humans . . . up to and including having their own god ("Piper at the Gates of Dawn.") This version fixed the ridiculousness of animation by having human beings in the roles, who had slight make-up like animals and some behavioral quirks like animals, but otherwise interacted like HUMANS. Thus, the script began with a brilliant improvement. It was so well done that one could forgive editorial decisions for time constraints ("Dulce Domum" is truncated, as is the seminal "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (no search for otter's pup, no poem explaining why they don't remember, no Pink Floyd.) The THEME of the book is friendship: Mole leaves his burrow and instantly strikes up and maintains a friendship with Rat. Rat is both generous and gracious with Mole, who supports Rat (in most things.) They give to each other because that's what friends do. Toad is merely the biggest friend who is also the most needy. Mole, Rat, and Badger work to rein in Toad for his own good and ultimately succeed by making painfully clear to Toad that their friendship requires his good behavior. AND TOAD AGREES. The book ends with the 4 animals being the closest companions and Toad is humble, self-effacing, and moves attention to others BECAUSE THEY'RE HIS FRIENDS. This movie waits until (literally) the last minute to undo and re-write all of that. Toad was going to be a fair and humble Toad . . . until he sees an airplane. Then he goes right back to being a selfish, destructive jerk. Rat and Badger and Mole leave in disgust. All that brilliance betrayed in 60 seconds. I want my time back.

TheLittleSongbird This is not the best version of Kenneth Grahame's wonderful book, but it is a very enjoyable one. It is amusing and charming with memorable, quirky performance and great costume and set design.The adaptation does look visually pleasing, with colourful costumes and sets and the scenery is beautiful. The camera work was also creative, with interesting angles. The story is still well-constructed, well-paced, fairly true in essence and has many charming interludes particularly the Piper at the Gates of Dawn sequence which was a delight to see.The writing is also playful and witty, particularly with Toad, and the characters are still their likable selves. The acting is in general very good. Matt Lucas occasionally overdoes it, but he also seems to be enjoying himself. Bob Hoskins is a wonderful badger, while Lee Ingleby is a touching Mole and Mak Gatiss a suitably subdued and subtle Ratty. Mary Walsh is lovely too, Imelda Staunton is very amusing and while the weasels are a slight disappointment they aren't in a lot of it to distract too much.Overall, a very enjoyable TV adaptation. 8/10 Bethany Cox

lady_seraphina A highly enjoyable made-for-TV version of the story. The subtle costumes and understated acting are perfectly suited to the subject. Toad's frivolous and irresponsible behavior are well-captured, though I found him more childish than anything else. There are undertones of class separation and hints of the poverty of some of the characters that I found touching, and will go over the heads of many children, which to me is a plus.Bob Hoskins' Badger is a delight, and I have a soft spot for Mary Walsh, no matter how large or small the part she's in. The British and Canadian actors all bring their considerable talent to the table, despite the fact that most of them are relatively unknown (at least to the best of my knowledge).All-in-all, well worth renting or downloading, if you want a simple family movie for the holidays, or just a family movie night.