Nanny McPhee Returns (2010)

I watch a lot of movies, one way or another, some are brilliant, some are entirely second rate. But even so, it's rare thing that a film elicits the amount of praise that I feel the latest installment of Emma Thompson's Nanny McPhee saga deserves.

To start with, it has an incredible cast including Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ralph Fiennes, Rhys Iffans, and, rather surprisingly, Ewan McGregor. Who knew?!

As fun as the previous installment undoubtedly was, I did spend the entire time wanting to strangle the costume designer. Jacqueline Durran is fabulous - she's Academy Award nominated for heaven's sake - but the colors! They're migraine inducing. Fortunately, with the shift in time period for the new movie, you no longer require sunglasses when watching.

Time has moved on apace since the last installment (which probably occurred in the later half of the Victorian/early Edwardian era). Now, it is WWII. The Blitz has come to London and "The Cousins" have come to the country. While the first installment starred some serious up-and-coming young actors - Thomas Sangster springs to mind - Nanny McPhee Returns doesn't. (One possible exception being Asa Butterfield, last seen in BBC's Merlin as the young and faintly menacing Modred.) Good news is though, they may all be new to the world of acting, but they've done a good job.

The thing is, as silly and fantastic as this film is, it is clean. It has a ridiculous but effective villain in the form of Rhys Iffans, who in turn is terrorized by the equally ridiculous and menacing Katy Brand and Sinead Matthews. But there isn't a scary moment. Worrying, yes. But you know, you just feel it, in your bones, that Nanny McPhee and the children, will save the day.

The other thing that happens in this film is something that I adore in sequels. It gives a little nod to its older sibling. I can't tell you what - that would be a spoiler - but I can tell you that it brings tears to the eyes. Just have some onions on hand in case your roommates walk in and ask why you're crying while watching a children's movie.

All in all, I loved this film. And by all means, if you haven't seen the original, go borrow it from Netflix before seeing the latest installment. You don't have to of course, because Nanny McPhee Returns (or Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang to our British readers) is intended to stand on its own. And it does. Brilliantly.

4 stars out of 5

Rome HBO Original Series (2005-2007)

It's gory, it's over the top, it's full of amazing actors, fantastic sets and gorgeous costumes. Do you need any other reasons to watch it? Probably you do. So let's put it this way. This is ancient Rome right at the turning point. It's about to get it's first Caesar - and in the middle of all this madness are two men who really don't like each other all that much. One, a clean-cut officer-hopeful by the name of Lucius Verenus. The other, a killing machine with an unfortunate anger management issue, Titus Pullo. Between these two, the Empire will be saved over and over again. Even Caesar's personal pride will be rescued more than once. While it is not based on any particular novel or historical event, it does however take Rome at its height to a new level of cinematic drama. Like all HBO series, Rome will challenge your ideas of what's right and wrong and how far you will go to love a character because the people that are the heroes are never as straightforward as we might like them to be.

On a Personal Note: For me, Season 1 was fantastic. Season 2 goes in a very different direction. It's not my favorite, but it does have some cool plot lines.

Cast: Ciarán Hinds, James Purefoy, Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Indira Varma, Max Pirkis

Pages & Reels

Do you ever get sick of hearing about yet another adaptation of Pride and Prejudice? Do you ever want to scream at Hollywood that Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy was absolute perfection, ergo, leave it be? If you do, you're not alone.

As book lovers we often feel that Hollywood and the various elected heads of cinema world wide have seriously disappointed both us and our favorite authors. So, in an effort to take the guess work out of film selection we have delved into books and films from around the world to bring you the best of the best. Whether we read the book as a child or saw the movie long before we had any idea it was based on literature, we've gone to the libraries, video stores and book shops in two countries to sort the good from the bad and the downright ugly.