Alan Rickman as a baddie makes one go weak in the knees!

<i>&quot;Alan Rickman as a baddie makes one go weak in the knees!&quot;</i>

YES! He does bad very well!

Come to think of it, &quot;Sirens&quot; (1994) did feature Hugh Grant, and also Sam Neill. It was an Australian movie which I'd meant to see, as it was filmed not far from where I used to live in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. OK, the fact that it featured an unclothed Elle might have added to its appeal, but I missed it anyway. The director, John Duigan, also made a couple of terrific little movies called &quot;The Year My Voice Broke&quot; and &quot;Flirting&quot;.

&quot;Flirting&quot; is a terrific film! The young Nicole Kidman has a supporting role. Was it her film debut? Actually much better than &quot;Sirens,&quot; Neil.

Marilyn, IMDB tells me that Nicole Kidman's debut (TV aside) was a kids' flick called &quot;BMX Bandits&quot; in 1983, made when she was 16 - &quot;Flirting&quot; was made in 1991. She also did TV work.

We make a lot of TV soaps for the export market. They're sent to the UK to torment the rainsodden Brits with seductive images of bronzed young bodies cavorting on sundrenched beaches, etc. In retaliation they send us interminable whodunits. It brings out the sadistic streak on both sides.

So far we've found no effective way to return fire on the US in response to Jerry Springer, although Mel Gibson is a good start.

My favorite Kidman film is, &quot;Dead Calm,&quot;
1989, she's never looked more beautiful. This terrifying film starred also, Sam Neil and Billy Zane at his creepiest best.

Wasn't Quigly Down Under Tom Sellick? (sp) - don't get us started on him, right? Yes, Rickman does that baddie well, and often, tho in Harry Potter, he doesn't look so hot.
Cigel - wish you hadn't mentioned Dead Calm. What a disturbing movie- and like a train wreck, I can't help but look, even though I know it will horrify me. When I know it is being broadcast on tv, now, I just leave the house to avoid watching. It's lead to some cozy hours at the local book shop, with travel books piled around me. :)

Just saw this thread! Very interesting IMO! I love both Colin Firth and Hugh Grant too. I think the Colin/Darcy thing is that a pompous man can be brought to ground, by a good woman. It makes me swoon every time I see the scene where he is all wet and spies Elizabeth..be still my heart. P&amp;P is the ultimate Regency romance(maybe the best, not just Regency), which I adore! Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason finally has &quot;real&quot; looking woman as our heroine...what a treat IMO. Can not wait to see it. I also loved &quot;About a Boy&quot;. Jude Law is good looking, but not manly man enough for me LOL :-D.

You're still on about Colin Firth? I don't get it.

nina, Tom Selleck played Quigley and Rickman played the owner of the ranch that tries to kill him when Quigley refuses to kill the aborigines. Tom Selleck, while admittedly good-looking, never did much for me.

Tom Sellick is rather a stick of wood as an actor, and I think Quigly was his first long feature. Besides his dark good looks, his complete bafflement by the fuss about him, makes him all the more appealing. Jude Law - yum. But then taste is subjective. I just saw Motorcycle Diaries and fell in love with the &quot;gordo&quot; the chubby costar who was bawdy &amp; full of life, not to mention a great dancer. The heart throb was purportedly the star, who was only fair, and whom I suspect I still haven't forgiven for &quot;Y tu Mama Tambien&quot;, where the moral of the story is that a woman can only act out sexual recklessness if she has a fatal illness. That's pretty consistenet with the machismo of Spaninsh and Latin literature, but a disappointment nonetheless. I thought &quot;Love Actually&quot; was just awful, except for the scenery, and the attraction between Hugh and the secretary highly unlikely, not for her appearance, but her behavior. Or do I think Hugh just hasn't me me yet. Ok, I it is rainy and overcast. I did not go into the city, but I am going to rent some movies!

that's Hugh hasn't MET ME yet, that's what I get for being a smart aleck. We need an after-edit button here.
The night of the Bridget Jones open I will be at a winetatsing event, so I hope to catch it the following weekend. Tell me again why she has to physically gain the weight. Isn't that a dangerous cycle?

Does anyone get the attraction of that other Colin, the &quot;bad boy&quot;? I dont get that. Ok, now I am going. Have a good Saturday.

I really liked &quot;Cold Comfort Farm.&quot; It was great fun. Also, really liked &quot;Love, Actually.&quot; I saw Colin and Hugh on Oprah last Monday. At the end, Oprah showed giant pictures of leading acresses and asked Hugh to comment on them. He was not very tactful. The comment I remember most concerned Julia Roberts. Her picture flashed &amp; the conversation went like this:
Hugh - &quot;Really big mouth&quot;
Oprah - &quot;You mean she talks a lot?&quot;
Hugh - &quot;No, I mean physically she has a really, really large mouth.&quot; Then he said something about kissing her which I did not catch.

Anyway, he was equaly mean about several others, but at least he seemd refreshingly honest.

I guess I like them ugly with that, Je ne sais pas, as in Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel ( Be still my heart!!!)

Hi Suki - I saw that Oprah too, and what I took away from Hugh's comments is that
1. He is getting sick of the whole &quot;be entertaining while promoting the movie&quot; thing... he's been quoted recently as saying he thinks his job (acting) is kind of silly.
2. he didn't want to play along with Oprah's (producers') game of fawning over all his past co-stars - let's face it, he probably didn't get along with all of them...

That said, he did seem a little crankier than usual and I agree he could've played along a bit more and made nice.

Also, did anyone else who saw that show think it was weird how they featured those viewers' sad dating tales and tried to make the show about real-life Bridget Joneses? They expected the movies' stars to comment on the viewers' love lives when it was clear they didn't really care (and why should they?).... it ended up being awkward, bad television.

I agree, taggie, it was far from her better daily shows, but she is looking good. I think Grant maybe tired of all the press that has focused on him throuigh his embarrassing moment and his, (no comment) ex live-in now he's engaged to a divorced socialite.And still being followed. I think it's great how some, like David Letterman can keep their personal life away from the press. I don't think anyone has seen a photo of the mother of his child. So it can be done.(if they want it)

taggie : &quot;cute&quot; ?? Are we talking about the same 'Brassed Off' ? The one about the heartbreaking destruction of the British mining industry with attendant unemployment, collapse of families, suicide attempt, etc ?

another amateur film critic chiming in again
I was really disappointed in 'Love Actually' when I saw it, at least with the Hugh and Colin bits, none of which I believed for even one second. I thought it was Alan and Emma's film, by a landslide, I thought they were by far the most interesting and believable characters.

If Hugh has trouble reconciling his stardom and publicity tours with his true inner values, I think he needs to get over it or get out of it. I don't see him doing the occasional stage performance to get back to lower-paying theatre , and he certainly is not one to lead a quiet life or avoid publicity.He can do as he likes, except pretend that he's superior to what he's doing.
Good thing he's cute or I'd go right off him.

Does Colin fill the tabloids in the UK?
I never read anything about his personal life, does he have a past, or a family?

another amateur film critic chiming in again
I was really disappointed in 'Love Actually' when I saw it, at least with the Hugh and Colin bits, none of which I believed for even one second. I thought it was Alan and Emma's film, by a landslide, I thought they were by far the most interesting and believable characters.

If Hugh has trouble reconciling his stardom and publicity tours with his true inner values, I think he needs to get over it or get out of it. I don't see him doing the occasional stage performance to get back to lower-paying theatre , and he certainly is not one to lead a quiet life or avoid publicity.He can do as he likes, except pretend that he's superior to what he's doing.
Good thing he's cute or I'd go right off him.

Does Colin fill the tabloids in the UK?
I never read anything about his personal life, does he have a past, or a family? Inquiring minds want to know.

caroline_ediniburgh - not to mention black lung disease. Yeah, I agree that &quot;cute&quot; was an unfortunate choice of words...
but after puzzling over why I might have written that, and your response, I realize that I recall the movie's lighter moments (and there most definitely were some), as well as the whole &quot;let's win this competition and show the world&quot; underdog thing more readily than its political message. Now that I think about it, it did hit one over the head pretty hard... maybe I was subconciously reacting to that by not retaining any of that aspect of the movie??? I dunno.