While Mr. Turner was nominated for various awards, it was not an easy watch. It’s a British, German and French biographical piece written about a well respected but not so well liked painter named Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851). Turner (Timothy Spall) started painting as a young boy who had a love and passion for his father and his art. Despite a couple of lovers, Mr. Turner was never married. He did have two unacknowledged daughters by his first love, Sarah Danby (Ruth Sheen). Hannah Danby (Dorothy Atkinson) was Mr. Turner’s devoted housekeeper for 40 years, whom he exploited sexually. Hannah suffered from Psoriasis as well as a one sided love affair, as Turner never returned her feelings. There are many characters in this film from Mr. Turner’s Society friends to the many visitors who came to view his paintings. In my opinion, the film was slow and the story, quite weird. Mr. Turner himself was eccentric and without morals. The film wasn’t released to DVD until this May and for some reason, I had never seen it featured in the movie theaters. There are some profound scenes that may need some explaining elsewhere, like the original book or a website that better depicts the story. Despite it all, I still liked the movie. It’s was somewhat interesting, at best. The acting was very good and there were some interesting characters.
[MR. TURNER is nominated for Cinematography]
Changes are, you’ve not heard much about this movie. It wasn’t aggressively advertised. The Imitation Game is based on a true story and takes place during World War II. Britain obtained a most fascinating machine built by the Germans that allowed the Nazis to send daily messages depicting when and where the next attacks would take place. This device is called the Enigma, which was impossible to decode. A team of mathematical genius’ were formed to try to break the code and counter the attacks. Alan Turing, excellently played by 
As an adventure, Crossbones drags a little, making it somewhat hard to get into. I decided to watch this period piece because of John Malkovitch. He is such a brilliant actor, I couldn’t see myself missing out on a series that features him. Having said that, Crossbones is not as exciting or as entertaining as I expected. The story takes place in the 18th century (1712) in the Bahamian island of New Providence. 
I’m giving Rake a rating of 8 because it so entertaining, I can’t give it any less. It’s wild, crazy and totally unrealistic. It’s almost bordering on being a fantasy. Keegan Deane played by Greg Kinnar, is a lawyer with a gambling and sex problem. He really belongs nowhere. He’s estranged from his wife and son but remain friends. He had a tiny practice, but lost it all to gambling debts that he still hasn’t paid. He has more than his share of true friends and a very loyal assistant named Leanne Zander played by British actress, 
Downton Abbey is one of my most favorite series. I love period pieces. This one is before World War I and is brilliantly told. The series revolves around a British, aristocratic family and their servants. The family presently includes Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, Lady Mary, Lady Edith and Robert’s mother, Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. The major servants include Head of all servants, Mr. Carson, Mrs Hughes, Head of kitchen staff, Mrs. Patmore, John and Anna Bates, Valet to Lord Grantham and Lady Maid to Lady Mary, respectively. The personal stories that take place between the staff and the Crawley family and friends makes for a fascinating series. I’ve been mesmerized by Downton Abbey since it first started. Just to see how the upper crust behaves in Britain — one wonders whose idea was it to have maids dress you every day. The whole setup is rather complicated, so I’ve displayed a couple of charts that show the actors, characters they play and the positions they hold at Downton Abbey. Just perusing the charts, gives you an idea of how the story flows. Learning the positions and hierarchy of the staff will be challenge. Overall, Downton Abbey takes you away to a world we don’t really know but can find entertainment and fun in watching.
CAROL's WORLDS 