Atonement

James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan
Directed by Joe Wright

Rating: B+

"Come back, come back to me."

13-year-old Briony Tallis (Ronan) is not quite old enough to understand love and the unspoken meaning behind actions. She misinterprets a moment between her older sister Cecilia (Knightley) and a servant's son Robbie (McAvoy) that lead to a downward spiraling of events to take place. Briony is horrified by the scene in which she enters upon, finding Cecilia and Robbie in a compromising position in a study. Her image of Robbie's perfection is shattered and when a turn of events take place after a family dinner, she takes part in condemning Robbie for a crime he did not commit. It's only years later that she realizes the grave mistake she had made and goes about her way trying to make amends.

Based off of Ian McEwan's novel about the loss of love during a war, Atonement captures the harsh realism of war and how not every romance has a happy ending. Robbie chooses to go the military path instead of rotting in a jail cell, and he is taken far away from any chance of happiness. Cecilia alienates herself from her family, disgusted with how easily they could ruin an innocent life over a lie, and works with hospitals, nursing those who return from the bloody fields of war. The film shows glimpses of the rare time Robbie and Cecilia get together before he is deployed back to France. It's a heartbreaking scene when after three years they reunite, changed after all they had been through.

Atonement is a dramatic love story in which the characters all have their own sympathies from Briony's youthful naivety to Robbie's innocent love and to Cecilia's hidden feelings for someone she felt she shouldn't love. It's a movie that brings viewers to tears.

Love Actually

Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Martin Freeman, Keira Knightley

Directed by Richard Curtis

Rating: A

An ensemble movie with a huge cast, "Love Actually" tells the stories of different people's love stories during the Christmas holidays. Jamie Bennett (Firth) finds out the hard way that his girlfriend is cheating on him -with his brother- and he takes to France during the winter holidays to write. Daniel (Neeson) just lost his wife and has a young stepson who locks himself in his room all day. Daniel tries to connect with him, since they both lost someone very important in their lives. Hugh Grant plays the British Prime Minister (he doesn't have a proper name in this movie) and is distracted from his job by the one of the household staff, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon).

"Love Actually" is a great movie to watch for any occasion. It's a great Christmas movie to watch, perfect for Valentines Day, and to watch during the summer when you're craving a good British film. "Love Actually" isn't the average cheesy romance that we tend to see in the U.S. It has substance, humor, a great cast, and yes, romance. It's not just a "chick flick" because there are actually a good handful of guys who appreciate this movie too. So there! It's great for all audiences but it does have some rated "R" moments so anyone under sixteen might have to wait.

"Love Actually" doesn't bore you with one straight plot line. Instead you follow different characters (and it's not too confusing to remember who's who but you might have to watch it a second time). This is one of my favorite movies of all time (number two!) and you can never go wrong gathering some friends and watching this for a fun movie night.

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Simon Woods, Rosamund Pike

Directed by Joe Wright

Rating: 4 stars

When the news comes that a rich bachelor has moved into Netherfeld Park, the Bennet women are excited. None so more than the mother who hopes that the bachelor will take onto one of her girls. A dance is held and they get to meet Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) and his rich friend (who happens to be a bachelor as well) Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen). Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) finds Mr. Darcy attractive but is soon turned off by his arrogance for the lower class. Elizabeth's older sister Jane (Rosamund Pike) and Mr. Bingley  have a mutual attraction but Mr. Darcy has suspicions that Jane is interested in his friend for all the wrong reasons. As the movie progresses, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth can't help but fall in love with each other.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful classic love story. Elizabeth Bennet has standards, something girls these days don't. She wants a meaningful relationship with someone who matches her intellectual level. Mr. Darcy is the best match, though it takes a while for both of them to open their eyes and realize it. This movie deserves four stars because director Joe Wright only focuses on the love story and not the story as a whole. Don't get me wrong, the scenery, music, costumes, etc., were all amazing. Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen play a good version of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. What would have made this movie better is if the director had cut certain scenes to replace them with more fitting ones. For example, watching Elizabeth sit on a swing and spin in circles for about a minute. However, with the amount of the time the director allowed the film to be, it turned out to be a good job.

Yes, this movie version is considered more of a "chick flick" but guys should read the book too. I wouldn't recommend this movie for those only interested in movies with action, gossip or even hot kissing scenes because you won't get that here. Well, you will get action (Lydia running off with Wickham) and you might even get some gossip ("Netherfeld Park has let again!"). But this romantic movie is perfect to watch when you're looking for a quiet night in.