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James Marsters - "Moonshot" Tv Movie - Dvdverdict.com Review

Webmaster — 2009-11-18T16:05:31Z

The Charge

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Opening Statement

Oops. I was reading the brief synopsis of Moonshot on Amazon, trying to determine if this would be something I wanted to review. When I finished reading it I decided in the affirmative, requested the disc, and it arrived in my mailbox a few days later. Shortly thereafter I put it into my PS3, started to watch it, and instantly said "Oops."

Facts of the Case

Moonshot is a fact-based drama detailing the generalities of the historic Apollo 11 landing on the moon. It starts with President John F. Kennedy's decree that we should land a man on the moon by the end of that decade, and it ends with Neil Armstrong (Daniel Lapaine, The 10th Kingdom), Buzz Aldrin (James Marsters, Torchwood), and Michael Collins (Andrew Lincoln, Afterlife) back on Earth, newfound heroes of the space age.

The Evidence

Why does my review start with an "oops" and does that imply bad things for Moonshot ? The "oops" is because my interpretation of the movie's description was of a pure, non-fiction telling of the story of Apollo 11. That it would be comprised completely from actual footage from the event and events that led up to the landing. Hence my surprise when it started and it became instantly apparent that this was a "fact-based drama" of said events. I will admit that I wasn't too pleased upon this discovery. My brain was ready for grainy footage, dull interviews, and lots of dry facts. Luckily that isn't the case.

Moonshot, in using actors to inform viewers about this monumental moment in history, is pretty darn good. Shown earlier in 2009 on The History Channel, Moonshot not only shows you what you already know about The Eagle's landing, but it also gives you key moments in the lives of those three astronauts in the preceding years. It conveys how they ended up being the chosen three ; how it was determined Armstrong would be first on the moon ; and how other small events molded the men and their character.

Perhaps you're pondering just how much fiction may be in this fact-based drama. That's a good question. The movie begins with a quick introduction by the real Buzz Aldrin who tells us that what we are about to see is fact, maybe not exactly how it happened, but very true to the situation and how it all falls into history. With Mr. Aldrin's word, I take what I saw in Moonshot as fact. And in that, I learned many a thing about Apollo 11 that I never had asked before. In retrospect, being a semi-astronomically interested guy, I wonder why I never asked these questions. I'm happy to have made this unexpected discovery.

Moonshot is a well-constructed made-for-television movie. Acting, set design, and direction/cinematography all give the story the gravitas and scope it deserves. Each of our male leads make you believe they are astronauts, exhibiting Armstrong's calmness, Aldrin's vigor, or Collins' thoughtfulness. I'll give extra props to Lapaine and Marsters. Lapaine was instantly recognizable as the introverted Armstrong. You could see in his acting what Armstrong was and would become in his later years. And Marsters, though I never watched Buffy, is very much tied to that role ; but I never once had a moment to let my thoughts wander out of his performance. It also helps their performances by having sets that convey the reality of the situation. When at home, it looks like home ; when at NASA, it looks like a "space port ;" and when on the moon, well, it looks just about right. And all this was directed well and nicely shot by Richard Dale and Paul Jenkins (who are both "television guys").

The Blu-ray disc comes with the usual good news and bad news. The good news is the transfers. Video is a clean 1.85:1, 1080p, transfer that is rich and bold, with strong, lifelike colors, deep blacks, and an impressive level of detail. I didn't see any substantial flaws. Audio is a little less good news, with two options : a Dolby 5.1 (lossy) or PCM 2.0 (uncompressed). The packaging only lists the PCM track, and that instantly made me unhappy as I cannot understand any Blu with a 2.0 mix…well, with certain caveats of course. But this, being brand new, certainly should have a 5.1 mix, and it does. So let's start with the Dolby mix, and the best word for this track is muted. Everything sounds refrained, maybe even slightly dull and muted ; nothing is especially crisp or robust. True, there aren't any hints or distortion or hiss, dialogue is always clear ; yet it sounds diminished. But when you flip over to the PCM mix, it opens up. You can hear a distinct difference between the two, with the PCM feeling wider. Yes, you lose the surrounds, but it may be the better choice of the two. Then we have the bad news, the bonus features. They are weak : just a couple photo galleries, bios, and a jukebox that will play music from the movie. For such an important event, surely you could have included just a bit more ?

The Rebuttal Witnesses

You need actors to convey the story of man's landing on the moon ? Isn't there enough real television footage available ? Then you let that spiky-haired blonde vampire portray one of the most important astronauts ? What kind of silly, joke production is this ? No wonder Neil Armstrong won't come out of his house !

Closing Statement

Though initially disappointed by my erroneous deduction of the material, I quickly swept away those thoughts and was delighted by the production and story presented to me in Moonshot. It's a quality production, with quality transfers, but it's missing quality bonus materials. And because I like the story, I recommend you keep your eyes out for a repeat of it on The History Channel. Though the disc has no significant flaws, I don't feel this warrants a purchase. But, if you are a fan and really want it, you'll have no qualms with your purchase.

The Verdict

Moonshot is hereby found guilty of faking its moon landing.

James Marsters - Why We Need Spike

Webmaster — 2009-11-18T14:04:30Z

I can be silent about it no longer. Someone needs to address the 500 pound gorilla in the room and I am no longer willing to just sit here and pretend like it does not exist. I will be the one who bravely steps foreword into the light and proclaims aloud “The time has come for Spike to return.”

We need Spike. There, I said it. I put it out there. TV has not been the same since he left the airwaves. Let me tell the tale of how he came to be, how he came to leave, and how he needs to come again.

In the beginning, there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it was good. But then the Whedon said Bring me James Marsters to play a one shot villain. And they did and James was good. In fact, James was very good. So great was he that the Whedon then exclaimed “Nay, let it be know that the character played by James Marsters known as Spike will not be killed off as the script proclaims, but rather live on as a repeat antagonist. So sayeth the Whedon, so shall it be done.”

And so it cam to pass just as the Whedon foretold. Spike was allowed to live at the end of the episode Halloween and return to taunt Buffy again and again and again.

Time passed, and the fans began to like to the villainous Spike, his toothy grin, his devilish smile and the spark of mischief that lived in his eyes. They liked his banter and his razor sharp wit. And the fans cried out to the Whedon and said unto him This character Spike, we like him so. But if he continues on his path of evil he will eventually need to be slain by the vampire slayer. This we do not seek. Rather can he not some how become good ?

And the Whedon heard the cries of his fan base and thought on it. Then, in the brilliance that is Joss he did indeed not let the cries of the fans fall on deaf ears, but rather harkened unto them.

Since these were the days before James Marsters went on to play Officer Mars in the TV show Without a Trace , before he played Brainiac on Smallville and was still living in an apartment in LA while performing with his band “Ghost of the Robot” on weekends, James was inclined to accept a large role into the much acclaimed TV series. And so it was that the writers of the Whedon had Spike captured by a government agency where they had a microchip installed in his head which rendered him impotent to injure humans without pain. The fans watched this plotline unfold on the series and decided it was good.

And there were episodes a plenty in which Spike was snarky and likeable, more so than some of the long time and established characters. And the fans began to become uneasy and call out again unto the Whedon.

“Hear us oh Whedon,” they cried, “we like what you have done but now we ask more of you. We want very much to see a relationship develop between Buffy and Spike. Our Buffy fan-fiction is not as good as you can write. We need you to show us the way.”

And the Whedon listened to the cries of this fan base, for they are the ones who really purchased his house and car and other expensive stuff when you get right down to it. The Whedon turned to his team of writers and said unto them “Gather close and hear my words. The fans, they cry out to me day and night and I cannot ignore them, for I desire a boat, sleek and fast. We must deliver unto the people what they ask.”

And so it came to be. Spike and Buffy came to know each other in the biblical way and the fans rejoiced, for it was good. I mean really good. So good that to this day the Buffy Spike kiss is mentioned on the top 10 lists of hottest television sex scenes ever.

And the people were pleased, and there was much rejoicing.

And this was all done in the days before James Marsters signed on to play Lord Piccolo for the Dragonball movie.

These were known henceforth as the Golden Age of Marsters. And it was in this most abundant time that he did do the narration for The Dresden Files series of Audio books. James as the narrator, the voice of Harry Dresden, a wizard for hire who worked in the city of Chicago. Jim Butcher, author of the books was himself quoted as having said he did the happy Snoopy dance when he heard the news.

A dark cloud began to form and move over the land threatening to destroy the joy of millions. Evil network moguls at UPN delivered their words unto 20th Century Fox, Mutant Enemy, and the Whedon. They declared Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be on television no longer except in re-runs and syndication. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the fans.

No, they cried out to the Wheaton, you cannot do this to us. We have come to love these characters and what will become of Spike ? Can he not move to LA and join the cast of your other show, Angel ?

The Whedon was angered by the unscheduled cancellation of his TV show that he had nurtured and did as the people asked. It was through the intervention of the Whedon that James Marsters was offered an opportunity to move his character to LA to join the cast of the TV show Angel.

And as this was in the days before small part move roles in “PS, I Love You” and James was still inclined to working and making money, he accepted the opportunity and life was again good. There was much rejoicing from the fans.

And so it came to pass that Spike came to the City of Angels and did join the staff of Wolfram and Hart, and there too he did steal the show for he was well loved by the Whedon and was given the best lines and story hooks. The fan base watched ever-increasing number ever week to see what sort madness he was going to cause. Plotlines were never so good.

But then the great evil that is the-powers-that-be again raised it's ugly head once more and did what Buffy the Vampire Slayer could not do – bring about the ends of days for the vampire we loved to hate and loved to love.

But the fans did so love their there Blondie Bear that they cried out unto the Whedon Help us, for we are about to be lost, what can we do ?

And the Whedon was sad at the loss of his shows and knew not how to save it. And for the first time ever the Whedon was not able to answer to cries of his people.

Spike was lost to the fans. The Whedon wrote of him no more. And so came in the darkness.

So why do we need Spike ? Its simple really – he was the only character on TV that was ever honest. He told the truth, especially when it hurt, but it was always relevant and pertinent, and I have to admit, he was never sexier than when he was delivering the hard core and honest truth. I guess it was because there was this evil little imp that lived in his smile or eyes. And this being an election year, we need some honesty. But more than that, we need Spike because, fan fiction, its just not cutting it.

QtR – Theresa Bane, vampirologist

James Marsters - Not all celebrity sightings are created equal

Webmaster — 2009-04-11T13:16:41Z

There are a couple of co-workers here in the newsroom who have a little star-struck thing going on over actor James Marsters.

The Modesto native stars as evil Lord Piccolo in the film "Dragonball Evolution," opening at theaters today (Page E-6).

But it's his role in the cult hit TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that sparked the adoration from my cohorts — and millions of "Buffy" fans, alike.

His role as Spike, the sexy, swoon-inducing, vampire-you-still-managed-to-love on "Buffy," made him rather the heartthrob, so a lot of folks would get all googly-eyed if they recognized him browsing a Modesto store — a not-so-unlikely possibility.

Marsters told Bee writer Marijke Rowland last week that he's in Modesto almost every other weekend to visit his 13-year-old son.

True enough. I saw Marsters in a store here a couple of years ago. I was fairly unaffected by it, but my "Buffy"-fan co-workers were all a-twitter at the report.

It's not that I'm disinterested in the actor. I love it when locals make good in the entertainment world. I follow Mar- sters' suc- cesses with as much excite- ment as I do those of other Modesto natives such as actors Timothy Olyphant and Jeremy Renner or filmmaker George Lucas.

But, while I might get a wee celebrity rush at seeing one of those other famous Modestans, I don't get all a-twitter over Marsters.

Why ? Because no amount of celebrity mystique can overcome the image of a teenage boy in man-tights and curly 'fro.

You see, I went to high school with James Marsters. He was a year younger than me at Davis High. I recall him best as the only kid in drama whose name I could ever remember and as the only boy in dance.

Hence the man-tights.

(OK, they might just have been snug sweat pants, but my mind says man-tights).

And, of course, who could forget that helmet of curly '70s hair.

He was a cute kid and all, but the sexy Spike that "Buffy" fans swoon over ?

Not so much.

Frankly, remembering even a little about him is kind of a feat for me. Most of high school is a blur best left out of focus.

But Marsters sticks in my head mainly because of one vivid thought each time our paths crossed the concrete corridors of Davis High :

"That kid is gonna get his @*# kicked."

Alas, back in 1979, a boy in dance was a boy teetering on the edge of a serious pounding. He could have fallen victim to any one of several high school cliques, including the "jocks" or the "burnouts" (ah, those oh-so-cerebral idioms from high school).

But, thinking about it in retrospect, Marsters never really seemed to care. He was a determined kid who knew what he wanted to achieve and knew what he needed to do to achieve it.

And darn if he didn't succeed where very, very few ever do.

No doubt, most of those oh-so-cool teen boys who jeered at him for his dance- and-drama escapades ended up far less successful.

Over the years, I've spotted a few of the once oh-so-cool — and, yes, once swoon-inspiring — teen boys from those cruel Davis High corridors. Most, now with thinned hair and thick paunches, aren't so swoon-inspiring any longer.

Marsters, on the other hand, has a chiseled face, a full head of hair and a buff Hollywood body at age 46.

And a career that many would envy.

So, while seeing him wasn't an event for me, I can understand why those around me were all a-twitter. But I still couldn't resist bringing in my yearbook — oh, that '70s hair ! — to temper the mystique, just a bit.

As Marijke Rowland pointed out in her farewell column last week, things have changed a bit for the Scene section.

James Marsters gives his Five Favourite Films to Rottentomatoes.com

Webmaster — 2009-04-08T09:10:00Z

Five Favourite Films with James Marsters

The Dragonball star makes his choices.

James Marsters is perhaps best known to audiences as the blonde-haired Sid Vicious-alike Spike on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The vampire who earned his nickname by impaling his victims on railway spikes, he went from Big Bad to Buffy's boyfriend when a shadowy government cell called The Initiative fitted a chip in his brain that prevented him from doing harm.

He stars this week in Dragonball : Evolution, based on the Japanese Manga comic, as Lord Piccolo, the megalomaniacal villain out to destroy the world by uniting the seven Dragonballs.

Apocalypse Now

"I felt that it was a very clear message about why America lost the war. It was a scene that really got me when, right at the very end, the villagers were killing the cow. Because when we want some cow, we have someone else kill the cow and wrap it up in plastic and eat it.

But they anointed the cow with oils and paint, and the whole village got around and prayed and chanted to the cow and slaughtered the cow in a bloody brutalist way and nobody flinched. Like, they wanted beef, looked it in the eye, and knew what it takes to eat beef, and that's why we lost the war, they were just tougher.

For me the film was exploring the soft underbelly of our culture and of our weaknesses, and the film's ending dealt with this ; how did we become so weak ?"

Alien

"I thought this was a really interesting mix of horror and sex. There are so many sexual references, from the robot attacking Sigourney Weaver, and he rolls up a magazine and stuffs it down her throat, I mean, wow ! Or the fact that Ash's blood looks like semen, it's just a lot of that kind of stuff. Deep, deep psychological sexual stuff ; like calling the computer 'Mother'.

It's really fascinating, and I think that's why it's so successful in scaring you. It places imagery that's deep and sexual in a horror show. It's designed to scare people, all this stuff that is repressed, and gets inside their psyche and is truly uncomfortable, and I think it's right in (Alien artist and production designer) HR Giger's designs, I think sex is what we're all afraid of."

Blade Runner

"Of course taken from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, a short story, and like a lot of his books, it paints a world where technology has vastly outstripped our morality. We can create artificial beings that are every bit as human as we are, to any measurement, and yet we still treat them like a machine.

What does that say about how human we are ? I think in the age of cloning and bio-medicine that is exploding right now, with every month, it seems there is some new problem that is jeopardising our morality as human beings. It just seems like we should be very careful in the next hundred years. Philip's very clever in saying this is what is going to happen, if we're not careful.

I also think it's the best noir that doesn't have to have gumshoes ever. He's successfully made a noir in a new setting. One of my favourite things is the flying blimp with the picture of the Asian lady taking the pill in close-up. How perfect is that ? We're seeing those commercials now, where they say the side-effects maybe your hair falling out and so on. How they talked to Coca-Cola about the product placing on that building, I'll never know. "

The Milagro Beanfield War

"This was Robert Redford's follow up to Ordinary People. It's just about a small South-Western town that is being taken over by moneyed interests. There's this beautiful scene in the beginning where this obnoxious pig comes and wakes everybody up in the village out of bed, and everybody is like "Ergh, get away from me you pig." But actually the pig is a force of great good ; he's just rousing everybody for the morning. There's a certain poetry and stillness to the picture, and a magic that seems to emanate from the land and it casts a delicate spell."

Ratatouille

"I think that film, for me, showed me what cooking is really about, in a way that line animation was never able to. It made we want to cook, it made me want to go out to a new restaurant, it made we want to appreciate life, to taste everything, not just food but the air, everything. Frankly, to be able to put that kind of magic back into a film that is targeted for kids is just amazing. That's all it's trying to do, is say to kids, "Hey look at the world, it's an amazing world, did you see that ?" "

James Marsters - "Dragon Ball : Evolution" Movie - Aintitcool.com Review

Webmaster — 2009-03-14T09:43:54Z

Nasty Nick Says DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION Is...

Merrick here...

My man Nasty Nick sent in this look at DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION. I'm not sure whether this is the first review to appear online, but this is definitely one of the first (if not the first) review AICN's received for the film.

And the verdict ? Apparently, it doesn't suck as roundly as many of us thought it would.

I've known Nasty Nick for some time now, and his taste in films seems reasonably discerning. If he says this doesn't entirely blow (which, frankly, surprises the hell out of me considering the material we've seen from the movie) - it probably doesn't entirely blow. Of course, what follows isn't exactly a glowing endorsement, either.

BEWARE MINOR SPOILERS

Here's Nick...

Dragonball Evolution opens in Japan this Friday, about a month before it does in the states.

There is a lot of bad talk about this so I didn't go into this with high expectation.

When I first heard back in 2002 that they were making a live Action Dragon Ball (Z at the time) Movie I was very excited. Thinking of the possibilities. Dragonball shares many elements with Superman, Into the west and the fighting in the animation looks like the Matrix on steroids. I have been a big fan of the animation and Manga for a long time now and thought that this could be a epic movie done on a large scale. Who was producing it ? 20th Century Fox. Well then I thought they were part of those great X-Men films (1 and 2 at the time) so I had hoped we might get something close to that. This was supposed to be on the fast track for a 2004 release. When news of the live action surfaced the official Funimation site did a poll asking who they wanted Jet Li and Jackie Chan to play. I shuddered.

For a long time nothing happened until I read that James Wong was directing this. My expectations did fall.

How was the movie ? In a word, Kawaii. Cute. There's lots of little bits here and there that fans of the series will enjoy such as a pervy Master Roshi played by Chow Yun Fat, even the animated series they showed in the states and UK cut out those bits. Yamcha is kinda funny in that he sounds a lot like the Yamcha from the American dubbed DB, Emmy Rossim as Bulma was unimpressive. At times I felt I was watching Charactures on screen, they all have their trademarks personalities but not much else behind that.

I can understand why a lot of characters aren't in it such krillin, Tien and Chiaotzu. It's hard to fit so many characters and story into a film such as this. Especially one with a running time of 88 minutes. The story is very condensed but it mostly hits all the marks to be near enough to the basic story of Piccolo in the DB Manga.

James Marster is coolness as Piccolo however he is on screen for too short time. If there is a sequel I hope we get to see more of his character. Justin Chatwin seems to be channeling Goku a bit. At times he shines as the character. Other times it's a little wooden but I blame that more on the script as he doesn't have much to work with.

As for the story it starts with the introduction of the Dragonballs, Piccolo and Oozaru who tried to take over the world 2000 years ago. Piccolo was stopped and put in a prison and Oozaru disappeared. For fans of the show this won't be a big spoiler but for anyone who hasn't seen the animation or read the Manga the spoiler is that Goku is Oozaru. But he doesn't find that out till later.

Piccolo somehow escapes but it's not shown how.

Goku after his training with his Grandfather Gohan heads off to School. His School scenes are basically a rip off of the first Spiderman film and all those typical films where the guy defeats the bully and takes the girl, Chichi. Anyway, Goku can't kick these guys asses because if he did (and he could) they'd end up in a hospital or worse. So he has to control himself and not fight them. Later he decides to confront them at a party but doesn't fight them and instead lets them hit each other as he dodges their blows in super slow mo, how original....

Fortunately the story moves past Goku in high School pretty quickly and moves onto the real story. Piccolo offs Gohan while Goku is away. Goku Teams up with a girl he meets called Bulma who thinks the dragonballs can be used as an unlimited power source. They find Master Roshi and set out to search for the Dragonballs with the help of a bandit named Yamcha they meet along the way. But Roshi knowing they don't have enough time before a solar eclipse decides he has to learn a special technique to trap Piccolo once again but this will cost him his own life. The film speeds along to the end with Roshi Teaching Goku the Kamehameha, Goku does some training. Chichi has a fight with herself and they all head off after Piccolo.

The final action scenes are a bit disappointing. Goku as Oozaru looks a bit silly. I don't think Goku even throws one punch at Piccolo. Instead he uses the Kamhameha against him. By the end after using the Dragonballs to summon Shenron and save guess who they all set off again to find the dragonballs once more.

The film isn't bad. Just not great.

Suited for kids and curious fans.

I guess a lot of stuff was cut from this film. There are scenes in earlier Trailers that aren't in this and gone is the grey looking Piccolo, now he is only green.

If they make a sequel and I hope they do. I hope that they find someone else other than Wong to direct this. Make it bigger, more epic, add some more mythology and bring on Vegeta !

Nasty Nick

James Marsters makes TV Guide's "Get These Stars a Show Now !" list

Webmaster — 2009-02-26T16:07:57Z

"For Pete's sake, give the man his own series. He is extremely versatile, raises the energy on every show he is on, and has a loyal fan base who would love to see him on a more regular basis." — Berengaria

Click on the link :

http://www.tvguide.com/PhotoGallery/Stars-1002832/12.aspx

James Marsters makes USA Today's top 100 people of 2008 list

Webmaster — 2008-12-17T10:51:29Z

Click on the link :

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/12/top-100-peopl-1.html

James Marsters' British Accent - One of the worst ?

Webmaster — 2008-08-27T07:11:53Z

Click on the link :

http://io9.com/5040296/the-worst-fake-accents-from-the-yanks-and-canucks-of-science-fiction

James Marsters at San Diego Indie Music Festival - Fan Report with Photos

Webmaster — 2008-03-31T19:40:41Z

Click on the link :

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/21952189.html#cutid1

James Marsters - "PS I Love You" Movie - Smh.com.au Review

Webmaster — 2007-12-30T22:48:45Z

A Mills and Boon with a superior cast, which avoids the unpleasant truths of real life.

The Irish writer Cecelia Ahern had the idea for P.S. I Love You while still in school. She was 21 when her book became an Irish best-seller, topping the sales lists for 19 weeks. It went on to big success in many other countries. Her father is Bertie Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister.

P.S. I Love You was about a Dublin woman of 30, Holly Kennedy. She had married the man of her dreams, then lost him to a brain tumour. The novel begins with her already grieving - not wanting to leave the house or "get some fresh air", as her mother advises. She just wants to remember her Gerry and cry her "fat, salty tears".

The movie has been relocated to New York City and Americanised. Gerry (Gerard Butler), still alive at the outset, is an Irishman who came to live with Holly (Hilary Swank) in her home town. We see them in full romantic bloom. After dinner at her mother's they argue about when to have children, with Swank stripping down to her underclothes as she's yelling at the well-hewn Butler (Leonidas from 300). He storms out in his singlet before they rush back into each other's arms and make wild, passionate love.

Then he's dead and Holly is in black, stumbling around the wake at her mother's Irish bar, where Harry Connick jnr is the barman. For the next few weeks she spirals downhill, ignoring the phone and crying. The apartment becomes a garbage dump but there's an upside : Gerry is back, playing his guitar on the couch, at least in her hallucinations.

On her 30th birthday, her mother, Patricia (Kathy Bates), arrives with her two best friends, Sharon (Gina Gershon) and Denise (Lisa Kudrow). They bring a surprise. Before he died, Gerry organised a birthday cake and a tape recording. This tells Holly that he has a plan. He has written letters, to help her through her grief. They will come at various times, from various sources, without warning. Her heart leaps ; she goes out with her chums and gets hammered. She throws up on Connick's shoes.

Whether you find the letters idea creepy or romantic might depend on your experience of grief. I may be wrong but I don't think Ms Ahern knows the first thing about the subject. She does have great instincts for the kind of sentimentalism that some readers will devour, though.

P.S. I Love You is basically a Mills and Boon with a superior cast. It is calculated to avoid the unpleasant truths of real life at every opportunity, even though it's about one of the biggies. Holly's grief is picturesque, rather than devastating.

Holly's marriage is similarly well-designed to appeal to young women with fantasies about the man they haven't met yet, let alone the one that got away. Gerry is hunky, musical, sparkling, funny - not to mention thoughtful. And a helluva correspondent for a man with a brain tumour !

Richard LaGravenese directed Swank in Freedom Writers, a much better movie from last year. He and she have more talent than this film requires.