Lena Headey's Movies - a completely unofficial career overview! (part 2)

[cj2017]

Part two of my endless summer of hop, skipping and occasionally fast-forwarding my way through Lena Headey's career...

As ever, these are not entirely intended to be taken seriously. Except when they are ;-)

 

Anazapta (2001) Directed by Alberto Sciamma

I have to admit to approaching this movie with more than considerable trepidation. The reviews, well, let’s just say they weren’t exactly complimentary. Bearing that in mind and with expectations suitably lowered, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised. It’s no classic, don’t get me wrong, but it’s an entertainingly muddy, rain-lashed romp through some kind of Medieval nonsense about a nasty plague, a nasty bunch of religious-types and Lena in a chastity belt. Truth to tell, I can’t really shed much more light on it than that (it’s not exactly one to watch on repeat and the plot was as muddy as the setting) but Lena has a huge role in it and it was fun while it lasted.

Easily available on DVD in the UK. Seems to be a little trickier and a lot more expensive to obtain in the US.

 

Ripley’s Game (2002) Directed by Liliana Cavani

Happily, not a direct sequel to The Talented Mr Ripley (because Lena’s not in that, which means I haven’t seen it!) Ripley’s Game finds John Malkovich assuming the role of Tom Ripley, a man who has a big ol’ gorgeous house and a gorgeous missus but seems to pay his mortgage by indulging in the odd spot of criminality. He ensnares hapless, terminally ill, terminally dull Dougray Scott in his latest devious scheme and the boys trot around murdering people and generally being naughty. Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Lena is saddled with the thankless role of the goodly and hoodwinked wife. The film is perfectly watchable but it’s difficult to care about any of the characters (especially Scott who wanders limply from scene to scene) and it’s instantly forgettable. Would enliven a dreary Sunday afternoon, but then so would The Cave and that has the advantage of wet suits.

Widely available on DVD.

 

Possession (2002) Directed by Neil LaBute

Me: “You want to watch it through?”

C: “Well yes.”

Me: “But Lena’s only in it a tiny bit.”

C: “I know, but I feel like we should.”

Oh how that exchange came back to haunt us. Based on a novel by A. S. Byatt, Possession is a tedious attempt to marry love stories in the past and present. It is an attempt grievously thwarted by risible dialogue, a plodding pace and leads (Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart) who enjoy about as much chemistry as oil and water. And Lena? Lena has a tiny bit-part as the hapless, secret, doomed (sigh) lesbian lover of the woman in the flashbacks. Eventually she wanders into a pond with rocks in her pocket. I suspect that was probably because she’d had the misfortune of reading the remainder of the script…

Widely available on DVD.

 

The Actors (2003) Directed by Conor McPherson

The Actors is a somewhat bizarre non-com in that it’s a movie that sells itself as a comedy but isn’t actually very funny. An excellent cast (including Michael Caine and Dylan Moran – who is very bloody funny, just beg, steal or borrow series one of Black Books) deserves better than this muddle of a plot centring around mistaken identities, terrible disguises and daft contrivances. There are some genuine laugh out loud moments but they are too few and far between to be redemptive. Recommended only for Lena’s gorgeous hair, the leather trousers, Lena making the smoking of a cigarette outrageously sexy, and for those who are curious to know what her version of an Oirish accent is like.

Easily available in UK. Only available on R2 (UK format) import in USA.

 

The Brothers Grimm (2005) Directed by Terry Gilliam

An interesting experiment in… actually, who the fuck knows? It’s Terry Gilliam directing which means the whole piece looks fantastic, but this alt.fairy-tale veers wildly between outrageous black humour, slapstick and genuine nastiness and ultimately never really works out where to set its stall. Having said that, it’s never less than entertaining and consequently something of a shame that it ended up as such a hodge-podge of studio-meddling and half-arsed editing.

Heath Ledger and Matt Damon are the eponymous brothers who start out as tricksters and end up starring in their own real-life fairy-tale, while Lena has fun as Angelika the trapper’s daughter. Actually, she didn’t have fun. By all accounts, this movie was the one where she contemplated throwing in the acting towel for good, but it’s still well worth watching. As are the DVD extras where Lena, conspicuous by her absence, finally crops up in one interview to grit her teeth through ten seconds of by-the-book-speak about what a wonderful experience it had been, which was possibly the finest part of her entire performance.

Widely available on DVD or here: http://www.youtube.com/user/lenaprofile#p/u.

 

The Cave (2005) Directed by Bruce Hunt

“Life-changing and brilliant” (Lena Headey, Brunch with Bridget, ep 59)

There can’t be much left unsaid about this 2005 horror classic aside from the fact that – thanks to one of those ludicrous Hollywood drownings where three seconds of CPR miraculously revives her – Lena wears an ever-diminishing wet suit for the latter half of it… oh, and it’s complete and utter bollocks. But it is kinda fun if you’re in the mood for a brainless, shamelessly derivative, occasionally nicely designed and utterly cheese-laden popcorn flick. On the plus side, it is Lena-heavy and it does also feature Piper Perabo so you pays your money and you takes your chances.

Widely available and really really cheap on DVD.

 

Imagine Me and You (2005) Directed by Ol Parker

This may just about be the sweetest movie ever made. Or the sweetest one Lena ever made at any rate. On her wedding day, Piper Perabo’s Rachel falls rather inconveniently in love-at-first-sight with her florist Luce (Lena). Only problem being that Rachel is now married to a very lovely bloke and she’s not actually into girls, or at least she doesn’t think she is. The movie is fluffy, utterly cute, very funny (Anthony Head effortlessly steals every single scene he’s in) and somehow manages to wangle a happy ending for everyone involved. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s synchronised disco dancing, Lena in pigtails and Lena and Piper making out like mad things on a bed of roses. And if that’s still not enough for you then I’m not entirely sure what you’re doing on this lj…

Widely available on DVD. The R1 version has loads of extras unavailable on R2 and a nicer cover to boot…

 

300 (2006) Directed by Zack Snyder

Y’all must have seen this. Loads of blokes haring around in loin cloths, all set against a gorgeous back-drop of green-screen-rendered prettiness, while Lena wears outfits that an ill-timed sneeze would chuck her out of. It’s loud, bloody, unexpectedly romantic and stunningly shot. Lena more than holds her own amidst the rampant testosterone and gets plenty of decent scenes, which, considering the emphasis placed on the blokes in the loin cloths, is no mean feat.

Widely available on DVD in vanilla or all-singing, all-dancing, digital, extras-laden versions.

 

St. Trinian’s (2007) Directed by Oliver Parker      

I will freely admit that I’ve seen this twice now and I’ve laughed like a drain both times. Outrageously, unashamedly British, fabulously OTT and shot by someone who possibly suffers from ADHD, this is one to either love or loathe. Lena’s not actually in it very much (unless you find the deleted scenes where most of her stuff ended up) but Rupert Everett’s delightfully unhinged and hysterically funny performance as headmistress Camilla Fritton makes it worth putting up with the musical montages, the split-screen shenanigans, and the Girls Aloud cameo. I would imagine that a fair bit of the humour gets lost in translation but there’s still a lot to like here. And I have to say that Lena’s turn as a straight-laced, stick-up-her-arse school ma’am is quite disconcertingly yummy…

Widely available on DVD. Deleted scenes here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fZ_w-tPvb0 and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozQYtd4eZEU

The Contractor (2007) Directed by Josef Rusnak

Skip through all the scenes of Wesley Snipes and his horse and then all the scenes of Wesley Snipes looking tearful in a loft with some kid and you might catch a few of Lena strolling about in an awesome suit with amazing hair. Seriously, the hair is stunning. Which is pretty much all I can say about this one because I’ve never actually been bored enough to sit through it in its entirety. Epileptics or those with a sensitive disposition should be warned that the amount of ridiculously tricksy editing – jump cuts, slo-mo, strobe lighting, pauses, double-speed – could be enough to induce seizure activity.

Widely available for $00.1 or 50p on DVD.
 

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-9) Various directors. Created by Josh Friedman

I am a Sarah Connor geek. There, I said it. I was a geek for the movies and I was and still am a complete and utter geek for the TV show. Most of that is down to Sarah. I’d never heard of Lena Headey before this show. I didn’t even know the show had been made until I read an article the week it started airing over here and sheepishly admitted to my long-suffering missus that I would have to watch at least one episode because it was Terminator and Sarah and, well, just that really. The rest, as they say, is her-story because, for all its flaws (and S2 had its fair share of flaws) Lena and TSCC gave us a stunningly good Sarah Connor.

Season one only lasted nine episodes before the WGA strike brought it to a premature conclusion. The over-arcing plot of the machine chasing the Connors who were in turn chasing down the origins of Skynet was well-plotted, well thought-out and – with just the right amount of disbelief suspended – one hell of a ride.

Season two had some brilliant episodes but the shattering of all the main character relationships was too much, too soon for a show that was still trying to win its audience over and establish itself as a serious contender in the ratings. Everything fans had loved was torn apart: Sarah and John spent much of the season at loggerheads, Cameron became glitchy and shifty, Derek wandered off to co-star in the Derek and Jesse Show, Riley wasn’t all that interesting and Ellison tried to teach ethics to an infant Skynet-wannabe. Despite all that, it was still excellent television, it had ideas and ambition, a superb cast, Bear McCreary working the score, and ultimately, above all else, it had Sarah.

Lena’s Sarah had me at “John. Now.” I hadn’t ever thought that anyone could step into Linda Hamilton’s boots, but Headey never tried to imitate Hamilton, she just quietly made this Sarah her own. Determined to change her son’s fate while simultaneously terrified of her own claiming her before she had the chance to complete her mission, Sarah spent thirty episodes fighting to keep a promise she had made to her son in episode one: “I’ll stop it.” The show eventually came full-circle back to that promise, with Sarah having survived rejection, betrayal, a couple of bullets, torture and the loss of pretty much everyone she had ever loved. Alone but unbowed, she renewed her promise in the show’s dying minutes as what remained of her family either left her or died around her. Lena’s Sarah broke my heart on a pretty much weekly basis, and in doing so gave us one of the most memorable female characters ever to grace the small screen. Forget the abomination that was Terminator Salvation, TSCC actually understood that Sarah Connor was the heart of the Terminator franchise.

Both seasons widely available on DVD.

 

The Red Baron (2008) Directed by Nikolai Müllerschön

Blah blah, planes, rah rah, jingoism, blah blah, legendary flying hero… Yep, that’s what I thought too. A movie focusing on the “greatest fighter pilot of all time” didn’t exactly sound like my cup of tea either (milk, no sugar, thanks). But The Red Baron is actually bloody good fun. Well, aside from all the horrors of war stuff and the occasional hint of mortal peril. Mattias Schweighöfer makes for a very charismatic lead and enjoys some fairly sizzling chemistry with the lovely Ms Headey. Playing nurse Käte Otersdorf (say “Kate” but put an “uh” on the end) with an occasionally distracting Belgian accent, Lena is called upon to point out the downsides of war to the boisterous hero, look lovely in a nurse’s uniform and then provide some good old traditional hurt-comfort when he bangs his head.

Ignore the slightly heavy-handed pontificating and enjoy the fabulous, fabulous period costumes, stunning aerial sequences and a sweetly played but ultimately tragic romance.

Widely available on DVD (but a hell of a lot cheaper in the UK!)

 

The Broken (2008) Directed by Sean Ellis (review shamelessly copied and pasted from an earlier lj entry, because I’m just bloody lazy like that!)

Gina McVey (Lena Headey) seems to have a normal life. She works as a radiographer at a London hospital, has a handsome French boyfriend and has a close relationship with her father and brother. At a family dinner a mirror inexplicably crashes to the ground - cue nervous laughter and jokes about bad luck - but soon afterwards, Gina’s normal life starts to go to hell. Convinced she has seen herself driving by in her own car, Gina follows the woman to an apartment block, and upon leaving the building is involved in an horrific road traffic collision. The crash leaves her with a head injury, but more than that: a boyfriend she no longer trusts, dreams full of violence and terrifying images, and a lingering sense of something she’s not quite remembering. Tracking back to piece together the incident that resulted in the car crash, Gina gradually unravels the mother of all identity crises.

Written and directed by Sean Ellis, The Brøken is an exercise in style over substance. The film is beautifully shot in a London drenched with metallic shades of greys and blues, the only vivid colour the blood red of Gina’s injured eye and the blood that drips in her nightmares or pours in the one jarring schlock-horror death scene. Unfortunately, Ellis is so taken with the look of his movie that he forgets to grace it with any logic, so no one knows why a doppelganger would choose to assume the life of a London radiographer, it just does. The thrill, therefore, must be in the chase, and Ellis does deliver a sustained sense of unease, some genuine shocks and a decent final-reel twist. This is despite every scene being accompanied by a relentless and incredibly intrusive score which is irritating within the first five minutes then becomes the equivalent of white-noise, negating any effect its underscoring of the tension may have had.

As Gina, Lena Headey carries the movie, and her performance – her determination to solve her own mystery offset against her rising panic at the turns it is taking – never regresses to the level of simpering horror movie stalk- and-slash victim. Instead, Headey is engaging and sympathetic, and as the movie approaches its climax she accords it an emotional impact which the film as a whole perhaps does not deserve.

The Brøken is a confused movie; full of reflections and mirrors, it seems to suffer an identity crisis of its own. Devoid of logic or explanation and obsessed with its own appearance, its narcissism negates an interesting premise, a leading actress giving it her all, and the opportunity to have been so much more.

Widely available on DVD.

 

Tell-Tale (2009) Directed by Michael Cuesta

An unrelentingly grim revenge flick, Tell-Tale is a nasty little movie which even Lena’s presence can do nothing to redeem. Based (and I use that term incredibly loosely) on the premise of Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, the movie centres around Josh Lucas’ heart transplant recipient whose donated organ had less than legal origins. Lucas is a dreary, highly unsympathetic protagonist, Lena certainly isn’t at her best and the whole endeavour leaves an unpleasant taste behind. Bad script, bad pacing, bad acting and crappy hair. For completionists only.

Widely available on R1 (but not cheap) and easily importable.

 

Brunch with Bridget – AfterEllen website.

Okay, so it’s not a movie or a TV series but I didn’t want to end on such a duff-note. Anyone who’s not seen the interview that Lena gave with her buddy Bridget on AfterEllen, hot-foot it over there now. It’s about twenty minutes long and it’s absolutely priceless.

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/karmankregloe/brunch-with-bridget-video-blog-59

Apparently, the vid is now copyright-restricted to US viewers only, which is a bit of an arse. I am infinitely saddened that I will never again witness Lena pillow-fighting or impersonating Angela Lansbury… ;-)

 

Comments

[illyria12.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen many of her movies, but like you, I am a HUGE TSCC fan, and everything you said in your review of the show was just spot on. Gah, LOVE

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Despite my frustrations with the show, the way S2 was run/written and the way it all ended, I love that Sarah remained at the heart of it throughout. And, taking into account the amount of pressure the writers were probably experiencing in terms of altering the show to suit the network/ratings/demographics, that was a bloody good effort.

I hope, if you are thinking of catching up with some of Lena's movies, the list gives you some food for thought!

I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

I’d never heard of Lena Headey before this show.

*UTTER DISBELIEF*

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

True fax girlie.
I am such a bad lesbian.
Somehow IMAY had slipped beneath the radar when we were working our way through "a thousand and one classics every dyke has to watch." I think we got to number 5 and got bored ;-) The missus went back to watching costume dramas and I went back to New Bad Future movies. And then the lovely Lena got cast in New Bad Future telly so it all worked out in the end!

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

LOL. I have yet to to do any sort of L/B themed marathon, but, frankly, the idea scares me because 1,001 is probably not too far-off of an estimate! A Lena-work marathon is so much more do-able. ;)

Lena had me trailing her with 300, and then it was all hook, line, and sinker with IMAY. Funnily enough, I actually dragged my heels catching TSCC - I hadn't actually seen anything Terminator before the show, so jumping into a 20+-year-old fictional mythos had me a bit shitless. X)

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

LOL. I have yet to to do any sort of L/B themed marathon, but, frankly, the idea scares me because 1,001 is probably not too far-off of an estimate!

I wouldn't bother! So many of them are pretentious wank. If you have to watch one, watch Show Me Love, a gorgeous little Swedish movie directed by Lukas Moodysson which is up there with IMAY in terms of loveliness.

I am still a bit gutted that I missed out on 300 in the cinema, I keep on hoping it'll turn up on some kind of mega-screen retrospective but it hasn't so far. I was definitely Terminator geek first, Lena happy accidental second!

What amazes me about her as an actress is how un-typecast she is. That show-reel on her agent's site was a perfect case in point - different accent, look, era, setting for pretty much every movie. Can't wait to see what she makes of Cersei.

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

If you have to watch one, watch Show Me Love, a gorgeous little Swedish movie directed by Lukas Moodysson which is up there with IMAY in terms of loveliness.

Aw, yay! <33 Thanks for the rec! Another for the to-watch-once-I-get-my-ass-graduated list! I'll try to place it before The Cave and The Contractor in my queue. ;)



I am still a bit gutted that I missed out on 300 in the cinema, I keep on hoping it'll turn up on some kind of mega-screen retrospective but it hasn't so far

Aw, suck. :( I found the movie's racist imagery pretty mindblowing, but the Lena - She got me to see the film three times in the theater, including once on the IMAX. >.> IDK... Maybe you can find a pal somewhere who has a wall projection unit and sort of enjoy it big-screen that way...??



What amazes me about her as an actress is how un-typecast she is. That show-reel on her agent's site was a perfect case in point - different accent, look, era, setting for pretty much every movie.

I'm... uh... SUPPOSEDLY(!) working on three papers a.t.m., so I haven't been able to reply to our email thread yet, but GAH! I want to say thank you for sharing that with me!! \o/ In addition to Lena as Cersei, I'm dying to see her in Devil's Wedding and (hopefully, one day!) Vacancy!

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Show Me Love is gorgeous and should definitely come before The Cave and The Contractor (despite the obvious Lena benefits of the latter two. I'm sure she'd understand!) Plus, it's in Swedish which is an awesome language to listen to!

I want to say thank you for sharing that with me!! \o/ In addition to Lena as Cersei, I'm dying to see her in Devil's Wedding and (hopefully, one day!) Vacancy!

Hee, amazing what you can stumble across during a bit of Google-Foo! Vacancy looks really good, I think that was the most footage I've actually seen from that one. GoT should be about done - or at least Lena's part in it - because she's heading home soon... I think I will avoid the larger fandom for that show. I don't think I could face another round of "She's just not what I imagined Cersei/Sarah Connor to be." (delete as appropriate.) *sigh*

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

I think I will avoid the larger fandom for that show. I don't think I could face another round of "She's just not what I imagined Cersei/Sarah Connor to be." (delete as appropriate.) *sigh*

I'm thinking that a large part of the viewership will be GoT virgins like myself, but yeah. *rubs temples*

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

"I am still a bit gutted that I missed out on 300 in the cinema"

Aw, I didn't see on the big screen, either, but the Lena scenes can be fully appreciated with Blu Ray, a 40" screen, slow-mo, and rewind. Can't do slow-mo in the theater.

I know Kelly Craig Daniels is Off-Topic, but her underwater dance in "300" is mesmerizing.

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[roxybisquaint.livejournal.com]

I'd never heard of Lena before TSCC either. She blew me away so much as Sarah Connor, though, that by a few episodes into season one, I was scouting out her past work.

Re: I haven't read all of the reviews on this post yet, but

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

AHHH!! I couldn't even imagine! (I'm in love with her in case you haven't noticed. ;)) Better late than never though, eh? *L*

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

Your write-up on TSCC made me weepy. You meanie! /:'{


I'm afraid I was one of those persons who couldn't get into St. Trinian's, and I actually loved-loved-LOVED The Broken. I also really liked Ripley's Game - I found John Malkovich's creepster Ripley very thought-provoking.

Still haven't sat through The Cave or The Contractor, but your talk of wetsuits and fab hair and nice, form-fitting suits is getting to me >.> (After I graduate, dammit!)


But this: Lena's Brunch with Bridget interview! You can DL it here and enjoy it whenever you want. :D

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Your write-up on TSCC made me weepy. You meanie! /:'{

Yeah, it's kinda easy to get mad at it for the way it all turned out, but I have so much love for Sarah so they all must have done something right and Lena was just remarkable in the role.

St Trinian's is such a guilty pleasure. Actually, bollocks to that, I don't even feel guilty about liking it! It makes me laugh, it's refreshingly filthy and I can't help it if you yankers don't get most of the jokes ;-P

*shocked face* You've not watched The Cave?! But, but, *splutters* it's a bloody classic! Actually, it's craptastic, but it's funny in all the wrong places and there are wet suits. The Contractor gives me a migraine but she does look bloody lovely in it.

Ta for the DL! I was making plans to look that up after losing the AfterEllen link yesterday (I hadn't downloaded it when you'd originally posted it cos I didn't think I could watch mp4s - Turns out I can!) Woot! You are a very nice person :-)

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

Am I imagining things, or was there an unrated version of "The 300"? I *think* I saw that before TSCC, but after TSCC I started looking for even more Lena.

The Cave: I'm glad I did my spelunking in wild caves *before* I saw this movie. Crawling through a passage with belly in the mud and back brushing the ceiling seems less attractive now. Winter caving in a wetsuit and cover-alls is the only way to go... no sudden thunderstorms to make the water rise, and Neoprene is good at protecting the knees and elbows. Hibernating bats are cold, and moisture condenses on their fur in little dew-drops: they sparkle when you shine a light on them. Didn't see any mutant monsters though. No Lena, either.

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

PS: The Cave: You have to keep Hollywood CPR short. Broken ribs are expensive.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Not sure about an unrated 300 - nothing gets by the BBFC over here so everything gets a rating. I just checked a site I've bought R1 discs from before but - although there are special editions listed - they all seem to have ratings.

As for Hollywood CPR. *sigh* I think the best resus I've seen Hollywood attempt was in The Abyss and even then miracles seemed to be achieved by shouting at and/or pleading with the patient. That doesn't work. Ever. But at least they were trying to portray some semblance of realism for a while there. Oh Buffy, in the S5 episode The Body that was brilliant. They even snapped ribs, and the person still died. Top marks, stunning episode.

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

Maybe what I watched was the "R" version. Maybe it was just Lena awesomeness, but the "Last Schtupper" between King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo seemed more rousing than most current "R" movies. Heck, in "Salvation", a simple glimpse of Moon Bloodgood's boob was considered "R", and had to be cut to achieve "PG-13". "Salvation" was a dual release here.

Do they have combined DVD releases of "theatrical" and "adult" versions over there?

+++
The missus teaches CPR, and sometimes performs it, as a small part of her professional responsibilities. It's a messy business. Blessedly, she doesn't complain at the TV when they get things wrong. Unlike, um, me.

The Abyss was pretty cool. I wonder if she had sore ribs after? We never got drawn into BTVS.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Do they have combined DVD releases of "theatrical" and "adult" versions over there?

I'm not sure. There are shitty horror movies that come out with re-edited versions ("too EXTREME for cinema!") but unless they have a BBFC cert then they're not legal so they all have a rating. Having seen Salt get a 12 cert, I'm thinking the BBFC is getting a little lenient in its old age. Although sometimes - I just checked amazon - the certs will go up for the DVD release, Salt is now listed as a 15.

The Abyss was pretty cool. I wonder if she had sore ribs after? We never got drawn into BTVS.

She certainly had an on-set tant when they got to the end of shooting that scene and they ran out of film at the last gasp. There's a reason Ms Mastrantonio has never given an interview about that movie!

[tackdriver56.livejournal.com]

I take it your film ratings are simply the recommended minimum age for viewers? In the US, DVD's can be unrated, but theater showings and broadcast TV must be rated. What really blows is some of the cable channels are owned by social conservatives who badly dub over the curse-words. It's OK to see violence, but sex or cursing is right out.

they ran out of film at the last gasp
You mean they had to reshoot it? Wet, half-naked, and bruised ribs. Imagine the Bale-Rant that would inspire.

Has Lena said much about "The Cave"? That must have been soggy and cold too.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

The ratings for cinema releases are law, i.e for a 15, no-one under 15 yoa should be allowed in. The ratings tend to be more stringent for DVDs (because they go into the home) but it's bullshit because once they're in the home, there's no control besides parental control as to who gets to watch them. They're certainly more lenient these days - movies like The Exorcist (and other so-called "video nasties") were banned for years but they've all been on the telly now.

You mean they had to reshoot it? Wet, half-naked, and bruised ribs. Imagine the Bale-Rant that would inspire.

Yes. Right at the last gasp of a perfect take. I think there was a spot of ranting (nothing quite so fantastic as Bale's meltdown) and a bit of a storm off set while she calmed down.

Not seen much about The Cave, aside from Lena's obvious love of and pride in the movie
;-) It's definitely one that's close to her heart(!)

[phantomwriter05.livejournal.com]

there was a serious drought in which I can understand why she wanted to quit acting (would love to hear why she actually wanted too quit.)

I love Lena but I think her eclictic personality lead to her near downfall when choosing movies and jobs.

...

But a game of thrones and TSCC have reopened her career.

[roxybisquaint.livejournal.com]

I had to go straight to your TSCC write-up and comment on that before even reading anything else. I agree with every word. I miss TSCC so fucking much, but I really really miss Lena's Sarah Connor. She was brilliant every single week. I know I've said I don't even know if I'd actually want a continuation of it because I fear so much that they'd only fuck it up worse, but you know, it might be worth the risk just to see Lena play Sarah again.

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

I had to go straight to your TSCC write-up and comment on that before even reading anything else

Heh. Thought you might ;-) It was almost impossible to narrow a review down to fit on the lj, but in the end, it kinda came down to one thing: Sarah.

it might be worth the risk just to see Lena play Sarah again.

I vacillate wildly - I don't want a S3 because I think that really would be a fuck-up. But I would love a DVD because I reckon she'd be fully on-board (if she signed up again) with that and her role would be central as a result. I think my unease stems from where S3 seemed to be heading, but a DVD would be a completely different entity and - with GoT pending - Ms Headey might be about to become very hot property, which certainly wouldn't hurt.

I am still amazed that - despite what must have been serious pressure from Fox - the writers managed to keep Sarah front and centre of the show (and they really did with only a few episodic exceptions.) Like I said, my unease stems from what I've heard about S3 and the direction BTR seemed to be heading in, certainly not from what they had written for Sarah in the 29 or so episodes prior to that. They gave her so much depth and Lena just took that and ran with it.

[roxybisquaint.livejournal.com]

I forgot about Anazapta. I'll have to get my hands on that one and give it a watch. I actually did watch all of The Contractor and I think the only thing you'd take away from sitting through its entirety is that there's not enough Lena!

[cj2017.livejournal.com]

Anazapta's fun while it lasts and then you're just left with an enduring image of mud and a chastity belt! The editing in The Contractor is just unbearable but - to be completely shallow (yes, no change there then!) - she looks fucking amazing in it.