Part 1: My thoughts on Part 1 are here.
Last night I finished watching the last hour of the Titanic mini-series. I must have been in a better mood because I did enjoy the last part more than Saturday night’s viewings. Although the sinking of the ship was not as flashy as other movies, there was enough drama to make me feel for those who did and did not survive. In the end, the love story that most touched me was the one between the Mantons’ maid and manservant. The fact that they always loved each other without fully realizing it until it was too late seemed plausible. His final act of love to will his house to her destitute father was touching.
The scene that most broke my heart was when Jim Maloney realized that there was no escape for him and his daughter so he would simply try to comfort her in his arms as they died. My first instinct was that he should not give up and fight to the very end but I suppose if he knew it was hopeless he wanted to give his daughter
a few last moments of peace and security in his arms until it was too late. I can’t even imagine what I would do in that situation…I don’t want to think about it or I’d lose all composure.
So all in all I would call this a “one time” movie. Something that I am glad I watched once but I wouldn’t watch it a second time. How about you? What did you think of the mini-series?

Last night I watched the first three hours of The Titanic mini- series. I had high hopes for it but I was a little disappointed.
First it was a little confusing. Things were said and done that didn’t make sense. Then in episode two they flashbacked and gave more background to what was going on. It answered questions but it still seemed odd.
Second, I am all for a good love story. I am a romantic that is ready to cheer a new couple but some of the love stories seemed a bit contrived and forced. While I could see how Paolo was instantly smitten with the maid Annie Desmond it seemed a stretch to also have Georgiana and the millionaire’s son fall in love over such a short period of time.
And did I miss something? Did Mary (Jim Maloney’s wife) know Peter Lubov beforehand? Do they have a history? That would make more sense. I don’t believe she merely looked at him and had such a “connection” that she disregarded her children and hubby to make out with him on the deck. I don’t get it. The only “love story” that seemed to make sense and held my interest was the reconciliation between John and Muriel Batley. Muriel may have been a bit nasty (although she’s nothing like Lady Manton) but at least they fleshed out her character more and I was interested in her story.
Perhaps, that was the problem. The characters weren’t developed enough for me to care about them. Or maybe I was just too tired and not in the mood to watch. Or maybe Downton Abbey set my expectations too high. Whatever the reason, I’ll finish watching the last part tonight and hope for the best. It’s not as if I didn’t like it… it was just not as good as I hoped it would be.
UPDATE: My thoughts on Part 2 are here.

This is going to be a short post since we are on Easter break right now. I tried watching the second part of Great Expectations last night but I was so tired that I kept drifting in and out of sleep until I woke up and didn’t know what the heck was going on. I gave up and went to bed instead. This morning I was able to finish watching and my emotions are mixed.
The storyline itself is rather dark and depressing and I just never really clicked with the actor playing Pip. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the movie; rather, it just was not one of my favorite stories. I was pleased with the bits of redemption that came at the end – Pip reconciling with both Joe and Magwitch. Estella finding love.
My favorite character was Herbert Pocket (the little red headed brat in part 1) who changed his ways and became Pip’s most loyal friend. It is interesting to note that the actor Harry Lloyd who played Herbert is actually a descendant of Charles Dickens. Fun fact. 🙂
Well, we have plenty to watch next week with Julian Fellowes’s Titanic on April 14 and 15.
Plus Masterpiece’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood on April 15th. My DVR will be working overtime!
Have a great day, hopefully, enjoying some gorgeous spring weather! 🙂

I checked my DVR settings last night and noticed that I had a lot more recordings on there than I realized. Between the family recording favorite shows and movies, we were at 96% capacity. So I need to go and watch or erase some stuff! I almost never watch a show “live” so when I finally was able to sit down last night I was hoping to watch Once Upon A Time and Great Expectations but I never got to OUAT. I’ll come back and comment on OUAT’s episode later this week. (UPDATE: I posted about OUAT and Grimm here.)
It’s been many, many years since I’ve read Great Expectations and a long time since I’ve seen the 1999 version, which stared Ioan Gruffudd (currently on another fave show Ringer) as Pip, Justine Waddell (who I loved in Wives and Daughters) as Estelle and Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham. I was a little surprised, but excited, when I first heard that Gillian Anderson would play Miss H since I always pictured the character much older. However, I thought Gillian’s version made the character much more believable. Her mental illness and neurosis seemed plausible. Whereas before, the character seemed over the top.
The Setting – Masterpiece did a wonderful job conveying the somberness and a taste of despair in the setting and tone of the movie. I told Brian that after watching it I had the need to go take a fresh shower and open the windows or let some light in the room. The muck and grayness weighs on your spirit after awhile, but that only added to the story.
Pip and Estelle – Was Pip supposed to be that handsome in the book? I can’t remember. The actor had such a runway model/pretty boy look to him it was almost distracting. Either way, you can’t help feeling sorry for Pip and wanting to spare him the pain to come.
Joe and the Mrs. – Joe seems like such a loving character but how was it that he got married to his wife in the first place? Was she hiding her viciousness during their courtship or was he so passive that he let her call all the shots? Whatever the reasons, Joe’s bit of happiness seems to have left with Pip.
Orlick – The actor that played Orlick did an excellent job and thoroughly creeping me out. Kudos!
Jaggers – After seeing him I have to go watch a movie with Hercule Poirot. In fact, I think I already have one recorded on my ridiculously full DVR. Sigh.
That’s it for now but for more discussions about Great Expectations and OUAT go over to Dawn’s charming blog By Sun and Candlelight for Masterpiece Monday.
Have a great day!