Rating: 
Summary: I actually loved Love actually
Review: What first pulled me into the movie theatre to see this movie was all the big names. A steller cast doesn't aways mean a great movie, but in this case it was. It was good for it's audience. Some material could have been deleted from the movie (like some of the swearing and the scene between the body doubles) but you have to remember this is English humor. It is funny, but it wouldn't be for a 12 year old. The different stories are all woven together to make a good movie. Whether or not you decide to own it depends on your own taste, but it is definatly worth seeing once.
Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment
Review: As christmas comedies go, Love Actually is among the best of all time. The film is just a great heart warming comedy for all the family (except maybe the eight year old, due to the occasional swear word, nothing too bad though). The cast is fantastic, one of my favorite actors, Liam Neeson has a major role as a father who's son has fallen in love with a girl at school, and he has to deal with the teenage traumas and does so in great style. The gentlemanly Hugh Grant who plays, well, himself as always, but also the Prime Minister. Bill Nighy, always very funny to watch, plays an old rock star trying to make it big again (another great rock film with Bill is Still Crazy, have a look). Martine McCutcheon also stars as Hugh Grants tea lady (obviously they fall in love too). Also worth mentioning is Colin Firth's performance, who after leaving his wife as she was having an affair, he goes to France for holiday and falls in love with his Portuguese maid.Overall a great combination of the best British actors around. Hugh Grant was great as the PM and had some very funny scenes but I think Bill Nighy stole the show, everytime he came up something hilarious happens! Great heart warming, christmasy comedy for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: crowded but charming film about love in its many guises
Review: Director Richard Curtis has a charming vision of love surrounding us and affecting everyone's lives in a multitude of ways. He also has a terrific all-star cast. What he does not have is a script worthy of either the vision or the cast. While the film is enjoyable in a breezy way, several of the many story lines are superfluous or gratuitous, and often situations and lines are much too predictable. Hugh Grant is, of course, charming in his blinky way, and Emma Thompson is terrific, but the most consistently good scenes go to Bill Nighy, who shines as a comeback rocker, charming Brits with his profane comeback attempt. Grant, Thompson and Nighy rise above a trite script, but others don't fare so well. This is not an evil film. I don't resent the time I spent watching it. But it is a shame to have such a nice idea and such a talented cast wasted over this cliched script. The dvd extra features are good, and include a commentary track with director Curtis and stars Nighy, Grant and Sangster; 37 minutes of deleted scenes; 8 minutes of music; and a Kelly Clarkson video, The film can be heard or subtitled in English, French or Spanish. Chances are, if you like these stars or this premise, you will enjoy the film, but it's not as good as one would hope.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful movie with one flaw
Review: This is one of my favorite movies. The characters are wonderfully drawn and believable. It is a real affirmation of love in all of its forms and brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. The only flaw is that they have one couple who are actors in a pronographic film and they follow the couple falling in love in the course of making a porn film. They are not integral to the stories and only have about 4 minutes of screen time, but the porn scenes (R, not X), are a real irritation.
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Summary: I can't believe it took me so long to see this movie!
Review: I bought the DVD because I knew I'd love the film, and I do. First of all, every single notable British actor that you can think of is in this movie. The plot follows approximately ten different couples who are struggling through their respective relationships. Some of my favorite couples are Hugh Grant's character (the Prime Minister) and his outspoken assistant, Liam Neeson and his adorable son, and Colin Firth and his Portuguese maid. The best scenes in the film are between Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman, who portray a married couple going through a rough patch. This is an amazing movie that will have you in fits of laughter one minute and fighting back tears the next. The DVD is great because it contains over 20 minutes of deleted scenes, most of which are very good.
Rating:
Summary: Love As It Is...
Review: LOVE ACTUALLY is a highly entertaining and engaging film. Director Richard Curtis managed to produce a box-office success injected with an unusual dose of warmth, frankness and creativity. Not a bad thing! Linney and Thompson both gave a noteworthy performance. And the rest of the cast are just adorable. Watch it!
Rating:
Summary: Romance, comedy, loose ends.
Review: This is an ensemble film with romance, comedy, and loose ends. I'll start off with the negatives. There are simply too many stories going on at once to make a complete film. There were plenty of moments when I was wondering what happened next in another sub-plot, side-story, whatever. Also, there were a few scenes where I was shaking my head. Then I realized that this is a movie, so I let it slide. One such moment comes when a 10-year-old boy is running through the airport looking for his one true love, and he is being chased by at least 4 security guards. At one point the guards are apparently running at top speed (a mere 4mph--excuse me, this is England--try 10kph) with the child blazing ahead of them at a jog. I know, I know, it's a movie! But scenes like that that made the film falter. As for the positives, and there are a lot here, the ensemble acting is refreshing and very well done. Two performances stood out for me. Emma Thompson, as usual, is excellent, showing once more her wide range of emotions and able to spin around and change direction on a dime(okay, a schilling). The other great performance here comes from Laura Linney, and her situation is truly heartbreaking. She finds love, but circumstances and timing just don't allow the great possibilities to unfold. I wanted to give her a hug. There are many other, fairly believable scenarios between other characters, some of which take a turn toward Hollywood sensationalism. But overall, the emotions, and the universal need to be loved is present in nearly every frame of this film. As for that aspect, this film is remarkable. There are many humorous situations, a few emotionally difficult character moments, but the end result is one of hope. As I said before, there are simply too many plots going on for a complete film to be possible, leaving many frayed and/or loose ends like, "What ever happened to that character?" But that alone should be dully noted. Why would I have cared about those characters if they hadn't been rendered so convincingly? There are some over-the-top Hollywood moments, but they are forgivable because the heart of this film is in the right place. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: I didn't get to see this movie at Christmas which may have made the viewing that bit more special, but I was not disappointed at waiting. A veritable "who's who" of well known stars grace a collection of short stories, in funny, romantic, sad, and heartwarming scenarios, and the end result, though a bit muddled is cleverly handled. A real testament to the success of this movie after it's release was how well it was received here in the States, for being a fairly formula laden Richard Curtis written & directed production. Some of the stories do stretch the boundaries of credulity a little, but the flavor of the Christmas magic allows even the most cynical viewers to be forgiving. The performances are ALL great, as seemingly the entire range of human emotions are played out before you in each individual tale, culminating in a clever, and touching set of finales. Some of the language will make this unsuitable for younger viewers, but good family viewing overall. Often very touching but never sickly sweet, this is a great DVD buy, and will be surely pulled out every holiday season, along with the host of other well known seasonal regulars. Enjoy
Rating: 
Summary: A clumsy empty mess
Review: In the past, writer Richard Curtis proved a brilliant writer of witty dialog. But he's not particularly good at constructing funny situations. And he's terrible at building a passable reality or an interesting fantasy. In this movie, which is under his direction as well as his pen, he also proves to be a poor acting coach, an all-thumbs editor, a tonedeaf musical director, and, overall, just, inept. The movie is endlessly pointless. The characters are engaged in nothing serious or funny -- instead these talented people are acting through a suffocating hollywood-like porridge of boiled-down life-crisis moments. The off-target result just makes you wonder where these non-people came from. The movie is not sweet. It's not funny. It offers such badly drawn cartoons of life, that it achieves no mood at all, nothing of which I could approve or disapprove.
Rating:
Summary: CHRISTMAS CONFESSIONS INSIDE
Review: Love Actually is a anthology of several stories into one movie. In theory, any one of them could have been developed into a film by itself; but the entertainment is in the switching back and forth between plotlines. All these stories come together on Christmas Eve in expected and some unexpected ways at the end of the film. Some are not charmed by this "cut and paste" of storylines into one film. They complain that none of the individual plots holds much interest for a movie by themselves and do not work when all jumbled together. But they miss the point. It is not meant to be taken seriously. All these plots are played for humor and bits of sentimental warmth. As a whole Love Actually makes for fun and enchanting movie watching. American viewers may have been turned away from "Love Actually" because this is a very English movie. Aside from a few pokes at Americans and the jarring outburst against American foreign policy, a little forbearing toward the cultural divide pays off greatly. None of the English accents are difficult to follow as some English films in the past have been. The rather liberal use of the "f***" word and nudity may mean you don't invite Grandma and Grandpa over for family movie night. But Love Actually is well worth the purchase and repeated viewings.
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