Thursday, October 16, 2008

Royal drama.

Our new kitten, Scout. Name is subject to change at the moment ... some of us *glances at other family members* are torn between Doctor and Che Det. Yes, Che Det, as in Dr. M's nickname. xD You can put the credit for that idea on Nazim, who just read that new Dr. M biography comic and seems to have proclaimed him his new idol.

In other news, the fam and I are going to watch the Mamma Mia! Musical in December. Papa's always liked ABBA and the new movie seems to be a catalyst to the rebirth of his sudden want to watch the musical. So, yay! I spent my childhood lisetning to them on the radio, so alright.

I watched this ^ yesterday. Completely historically inaccurate, but hey, it's entertainment, and it sure does entertain. SPOILERS coming up, so if you'd rather watch it for yourself, hit the Back button, now. Anyhoo, the story centers around two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn. Mary is married, and pretty much a good, honset person. Anne on the other hand has been given the challenge of wooing King Henry VIII, in order to glorify the family's name. But the King instead falls for Mary, leaving Anne feeling more than a little betrayed by her sister. Due to a secret marriage with one Henry Percy, Anne is banished to France to wait on the Queen there, since that Mr. Percy is engaged to somebody else.

Meanwhile, Mary becomes the King's mistress, and soon she becomes pregnant, later confined to her bed. Around this time, Anne returns, having learned a thing or two from the French; the King is fascinated by her changed self, and decides to go after her, if you get my meaning. But Anne has plans ... she won't give in to him, she says, because that would be betraying her sister. But the King wouldn't rest, and on the very day Mary gives birth to a son, he promises Anne to never speak to Mary again. Anne, triumphant, sends a betrayed Mary back to the counrty with her newborn baby boy.

Anne continues to play with the King's affections, asking for more and more. The King breaks ties with the Roman Catholic Church for her, just so he can annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon (or was it Katherine?). This makes him very angry, what with everything crashing down about him. In a fit of rage, he ends up raping Anne (yes, you read right) just before they get married. Oh, and around this point Anne and Mary have forgiven each other and are now together again. Anne becomes pregnant, but gives birth to a baby girl. The King isn't at all pleased, what with his wanting a son. Anne, frightened by the disastrous results of her scheming, falls pregnant again; and miscarriages.

This is the part where I started going "WTFISH D:" a lot. Anne, desperate for a son and scared of informing Henry of the loss of their baby decides to get pregnant again - by her brother George Boleyn (played by Jim Sturgess, who is cute in a puppy-faced sorta way, whee.). Mary, who was probably WTFISHing as much as I was decides to run away (good for her). The thing is, George's wife Jane sees them about to commit the act, and she runs off to tell Henry. In the end, George is executed (it was horrifying. They chopped his head off. And he made this horrible little squeal just before the axe fell. Doesn't help that I think he's too cute to die.) and Anne confesses to Mary (yeah, she came back hoping to save her siblings' skins) that they never commited incest - George couldn't do it (well no duh, man, you're his frickin' sister.). But no amount of begging from Mary could change Henry's mind, and Anne too was executed. Mary later moved to the country with Anne's daughter Elizabeth, where she married Stafford (some guy who worked for her father ... he's sweet.) and basically lived happily ever after THE END.

Phew. So, royal drama like whoa. Like I said, historically inaccurate, but entertaining. Loved the costumes. Made me itch to find a reference so I can draw some pretty dresses. And the acting was alright, although Scarlett Johansen's face annoyed me a bit what with her constant expression of "Oh ... ohh, that's not good. :(". Natalie Portman pulled off Anne's downfall convincingly, you could really see where she started goign a bit cuckoo with the whole "I can't produce a son, I'm so SCREWED! I know, I'll get my brother to impregnate me, then nobody ahs to know I miscarriaged!" scenario.

But just as a note, read a few history articles before discussing the movie with anyone else. I'm lookin' at the IMDb forums, and lots of people are frustrated by the inaccuracy. I don't mind myself ... it's just good television. Speaking of which, I've gotten an urge to watch The Tudors (British t.v. show about ... well, the Tudors, duh.) now ... anyone know where I can find the episodes? :D

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