3 Fab Flicks

The Queen (loved it!)
I haven't read much about this movie, so I'm assuming that everything except for a few tidbits is conjecture - about what the Royal family is like in their private converstaions and dealings. Steadfastly NON-sensational, this is a fascinating and absorbing depiction of a woman (a family, an institution) that very few people really know.
Perfectly formal and austere in her royal duties, completely self-assured in her royal authority, living (by tradition and habit) in a buffered bubble, Elizabeth is portrayed respectfully and sympathetically as a long-experienced ruler in changing modern times and also as the caring matriarch of a family that is dysfunctional in some very common ways. Helen Mirren was superb. Michael Sheen was terrific, also. I enjoyed James Cromwell as Prince Phillip, a very natural and believable performance. He had me wondering if Prince Phillip really IS that annoying?

Blood Diamond (loved it!)
Leo, oh Leo, you are so very hot. The best part is that you are also so very talented.
This movie had me wanting to swear off all diamonds, forever, without feeling like a lecture or heavy-handed morality tale. This was acheived mostly by a compelling and complex central character, acted exceptionally well by Leonardo diCaprio. By comparison, Jennifer Connelly's "attractively courageous, big-hearted reporter who is after a story that will expose corruption and change the world" comes off a little simple. Djimon Housou, while effective, mines familiar territory (pardon the pun) as a moral but desperate man in extreme duress.
The movie shows South Africa (or Africa, generally) as beautiful but dangerous, chaotic but somehow organized and controlled (albeit by violent and inhumanely exploitative factions). This movie was more violent than I expected but it was a necessary part of the story. "TIA, right?"

Notes on a Scandal
This movie offered more than what I'd expected. I thought it would be a drama about a teacher who has an affair with a student.
But it's really about two women, one of whom has an affair with a student and the other is a bitter, lonely and obsessive friend.
Cate Blanchett playing Sheba is lovely and effortless, as always, but the real attraction is seeing Judi Dench as Barbara, the older disliked teacher who acts almost like a stalker and keeps a diary brimming with malicious criticisms.
Skillful story-telling avoids us getting wrapped-up in judgement of Sheba's ill-chosen affair and keeps us focussed on Barbara's twisted manipulations. Bill Nighy is perfect as husband to Sheba, a better-than-average supporting role that contrasts Sheba revealingly.