TV Review: The Borgias

This past spring, Showtime rolled out its Tudors replacement, this time going back a bit to tell the story of the infamous Borgia family. They are headed by patriarch Rodrigo (Jeremy Irons): a cardinal who has a driving ambition to be pope, letting nothing and nobody stand in his way. Eventually, he becomes Pope Alexander VI...with the help of bribery and, as legend has it, murder. Sons Cesare (the priest), Juan (the soldier), and Joffre (the youngest), daughter Lucrezia, and their mother Vannozza de' Catanei round out the family, though Vannozza is soon outsed by the younger Giulia Farnese after Rodrigo becomes pope. The Borgias have been dubbed the original Godfather, and indeed, Godfather author Mario Puzzo was supposedly inspired by them to write the classic series, and wrote the novel The Family about them. With the star power of Irons and Neil Jordan (who created the series), this new show is a good one, and will be back next year for season two. If you haven't seen it already, and are a fan of The Borgias, the mob, or renaissance Italy, I highly request you do and catch up before next season! 3 1/2 stars 🙂

Little Actor, Big Win

A big hip, hip, HUZZAH for Peter Dinklage for winning best supporting actor in a drama series for his role as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones at tonight's Emmy awards! Game of Thrones also won one for Outstanding Main Title Design. The Borgias also won a couple: Outstanding Costumes For a Series, and Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, while The Pillars of the Earth won one for Sound Editing For A Miniseries, Movie, Or A Special. Congrats to all the winners!

All the Queen's Players by Jane Feather

In this novel by bestselling author Feather, we meeet Rosamund Walsingham, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Francis, who accompanies her brother Thomas to court to work for (and hopefully be married off by) their infamous cousin using her gift for drawing. Once there, she meets and falls in love with another man in the pay of Sir Francis, Will Creighton who is also in love with her. Unfortunately for them, when they give into their passion, it is discovered, and Rosamund is shipped off by the queen and Sir Francis to act as a lady in waiting to the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots and report all that goes on. She soon finds herself in the middle the the Babington plot and soon finds just how deep her cousin's web of players runs and how many lives depend on her doing her part well. with a dose of candid, risque scenes, intrigue, and portrayals of court life, All the Queen's Players is a good addition to any rennies library. I give it 4 out of 5 stars :-)

Film Review: Your Highness

Your Highness indeed! An appropriate title in more ways than one, this comedy stars Danny McBride as Thadeus, a lackluster second son living in the shadow of his hero brother Fabious (James Franco). Though wanting to escape his reputation, he also has no desire to change it...until he's forced on a quest by his father King Tallius (Charles Dance) to help Fabious get back his kidnapped betrothed Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) from an evil magician named Leezar (Justin Theroux). Along the way they confront a perverted oracle, fight an evil savage chief with a wicked cauldron, an, er, lovelorn minatour, and enlist the help of a lone female warrior named Isabel (Natalie Portman) before finally taking down Leezar and getting Belladonna back. Despite the liberal use of the f-bomb, crude humor, and plenty of blood, there is also a surprise underlying message: with the love and loyalty of friends and family, you can defeat any obstacle if you try. Definitely a rennie man's buddy flick, there's also things in it ladies can enjoy too if they want a laugh. I give it 3 out of 5 stars 🙂

The Saxon Files

Hey folks, I want to spread the word on a new radio show on Coog Radio.com called The Saxon Files. Billed as "geek, nerd and dork radio", the show airs Fridays from 5-7P Central time and plays lots of rennie tunes! Go check them out and follow them on the book of Face and Twitter!
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Film Review: The Virgin Queen

This four part mini series was aired on Masterpiece Theatre back in 2005/2006 and stars Anne-Marie Duff as Elizabeth 1 and Tom Hardy as Robert Dudley. Beginning near the end of the reign of Mary 1, the story follows Elizabeth and Dudley from the very beginning her reign all the way to the end...literally: the last episode ends with the queen's death. Anyway, I found the series decent, and thought Duff did a good job showing the mercurial queen's many different sides. However, compared to Cate Blanchette's or Hellen Mirren's versions, it doesn't quite measure up. Hardy was not quite as strong as Dudley, and didn't really have the command that one would think Dudley would have. I'd say the costumes were decent, but nothing that made me gasp.  A "hey, I know that guy!" moment: the actor playing Essex was last seen playing Cranmer in The Tudors. All in all, a film to see as a fan of the era, not horrible, but not great. 2 out of 5 stars