Like the evil mirror image to the season’s sweeter and poignant “The History Boys,” the hot-blooded and quite wicked “Notes on a Scandal” should surprise Academy voters who expect British films to be ...

Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) is an old battleaxe of a school mistress. Stand-offish and friendless, her extra-curricular activities barely stretch beyond keeping a diary and an ailing cat. Cate ...