Much Ado About Nothing Movie Review

Sometimes as a great fan of Shakespeare, though certainly I am not a studied scholar of his work, I long for adaptations that get away from the stuffy theatrical tradition popularized by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh. Though I have often found much to admire in Branagh’s work, it still fails to feel truly inspired or inspiring and instead comes across as an exercise in literary interpretation rather than a production of human emotion. But it is exactly that quality in Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing that I admire it so damn much and why I’m willing to call it the best Shakespeare adaptation committed to film.

Anonymous Movie Review

I’m not a Shakespeare scholar. I probably know more than most people but I certainly can’t claim any intimate knowledge of his life and work. I know enough to say that the alleged controversial question of authorship of his works is complete and utter bunk, in spite of what Shakespearean actor Derek Jacobi believes. The issue strikes me as little more than the common disbelief among those who have spent lots of time and money on formal education that someone with a lesser education could possibly possess such genius. A major part of the argument has been that Shakespeare’s education was insufficient to prepare him for works containing classical allusions and such. As far as I’m concerned this is no different to any modern day conspiracy theory that suggests for instance that we never really went to the moon and that George W. Bush personally flew airplanes into the World Trade towers.

Trailer for Julie Taymor's The Tempest

Julie Taymor, who directed the visually splendid Titus, Frida and Across the Universe is back with a new film, an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Here's the trailer:



I will reserve full judgment until I see the film, but I sincerely hope it doesn't turn out as bad as this trailer makes it look. I thought her Titus, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus was fantastic, but it looks like she may have lost the plot a bit on this one, relying heavily on CGI and turning his late great work into an action spectacular to attract the Clash of the Titans crowd.