Reviews

THis movie is a sort of modernised version of the original Shakespeare play. From the scrip a lot of the loose text from the original play has been dropped out (and hence many of the characters have been marginalised), but those changes actually serve the text pretty well; even though it is delightful, Midsummer is not the Bard's best work and is in places outdated.

This adaptation has a nice basic idea. It has been transferred into early 20th century Tuscany, and Theseus has been made a local nobleman of high rank. Most of the scenes in this "real" world work well, even if the cast isn't ideal. Pair Strathairn/Marceau is spot-on and West/Friel works well too. Bale/Flockhart... not so sure about them. Kline as Nick Bottom is a bit over-the-top for my liking, and the rest of his merry men stuck behind his shadow.

In the fairy world, everything goes awry. The setting changes from the beautiful Italian countryside into cheap, badly done studio set. All the rather nice costumes are drowned by this mess of a surrounding. Of the actors, Pfeiffer is not too bad. Everett is a wonderful idea for Oberon, giving the role credibility and smoothness. Tucci...? Ah well. This is what happens when a character is detached entirely from what the writer had in mind. My idea of Puck never was that he is a wise, benevolent man.

All and all, this is not all bad but still rather sloppily done. The basic questions this play is probably intended to raise are not pressed forward as much as they could have done, but generally, this works as entertainment. But if you have got a college paper to write about this play, look for other sources.

I would give the movie a 6, and the extra point for David Strathairn, who never fails to get me going :D

Rating this movie I really wasn't sure what to give it. It has its downs, but also some spectacular ups. The setting is wonderful; Longbourne is beautiful in it's 17th century glory, the set for the Meryton assembly amazing and Chatsworth as Pemberley breathtaking. The music is beautiful. The costumes are at times extremely elegant.

But. The casting is slightly off. Keira Knightley is good, Rosamund Pike spot-on; I love Brenda Blethyn to death, but something about her is not quite right here. Matthew Macfadyen, perfect in Perfect Strangers, is more a contemporary face and lacks the kind of strength and sexy charm I associate to the role. The younger Bennett girls... Tallulah Riley is too pretty and the other two too childish. And Donald Sutherland - who thought casting him would be a good move? Also, the adaptation fails. The very basic storyline is there, and nothing else. The characters are oftentimes wrong, as are the dynamics of the family. Mr Collins and Mr Bingley are nothing like their literary counterparts, and Mr and Mrs Hurst have been deleted entirely. The Bennett family has been made much poorer than they are. The whole Wickham storyline is pushed aside too soon, as if the writers didn't know just how important it is. And so on... On the whole, I had the feeling that it was done in rush, and as short as possible.

Also, the movie is full of all sorts of modern blunders. Too many to mention.

I have heard that before being assigned to direct this film Joe Wright had never read the book; he didn't fully understand his subject, or the importance of portraying certain things faithfully to it, and that has given this work a slightly sour aftertaste.

...saw such a boring thing in my entire life. Never. I have seen hundreds of movies in my life and for the very first time, I actually wanted to sit up and leave. Only the friend I was with stopped me from doing so and in the end he hoped we had done it after all too.

I haven't played the game, but can actually believe that it might work out just fine. But as a movie, the game's plot line just simply doesn't work. When the DIY factor of a game is taken away, all you have is a group of people you really don't care about running around, performing tasks that are, when watched on a big screen, simple and pointless.

Instead of rising to a higher level, using the themes for something, this movie is simply a pre-solved run-through of a computer game. Task: a monster appears. Solution: shoot it, continue. Task: a hole on the floor. Solution: cross the hole balancing on the structures poking out of the hole. Task: monsters on the corridor. Solution: turn of your lantern and walk slowly past them. And so on. And so on. And so on. And soh...