Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon, 2013) (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

I only speak of mirth, not matterRecommended.

 

[mattCR]

Short and sweet review Dave. My wife raved about it, I haven't had a chance to go yet, but all my friends say it's great.

 

[David Weicker]

I thought it was terrific. I'm curious who came up with some of the bits of business.

Spoiler

(Denisof's twig cover, the car keys, etc.)

Was it Whedon, or the actors? How collaborative was the effort?

David

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Saw this Saturday and enjoyed it but can't say I loved it. It was my first exposure to the play, so I can't compare to other versions.

Overall, it moved well and entertained, though the update to modern times came with some quirks that didn't work. These guys were supposed to be warriors? They were more like stockbrokers. And they were supposed to be Italians? And there was a big tumult because a 20-something woman wasn't a virgin?

Again, I did like it, but I think it could've used more updating to fit the era better...

 

[TonyD]

Jess? Whedon.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Yeah, this was directed by Joss. Why is his brothers name in the thread title?Edit: Oops, my bad. "JED" Whedon is Joss's brother. "Jess" is just no one

 

[Adam_S]

This is hands down the best film of 2013 so far. And in my opinion it's probably second only to Olivier's Henry V in terms of Shakespeare adapations. This blows Branaugh's excellent version out of the water, just brilliant in every respect, Dogberry is perfect, the iconic "Oh that I were a man" scene is the best it's ever been done on screen, it's hysterically funny and fast moving (as it should be), just outstanding and brilliant.

 

[DaveF]

Typo in the thread title. My error. I'll see about getting a mod to fix that. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It isn't perfect, but I fully enjoyed it. I liked that it was modern but not shackled to 2013. I loved that the actors were obviously enjoying themselves.I saw the Branagh version some years ago, but didn't remember the story. So I was startled anew at how modern the humor was. The side story of the night watch, led by Nathan Fillion, could have been written yesterday. The mangled words. His supremely confident incompetence. The repetition of outrage of "mark it, she named me an ass" left me bewildered, wondering if Whedon and Fillion had gone off and improved their own dialog. Nope, original Shakespeare. Alexis Densiof's ham performance as he first hears of Beatrice's love for him. His subsequent teenage-like flexing and preening to catch her attention. And yet I thinks the Bard himself would not be surprised by such a performance in his story. Clark Gregg (?) was a riot, as he giggled through sarcasm. I've pointed out the silliness. And it's not a perfect movie. It's not surprising to learn it was filmed in under two weeks at Whedons house. It feels small budget and independent. And I thought the beginning was rocky - though that's while I'm struggling to get my brain to process olde English.But make no mistake, there are superb scenes. Amy Acker was brilliant at times. And when Clark Gregg moved from half-drunk smirking, to flatly serious I saw a new level to him. He knocked me out. And the rest of the cast was great. I love Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher. The new actress playing Hiro was good and fully up to the rest of the cast. I like this movie perhaps more than it merits on its own? Whedon and the Scoobies making something fun and unexpected, what more can i ask for? I'd rather see him do this, creating a new Dr. horrible, and so forth than The Avengers. It is awesome when "Hollywood" goes and does a labor of love and shows what can happen for minimal money just for kicks.

 

[mattCR]

Finally caught this and have to say this is probably the bar film adaptation of the work I've seen,and it would be very high on my list of all Shakespeare adaptations. A witty but reverential take on the bard. A+

 

[Cees Alons]

Typo in the thread title. My error. I'll see about getting a mod to fix that.
...........

You did.


Cees