Let's get the positives out of the way. First of all, Peter Dinklage, as you would expect, is very good in Cyrano. What he has to work with is not great, and he hardly has the chance to prove himself as the next musical star, but his obvious skill as a performer works out in … Continue reading Cyrano (Review)
Tag: adaptation
The Tragedy of Macbeth (Review)
As an English Literature teacher who has taught Shakespeare's Macbeth for seven years, my perspective on adaptations will differ to most. While I understand that Joel Coen's turn is a striking piece of cinema full of good actors saying pretty words, and certainly is cinematic (on a visual level), it is a lukewarm adaptation that … Continue reading The Tragedy of Macbeth (Review)
Things Heard and Seen (Review)
Sometimes, you have to give a film credit for trying. And, you know what, Things Heard and Seen (another disposable Netflix film that has gained attention purely to a couple of notable stars) certainly tries. It tries to touch on wider themes: transcendental and theological horror (hinting at Blakean and more widely Romanticist concepts); cycles … Continue reading Things Heard and Seen (Review)
Rebecca (2020) (Review)
Divisive British filmmaker, Ben Wheatley (Kill List, High-Rise, A Field in England) is certainly not the most obvious choice to re-adapt Daphne Du Maurier's hugely popular novel, Rebecca. The book having already been immortalised into film, famously, by Hitchcock (director) and Selznick (producer) in 1940 - and often regarded as one of the greatest films … Continue reading Rebecca (2020) (Review)
The Old Guard (Review)
There are things to like in The Old Guard. First of all, it is a pleasingly diverse film in a very natural feeling way: we have two female leads; the film's major romance plot is between two men (and is achingly romantic in the way that we, sadly, too frequently see reserved for heterosexual relationships). … Continue reading The Old Guard (Review)
Emma. (2020) (Review)
Adaptation is a difficult game, especially with classics that have already been adapted time and time again. How do you breathe new life into something so familiar and how do you make your version stand out? And, do we even need a new version? Much like with last year's superlative Little Women, Autumn de Wilde's … Continue reading Emma. (2020) (Review)
Color Out of Space (Review)
The work of famous racist, H.P. Lovecraft, is no stranger to the big screen. This is in spite of the fact that much of his work deals with the unexplainable and the inexplicable: people harrassed by things that defy description and understanding. These ideas may be hard to put on screen but that difficulty has … Continue reading Color Out of Space (Review)
The Personal History of David Copperfield (Review)
Unsurprisingly, the writer and director who managed to glean comedy from Stalinist Russia has managed to make an accessible and charming comedy out of a Dickens novel. Obviously, anybody versed in Dickens will know that comedy is actually something the famed writer is good at; however, it is not his primary mode and it is … Continue reading The Personal History of David Copperfield (Review)
Little Women (2019) (Review)
Quite simply, Greta Gerwig's Little Women is one of the all time great literary adaptations. This is not only because it's a spectacular film in its own right but because of how well it transfers source material from page to screen. Louisa May Alcott's classic novel has had an impact far larger than the book … Continue reading Little Women (2019) (Review)
Jojo Rabbit (Review)
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Taika Waititi's coming of age comedy set in Nazi Germany (just before the end of the war) about a young Hitler Youth member who likes to hang around with his imaginary friend - who is Adolf Hitler - doesn't quite work. There are moments when things click, but the whole hodge-podge of ideas … Continue reading Jojo Rabbit (Review)
Assorted Opinions 