The Merchant of Venice (2004)

I haven't been writing much lately, especially about movies, so I'm going to post the pieces I have to write for class until I' back into the swing of it.


In his adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, director Michael Radford’s choices of setting and camera work seamlessly blend with William Shakespere’s famous and iconic words in both expected and unexpected ways. The setting of the play is of course the city of Venice, Italy,  and this version spares no detail, with elaborate depictions of Venice’s canals and architecture. Everything in the set looks really used and lived in, like it is a real place with real people instead of a simple film set. This is to be expected in a big-budget adaptation of such a well-known story.

The best example of unexpected decision is probably the scene of Shylock’s monologue, which in the text is in Act III, Scene I. Instead of putting Shylock on some symbolic soapbox or stage, or otherwise making him ‘front and center’, as might be the temptation for such a famous and memorable speech, he is in what is basically just a back alley along the canals of Venice. The place is foggy, and there is a blue tint to everything, giving the scene an almost melancholy feel. This simultaneously contrasts the passion of the speech (which could easily incite temptation to use reds and other warm colors) and compliments it. Shylock is essentially alone with Solanio and Salarino, save for a few prostitutes hanging around in the background, but they are only found behind Solanio and Salarino. The combination of all these factors provides a background and environment that don’t distract from the importance of Shylock’s words, leaving the viewer only Shylock and his promise to outdo the evil that has been done to him.

Overall, Radford’s choices only help to enhance the significance of Shakespeare’s words, by making everything feel real and relatable, as opposed to the distance of foreignness that some Shakespearean productions sometimes have.

Oh my dear sweet blog, how I have missed you.

Where do I even begin, guys?  It's been so long; this time I can honestly say that it wasn't entirely my fault. Apparently my blog was targeted in some mass spam-and-porn-blog wiping system. Yes, I was angry about this. Yes, I cried. Yes, I ran around with no idea what to do. Yes, I panicked, assuming my blog and everything here in was lost and gone forever, Oh my darlin' Clementine.

But luckily, a very nice individual at the Blogger Help Boards got me squared away and everything is okay now, or else you wouldn't be reading this, would you. - I'm sorry, it's 4:41 and I'm trying to write six different things at once, so I'm a little scattered at the moment. I keep trying to tell myself to do one thing at a time, but that just isn't how I work, okay man?

Right now, Stinky is sitting on my shoulder, and watching with terrifying interest as my fingers scramble all over my keyboard. I feel there is a distinct possibility I may bleed if she gets interested enough.

Anyway, since it's been a while, here's what I'm up to:
-the 43things project is actually going fairly well, despite mine and Mara's inability to actually make videos when we say we will. I'll get into specifics on that later.
-I'm currently working on articles for two different websites; I'll get more specific about that when they're actually published and I can link you to them.

Project43in43 Tentative Reading/Viewing Schedule.

January 2011: 

Watch:

The Birth of a Nation
Intolerance

The Gold Rush
Sunrise

Read:

Julie of the Wolves. 

The Earth My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. 

What My Mother Doesn't Know.

Nancy Drew:

February 2011:

Watch:

The General
The Jazz Singer

All Quiet On The Western Front

City Lights
Frankenstein

Read:

Macbeth

Bridge To Terabithia. 

The Great Gilly Hopkins.

March 2011:

Watch:

Duck Soup
King Kong

It Happened One Night

A Night At The Opera
Mutiny On The Bounty

Read:

Richard II

The Giver. 

Shade's Children.

April 2011:

Read:
Richard III

Huckleberry Finn. 

I Saw Esau.

May 2011.

Much Ado About Nothing

Kaffir Boy. 

Black Boy.

June 2011.

Corlionus

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. 

Speak.

July 2011. 

Sonnets 1.

JUDY BLUME MONTH, YEAH!

August 2011.

Comedy of Errors

Always Running. Crazy.

America: A Novel.

September 2011.

Henry IV pt 1.

Alice (series).
 Junie B. Jones (series).

Gossip Girl.

October 2011. 

Henry IV pt 2.

Goosebumps (pt 1). 

Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark. 

November 2011.

As You Like It.

Bless Me, Ultima. 

The House of Spirits.

December 2011.

Timon of Athens

We All Fall Down. 

The Chocolate War.

January 2012.

Henry V

Killing Mr. Griffin.

The Facts Speak for Themselves.

February 2012.

Sonnets 2.

Brave New World. 

Fahrenheit 451. 

Arming America.
Nancy Drew:

#56: The Thirteenth Pearl

#57: The Triple Hoax
#58: The Flying Saucer Mystery
#59: The Secret in the Old Lace

March 2012.

Gentleman of Verona

Go Ask Alice.

You Hear Me? Cut.

Nancy Drew:
#60: The Greek Symbol Mystery

#61: The Swami's Ring
#62: The Kachina Doll Mystery
#63: The Twin Dilemma

April 2012.

Julius Ceasar

Of Mice and Men. 

Harris & Me.

 The Terrorist.
Nancy Drew:

#64: Captive Witness
#65: Mystery of the Winged Lion
#66: Race Against Time
#67: The Sinister Omen

May 2012.

Anthony and Cleopatra

Summer of My German Soldier.

The Upstairs Room.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove.
Nancy Drew:
#68: The Elusive Heiress
#69: The Clue in the Ancient Disguise
#70: The Broken Anchor
#71: The Silver Cobweb

June 2012.

King John 

Song of Solomon. 

The Bluest Eye. 

Beloved.
Nancy Drew:
#72: The Haunted Carousel
#73: Enemy Match
#74: The Mysterious Image
#75: The Emeral-Eyed Cat Mystery

July 2012.

Meausre for Measure

My Brother Sam Is Dead.

The Fighting Ground.
Nancy Drew:
#76: The Eskimo's Secret
#77: The Bluebeard Room
#78: The Phantom of Venice
#79: The Double Horror of Fenley Place

August 2012.

The Tempest

A Day No Pigs Would Die.  

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Nancy Drew:
#80: The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds
#81: The Mardi Gras Mystery
#82: The Clue in the Camera
#83: The Case of the Vanishing Veil

September 2012. 

King Lear

The Boy Who Lost His Face. 

Grendel.

Blood and Chocolate.
Nancy Drew:
#84: The Joker's Revenge
#85: The Secret of Shady Glen
#86: The Mystery of Misty Canyon
#87: The Case of the Rising Stars

October 2012.

Goosebumps 2. 

Scary Stories 2. 

Bumps In the Night.
Nancy Drew:
#88: The Search for Cindy Austin
#89: The Case of the Disappearing Deejay
#90: The Puzzle at Pineview School
#91: The Girl Who Couldn't remember

November 2012.

A Winter's Tale

The Face On The Milk Carton.
Nancy Drew:
#92: The Ghost of Craven Cove
#93: The Case of the Safecracker's Secret
#94: The Picture-Perfect Mystery
#95: The Silent Suspect

December 2012.

Othello

When Dad Killed Mom. 
Nancy Drew:
#96 The Case of the Photo Finish
#97: The Mystery of Magnolia Mansion
#98: The Haunting of Horse island
#99: The Secret at the Seven Rocks

January 2013.

Sonnets 3

Sex Ed Month: 

It's Perfectly Normal. 

What's Happening to My Body? 

The Joy of Gay Sex.

It's So Amazing.
Nancy Drew:

#100: A Secret in Time
#101: The Mystery of the Missing Millionairess
#102: The Secret in the Dark
#103: The Stranger in the Shadows

February 2013.

Loves Labors Lost

Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging.

Daughters of Eve.

ttyl, ttfn...

Nancy Drew:
#104: The Mystery of the Jade Tiger
#105: The Clue in the Antique Trunk
#106: The Case of the Artful Crime
#107: The Legend of Miner's Creek

March 2013. 

Titus Andronicus

Anastasia (series). 

Captain Underpants.

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby.
Nancy Drew:
#108: The Secret of the Tibetan Treasure
#109: THe Mystery of the Masked Rider
#110: The Nutcracker Ballet Mystery
#111: The Secret at Solitaire

April 2013.

Merry Wives of Windsor

The Color Purple. 

Life is Funny.
Nancy Drew:
#112: Crime in the Queens Court
#113: The Secret Lost at Sea

#114: The Search for the Silver Persian
#115: The Suspect in the Smoke

May 2013.

Henry VI pt 1

The Stupids. 

In The Night Kitchen.

Draw Me A Star.

Nancy Drew:

#116: The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears
#117: Mystery on the Menu
#118: Trouble at Lake Tahoe
#119: The Mystery of the Missing Mascot

June 2013.

Henry VI pt 2

Fallen Angels. 

The Things They Carried.

Nancy Drew:
#120: The Case of the Floating Crime
#121: The Fortune Teller's Secret
#122: The Message in the Haunted Mansion
#123: The Clue on the Silver Screen

July 2013.

Henry VI pt 3

Olive's Ocean.

The Lovely Bones.

Mick Harte Was Here. 

Nancy Drew:

#124 The Secret of the Scarlet Hand
#125 The Teen Model Mystery
#126: The Riddle in the Rare Book
#127: The Case of the Dangerous Solition

August 2013.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

To Kill A Mockingbird. 

A Time To Kill.

Snow Falling On Cedars.

Nancy Drew

-#128 Treasure in the Royal Tower

-#129 The Baby-Sitter Burglaries

-#130 The Sign og the Falcon

-#131: The Hidden Inheritance

September 2013. 

Troilus and Cressida

Athletic Shorts.

Whale Talk.

Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes

Nancy Drew:

-#132: The Fox Hunt Mystery

-#133: The Mystery at Crystal Palace

-#134: The Secret of the Forgotten Cave

-#135: The Riddle of the Ruby Gazelle

October 2013.

All's Well that Ends Well

Goosebumps 3. 

Scary Stories 3.

His Dark Materials.

Nancy Drew:

-#136: The Wedding Day Mystery

-#137: In Search of the Black Rose

-#138: The Legend of the Lost Gold

-#139: The Secret of Candlelight Inn

November 2013.

Henry VIII

Crazy lady.

Fat Kid Rules The World.

Nancy Drew:

-#140 The Door-to-Door Deception

-#141: The Wild Cat Crime

-#142: The Case of Capital Intrigue

-#143: Mystery on Maui

December 2013. 

Prince Tyre

Friday Night Lights.

Deal With It!

Nancy Drew:

-#144 The E-mail Mystery

-#145: The Missing Horse Mystery

-#146: The Ghost of the Lantern Lady

-#147: The Case of the Captured Queen

January 2014.

The Taming of the Shrew

Slaughterhouse Five. 

The Kite Runner.

Nancy Drew:

-#148: On the Trail of Trouble

-#149: The Clue of the Gold Doubloons

-#150: Mystery at Moorsea Manor

-#151: The Chocolate-Covered Contest

February 2014.

Romeo and Juliet

Catcher In The Rye.

Nancy Drew:

-#152: The Key In the Satin Pocket

-#153: Whispers In the Fog

-#154: The Legend of the Emerald Lady

-#155: The Mystery In Tornado Alley

March 2014:

Merchant of Venice

Nancy Drew:

-#156: The Secret In The Stars

-#157: The Music Festival Mystery

-#158: The Curse of the Black Cat

-#159: The Secret of the Fiery Chamber

April 2014:

Sonnets 4

Nancy Drew:

-#160: The Clue on the Crystal Dove

-#161: Lost in the Everglades

-#162: The Case of the Lost Song

-#163: The Clues Challenge

May 2014:

Cymboline

Nancy Drew:

-#164: The Mystery of the Mother Wolf

-#165: The Crime Lab Case

-#166: The Case of the Creative Crime

-#167: Mystery by Moonlight

June 2014:

Hamlet

Nancy Drew:

-#168: The Bike Tour Mystery-#169: The Mistletoe Mystery

-#170: No Strings Attached

-#171: Intigue at the Grand Opera

July 2014:

Watch:

Read:

Twelfth Night

Nancy Drew:

-#172:The Riding Club Crime

-#173: Danger on the Great Lakes

-#174: A Taste of Danger

-#175: Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland

Star Trek: The Original Series

Episode Index:


Eh, ignore this. it's unimportant until I actually write something :p

Professor Hubert Farnsworth's Only Slightly Futuristic Holiday Film Quiz!

So I'm late to the quiz again. What else is new? Whatever.  Here it is. Courtesy of Sergio Leone and the In Field Fly Rule:

I really didn't see as many movies last year as I wanted to, but I'll do my best.


1) Best Movie of 2010: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

2) Second-favorite Roman Polanski Movie: Of his films, I've only seen Rosemary's Baby.

3) Jason Statham or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: Hm. I'd say The Rock wins this one by a slim margin.

4) Favorite movie that could be classified as a genre hybrid: Slither and Zombieland, both horror/comedy hybrids.

5) How important is foreknowledge of a film’s production history? Should it factor into one’s reaction to a film? I feel like this is one of those questions that you can discuss and debate till the cows come home without reaching a definite answer. Whether or not prior knowledge of a film's history should factor into one's reaction to that film, that knowledge almost definitely will.

6) William Powell & Myrna Loy or Cary Grant & Irene Dunne: Grant and Dunne. 

7) Best Actor of 2010.  It's so hard for me to just pick one. The big ones for me this year were: Andrew Garfield, Joseph Gordon-Levitt,  and Leonardo DiCaprio.

8) Most important lesson learned from the past decade of watching movies: Never trust the robot; always trust the creepy kid. 

9) Last movie seen (DVD/Blu-ray/theater): DVD - Alice in Wonderland (Disney Animated one). Netflix - Greenfingers. Theatre - Megamind, I think.

10) Most appropriate punishment for director Tom Six: A good, old fashioned flogging.

11) Best under-the-radar movie almost no one else has had the chance to see: Hmm.. I'll go with my standard answer: Ten Inch Hero. 

12) Sheree North or Angie Dickinson: hmm... Dickinson.

13) Favorite nakedly autobiographical movie: *shrug*

14) Movie which best evokes a specific real-life place: Any movie that suffers from Big Applesauce just because it's so easy.

15) Best Director of 2010: New Year's Resolution for 2011: Pay More attention to directors.

16) Second-favorite Farrelly Brothers Movie: The Ringer

17) Favorite holiday movie: Animated - Rudolf. Live Action - Love Actually.

18) Best Actress of 2010: Without a doubt, Emma Stone.

19) Joe Don Baker or Bo Svenson. Jo Don Baker.

20) Of those notable figures in the world of the movies who died in 2010, name the one you’ll miss the most: Tony Curtis :'(

21) Think of a movie with a notable musical score and describe what it might feel like without that accompaniment. Star Wars. I don't even need to discuss how it would be different.

22) Best Screenplay of 2010: Honestly, Easy A. 

23) Movie You Feel Most Evangelistic About Right Now: Easy A. 

24) Worst/funniest movie accent ever: Mandy Patinkin, The Princess Bride. 

25) Best Cinematography of 2010. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. And I say that because it's the only one I've seen this year in which the cinematography even hit my radar. 

26) Olivia Wilde or Gemma Arterton: Oh God, I love them both. But I guess I'll say Gemma, because I feel like we're really heavy on the Olivia exposure these days.

27) Name the three best movies you saw for the first time in 2010 (Thanks, Larry!)
-Singles
-Me Without You
-Harry Potter/ Deathly Hallows

28) Best romantic movie couple of 2010: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Don't you dare argue.

29) Favorite shock/surprise ending: I honestly can't even think of any right now. I'm such a bad film person. 

30) Best cinematic reason to have stayed home and read a book in 2010: One upside to not getting out enough this past year is that I didnt have time to see many bad movies. 

31) Movies in 2011 could make me much happier if they’d only _______________ : Try and pump some originality into the mix. I'm tired of choosing between the sequels and the remakes. 

Shiny New Library Card Makes Mk Smile.

Yesterday I went to the library to make sure that the book I had out for a really long time (we're talking a good eight years or so, here..) was in fact the one that my mom had recently located and returned. Turns out it was, but my library card was, in the words of the librarian "way expired." So I got a new one and I'm so freakin' excited.

The first books I got:  Julie of the Wolves, and Summer of my German Soldier, two books on the ALA's challenged list.

Also, in the mail today I got my copy of Are You There God? It's Me Margret. which is also on the list.

I'm nearly finished re-reading The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things, and I've started Julie of the Wolves so thus far, I'd say I'm doing pretty good on the books front. As far as all the Watching I need to do, I've recently discovered Star Trek TOS is on Fancast, just waiting for me. I am so excited.

Also, I'm gonna try to do this sort of thing at the end of each blog:

Items in Instant Q: 468
Items in Google Reader 1000+
Books Left: 314
Movies Left: 211

Pacing is key.

Wow, so I finally did the math regarding this project and here's how the numbers break down.


Books:
-a total of 316 books in the 3 years and 7 months (counting each of Shakespeare's plays as a separate book.)
-works out to 7.3 books a month for the whole 43 months.  (Time to dust off my library card!)


T.V/Movies:
213 episodes of Doctor Who (as of 'A Christmas Carol')
79 Star Trek T.O.S.
22 Animated
178 Next Gen
176 DS9
172 Voyager
98 Enterprise
279 SG-1
100 SGA
30 SGU


- that's roughly 29,30 episodes of whatever a month plus 4 movies from the AFI or BFI lists.

So yeah, it seems kind of daunting, but as long as I pace myself, I can totally handle this. I've knocked off full seasons in one sitting on my more particularly lazy weekends, so I'm pretty confident that I can accomplish most if not all of this.

43 Things in 43 Months... for real this time!

43 Things. 43 Months. This is the plan.

1. Visit 5 foreign countries
2. Learn to correctly pronounce "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu"
3. Watch every movie on the AFI Top 100 
4. Watch every movie on the BFI Top 100
5. Graduate from college
6. Learn to Speak Klingon
7. Publish a novel
8. Watch the entirety of the (existing) Doctor Who canon*
9. Visit Agloe, NY
10. Read all of the ALA's most frequently challenged books
11. Build a Rude Goldberg Machine
12. Visit 4 corners (AZ,CO,NM,UT)
13. Do something really really cool for charity
14. Take myself out on a date
15. Complete "Wreck This Journal"
16. Watch the entire Stargate series
17. Read the whole Nancy Drew series
18. Read the entire Bible, Koran, and Book of Mormon
19. Ride every record-holding roller-coaster in the United States
20. Travel Rt 66
21. Lose 100lbs
22. Get my own place
23. Trace my geneaology
24. Get voice lessons
25. Learn American Sign Language
26. Do 5 things that scare me
27. Fix Jason's face
28. Send a message in a bottle
29. learn to play guitar
30. learn to read music
31. TOWANDA!
32. Watch the entire Star Trek canon
33. See the Pacific Ocean
34. De-clutter my life
35. Visit every U.S. State capital
36. Read the collected works of William Shakespeare
37. Visit the grave of Edgar Allen Poe and leave some booze
38. Make a quilt
39. Learn to knit and crochet
40. Get my allergies under control
41. Learn to write with my left hand
42. clean my room
43. Run a Marathon

End of the Year Netflix Panic Marathon. Part 2.

 Singles (1992): A Gen-X movie starring Bridgette Fonga, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgewick, and Matt Dillon, as a few twenty-somethings, living in the same apartment complex, navigating life and trying to find love in grunge-era Seattle.

Each character represents a different social archetype without being too cliche, and the intertwining stories are realistic and dramatic without being hokey. Yes that's right I just said hokey. Deal with it.

Even if this movie sucked, which it doesn't, it would still be worth watching thanks to the awesome soundtrack - and really with a movie set in 1992 Seattle, could you expect anything less? I pretty much loved this movie, and I'm kind of bothered that I'd never seen it before.  A big fat 5 stars.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1996): 

Starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and based on the play of the same name by Edward Albee, this film is a classic, not only in age, but in it's power as a film.

The film is very simple, and doesn't pull any tricks, just simple and gripping "People in a Room" drama. A night of cocktails with another cocktail turns into an onslaught of revelations and disclosures.

Since it's People In a Room drama, it's almost entirely dialog driven, so if you aren't a fan of films like that, then you might not like this one. But if a film without explosions and lensflare can hold your attention, then you should definitely give it a shot.

 I can't possible describe this film in just a little blurb, and I'll definitely be taking a further, more in-depth  look at it later. An obvious Five Stars.

Greenfingers (2000):
After the heaviness of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" I could definitely use a comedy. Enter Greenfingers, a film based on the true story of minimum-security prison inmates that participate in England's prestigious Hampton Court flower show.

Starring Clive Owen, Helen Mirren and David Kelley, this comedy is slightly predictable, as is the case with pretty much all films based on true stories, but it also manages to still hold a surprise or two.

It's not exactly groundbreaking cinema or anything, and it's one of those cute little movies that goes largely unnoticed, but it's worth the watch, and is quite enjoyable. A solid 4 and a half stars.

End of the Year Netflix Panic Marathon. Part 1.

Sooo, Netflix Instant Play occassionaly has movies expire right? WELL, I knew this, but was completely blindsided by just how many of my movies would be meeting this fate. The following is my attempt to watch as many of these movies as I possibly can in the few hours I have left. Normally I do things in alphabetical order, and I swear this order made sense at the time, but here it is:

Me Without You (2001):
Starring Ana Friel and Michelle Williams, this film is about two best friends, Holly (Williams) and Marina (Friel) two very different girls, from their childhood in the late 1970's to the present day - or at least what would have been the present day in 2001 and all. :P

Despite their differences - Holly being a straight-laced good girl, and Marina being more wild - the girls are the best of friends and share all the ups and downs  and fun and traumas that mark all real best-frienships. The plot is simple, following the girls throughout their lives together - and apart.

If you don't like films that are character and dialouge driven - rather than fast paced and driven by speeding cars and explosions, then this is certainly not the film for you; but if you like films that explore the complexities of human relationships, then this film is an excellent choice.  Five Stars.


How to Marry a Millionaire (1953): 
Starring Marilyn Monroe, Bety Grable and Lauren Bacall, How to Marry a Millionaire is about thre New York models, that make a plot to each catch and marry their own Millionaires, but of course, like any good romcom, of course this is not a simple idea.

Now, I admit, I'm always  a little bit  biased toward anything with my Queen Norma Jean in it, but this film is quite funny, and I really enjoyed it.  If you're a fan of any or all of the stars, you certainly won't be disappointed with this one. And even if you've never seen a film with any of these lovely ladies, this would be a good one to start yourself out with.  There's some interesting elements that I'd like to explore later on The Feminism Problem, but overall this film was quite enjoyable. Five Stars.

The People vs Larry Flynt (1996): 
A slightly idealized depiction of the life of 'smut peddler' and Hustler Mgazine founder Larry Flynt, this film stars Woody Harrelson in the title role, and features Courtney Love as his wife Althea, Edward Norton as his poor, poor lawyer, along with several other instantly recognizable names and faces.

At the time of viewing and posting, I had very little knowledge of the actual events the film is based on, so I can't really say much for the film's accuracy, but I can say it is a well-made and well-executed film that I enjoyed watching, even if it did drag a little in places. It's a very interesting look at the struggle between the so-called moral majority and the rest of us. Four and a half stars.