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redfiona99[Error: unknown template qotd]
There can be only one answer, and that is my late and much lamented high school English teacher. Any time I write anything, if it works it's his, and if it doesn't work, blame me for not paying attention. He was the one that taught me about paragraphs and how to be very careful with word choices and sentence length, and to vary them where possible without affecting the flow of what I'm saying.
Football
The other thing about the whole World Cup thing is that the FA is going 'but wah, these people (who we aren't naming) promised to vote for us'. You do wonder if they ever played 'Diplomacy' the game. I'd also be amazed if the mysteriously unnamed people who didn't vote for the England bid did actually promise. I get visions of 'yes, I may vote for your bid' being heard as 'yes, I will vote for your bid'.
Hamlet
Finally got round to watching the Tennant Hamlet.
I liked the CCTV cameras motif, it gave a good sense of paranoia and unpleasantness.
I didn't like the bit with the mirrors, not because I disliked it as a staging but because it reminded me too much of the Branagh Hamlet, and I prefer it when things have a distinct identity, with the obvious exceptions of the ones that set it in a sensible semi-medieval period, where they're all going to look similar but, hey, at least they've gone with the text.
I like the way they made use of the fact that David Tennant looks like an overgrown teenager, and that Hamlet acts like an overgrown teenager, there were scenes where it came across brilliantly well. Any scene with him and Horatio, and the final one with him and his mother, you got a sense of Hamlet as a person, rather than as a rock cast into a sea of troubles.
Of course, that was also where some of the problems happened. Ophelia (Mariah Gale), who was wonderfully cast, but awfully young-looking, did look terribly young next to Hamlet in the play scene, which I think is partly a text problem (young bride, older husband being more common at the time), and partly a casting problem.
The other problem, which again is partly text, is that Hamlet is a dick. That's why its such a difficult role. You've got to convince the audience, for the duration, that he's a loveable dick, while you've got the long speeches and the existential angst. I'm not sure Tennant did. He did in fits and starts, but not enough to actually make me either like him or understand him. His take on the 'oh would this too, too solid flesh melt and resolve into a dew' bit was awesome.
I think part of my problem with Hamlet was something that was shared with a lot of the characters, they talked across the text rather than along it, so you missed half of it, not in terms of the words but in terms of the meanings.
One of the problems is that if you can't take the worst off Hamlet's pratishness, you've either got to make Laertes a controlling monster of an older brother, or a sinister snake or else the audience does end up going 'why are we not cheering for the guy whose sister's been driven mad and whose sister has been murdered, all by the actions of one man?' And Laertes (Edward Bennett) in this is lovely.
Polonius is probably the best performance in it. Oliver Ford Davies gives a wonderful sketch of a man who probably was brilliant, but his wits are leaving him. Yes, he's a bit of a strict Dad but he means well. As I said, in parts, this turns into the tragedy of Laertes, because Ophelia is lovely too.
Horatio is a darling, and the actor (Peter De Jersey) has the most lovely voice, it's warm and comforting.
With Gertrude (Penny Downie) you can see that Hamlet is her son, and at various points she looks as though she's half an inch away from a breakdown herself (and I swear she must have overheard her husband plotting, because the way she takes the cup away from Hamlet seems deliberate). It's also quite interesting that, despite this being one of those productions that strips the incest away (except the one that's in the text), Hamlet totally ignores his father's order to leave his mother out of it and almost viscerally recoils at the sight of his mother touching her husband.
Patrick Stewart is interesting. I think having such a strong performance as Claudius (and as Hamlet Sr.) means that Hamlet isn't the only one whose motivations are explored and there's almost a Danish MacBeth feel to Claudius's confessional speech, like he's in his own play, and Gertrude's in her own play as are Laertes, Polonius and Ophelia, it just happens to be that we're focusing on Hamlet's play (this is as opposed to, for instance, the Branagh Hamlet, where there is only Hamlet's play).
It's definitely worth a watch.
Film Meme - Day 8
Best Opening/Closing Credits
There can be only one ... and I can't find footage of it, so instead, please accept the opening for Return of the Pink Panther instead.
How many other credit sequences lead to a spin off cartoon.
The other options were the opening credits to Monty Python and the Holy Grail (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIKL_pTZFE) or the closing credits to Airplane (which I couldn't find). I'd say the start of Watchmen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-T5Yv2Xb4E) except its awesome overshadows the rest of the film.
I know I should have mentioned a Bond opening, but a Bond film will turn up as another answer. And then there's the problem of chosing which one:
Goldfinger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPiUMNrO2LI
View To A Kill - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkMuXhHd4ak
Goldeneye - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGPBFvDz_HM
Casino Royale - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfc9GLxlhEw
Day 1 - Favourite Foreign Language Film
Day 2 - A film that is underrated
Day 3 - A Film That Brings Me Unadulterated Happiness
Day 4- A film cliché that you love
Day 5 - Favourite love story in a film
Day 6 - Favorite actor/actress
Day 7 - Most surprising plot twist/ending
Day 09 - The best soundtrack/score to a film
Day 10 - Favorite classic film
Day 11 - Favorite black-and-white film
Day 12 - A film that permanently altered your point-of-view
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure...
Day 14 - A film that you used to love but now hate
Day 15 - Favorite film sequel
Day 16 - Favorite film character
Day 17 - Favorite film quote
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
Day 20 - A moving (emotional) scene
Day 21 - Favorite film from your favorite actor/actress
Day 22 - Favorite Academy Award acceptance speech
Day 23 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 24 - The best page-to-screen film adaptation
Day 25 - Favorite film villain
Day 26 - Favorite film poster
Day 27 - A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
Day 28 - Favorite film from your favorite director
Day 29 - A piece of trivia from a favorite film
Day 30 - Your favorite film of all-time
There can be only one answer, and that is my late and much lamented high school English teacher. Any time I write anything, if it works it's his, and if it doesn't work, blame me for not paying attention. He was the one that taught me about paragraphs and how to be very careful with word choices and sentence length, and to vary them where possible without affecting the flow of what I'm saying.
Football
The other thing about the whole World Cup thing is that the FA is going 'but wah, these people (who we aren't naming) promised to vote for us'. You do wonder if they ever played 'Diplomacy' the game. I'd also be amazed if the mysteriously unnamed people who didn't vote for the England bid did actually promise. I get visions of 'yes, I may vote for your bid' being heard as 'yes, I will vote for your bid'.
Hamlet
Finally got round to watching the Tennant Hamlet.
I liked the CCTV cameras motif, it gave a good sense of paranoia and unpleasantness.
I didn't like the bit with the mirrors, not because I disliked it as a staging but because it reminded me too much of the Branagh Hamlet, and I prefer it when things have a distinct identity, with the obvious exceptions of the ones that set it in a sensible semi-medieval period, where they're all going to look similar but, hey, at least they've gone with the text.
I like the way they made use of the fact that David Tennant looks like an overgrown teenager, and that Hamlet acts like an overgrown teenager, there were scenes where it came across brilliantly well. Any scene with him and Horatio, and the final one with him and his mother, you got a sense of Hamlet as a person, rather than as a rock cast into a sea of troubles.
Of course, that was also where some of the problems happened. Ophelia (Mariah Gale), who was wonderfully cast, but awfully young-looking, did look terribly young next to Hamlet in the play scene, which I think is partly a text problem (young bride, older husband being more common at the time), and partly a casting problem.
The other problem, which again is partly text, is that Hamlet is a dick. That's why its such a difficult role. You've got to convince the audience, for the duration, that he's a loveable dick, while you've got the long speeches and the existential angst. I'm not sure Tennant did. He did in fits and starts, but not enough to actually make me either like him or understand him. His take on the 'oh would this too, too solid flesh melt and resolve into a dew' bit was awesome.
I think part of my problem with Hamlet was something that was shared with a lot of the characters, they talked across the text rather than along it, so you missed half of it, not in terms of the words but in terms of the meanings.
One of the problems is that if you can't take the worst off Hamlet's pratishness, you've either got to make Laertes a controlling monster of an older brother, or a sinister snake or else the audience does end up going 'why are we not cheering for the guy whose sister's been driven mad and whose sister has been murdered, all by the actions of one man?' And Laertes (Edward Bennett) in this is lovely.
Polonius is probably the best performance in it. Oliver Ford Davies gives a wonderful sketch of a man who probably was brilliant, but his wits are leaving him. Yes, he's a bit of a strict Dad but he means well. As I said, in parts, this turns into the tragedy of Laertes, because Ophelia is lovely too.
Horatio is a darling, and the actor (Peter De Jersey) has the most lovely voice, it's warm and comforting.
With Gertrude (Penny Downie) you can see that Hamlet is her son, and at various points she looks as though she's half an inch away from a breakdown herself (and I swear she must have overheard her husband plotting, because the way she takes the cup away from Hamlet seems deliberate). It's also quite interesting that, despite this being one of those productions that strips the incest away (except the one that's in the text), Hamlet totally ignores his father's order to leave his mother out of it and almost viscerally recoils at the sight of his mother touching her husband.
Patrick Stewart is interesting. I think having such a strong performance as Claudius (and as Hamlet Sr.) means that Hamlet isn't the only one whose motivations are explored and there's almost a Danish MacBeth feel to Claudius's confessional speech, like he's in his own play, and Gertrude's in her own play as are Laertes, Polonius and Ophelia, it just happens to be that we're focusing on Hamlet's play (this is as opposed to, for instance, the Branagh Hamlet, where there is only Hamlet's play).
It's definitely worth a watch.
Film Meme - Day 8
Best Opening/Closing Credits
There can be only one ... and I can't find footage of it, so instead, please accept the opening for Return of the Pink Panther instead.
How many other credit sequences lead to a spin off cartoon.
The other options were the opening credits to Monty Python and the Holy Grail (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIKL_pTZFE) or the closing credits to Airplane (which I couldn't find). I'd say the start of Watchmen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-T5Yv2Xb4E) except its awesome overshadows the rest of the film.
I know I should have mentioned a Bond opening, but a Bond film will turn up as another answer. And then there's the problem of chosing which one:
Goldfinger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPiUMNrO2LI
View To A Kill - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkMuXhHd4ak
Goldeneye - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGPBFvDz_HM
Casino Royale - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfc9GLxlhEw
Day 1 - Favourite Foreign Language Film
Day 2 - A film that is underrated
Day 3 - A Film That Brings Me Unadulterated Happiness
Day 4- A film cliché that you love
Day 5 - Favourite love story in a film
Day 6 - Favorite actor/actress
Day 7 - Most surprising plot twist/ending
Day 09 - The best soundtrack/score to a film
Day 10 - Favorite classic film
Day 11 - Favorite black-and-white film
Day 12 - A film that permanently altered your point-of-view
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure...
Day 14 - A film that you used to love but now hate
Day 15 - Favorite film sequel
Day 16 - Favorite film character
Day 17 - Favorite film quote
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
Day 20 - A moving (emotional) scene
Day 21 - Favorite film from your favorite actor/actress
Day 22 - Favorite Academy Award acceptance speech
Day 23 - A character who you can relate to the most
Day 24 - The best page-to-screen film adaptation
Day 25 - Favorite film villain
Day 26 - Favorite film poster
Day 27 - A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
Day 28 - Favorite film from your favorite director
Day 29 - A piece of trivia from a favorite film
Day 30 - Your favorite film of all-time
