books, movie

[psocoptera]

It was obvious that Joss Whedon had fun making a Much Ado About Nothing movie with his friends, but given the existence of the Branagh movie, we didn't really need another one. Did make me wonder if parties at Whedon's house are really like that. Also the casting choice to make Benedict the least-attractive guy in the movie didn't really work for me.

Neil Gaiman's The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is Gaiman being very Gaiman. A fine read if you like that sort of thing which I do, but didn't make me say "wow" or anything.

I had heard good things about E.C. Myers' Fair Coin and it started off very promisingly but then suffered from a case of the author having not quite written the book I wish they would have written. For which it is hardly fair to blame the author, and yet, oh, the ghost of that alternate book. (Sort of ironic for a book about alternate possibilities.) Anyways, the first half had a bit too much embarrassment squick for me; the second half, as the plot moved away from real-world problems into action-y stuff, was not as compelling. I wanted more about Ephraim's relationship with his mom, more about his friendship with Nathan, more reflection about the implications of the coin for people's identity/character. I suppose I would consider writing fic for this universe, actually, if someone wanted it for Yuletide... anyways, not perfect, but fans of YA SF might still want to check this one out.

Comments

[q10.livejournal.com]

Branagh's version didn't have Amy Acker's Beatrice or Nathan Fillion's Dogberry, and it suffered from tragic Keanu Reaves contamination.

and although Alexis Denisof isn't my type either, he somehow managed to marry Alyson Hannigan, so clearly he's got something going for him, and more generally i get the sense that he's a type a lot of people think is hot, even if his beard in this film is profoundly unflattering.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Hm. I thought Acker was fine but no Emma Thompson, Fillion's Dogberry was much less painful than Michael Keaton's, but not, to me, actually funny (I think it's just a stinker of a part, and Fillion did the best with it that could possibly be done), and I actually like Keanu Reeves, in general. I mean, not in Much Ado, he's not a great fit for the part, but he doesn't make me reach for the fast-forward like Keaton's Dogberry.

And I'm sure Alexis Denisof is a great guy and all! I'm just shallow enough that a certain amount of my enjoyment of a romance/romantic comedy has to do with how much I like the characters and how much I like them has to do with how attractive I find them, and Much Ado is enough of a romantic comedy to fall prey to this.

[q10.livejournal.com]

i'm just saying - your (and my) attractiveness assessment of Denisof may not be representative of that of the general population.

[kelilah.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I admit I haven't seen the movie, but I do think Alexis Denisof is hot. :) I think Fran Krantz is cute in a nerdy sort of way, and Sean Maher kind of blows everyone out of the water in a way akin to young Robert Sean Leonard in the Branagh version, but I wouldn't call Alexis Denisof the least attractive guy there.