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Not Phantom
Jan. 11th, 2005 11:00 pmSo, I tried to get to Phantom of the Opera at my birthday party, but it was closed at the H^2 theater, so we went to the Aviator, instead. I tried to go see it tonight, but it was sold out at Boston Common, so I went to see Hamlet, at Harvard, instead.
The Aviator: Pretty good. Seeing other actors play famous actors is kinda weird (Katharine Hepburn's a fairly important role, and Errol Flynn has a brief scene, and Ava Gardner shows up a moderate amount), but they mostly did a good job at it, and I tend to think DiCaprio does a good job with crazy people, which Hughes definitely was (in this interpretation, anyway, which portrays him as obsessive compulsive in a "needs medication" kind of way - I don't know if it was that bad in real life). I'd probably recommend Kinsey higher, 'cause I was more interested in the subject matter, but it's a good, solid flick, worth seeing if you've got the time. Lives 8 out of 10 days of game, and manages to win plot and role-play, at the same time.
Hamlet: The Phoenix blurb described it as "a 'reinterpretation' ... in which 'Hamlet gains a newfound vitality through the framework and imagery of the Catholic Mass.'" There's less Mass in it than that implies, although there is some. The "newfound vitality" seems to me to come mostly from the director's fairly definite opinions on things (Hamlet's not mad, Claudius is a villain, Gertrude doesn't know...). He cheats some to make those opinions fit the script, but not too much, probably not more than most directors cheat with Hamlet. (There is at least one occaision where I'm pretty sure he uses lines out of order, not just selective cutting, but it makes for a really cool take on the scene, so I forgive him.) I wasn't sure I was going to like it in the beginning, as several of the actors/portrayals are selected to fit with his vision, which doesn't agree with mine in several places, but once I saw where he was going, I started to like it a lot. Well worth getting to. (Harvard Ex, Free, showing through friday. Curtain at 7:30, but show up early or get your tickets in advance.) Lives 9 out of 10 days of game, but really, no one gets out of the slaughter at the end alive.
The Aviator: Pretty good. Seeing other actors play famous actors is kinda weird (Katharine Hepburn's a fairly important role, and Errol Flynn has a brief scene, and Ava Gardner shows up a moderate amount), but they mostly did a good job at it, and I tend to think DiCaprio does a good job with crazy people, which Hughes definitely was (in this interpretation, anyway, which portrays him as obsessive compulsive in a "needs medication" kind of way - I don't know if it was that bad in real life). I'd probably recommend Kinsey higher, 'cause I was more interested in the subject matter, but it's a good, solid flick, worth seeing if you've got the time. Lives 8 out of 10 days of game, and manages to win plot and role-play, at the same time.
Hamlet: The Phoenix blurb described it as "a 'reinterpretation' ... in which 'Hamlet gains a newfound vitality through the framework and imagery of the Catholic Mass.'" There's less Mass in it than that implies, although there is some. The "newfound vitality" seems to me to come mostly from the director's fairly definite opinions on things (Hamlet's not mad, Claudius is a villain, Gertrude doesn't know...). He cheats some to make those opinions fit the script, but not too much, probably not more than most directors cheat with Hamlet. (There is at least one occaision where I'm pretty sure he uses lines out of order, not just selective cutting, but it makes for a really cool take on the scene, so I forgive him.) I wasn't sure I was going to like it in the beginning, as several of the actors/portrayals are selected to fit with his vision, which doesn't agree with mine in several places, but once I saw where he was going, I started to like it a lot. Well worth getting to. (Harvard Ex, Free, showing through friday. Curtain at 7:30, but show up early or get your tickets in advance.) Lives 9 out of 10 days of game, but really, no one gets out of the slaughter at the end alive.
