Midsummer Night's Dream

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted.  Life and such.  Today, I'm very strongly recommending this version of a Midsummer Nights Dream.  It's also available on Hulu here.  Oddly, Netflix is wrong about which version this is.  Although it says its this one, its actually this Royal Shakespeare Company production.  This is very much a theater production, with limited (and somewhat surreal) sets and costumes and .  If you're looking for a movie style adaptation, try this one.  If you enjoy theater, you'll like this production, I think.  The sets I liked, but the costumes were boring and ugly.  The acting is very good, and the direction innovative without being too pretentious.  It's faithful to the spirit of the play, but makes significant changes, some of which are questionable.  In particular, it cuts some scenes that help the flow of the play (like the hunting scene near the end). I wouldn't recommend this if you're unfamiliar with the story, or if you don't like theater, but it's highly recommended for Shakespeare geeks.  It's very original and really feels Shakespearian to me (whatever that means).  A-


ps: Although it's not available to stream, go out of your way to see the recent Helen Mirren version of The Tempest.  I LOVED it.

Kings

First off, Kings isn't available to stream on Netflix, but it is on Hulu (and you don't even need Hulu Plus to watch it).  Kings is a 13 episode modern retelling of the story of King Saul's fall and King David's rise to power.  It covers much of the events recounted in the fist book of Samuel, starting with David & the goliath and ending shortly before the whole witch of Endor thing.  However,  the story is a very loose retelling; even a good knowledge of the biblical version doesn't provide much in the way of "spoilers".  It would be more accurate to say that it is "inspired by" the biblical material, rather than being a retelling of it.

The biblical Saul is here renamed Silas, and is inhabited very, very well by Ian McShane, whom I know from Pillars of the Earth and you probably know from Deadwood.  Also excellent is Eamonn Walker from Oz as the Reverend (prophet) Samuel.  The other acting is also good.  The writing is solid; it moves at a good clip, the characters mostly seem believable, and there is an interesting pseudo-biblical lyricism to many of King Silas's speeches.  Jonathan, the gay heir apparent, is an interesting character of whom I would have liked to see more.  He's played by Sebastian Stan, who played Bucky Barnes in the new Captain America movie.  I'm told he was also in Gossip Girl.

I was worried about the religiosity of the show, but it's not religious in that ABC Family way at all.  It's religious in the same way Big Love or Battlestar Galactica are religious.  I wish they'd done a better job of promoting this show when it was on TV.  I didn't watch it because they promoted it as a soap opera, and totally left out the sci-fi aspects.  It's a shame, because I think a lot of people would have watched this if they had promoted it to the right sort of watchers, and I really wish there was a second season of it.  Oh well.  :(

The production values are very high.  It's clearly shot in NYC; several landmarks are recognizable in Shiloh.  It's set in the modern day, so there's nothing fancy in the way of costumes or sets, but it is very well directed, and the scenes are always beautifully and evocatively lit.  Overall, I'd give it a B+, with some early episodes rating A.

Brooklyn Babylon

Brooklyn Babylon is one of my favorite movies.  Many other people refer to it as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but it's not.  It's a retelling of Solomon and Sheba.  You should watch this movie, even though it's actually not that great.  If for no other reason, then watch it to hear the AMAZING sound track by The Roots.  If you don't know The Roots, I don't think we can be friends anymore.

The movie tells the story of a  Rastafarian hip hop artist named Solomon, played beautifully by Tariq Trotter (aka Black Thought of The Roots) and a chasidic girl named Sarah who live in the same Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, but are divided by family, religion, race, class, and politics.  After they meet in a traffic accident, the two begin a secret romance in defiance of both of their circles.

Now, I'm not usually much of a romance fan, but the combination of the Song of Songs, The Roots, and a girl named Sarah in love with a gorgeous, contemplative, black artist hit all my buttons.  While Tariq Trotter is excellent, the actress who plays Sara is not very good.  Several supporting roles are outstanding, including Sarah's grandmother as a less-than-Haredi European with progressive notions and Sol's mother, a hard-working West Indian woman who wants to best for her son. The music and art direction are both lovely.  I give this movie an A, but if you're not a Jewish girl named Sara who dates a contemplative West Indian artist, it's probably actually a C-.

ps: If anyone has any idea where I could acquire the soundtrack to this movie, you'd be my new hero.