I’ve read or seen about two-thirds of Shakespeare’s plays. Hamlet remains my favorite. I've seen at least four versions. It’s language and psychological insight are remarkable. One of the Bard’s plays I was completely unfamiliar with was Coriolanus. Last night I watched a film adaptation (2011) produced, directed and starring Ralph Fiennes, courtesy of Netflix. I really enjoyed it, despite the fact that I was unable to figure out how to get the close captioning to work. I was unable to distinguish some of the dialogue, as my hearing is not as good as it used to be. Regardless, the lead character, based on an actual Roman warrior, is so interesting. Arrogant and prideful, he alienates the fickle citizenry he despises, despite his heroics in defense of his country. The production was updated to modern times. This is the first time this tack has worked for me. I did not enjoy either Ethan Hawke’s Hamlet (2000) or Ian McKellen’s Richard III (1995). They came off as gimmicks, not so Coriolanus. Although the events are set in a city called Rome, they mimic the carnage that went on in the Balkans. It has the elements of an action film, but rises above the genre because of the depth of the characterizations. Fiennes is excellent, although he overdoes it at times, foaming at the mouth ala Al Pacino in And Justice for All (1979). Vanessa Redgrave matches him as his proud mother. The ubiquitous Brian Cox, eight film appearances in 2011, lends his considerable talent to the production, as do the prolific Jessica Chastain, six films in 2011, and Gerard Butler (300 {2006}). John Logan is to be commended for the adaptation to the screen. On a scale of five, four. It is rated 6.3 at IMDB.
There’s an amusing new issue in the legal field. The owners of strip club Nite Moves, who owe $400,000 in back taxes, are claiming lap dances are an art form that should be exempt from taxation. There has to be a punchline there.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have suffered 19 consecutive losing seasons, are now only two games above .500. C’mon, guys.
It was another good day for the floating book shop. Maybe it's the weather, which has been as good as it gets for a week. Mrs. Eclectic bought another twelve books. She is about 35, I'd say, so she was unfamiliar with Sidney Sheldon's If Tomorrow Comes and Judith Krantz's Scruples, two blockbusters I urged her to select. I also sold six books in Russian, two of which had been donated by Michael minutes before. But the best part of the day came from Sheila, who recently read A Hitch in Twilight, which she said was "very creative." She particularly liked Nowak's Dreams, which covers past lives. Thank you, madam, and to all who bought and donated.
Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
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