Coriolanus: Call of Duty - Shakesperean Warfare

Coriolanus

Directed By: Ralph Fiennes

Written By: John Logan, based on the play by William Shakespeare

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave, James Nesbitt, Dragan Micanovic, Lubna Azabal, and Ashraf Barhorm

Director of Photography: Barry Ackroyd, Editor: Nicolas Gaster, Production Designer: Ricky Eyres, Original Music: Ilan Eshkeri

Rated: R for some military violence.

Modern day Shakespeare adaptations are a tricky business. Sometimes, they come in the form of teen comedies that forgo the language in order to bring in a bigger (and often more pedestrian) audience (She’s The Man; 10 Things I Hate About You). Otherwise, the coursing of the language against a modern day setting often feels like an awkward clash of sound and image. Where is Kenneth Branagh when you need him?

            But here comes the deft directorial debut of actor Ralph Fiennes in the form of the often forgotten but masterful Coriolanus, an extremely bold adaptation of the Shakespeare military history. Having seen a magnificent production of the play a couple years back, I’m always surprised that Coriolanus never gets as much love as it should. It’s a deeply cynical play with a number of strong complex issues about how our military and political leaders often use and abuse their power. Using a modern day setting but keeping certain details faithful to the play, Fiennes and screenwriter John Logan have masterfully brought together the political aspects of the Shakespeare’s play to a relevant audience in today’s age of inequality.

Coriolanus: Call of Duty - Shakespearian Warfare

Coriolanus

Directed By: Ralph Fiennes

Written By: John Logan, based on the play by William Shakespeare

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave, James Nesbitt, Dragan Micanovic, Lubna Azabal, and Ashraf Barhorm

Director of Photography: Barry Ackroyd, Editor: Nicolas Gaster, Production Designer: Ricky Eyres, Original Music: Ilan Eshkeri

Rated: R for some military violence.

Modern day Shakespeare adaptations are a tricky business. Sometimes, they come in the form of teen comedies that forgo the language in order to bring in a bigger (and often more pedestrian) audience (She’s The Man; 10 Things I Hate About You). Otherwise, the coursing of the language against a modern day setting often feels like an awkward clash of sound and image. Where is Kenneth Branagh when you need him?

            But here comes the deft directorial debut of actor Ralph Fiennes in the form of the often forgotten but masterful Coriolanus, an extremely bold adaptation of the Shakespeare military history. Having seen a magnificent production of the play a couple years back, I’m always surprised that Coriolanus never gets as much love as it should. It’s a deeply cynical play with a number of strong complex issues about how our military and political leaders often use and abuse their power. Using a modern day setting but keeping certain details faithful to the play, Fiennes and screenwriter John Logan have masterfully brought together the political aspects of the Shakespeare’s play to a relevant audience in today’s age of inequality.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II: Boy Who Lived Comes to an End

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II

Directed By: David Yates

Written By: Steve Kloves

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Evanna Lynch, Helena Bonham Carter, John Hurt, Kelly MacDonald, Jason Issacs, Helen McCory, Tom Helton, Ciaran Hinds, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Jim Broadbent, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane.

Director of Photography: Eduardo Serra, Editor: Mark Day, Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Original Music: Alexandre Desplat

Rated: PG-13 for violent battle scenes and favorite characters tragically dying.

            I had two recent conversations about the upcoming end of the extravagantly epic 10-year Harry Potter film series with two very different people. One, a friend who was a diehard fan, was concerned over the final film, as she had rarely considered any of the films particularly well adapted, often leaving out crucial character details or stories. The other, my father, has watched almost each of the films, but every time he believes that he must have missed one of the movies. He hadn’t, but that is what separated J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter from our other gigantic mega-titan film series, The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R. Tolkien’s epic found a way to bring in new fans, while still pleasing almost each and every one of the diehard hobbits. With Harry Potter, Warner Bros. has constantly gone back and forth on what the series should be, including hiring three different directors before settling on David Yates, who did the last four films.

            And so, we’ve come to the end of it all as the posters on buses and billboards have constantly reminded us, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II is the final hurrah for this seven book, eight film series. Having Pottered-out after finishing the last novel back in 2007, I went in cautiously into this last film, knowing that the final three hundred or so pages that was left to cover was wall-to-wall action, as all the character development had been covered in Part I. That one, controversial for fans for having more relation to Tarkovsky than Ms. Rowling, was my personal favorite, as the characters came to terms with adulthood and the fear of the unknown in a unique and moving matter. But Part II is spectacle with a capital S, and for the most part, it’s a major step toward fan service and making sure everything goes out with a bang.