Comments on: NYFF ’10: ‘The Tempest’ Is Much Ado About Nothing

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 05:25:24 +0000

I've just come from the NY Film Festival, at which this was the "Centerpiece". I knew nothing about the hype, nor the pans. All the buzz here was, well Mirren is amazing, and Taymor does awesome things. (She was there tonight, basically said: Just enjoy it! It's all-American, shot in Lana'i (Hawai'ian island), as she said.

But it's quite British still, and William Shakespeare might enjoy this. (Happy 400th Birthday, Tempest, Taymor reminded us.) To me it's Shakespeare presented on film with a Castaneda-like, Hawai'ian gods-inspired "feel", and a touch of Harry Potter stagecraft with a dash of Monty Python. To be seen as "what it is", especially with at least some notion of the original, it can be fun, so whilst in the minority "here" I can see why it's one *artistic* praise.

By: Eliza

Eliza — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:51:25 +0000

Hey Anonymous, that's great and you sound fairly intelligent, which is good. But you know you just come off as a love-blind Taymor fan boy (or girl) by coming to a place like this and using abbreviations for her films. It's like a term of endearment in the movie world. Just saying.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:03:39 +0000

^No offense taken. But hey, I enjoyed ATU too. And yeah, there are plenty of folks out there who think ATU the worst movie ever, and there are PLENTY of others who have seen it a dozen times cause it's one of their favorite movies. Seems like Taymor's just one of those artists. And the good movie critics (e.g. A.O. Scott) are able to review something like ATU with that in mind and reflect that polarizing element respectively, instead of making simple-minded pronouncements like "it's bad." Maybe her films aren't everyone's cup of tea, but to call her a hack is just idiotic.

By: Fred

Fred — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:25:07 +0000

Hey it's Julie Taymor's intern.^

No offense, but your comment is the only positive thought on the entire internet right now. The film has been savaged at two film festivals now. While yes, everyone does need to see it for themselves, many simply won't and it does not bode well for its prospects at all.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:13:15 +0000

Nope. Saw the movie–it's great. This review is nonsense–you can't complain that the actors take up the foreground of the shot in one sentence and then complain in the next sentence that "the movie becomes less about the text, the amazing actors that are saying the lines." In fact, the movie is one of the most lucid, straightforward interpretations of Shakespeare I've seen on screen. And to "Anonymous"–how much of the Spiderman script has anyone read? How much of the music has anyone heard? How much of the set has anyone seen? How much money did Taymor's last Broadway musical make? And yet you're ready to call it a flop-in-waiting, and it's because you're following the herd of negativity when you think you're thinking for yourself…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:06:15 +0000

For God's sake! How it is possible that Julie Taymor still works? No one of her films is a hit and that Spiderman musical has the words "box office flop" tattoed in every place!

By: christopherbell

christopherbell — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:51:19 +0000

The worst at the screening was when Russel Brand showed up, and there was scattered laughter just because he was there. Gimme a break.

By: pomme

pomme — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:33:24 +0000

what impressive casting!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:22:42 +0000

last time i checked julie taymor was a hack.

By: Eliza

Eliza — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:02:47 +0000

Noooo!! Oh, that's so sad. I was putting a lot of hope into this movie.