Thursday Movie Picks: Adaptations
1) Emma.
Try as I might to get through this book, I couldn't. But thankfully 2020's version of Emma was fun enough to watch.
2) The Devil All The Time
This is one of the better films Netflix released. While the extensive cast all didn't get enough screen time, Tom Holland is the best he's ever been here.
3) Artemis Fowl
Now for the trash! This movie is honestly so bad and all I can do at this point is laugh when I think about it.
I think I saw Emma but it has faded from my memory banks. I have not seen the other 2. Is that Colin Farrell I. The last flick?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's Colin Farrell, he's in it for about 5 minutes and it is not worth watching for him alone lol
DeleteI haven't seen any of these. I liked the '90s version of Emma with Gwyneth Gooplady, but it's no Sense & Sensibility.
ReplyDeleteI can't with Goop. The only thing I tolerate her in is Se7en. I realy liked the 90's version of Sense and Sensibility. It was great.
DeleteI've haven't seen any of these though I saw and liked the Paltrow version of Emma (the only time I've liked her onscreen). I couldn't get into Artemis Fowl so despite my liking for Colin Farrell it's good to know the movie is skippable.
ReplyDeleteI also thought of book to movie adaptations first but since the theme was wide open I decided to go with stage to screen adaptations. I limited myself to ones where I had seen both the film and a production of the play on Broadway.
Into the Woods (2014)-Adaptation of the Sondheim musical reimaging of classic fairy tales-Rapunzel, Cinderella, the Baker & His Wife etc.-with an impressive cast (Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman among others) is enjoyable but misses the magic of the stage production despite CGI and the utilization of location shooting. I saw this in 1988 at the Martin Beck Theatre, though Phylicia Rashad had by that time replaced Bernadette Peters who had originated the role of the Witch.
Gypsy (1962)-Star powered (Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood and Karl Malden in the leads) filmization of the classic stage play based on the memoirs of ecdysiast Gypsy Rose Lee growing up in the shadow of her more talented sister June and her fearsomely aggressive stage mother Mama Rose that Ethel Merman made legendary when it opened in 1959 with a score by Jules Styne & Stephen Sondheim. I saw the 2003 revival with Bernadette Peters as Mama Rose at the St. James Theatre.
MacBeth (1948)-Moody expressionistic take on the Shakespeare "Scottish Play" about the price of unfettered ambition and lust for power by a courtier (Orson Welles) and his rapacious wife (Jeanette Nolan). I saw the production starring Christopher Plummer (he was very good) and Glenda Jackson (she was electrifying!) at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in 1988.
I've seen this version of MacBeth! I really need to see Into The Woods, I'm surprised I haven't at this point.
DeleteI have Emma in my never-ending DVR watchlist as I hope to see it sometime in the coming months as I'd like to see what Anya Taylor-Joy is doing. I really want to see The Devil All the Time mainly for its cast. I have no interest in Artemis Fowl. Josh Gad is a big no for me. He can be really annoying.
ReplyDeleteHe is. Josh Gad is fine in the smallest of doses. I hope you get to the others soon, especially Devil All The Time.
DeleteArtemis Fowl was so, so bad. It must have been a huge disappointment for fans of the books. The other two were very good though!
ReplyDeleteI feel really bad for them, that was rough.
DeleteAhah, I haven't seen Artemis Fowl and not sure I want to, I had no idea Colin Farrell was even in it! Now, I'm not too fond of EMMA generally, probably my least fave Austen, and though I like Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma, the movie is just ok for me as well.
ReplyDeleteEmma was just "fine" I think that's a good way to describe it. Skip Artemis Fowl lol
DeleteYou had me worried for a moment. I thought you were going to defend Artemis Fowl. That movie is truly crap. Glad you liked The Devil All the Time. That was a tough watch, but it's so good.
ReplyDeleteI would never defend that, though really, that movie's pacing is kind of extraordinary in how bad it is.
DeleteI adored The Devil All the Time! The film itself was a bit boring but the cast makes it so worth watching. I wasn't a fan of Emma. though and Artemis Fowl I've avoided because of the reviews.
ReplyDeleteArtemis Fowl does not need to be seen by anyone lol. I never would've bothered if my son hadn't wanted to watch it.
DeleteEmma is a bowtiful name for a Wiggle 💛
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of them.
ReplyDeleteI love the Emma story, it's funny, so I'm looking forward to seeing this new adaptation.
I hope you like it!
Delete"How can I be the daddy when all we did was spend time with the lord?"
ReplyDeletethough a bit messy, The Devil All the Time does feel memorable. Tom is so good, I said he was going to be good after seeing The Impossible. That was just magnificent.
He was so good in The Impossible too! I'm glad he brought it in Devil all the Time. I hope he gets some awards attention for that. He's better than Oldman was in Mank for instance.
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