Well I'm just your average reviewer, and I'm on this site to have fun and make a few pennies. I'm al...
Well I'm just your average reviewer, and I'm on this site to have fun and make a few pennies. I'm also on dooyoo with the same name and reviews. I'll return all rates as soon as I can - thanks.
Member since:18.02.2009
Reviews:13
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Romeo and Juliet, as we all know, is a classic tale of love and tragedy, written by William Shakespeare. The love between the two characters - in this film played by Leonardo DeCaprio and Claire Danes, is strictly forbidden and is made all the more intriguing by the fuge between the couples' two familes; the Capulets and the Montagues. In this modern version of the famous story, director Baz Luhrmann adds a special twist to mix things up a little.
The main plot of the original story is followed, with a young lady named Juliet living with her parents; the Capulets, and a man named Romeo from the Montagues. One day they meet and fall in love with each other, but because of the hate bewteen the two families, they know that if they are caught there will be huge trouble. However, their love is too strong for them to be seperated, and they keep seeing each other in secret. When Juliet is told by
her parents that she is to marry a man named Paris; whom she does not like, Juliet politely refuses. This causes a huge row between her and her parents, and the Capulets tell their daughter that if she does not marry, they will disown her. Juliet, drowning in her own misery, decides to seek the help of a man named Friar Lawrence, who's plans, strangely enough, never seem to work. He gives her a special potion which will send her into a death-like sleep for a few days, hoping that her parents will assume she is dead and leave her be. He sends a letter to Romeo explaining that Juliet is not really dead, but of couse it all goes wrong and Romeo never get the letter. He hears that Juliet has passed away and, in his pain and grief, commits suicide in the church where Juliet's body has been laid. While Romeo is dying, Juliet wakes up and sees what he has done. She then kills herself with a gun, and so the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is retold once again.
This film, despite being based on a truly magnificent play, is very disappointing. Even though the cast contained some big names, I found the acting stiff, wooden and just generally bad to look at. The way the characters moved and behaved just didn't capture the film's true potential, not to mention being completely un-Shakespeare-like. Another disadvantage for me would be the language used. I admit, using Olde Worlde language was a very unique idea and may appeal to others, but it just put me off. Being set in a modern world, the Shakespeare talk completely clashed with everything else, making it a confusing and irritating watch. The movie was actually set in the streets of some busy city, and the opening scene is a gunfight bewteen the Capulets and the Montagues! I mean, since when did guns exist during Shakespear's time? And Romeo's vehicle was certainly no horse and cart. They all seemed to be driving top-of-the-range sports cars, which to me, really doesn't say 1500 - 1600s, which was when the original play was written. So as you can see, the film is really just about bringing bits from the past and bits from the present, throwing them together and making a new version of Romeo and Juliet. It didn't make much sense to me, but it has to be said that not everything about this film was so painful to look at.
Certain parts of the acting, although very rarely, were actually pulled off quite well. In some scenes I could really see the emotions the characters would have been feeling. I also liked the use of dramatic irony, as it worked well to make me feel involved and 'in-the-know.' This usually works well in any film, but I found that in Juliets situation I found myself feeling rather smug against Capulet; who at the time didn't know anything about Juliet's love for Romeo. Unfortunately, that's about it for the positives. But at least there are a few, right? Admittedly, the film wasn't 100% bad, and it really did have it's exciting moments where I found myself glued to the screen. But these moments came rarely, and altogether I would have to say that I didn't find it worth watching. Unless you really like Shakespear, I wouldn't waste your time with this film.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
(+) Jack Black, very good scenes showing the chemistry between characters, excellent soundtrack (-) Cameron Diaz can be quite irritating but not enough to put me off
Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom) takes a shot at reinventing Shakespeare's story of ... more
star-crossed loversRomeo and Julietas a visual pastiche inspired by MTV imagery, Hong Kong action-picture clichés, and Luhrmann's own taste for deliberate, gaudy excess...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom) takes a shot at reinventing Shakespeare's story of ... more
star-crossed loversRomeo and Julietas a visual pastiche inspired by MTV imagery, Hong Kong action-picture clichés, and Luhrmann's own taste for deliberate, gaudy excess...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
![Romeo And Juliet [DVD] [1996]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/77941333.jpg "Romeo And Juliet [DVD] [1996]")
![Romeo And Juliet [DVD] [1997]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78551303.jpg "Romeo And Juliet [DVD] [1997]")
Feb 25th, 2009
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