tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post6995504186744561702..comments2023-11-17T11:08:31.857-06:00Comments on Michael May: My 20 Most Anticipated Movies of 2020Michael Mayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12514945570212261283noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post-32401069158120980232020-01-23T13:07:00.095-06:002020-01-23T13:07:00.095-06:00On an unrelated note, I recently read your review ... On an unrelated note, I recently read your review of 2020 DRACULA and found it interesting; Having watched it on the BBC myself, I keep coming back to the fact that it was made with transparent enthusiasm for everything - which lends it considerable charm - but with such a tangle of ideas Good, Bad & just unnecessary that it leaves my feelings toward the piece too confused to sum up.<br /><br /> Really, the first two episodes were pure Guilty Pleasure DRACULA ("Ah, yet another Dracula that has read the book, enjoyed it and decided to do something else anyway") with Mr Claes Bang making a oleaginously horrific charmer of a Count (definitely more Bela Lugosi than Christopher Lee), compensating for what he lacks in Raw Intimidation* with casual cruelty - I also find Sister Agatha rather fascinating, if rather less easy to love than her Big Brother** and the ending to Episode 2 absolutely THRILLED me ... but then Episode 3 quite conclusively failed to 'stick the landing' on this adaptation, leaving it in 'Love to Hate' territory at best.<br /><br /> Quite frankly this feels like an adaptation that would have benefited from a shorter running length; three episodes gives Mr Gatiss (who makes a SUPERB Renfield but is sadly under-used) and Mr Moffatt far too much room to run amok (setting so many elements in motion with so little discrimination that they failed to weave them all together once again for a satisfying conclusion).<br /><br /> I am also OUTRAGED that they put all the pieces in place for Count Dracula being put on trial in the Modern Day for crimes against Humanity, past and present, yet completely fail to pick up this idea and run with it (leaving us to endure a conclusion built on murder/suicide psychobabble and denying themselves the chance to put a really unique twist on the Old Classic in the process); seeing Dracula tried & condemned for being a Bastard Feudalist in a modern court of Law (The Hague?) would have been SO SATISFYING. <br /><br /><br /> *When it comes to making the camera cower he's definitely no Lee or Jack Palance. <br /><br /> ** 'Brother Abraham' implicitly coexists with Sister Agatha in 2020 DRACULA continuity, since she does have nieces and or nephews who share the name; I would just LOVE to see the correspondence likely to have sprung up between them (Amusingly the Good Doctor appears to have gotten the maternal/caring instincts normally associated with the fairer sex by Victorians, while Sister Agatha has more slightly-callous Mad Scientist energy). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post-50510074380099428432020-01-23T13:05:59.317-06:002020-01-23T13:05:59.317-06:00Ha! Yes to all that. I'm a big fan and while I...Ha! Yes to all that. I'm a big fan and while I never would've made that casting choice, I'm eager to see how it turns out. I never would've cast Robert Downey Jr, either, but I like him in the role, too.Michael Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514945570212261283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7857882.post-58150790739514530412020-01-23T12:46:48.574-06:002020-01-23T12:46:48.574-06:00Holy Smokes, HENRY CAVILL has been cast as a Sherl... Holy Smokes, HENRY CAVILL has been cast as a Sherlock Holmes?!?<br /><br /> ...<br /><br /> I thought it was DOCTOR WATSON who was supposed to be the ridiculously handsome Victorian Adventure Hero? (With an experience of women that spans multiple continents, to paraphrase Conan Doyle).<br /><br /> Having said that I'm still interested; I've thought for a while now that Mr Cavill is the Superman actor most easily recast as The Batman and it will be interesting to see if he can channel a Great Detective (courtesy of THE MAN FROM UNCLE we already know he can do Bruce Wayne, courtesy of THE WITCHER we now know he can do 'Grumpy Dad Hero with a touch of Gothic Horror' and we've known for ages that he looks good in cape, so only one piece of the puzzle is missing ... ). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com