Much Ado About Nothing

Prince Don Pedro (Reed) and his friends and officers Benedick (Denisof) and Claudio (Kranz) visit the home of Leonato (Gregg) the governor of Messina.  Don Pedro recently led a successful campaign against his rebellious brother, Don John (Maher), who is also at Leonato's home.

Immediately sparks fly between Claudio and Leonato's daughter Hero (Morgese), who are soon engaged.  Sparks also fly between Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice (Acker), who have a history and hate each other.  Don Pedro believes Benedick and Beatrice are perfect for each other and concocts a plan to bring them together.  Meanwhile, Don John plots to destroy Claudio and Hero's engagement, with the help of Conrad (Lindhome) and Borachio (Treat Clark).  Can the incompetent police, led by Dogberry (Fillion) and Verges (Lenk) keep the peace, or will the party and relationships spin out of control?

As I have mentioned before, I was an English major in college.  I love literature and recently purchased a book of the The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.  In addition, I am a great fan of Joss Whedon; I love his TV shows (I have every season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) and other works.  The combination of the two was enough to leave me giddy with anticipation.  However, the film did not come to any cinemas near me, so I had to wait until it arrived in Netflix.  It was worth the wait!

This is probably my favorite version of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing."  I love Kenneth Branagh's version... but I like this more.  Apparently Whedon has staged Shakespeare readings over the years, and this film came from that.  It was filmed in 12 days at Whedon's home, immediately after he finished filming The Avengers.

Whedon maintains the original dialogue and character names, but uses modern settings and clothing.  This changes some of the job titles, but makes the story more accessible for an audience that doesn't understand the language.  He also chose to film in black and white, which keeps the focus on the characters.

The cast is excellent.  The majority have appeared in other Whedon productions.  Alexis Denisoff and Amy Acker are great in the lead roles.  They have incredible chemistry (both appeared in Angel and Dollhouse) and are great with comedy and intense moments.  Reed Diamond (from Dollhouse) seems very comfortable as Don Pedro.  Sean Maher (Firefly) is a strong villain.  The rest of the cast is great, but the standouts have to be Nathan Fillion (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) and Tom Lenk (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The Cabin in the Woods).  Fillion and Lenk (pictured above) are the inept police officers (they are constables in the play) and play off each other well.  They get some of the best laughs, along with their underlings: the Watchmen (Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney).

This film probably appeals more to Whedonites (who were already planning to see it), but I think it has a greater appeal.  Check it out (having a mild familiarity with Shakespeare helps but is not necessary).

Much Ado About Nothing (2013) 109 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some sexuality and brief drug use
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Amy Acker as Beatrice
Alexis Denisof as Benedick
Reed Diamond as Don Pedro
Nathan Fillion as Dogberry
Clark Gregg as Leonato
Fran Kranz as Claudio
Sean Maher as Don John
Jillian Morgese as Hero
Spencer Treat Clark as Borachio
Riki Lindhome as Conrade
Ashley Johnson as Margaret
Emma Bates as Ursula
Tom Lenk as Verges
Nick Kocher as First Watchman
Brian McElhaney as Second Watchman

Plan 9 from Outer Space

"This is the most fantastic story I've ever heard."

"And every word of it's true, too."

"That's the fantastic part of it."

After eight failed attempts to contact the leaders of Earth, a group of aliens enact plan 9: resurrecting the dead.  The aliens, led by Eros (Manlove), make their home base in a cemetery in San Fernando, CA.  Their first subject is a recently deceased woman (Vampira), who attacks and kills her grave diggers and Inspector Clay (Johnson) who is sent to investigate the murders.  Eros reanimates Clay and the woman's husband (Lugosi).

Their actions do not go unnoticed.  Pilot Jeff Trent (Walcott) saw the flying saucer during a routine flight.  The Trent home sits on the edge of the graveyard and his wife, Paula (McKinnon) was attacked by the reanimated corpses.  The military are also involved, under the leadership of Colonel Edwards (Keene) to stop the aliens by any means.


This film is widely considered the worst film ever made, but it has since achieved a cult status as a film that is "so bad that it's good".  There is no mistaking that this is a poorly made / acted film.  The scenery is flimsy and looks cheap.  In at least one scene it goes from day to night to day in a matter of minutes... It is careless film making, minimal to no attention to detail.  This is clearest during a scene in the graveyard when one of the officers continually points his gun at himself... which was a test to see if the director was paying attention, the fact that it appears in the film proves that he never noticed.  This was the final film for horror legend Bela Lugosi.  Lugosi appeared in many Ed Wood films but died during filming.  Wood wrote a screenplay that would allow them to use the scenes Lugosi had already filmed, while allowing another person to play the character for the rest of the film.  The result: Lugosi appears in the film, but there are several clear transitions to Wood's chiropractor (Tom Mason) filling the role.

I first encountered Plan 9 from Outer Space when I saw Tim Burton's Ed Wood.  The film is the story of how director Ed Wood made his best known film: Plan 9 from Outer Space.  You can't help but root for Wood (played by Johnny Depp), despite everything people tell him.  I enjoyed Ed Wood enough to add Plan 9 from Outer Space to my Netflix queue, although it took several years for me to actually let it get to the top of the list.

I didn't hate the film... it was enjoyable.  Yes, it is as bad as you expect, but it is unintentionally hilarious and worth checking out.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) 79 minutes
Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Starring: Gregory Walcott as Jeff Trent
Mona McKinnon as Paula Trent
Duke Moore as Lieutenant Harper
Tom Keene as Colonel Edwards
Carl Anthony as Patrolman Larry
Paul Marco as Patrolman Kelton
Tor Johnson as Inspector Clay
Dudley Manlove as Eros
Joanna Lee as Tanna
John Breckinridge as Ruler
Lyle Talbot as General
Vampira as Vampire Girl
Bela Lugosi as Old Man / Ghoul Man
Criswell as Narrator

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu

Jeff Philips (Davis) is stuck in a dead-end job alongside his best friend Charlie (McGinn), a comic book artist.  Nothing exciting ever happens in their lives, until Professor Lake (Lupinsky) shows up at their apartment.  He explains that Jeff is the last descendant of legendary horror author H.P. Lovecraft and is charged with protecting humanity.  Professor Lake gives them an ancient relic that Jeff must protect.  The relic is part of the key to the key to release Cthulhu.  If the pieces are reunited when the stars are aligned Cthulhu will rule the world again and destroy humanity.

Jeff and Charlie are skeptical until they are attacked by sea creatures.  They turn to Paul (Hardley), a former classmate and Lovecraft super fan, for help.  They take the relic to the desert for safe keeping, while they are pursued by Starspawn (Wilde), Cthulhu's general, and his minions.


I genuinely don't know 1) how I found this film or 2) why I decided to add it to the top of my Netflix queue.  Despite being an English major in college, I've never read anything by H.P. Lovecraft (honestly, I first heard of him until he was featured in an episode of Warehouse 13).  So I came into the film with no sense of expectation and no idea what was happening.

The film didn't make me want to read any Lovecraft or delve more into the Cthulhu mythos (although I can now pronounce Cthulhu, which seems like a victory).  It was an ok film... the leads were adequate.  Barak Hardley steals the film as Paul, he is funny and gets the best lines.  The practice battle is funny, especially when Martin Starr appears.  The other two are ok, but aren't as likeable (which is sad since they are in more of the film).

It clearly wasn't a high budget film, but they work with what they have (some of the creatures look kinda cool) and the comics are well-done.  There was too much unnecessary cursing and overly stupid humor, which sometimes works.  The ending was good, without being overly apparent... and sets up a potential sequel.  It was eh... and apparently Lovecraft fans were divided.  Many were underwhelmed, but some saw the potential.  Perhaps with a little more knowledge of Lovecraft I would enjoy it more.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2009) 78 minutes
Director: Henry Saine
Starring: Kyle Davis as Jeff Philips
Devin McGinn as Charlie
Barak Hardley as Paul
Ethan Wilde as Starspawn
Gregg Lawrence as Captain Olaf
Edmund Lupinsky as Professor Lake

My Fake Fiance

Jennifer (Hart) and Vince (Lawrence) meet at their friends wedding and immediately hate each other.  Vince is a womanizer with a gambling problem, while Jennifer has no time for love.  Vince owes a significant amount of money to The Monkey (Schirripa).  Jennifer just spent most of her money on a new condo and all of her belongings were stolen.  They remember all the stuff and money that their friends received at the wedding and decide to team up to solve all of their problems.  They tell all their family and friends that they are getting married and plan to split the loot: Vince gets the money to square his debt, and Jen gets the gifts to furnish her apartment.

It starts as a simple lie to their families with a planned elopement and quick divorce, but things quickly escalate.  The Monkey wants his money within the month, and expects an invite to the wedding, along with his goons (Williams and Muse).  Jen's parents, Al (Pniewski) and Val (Griffis) volunteer to pay for the wedding.  To keep up the charade, Vince and his possessions move into Jen's condo.  And Vince's absentee father (Tom Nowicki) wants back in the picture.  Can they still pull off the fake wedding?


My roommate and I first discovered this film on ABC Family and gave it a chance, because we loved Holiday in Handcuffs and were excited about the TV pairing of Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence in ABC Family's "Melissa and Joey".  Like most other TV movies, this is not great... but it is still entertaining.  It is cliched with an ending that is easy to spot, but Hart and Lawrence are good together.  Their characters are not likeable at the beginning, but they get better as the film goes on.

"Melissa and Joey" is better, but it is still an entertaining film.

My Fake Fiance (2009) 95 minutes
Director: Gil Junger
Starring: Melissa Joan Hart as Jennifer
Joseph Lawrence as Vince
Steven Schirripa as The Monkey
Njema Williams as Pants
Ricky Muse as Truck
Rhoda Griffis as Val
Mike Pniewski as Al
Patricia French as Catherine

TV: Primeval

"Oh, God! You know what? All my life I've wanted to be in a crime-busting gang! And now I am. So... I don't suppose you'd consider giving me a cool nickname, would you?"
"No."
"I thought not."

Strange glowing orbs called anomalies begin opening in England.  The anomalies are portal to other time periods and allow dangerous creatures to pass into our time.  The government doesn't know what to do, so they call on a group of scientists led Professor Nick Cutter (Henshall).  Cutter is an evolutionary zoologist and is joined by his assistant and best friend Stephen Hart (Murray), who is a skilled tracker / marksman; his student Connor Temple (Potts) who is a computer genius and science nerd; zookeeper and reptile expert Abby Maitland (Spearritt); and their Home Office handlers Claudia (Brown) and James Lester (Miller).  When creatures are on the loose, Cutter's team is called to handle the situation before too much goes wrong.

Unfortunately, they are not the only people who know about the anomalies.  Eight years ago, Cutter's wife, Helen (Aubrey), disappeared through an anomaly and was believed dead.  She survived by traveling between anomalies and now has her own plans for how to use them to change time.  Can the team stay one step ahead of Helen and the creatures, or will the battle claim their lives?

I discovered Primeval through Netflix... I had heard of it (mostly after I watched Alice the SyFy miniseries and was intrigued by Andrew Lee Potts) but didn't know anything about it.  So a few weeks ago I sat down and gave it a try... and was hooked after the first episode.

The premise is intriguing, but I wasn't sure how they would keep it from getting old.  But they manage to shake things up each series (season).  Each series wrapped up the main arc and then reset in unique ways.  I prefer the first 2 series, but each series has good and bad moments.

The cast is interesting.  Other than Potts, the only actor I recognized was Hannah Spearritt (I have to admit, I watched her S Club TV shows: S Club in Miami and S Club in L.A.).  I want to watch more BBC shows (because they are excellent and have short enough seasons that I don't lose interest / focus, like I tend to with American TV shows) to see these actors in other roles.

In 2012, after the show was cancelled, they created an American version of the show, set in Canada.  I haven't heard good things, but I already put it in my Netflix queue (it stars Niall Matter from Eureka) and want to see what they do with the premise.

An interesting show with a good cast (the 4th and 5th series have a different feel than the first 3, but they are still good).  Things aren't always what they seem and only a few characters are irredeemable villains (which is a nice change of pace).

Primeval (2007-2011)
Creator: Adrian Hodges & Tim Haines
Starring: Douglas Henshall as Nick Cutter
James Murray as Stephen Hart
Andrew-Lee Potts as Connor Temple
Hannah Spearritt as Abby Maitland
Lucy Brown as Claudia Brown / Jenny Lewis
Jason Flemyng as Danny Quinn
Ciaran McMenamin as Matt Anderson
Ben Mansfield as Captain Hilary Becker
Laila Rouass as Sarah Page
Ruth Kearney as Jess Parker
Ben Miller as James Lester
Juliet Aubrey as Helen Cutter
Alexander Siddig as Philip Burton