A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite novel. So, even the whiff of a chance of a rumor that it may be filmed is enough to get me out dream casting. As it is, we're pretty sure that
BBC4 will be adapting it soon. It's more than due, since the last TV version was in 1989, and it hasn't been on the big screen since 1958, if we don't count
The Dark Knight Rises (which, given the cop-out ending, we don't). The new version is written by Alan Bleasdale, and Netflix might co-produce. There's also a feature film which has been on the shelf for ages. So who knows? Maybe we'll get two, which means there will be lots of thinkpieces from me.
To begin with some minor characters...
Gravity had obvious problems. A bombastic soundtrack, little character development, and a penchant for dramatic, gratuitous destruction. But due to some terrific visuals, Gravity managed to sweep me away. I congratulate the main character: space. And boy, George Clooney really is a man of constant sorrow.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance feels like somebody's fan fiction come true - drop Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne down in a Western town, and watch them be themselves. But it's far more than just a rote Western. John Ford sets the story on the brink of civilization, as impending statehood threatens the both the violence of outlaws and the wild, free ways of independent cowboys. What is the difference between the two? That's the question this movie asks. My review.
