Sweeney Todd

I thought the movie Sweeney Todd was ok to say the least. Personally, I am not a fan of movies that like to sing every five minutes. It just annoys me and makes me wish I had the remote so I could skip all of those parts. Also I didn't like how it was obvious that Lucy wasn't dead, it kind of ruins the whole suspense of the movie. I knew she was the old lady after it showed her for the second time, where she was being kicked out of the restaurant. I knew that had to be her because they wouldn't keep showing this random old lady if she had nothing to do with the story. Aside from the singing and predictable ending, the plot was ok. The fact that Mrs. Lovett is using the people Todd kills to make her pies was pretty funny. Everyone loves the pies, but if they knew what they were made of they might never be able to look at a meat pie again. So I thought that part was pretty entertaining. The fact that Johnny Depp was in it though made it a whole lot more bareable though!

A Good Laugh!

I really enjoyed the movie Arsenic and Old Lace. I laughed for most of the movie. I honestly didn't expect it to be that great considering it was black and white, but it caught me off gaurd. What I loved most was how it was full of irony. Through the whole movie stuff was happening that wasn't supposed to. Mortimer, the guy against mariage, got married and the two sweet little old ladies were killing people. I love how the aunts thought it was the right thing to do to kill the lonely men. Mortimer made the movie by how much he was freaking out about the whole situation. He didn't know what to do about anything and you would think out of everyone he was the crazy one! This movie was really great and I had fun starting out the class with this movie!

Oh Shakespear...

Whenever I found out our class was going to get to vote on what play we were going to read my first thought was please not Shakespeare, anything but Shakespeare. Of course much to my dismay everyone chose to read a Shakespearian play. I have always hated having to read Shakespeare. I had to bear through so much Shakespeare in my senior English class and it was no fun. Honestly, I have never understood why students have to read any of Shakespeare’s plays because they are practically in a different language. The play we chose to read, A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, was no different than any other plays by Shakespeare. It made little to no sense to me and it was just another story about love.

 I am never able to understand what Shakespeare is trying to say in his plays. It seems as if it was written in a different language. The same goes for A Midsummer Night's Dream. As I was reading through the first act I was not able to understand really any of what was going on. Shakespeare tends to take the long way to get across what he is trying to say. For example, when the play starts, Theseus says "Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws on apace. Four happy days bring in another moon. But oh, methinks how slow this old moon wanes! She lingers my desires, like to a stepdame or a dowager long withering out a young man’s revenue." (1.1.1) Could he not have just said I am so happy that we are getting married in four days? I believe that would have made my life so much easier if he was straight to the point with everything.

The other thing that bothered me about this play was it was just another story about love. It seems all of Shakespeare’s plays have some kind of element of love, which gets very old. Granted this play actually ends happy, but you had to know it was given the fact it was a comedy. With all his plays being about love it makes them very boring and also very hard for me to read. I mean there is only so much you can write about love before it gets old. When I have to keep reading things like what Hermia said, "My good Lysander! I swear to thee by Cupid’s strongest bow, by his best arrow with the golden head, by the simplicity of Venus' doves, by that which knitteth souls and prospers loves, and by that fire which burned the Carthage queen when the false Troyan under sail was seen, by all the vows that ever men have broke (In number more than ever women spoke), in that same place thou hast appointed me, tomorrow truly will I meet with thee." it makes me want to barf. It is so tiring listening to how much people love each other and how their life won't be the same without their lover (1.1.7).

Overall, I believe I could live my life without having to read another play written by Shakespeare. They are no fun to me what so ever!

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 1595. New York: Sparknotes, 2003. Sparknotes.com. Web. February 27, 2011.