Michael Almereyda
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‘Cymbeline’ is an admirable Shakespeare adaptation, but far too convoluted
Cymbeline is director Michael Almereyda’s second Shakespeare adaptation set in modern day, his last being 2000’s Hamlet, also starring Ethan Hawke. The Bard’s late work tragedy, previously set in the Royal Court of Olde England, receives a face-lift, updated to a war between the Roman police force and the Briton Motorcycle Club ran by Cymbeline (Ed Harris). The King trades in a crown for an Uzi and a leather jacket as a drug kingpin troubled by familial strife. His second wife (the serpentine Mila Jovovich) despises Cymbeline’s daughter, Imogen (Dakota Johnson, proving she has acting chops that viewers may not find in Fifty Shades of Grey), for not marrying her son, Cloten (Anton Yelchin). In secret, Imogen has pledged herself to Posthumus (Penn Badgley), much to Cymbeline’s displeasure. More
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Sundance 2015: Most Anticipated Films
With January being the traditional low point of the movie season, cinephiles from around the world look to the Sundance Film Festival for some glimmer of hope. America’s preeminent independent film festival has graduated some heavy-hitters over the years, including Whiplash, Ida, and Boyhood from last year’s class. 2015’s program boasts an unprecedented balance between […] More
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‘Cymbeline’, the latest Shakespeare adaptation, gets a new trailer
As one of the most popular playwrights in the world, a number of Shakespeare’s works have been adapted for the big screen, with filmmakers such as Baz Luhrmann, Kenneth Branagh, and Joss Whedon drawing from Shakespeare’s material. Filmmaker Michael Almereyda himself added to the collection with 2000’s Hamlet, and his latest feature sees him returning […] More