Popular reviews

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  Review by Adam Kempenaar ★½ 18

  Hey everybody, let's play dress up and murder some Shakespeare!

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  Review by Mary Conti ★★★½ 3

  "BOW MORTALS! FOR IT IS I! JOSS WHEDON!

  GAZE UPON MY HOUSE! LOOK AT IT! LOOK HOW GREAT A HOUSE IT IS! ISN'T IT BIG? ISN'T IT WELL DECORATED? ISN'T THE BACKYARD MARVELOUS?! LOOK AT MY POOL! LOOK AT THE DECORATIONS!

  AND LOOK AT ALL MY ATTRACTIVE FRIENDS! LOOK AT MY HOT WIFE! LOOK AT NATHAN FILLION! LOOK AT CLARK GREGG! LOOK AT THEM ALL!

  THIS IS THE LIFE OF THE GREAT JOSS WHEDON! ISN'T IT MARVELOUS?!"

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  Review by The_Shape_ 8

  I'm a huge fan of Joss Whedon's TV shows, but I've only liked some of his movies. I loved his Oscar-nominated writing for Toy Story, I loved Serenity, and I liked The Avengers and The Cabin in the Woods. I wasn't the biggest fan of his other movies (e.g. In Your Eyes, Titan AE, Alien Resurrection, etc), but I did end up loving Much Ado About Nothing.

  It has plenty of regulars from his series: Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods), Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse, The Avengers), Clark Gregg (The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity, Dr Horrible, Buffy), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods), Sean Maher (Firefly, Serenity), Reed Diamond (Dollhouse,…

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  Review by Lise ★★★★½ 10

  Film 3 of TIFF 2012

  We all bring our prejudices with us when we see a film. Mine is that I am a huge fan of Joss Whedon. It doesn't mean I am a fan of all his work, but I am always very eager to like whatever he does. I think most of the audience at the TIFF premiere on Saturday were in a similar situation. All to say that Much Ado About Nothing already had a good head start when it began. But I'm just as sure that most of us were a bit wary. It was Shakespeare, after all, and part of Whedon's brilliance is his ability to create outstanding dialogue. What could he do with a…

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  Review by Dragonknight ★★★½ 8

  Joss Whedon’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s highly acclaimed Much Ado About Nothing is a charming and clever film which succeeds in transferring Shakespeare’s delicate sense of humor and his elaborate use of language to portray the mankind’s various and sometimes paradoxical feelings to the big screen. Adapting from Shakespeare and bringing his detailed and subtle characters along with their elegant dialogues to the modern world has always been a challenge for script writers, but Joss Whedon finds a genuine solution. The story is told in the modern world but the modernity of the film is not a factor here. It gives the film the freedom that it wouldn't have had if it was a typical period drama. There’s no need…

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  Review by Jason ★★★★

  Random impulsive thoughts time.....

  I just saw Much Ado About Nothing tonight.

  10 minutes in.... the film wasn't really doing it for me. I wasn't drawn into the style or dialogue of the film... I thought I would endure and struggle the remaining 95 minutes in agony.... but like one joke happened?

  AND BOOM.

  I had a TOTAL change of heart about it all. It all started to click.

  Like everything. I dug it all, and the style & dialogue did indeed make it fun. So I guess I kind of loved it? The performances were all fabulous.... but

  Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker completely stole the movie for me! Both gave of the most pleasurable performances of the year so…

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  Review by ☆ Sophie ☆ ★★★ 3

  Joss Whedon directing a modern Shakespeare movie?? I'm in. This film was entertaining and witty. As this was an interesting take on the classic comedy of Much Ado About Nothing, it was sweet and uplifting. The performances were great, especially Beatrice and Benedick. Although sometimes the acting seemed flat. The story itself does no wrong as it is told as the classic Shakespearean play. Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare play; therefore, I enjoyed this film. However, I prefer the 1993 Kenneth Branagh version better. Overall, charming, witty, and in some sorts of ways, wholesome.

  2012 Movies Ranked

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  Review by Jon Holmes ★★★★

  A rom-com! In black and white! Filmed at his own house in bloody Santa Monica! With all his mates in it! And the screenwriter's almost 450 years old! Well, of all the self-indulgent, pretentious pet projects we've seen from fashionable Hollywood directors down the years, this has to be right up there...

  Twenty minutes into Much Ado About Nothing, and the above concerns were still lingering. What an incredible house though, I thought - actually the perfect filming location, even if the modern telling doesn't quite explain why these impeccably tailored men have arrived at this particular residence. And as for that tailoring - I could see why shooting in monochrome might have been preferred. Everything just looks so much…

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★★

  "I were but little happy if I could say how much."

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  Review by I’m The Only Juan ★½ 1

  Joss Whedon thinks he’s always the smartest person in the room.

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  Review by indi ★★½

  joss whedon: hm how can I modernize this.... I know! by apparently not hiring a DOP & having everyone drink a literal shitton in every scene for no reason 
  me: what

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  Review by Kevin Wight ★★★½

  One of Shakespeare's breezier plays, updated well to the sun-kissed California house of Joss Whedon. Shot during a filming break of (I believe) The Avengers, with his merry band of regular players (including Amy Acker as Beatrice, Alexis Denisoff as Benedick, Fran Kranz as Claudio and Nathan Fillion as Dogberry), Much Ado About Nothing is a suitably relaxed and enjoyable adaptation.

  The cast are obviously having a whale of a time, and the Shakespearean language sounds surprisingly fresh and natural in American accents. I expected some kind of cognitive disconnect, but I was completely convinced and there wasn't a weak link in the chain. Acker and Denisoff were a sparky and entertaining Beatrice and Benedick, and Fillion is a hoot…