We watched the David Tennant version and I liked it simply because of David Tennant, that and the camerawork as well as the directing was awesome.  Gregory Doran directed this one and I think he a great job bringing all the different moods to the surface of one's mind.  The producers are John Wyver, and Sebastian Grant, I thank them for the money and that's about it.  David Tennant, and Patrick Stewart stared in this movie and, they both did a amazing job although I will give most of the credit to Tennant.  This movie's setting was in 20th century Denmark which was in my opinion, a great new setting for this play.  The elements were cool in this movie too, the fact that most of the movie was filmed in one room gave the this play a surreal feeling.  It almost made you believe that, the actors where the only people that existed.  I think this was a very cool movie partly because of the feeling of darkness it expresses.  All the floors are black and polished so that it looks like you are going to fall into one of them, as if it were a dank pit. or else a motionless black pool of water with it's natural ability to suffocate.  I also enjoyed this movie because of the extremely well done, hilarious quotes from Shakespeare.  I loved the quotes from Polonius, it makes me laugh to think about it.  And some of Hamlets lines were really good, but Tennant made them priceless.
               

Was Hamlets madness genuine? I think it was, partially. I'm not saying he went out of his mind, because he did not lose control.  He was manipulating everyone, his friends even his family, they thought that they had him under control, but really Hamlet was playing all of them like a fiddle.  Most of Hamlet's madness, in my opinion, came from him acting.  My point is that this was much easier for him than an ordinary person.         

Week 11 post

Claudius was planning something at the beginning of 3.3, and that is to send Hamlet to England were he is to be killed.  But the funny thing, is that not much earlier in the play he was praying for forgiveness for killing his brother.

Week 11 post

I think that Hamlet chooses not to kill Claudius while he is praying because, he thinks that Claudius will go to heaven if he does.  And that does not say much for his spiritual condition.

Gibson(Lion) vs. Branagh(spioled pussy cat that lives in a palace)

Gibson is so awesome! he just carries a presence of awe wherever he goes.  Whenever he is acting as Hamlet, and in the play he is talking to himself, he actually seems like he is talking to himself, and it does not look like he is talking to a camera.  And he expresses emotions so well!  Gibson rocks!

Branagh, I must admit, is an amazing directer... but not a very good actor.  Whenever he is acting as Hamlet, and in the play he is talking to himself, it seems to me that he is talking to a camera, and with not a lot of emotion, that makes his speeches boring to watch.  I love him as a directer, I just don't like to look at him.         

Title

Hamlet describes man as "like a god" and "like an angel," and I think he is wrong in this because of what I am about to tell you.  Why does neither man nor woman bring him delight? be patient I will tell you.  Hamlet is wrong when he says we are god like and angelic, because the bible tells us that man is sinful, and has a sin nature.  Just because of that it is impossible to become godlike.  Now, do not take this the wrong way, I am not saying that man is a bad creation, I am saying that God created us perfect, and we just messed everything up.  I could give you a lot more reasons why we just can not be godlike, but because "brevity is the soul of wit" I will move to the next subject.  Now I am going to tell you why Hamlet does not find delight in man nor woman, and it is because he is depressed.  Well, wasn't that easy.                

Hamlet's life is depressing

 when you discus Hamlet's state of mind at the beginning of the play, you are really talking about a bunch of different emotions.  I think at the beginning of the play, it was a mix of sadness because of his father's death, rage towards his step father, and an irritation towards his irresponsible mother.  Now, if you were to ask me how Hamlet describes his feelings about the world, I would say that I don't know.     

I think that Mitt Romney is most like Brutus, and Barack Obama most like Caesar.  However I don't think that these are good comparisons, it's just the position of the Shakespeare characters are similar to the position of the candidates.  Brutus or, Romney is trying to take down the Caesar or, Obama and give the land more freedom.        

Some people might ask me in what sense do Brutus and Cassius say they have done Caesar a favor by killing him.  Well I would tell them that Brutus and Cassius thought they "did him a service by shortening his time spent fearing death." But it' s funny how opposite Caesar thinks compered to how  Brutus and Cassius think.  and I think this because just a few hours before, Caesar said "Cowards die many times before their deaths. The brave experience death only once." 

I think that Caesar refuses to read Artemidorus's petition because he is just to high, to bother with the matters of a pedestrian.  And this seems to me that it fits his character because, well, he thinks he is a god!  

After Portia insists on knowing what troubled Brutus, he agrees to tell her and she really did not have a reaction at all.  And I think what Portia meant when she said "Dwell I but in the suburbs Of your good pleasure?" she meant "don't you love me?"

I think what is significant about scene two, is that both Brutus and Cassias talk to their worried wives, creating a parallel.

It's kind of interesting what happened to Caesar when he refused the crown.  Antony offered it to him three times, but instead of answering Antony, The Caesar just fell on the ground and had a seizure, also known as the "falling sickness."  And what's even more interesting is how this relates to Cassius's description of Caesar as a "feeble and weak saying that, "Caesar cried, 'Help me, Cassius, or I will sink!' "  I wonder how this foreshadows what is to come. it seems to me like something bad is going to happen to Caesar because, at the beginning of the play you get this, high and mighty Caesar, but then, at the end of the act, he seems troubled and sickly. If you step back and look at it, you see that Caesar, starts to get this down hill momentum.  Now about this mater of what Cassius means when he said "we have the falling sickness" to be quite honest I have no idea what he meant 

I think that Antony's relationship with Caesar is a good friend. And my reason for thinking this is that Caesar asked a favor of Antony saying "Forget not in your speed, Antonius,To touch Calphurnia, for our elders say The barren, touched in this holy chase,Shake off their sterile curse.
 

King Henry in my opinion is the perfect example of all christian Kings.  He was not a perfect person, but then, not all christian king were perfect either and that's what makes us human.  When he gave the order to kill all the french prisoners came to mind when I mentioned my previous statement.  And this brings me to the subject of how Henry is to restore peace in France.  He is asked by Burgundy, how he intends to bring peace when Henry answers:

 "If, Duke of Burgundy, you would the peace,Whose want gives growth to th' imperfections Which you have cited, you must buy that peace With full accord to all our just demands,Whose tenors and particular effects You have, enscheduled briefly, in your hands."

In saying this I believe that, if they agreed to their terms, then there would be peace.
when I was looking though the play I did not find any thing that King Henry said to be implicitly threatening in any way.  
   

I think that Dauphins attitude towards his horse was pride, yes pride in a way that someone has pride for his sports car, in the same way Dauphin was saying his horse is like the Pegasus . 
The reaction of the Constable is that he is tired of the prince's arrogance considering how long he knew him.  Form what I've seen of Dauphin, he does not deserve their respect, when you ask me if they respect the Dauphin.
 Now, in reference to whether or not Pistol speaks french, well, you will know when you read this quote. "Say’st thou me so? Is that a ton of moys?—Come hither, boy. Ask me this slave in French what is his name."  Yes I think not, you see Pistol captured a French gentleman but he could not communicate with the French man.  So he called "The Boy" over who could speak french, thus using the boy to tell his captor, to prepare to die.  Hearing this the French man offered a some of money in exchange for his life, which had profound effect on Pistol.  When Pistol heard this, he agreed to the French man's statement.
 Really, comparing King Henry to Pistol in how they treated their prisoners, to my surprise, it seems that pistol was more merciful.                            

In response to the thought question number one, I concur to a certain extent.  It is my opinion is that it depends upon the program.  For example if you are watching a mindless cartoon, containing colorful witless characters bent on each others destruction, it will most probably lull you into a state of idleness. If in fact you decide to enroll yourself in thought on the scientific phenomenon of the Tesla coil, you would watch a show located the science channel, thus engaging the tool of imagination on the mater of how to power his or her house on a nine volt battery channeled though the a Tesla coil. Books on the other hand force you to use your imagination by placing words on a page that trigger images to form in your mind in doing this, you create a story. My result being that Shakespeare, an intelligent and most wise, would end on the same note as I.