Haiku Revieu | Hamlet (Barbican)

Hamlet
★★★★1/2

Benedict Cumber-
Batch makes a striking Hamlet
Not a happy play

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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.

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WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.

All English majors at my university—UMass Amherst, in case you're curious—are required to take a Shakespeare course. Prior to that course, I'd read some of Shakespeare's plays and other works, but it wasn't until college that I really fell in love with the Bard. (Thanks in no small part to my chain-smoking professor's rapid-fire but extraordinarily informative presentation.) I've seen many adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, too, but there's something to be said about seeing "the real thing" on stage. Sometimes, though, it's hard to catch the more prominent productions, particularly if you're not in England. But thanks to National Theater Live (NTL), even us plebs who live in the middle of the U.S. can have a chance to see these productions, on the big screen.

NTL broadcasts British theatre productions to movie theaters across the world, and it's through one of these broadcasts (albeit an encore, so it wasn't live) that I had the chance to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet at The Barbican. (I've also seen Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus thanks to this program.)

Although we didn't study Hamlet in that course, I'm not unfamiliar with the plot—the dark, emotion-filled, vengeance-riddled plot. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most famous, and most quote-worthy, plays, but it's not an easy one. It's filled with family drama and mental illness and a looming war. No spoilers, but lets just say that many of the characters don't make it out of this one alive.

Benedict was a superb Hamlet, and the supporting cast were pretty great, too. It did take me a minute to warm up to Ciarán Hinds' Cladius—for the first few scenes, he was super dramatic and really wooden, but he eventually relaxed into the role. Sian Brooke was a little screechy as Ophelia, but it worked?

What really stole the show for me, however, was the staging. Such gorgeous set pieces, and a really ingenious use of light and dark to make it feel like many different sets, even they never really changed the main setup. The costumes were also fantastic, and, although I think we were supposed to understand that this version of the play was set in the 70s, gave an out-of-time feel to the production. (I really want Hamlet's totally punk-rock coat, which, sadly, I couldn't find a better picture of.)

I'm not sure if this will be airing again in the future, but I definitely recommend seeing this—and other NTL shows—if you're a Shakespeare fan.

Check it out:

Happy birthday, A Nerdy World!

Today, A Nerdy World turns one! And to celebrate, I'm holding a giveaway of a few of my favorite things.

Five of you lucky ducks will win one of the items below. Please note: None of these fine companies are sponsoring this giveaway. I just like their goods a whole lot and want to spread the love.

Enter to win using the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of the post. And be sure to get your entries in before Nov. 28; I'll announce the winners Nov. 30!

What you can win

1. A tank or T-shirt from Jordandené

I didn't discover the awesome that is Jordandené until this year, but I'm so very glad I did, and that the nerd gods were smiling on me the day I won a giveaway for one of their Captain America/Winter Soldier tanks. (I've since bought three more tanks—one's a gift—a T-shirt and sweatshirt.) I love the unique typographical designs, which are nerdy without being in your face, and the quality of the shirts they print on, which are so, so soft.

One winner will receive a t-shirt or tank of their choice. Visit the Jordandené website to see what's available.

2. A pin from Hello Quirky

I've been a fan of Shawna's super cute art for a while now, but not until recently did I order some items from her shop. (I've become a little obsessed with pins ... but more on that later.) I'm glad I made the purchase, and would do so again—her illustrations make for perfect companions *wink, wink* to wear on your shirts, bags, etc.

One winner will receive a pin of their choice. Visit the Hello Quirky shop to see what's available.

3. A Funko POP figurine

If you know me even a little, you know that I adore these funny little figures. I can't get enough! And, thanks to Funko's willingness to keep coming up with more lines, I don't have to.

One winner will receive a POP figure of their choice, worth around $10.

4. A hardcover or paperback book

I read—a lot. And there's very little I like more than sharing my love of books. (Side note: I'd be more than happy to offer suggestions for which book to get if you win this prize.)

One winner will receive a book of their choice, worth under $20.

5. A $10 gift card to Starbucks

Everyone loves coffee. Or tea. Or juice. (They even have water, if you really aren't a fan of anything else.)

One winner will receive a $10 gift card to Starbucks; I'll choose the design from what's available.

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To be honest, I haven't done as much as I wanted to do/planned to do/hoped to do with this blog, but I'm looking forward to seeing where year two leads.

Thanks so much for being a reader!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Haiku Revieu | Spectre

Spectre
★★★★

Hello Bond, James Bond
Daniel Craig has charisma
Let's have a car chase

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A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

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WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead.

First and foremost: I'm a fan of Daniel Craig as James Bond. As my mother mentioned the other day when we were talking about this movie, he's not the most attractive of Bonds—I'm not trying to be superficial, mind you, I'm merely stating a fact that Bond is typically played by a super handsome dude—but I think there's an undeniable swagger and charisma (to steal from my haiku) that Craig has more so than any Bond before him. This appeal is in full force in Spectre. Craig's James Bond is a man of few words, but so much action.

I'm not sure if this was Craig's last time playing Bond (he says it might be) but there was a finality to Spectre that surprised me a little. It tied all three previous films (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall) together nicely, in a way that was a little unexpected, but, admittely, I might not have been paying attention to all the clues dropped in the previous three movies, if they were there. The movie also payed homage to the earlier non-Craig Bond films more so than before, even going so far as to reuse a villain/give a villain an origin story. (I'm not sure if these latest movies are a reboot or prequels or what.)

The supporting cast, as is often the case often with Bond movies, is somewhat overshadowed, but they did have more integral roles than before, serving more as backup for Bond than people he sees only when he stops in to get new gadgets from Q. Although I miss Judi Dench, I think it's fun to have Ralph Fiennes play M. Ben Whishaw is an adorable Q. And could Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) be any more gorgeous? The new additions to the cast—Andrew Scott in the very Moriarty-like role of C, Dave Bautista as the strong and silent Mr. Hinx, and Christoph Waltz as the villain [REDACTED, even though IMDB totally spoils it]—were fantastic. Particularly Waltz, who I adore in pretty much everything he does, but especially when he's playing a villain.

The Bond girls, Léa Seydoux and Monica Belluci, were good. Nothing really special, but that's basically the Bond franchise's longest-running issue and largest fault.

If you're a Bond fan, you should definitely go see Spectre. And even if you're not, you might consider it, since it's a fun action movie with a little intrigue underneath all of the explosions and car chases, and it's hard for that to be a bad thing.

Check it out: