How Kenneth Branagh changed a fantasy geek’s life and transformed him into a Shakespeare fanatic

The British actor and director released his first film, Henry V in 1989, when I was a tender thirteen years old.  It passed without notice for me during its theatrical run, but the video rental store, that monument to entertainment, where most families made at least a weekly pilgrimage before the rise of streaming, was… Continue reading How Kenneth Branagh changed a fantasy geek’s life and transformed him into a Shakespeare fanatic

Only Hollywood could make Napoleon a boring, lovesick mope rather than one of the most dynamic and engaging personalities in world history

Rather than the fearless, master horseman who led charges, the film depicts a far more reserved and fearful man.  Rather than the dynamic, workaholic it shows us a moribund, borderline depressive.  Rather than anything resembling the whirlwind of actions and contradictions the real man must’ve been, we are left with only with a poor, bittersweet… Continue reading Only Hollywood could make Napoleon a boring, lovesick mope rather than one of the most dynamic and engaging personalities in world history