Rhi’s been in China just over a week and we’ve heard from her a couple of times – it sounds like she’s been super busy and engaged at the leadership congress and we can’t wait to hear about her experiences.

It’s been a busy week business wise, but more surprisingly socially for us – almost like a break in a drought really.  This week I went to an office opening, a trivia night and a 50th Birthday party…

Oh yeah, Morgan is really getting into this LARPing thing (Live Action Role Playing) and has been working on a new part to his costume which, thanks to our friend Kim, he got done on Friday night.  I had a bit of fun with a photo we snapped that evening.

 

Speaking of LARPing, check out the photo’s from the “Wolf’s Howl”, a Hundred Swords game held  at Weston Park in Canberra on Saturday.

 

Today, we got to see the new Joss Whedon movie, “Much Ado About Nothing”. It’s no secret, we’re huge Joss Whedon fans in our home and when we heard that he was doing Much Ado with Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Sean Maher we just knew we had to see it on the big screen.

What’s surprising is that the movie is only showing at Dendy – not in the other cinemas’.  We would have thought that more would have picked it up – but there you have it.

Anyway, it was fabulous.  I loved the 1993 version directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Emma Thompson – but this version is just awesome.

Marry Shakespeare with Joss Whedon and what would you expect?

In the other versions of Much Ado I’ve seen, the dialogue is normally delivered quite quickly (underscoring the combativeness between Beatrice and Benedick) – the actors in the Whedon version managed to slow the delivery down but maintained the appropriate cadence… it meant that I was able to “interact” with the dialogue on a completely different level.

I certainly came away with an even bigger appreciation of the acting talents of the cast.  Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof do a fantastic job – and there are many parts where you just have to giggle or even laugh out loud.  Of course, Nathan Fillion as Dogberry is a not to be forgotten performance (far better than Michael Keatons’ in the 1993 version)….

The music has been written by Jed Whedon (of course) and performed by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen – those Whedon’s are incredibly talented.

What I find most amazing is that the movie was prepared in 1 month and shot in just 12 days at Joss’s house.  The timing is astounding, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Joss, the Whedons and the actors he works with… the house though – is amazing.  There is one scene where you see the view from the back verandah (or perhaps they call it a deck?) and it is breathtaking.

If you can get to see the movie at the cinema – you absolutely should – if not, when you can grab a copy you should.

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Of course, you can find out more on the Much Ado About Nothing Movie Facebook page or website