I’ve watched a number of adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but one of the more unique ones is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries—and it’s one of my favorites!

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaptation, presenting the story through the video blog of Lizzie Bennet, a college student still living with her parents because she’s saddled with student debt. She has two sisters, incredibly sweet Jane and party-girl Lydia. Best friend Charlotte helps Lizzie with her vlog, chronicling her mother’s obsession with getting her daughters married, and the ups and downs of Jane’s romance with the cute Bing Lee. And how it would all go smoother without Bing’s deeply irritating friend William Darcy.

Like a real vlog, this story is told through short episodes, around five minutes each. They originally came out one or two a week for about a year but can all be found on YouTube now. Make sure you watch a playlist that includes the sub-series, like Lydia’s vlog.  I was also pleasantly impressed by the high quality of the filming (because it’s hard to know what to expect from a faux-vlog) and, for that matter, the acting!

This web series does an amazing job with the modern twists and the portrayals of the characters. They’re recognizably the characters from Austen’s story, but with modern angles. Jane is still sweet as gold but she’s not weak (and she has a career that’s important to her, instead of focusing on nothing but romance). Lydia is perpetually having a wild time and embarrassing her sisters at the local bar. And Lizzie is still witty and endearing but sometimes quick to judge, takes her loved ones for granted at times and makes mistakes. But is very likable too. Continue reading “Web Series Review: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” →

I didn’t quite get around to rewatching V for Vendetta last Guy Fawkes Day (November 5^th), and have been meaning to watch it in a vague way ever since. I finally did recently for a movie night with friends—and I think a good time was had by all!

V for Vendetta is set somewhere in the future, when England is run by an oppressive government that has sacrificed freedom, dissent and civil liberties in the name of safety, unity and strength. Onto this scene stalks V (Hugo Weaving), a cloaked figure in a Guy Fawkes mask, incredibly erudite and possibly mad, who at midnight on November 5^th blows up the Old Bailey (with fireworks and the 1812 Overture), then broadcasts a message to the nation explaining his intentions: to oppose the oppressive government and demonstrate the power of the individual by blowing up the Houses of Parliament on November 5^th, one year away. Evey (Natalie Portman) crosses paths with V by accident and is drawn into his world, literally and philosophically, while Chief Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea) tries to find “the terrorist code name V,” but stumbles on pieces of a much bigger puzzle about power, corruption and the pervasive influence of fear.

This is a hard movie to summarize! Complex and multilayered, even small pieces turn out to be important or to have immense impact. The movie also features Stephen Fry as Gordon, a flamboyant talk show comedian; John Hurt as the terrifying Chancellor Sutler, who draws from both Hitler and Big Brother (making a mind-breaking reversal of his long-ago role as Winston in 1984); awesome stylized fight sequences; a heart-breaking lesbian love story; a host of incredibly brilliant quotes; and did I mention the best explosions ever? Continue reading “Movie Review: V for Vendetta” →