My attempt at reviewing things II: spoiler alert not required

Seeing as I have already mastered music reviews (thats right I just linked to my own blog!  google watch out) and this concept has spawned a whole cottage industry of websites, I figure I would retire from music reviews at the top of my game.  So in light of all this I'm gonna tell you what I think of the movie I just saw.  Movie reviews are always tough.  I hate reading them because they often give too much away and I will try my best not to do that.  I have chosen a movie that has been out for some time so if you wanted to see it in the first place you would have already seen it and my review will have no baring on your life or opinion.  I will however be short on the plot details because there are people out there who might want to rent it and I will be keep the praise to a minimum to keep your expectations in check.  If you never planned on watching it or are actively boycotting the movie I will try to balance my restrained praise with some vague criticism so you feel that a) you didn't miss out on a cinematic event and b) you feel good about avoiding a movie that you probably wouldn't have enjoyed.  So now that I have given everyone no reason to continue reading...

Hamlet 2 is a not-so offensive movie about an offensive high school musical.   Steve Coogan is funny, Cathrine Keener is good, Elizabeth Shue is charming and Robert Downy Jr. was not in this movie.  The writing was ok and there were a few laugh-out-loud moments that were not prominently featured in the trailer...but I won't give them away.  As a whole I thought the evening was not a complete waste of time.  I will probably not watch the movie again and may not think about it too deeply after I finish this post....But it was funny and not as offensive as I was expecting...mind you, I am a white, internet savy, man (kinda) who does not easily offend.  Would I recommend it? Yes and No.  Could I be anymore vague about why I may or may not have liked it? Kinda.  Did I just master movie reviews? Probably.

Right around the highly publicized big music number entitled "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" I thought to myself: this movie would be better if it made reference to the story/plot/characters/themes of the original Hamlet. (spoiler alert/vital plot information that is in the movies title and tagline: the main character tries to take the tragedy out of the original (prequel?) by giving Hamlet a time machine so he can learn from his mistakes and change the consequences of his actions (or lack thereof))   Then I realized I have not read Hamlet since like grade 10 and I'm not even sure if I finished it.  Back then I thought they made us read that stuff because Shakespeare wrote in a funny way and the only goal of the class was to decipher basic plot points.  I probably knew the basics of hamlet back then and only built upon that based on inferences from vague pop culture references and double jeopardy answers.   So the whole movie could have been incredibly insightful.  It may have even related the story and lessons of of one of literatures greatest works (so i'm told) to modern times.  It might be the perfect tool for high school english teachers (not catholic school) to show their students the beauty of Hamlet.  But it might not have, what do I know.

Why don't you watch it...or not.

Look out for my future reviews.  I am reading a book if I finish it I will let you know.  I'm also probably gonna give up on the whole movie reviews (they are hard!) and just review some of the latest movie trailers...that seems much easier.