Tag: Hamnet

March 2, 2026

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: I am a Game of Thrones fan, and I have read all of the George R R Martin books on the primary series. I anxiously await his version of the final seasons with Winds of Winter, which has allegedly been completed this year, and the one follow on story A Dream of Spring which is to come. I have been less enthused by the Targaryen prequel House of the Dragon series, and I have not read those books. I had heard about this series to be premiered on HBO, and I decided to read the book before watching the series. I am glad that I did. I can say immediately that the six-part series does not cover the entirety of the book, but rather about half of it. It is set one-hundred years before the activities in Game of Thrones. The story focuses on an ordinary hedge knight, a knight that is not tied to any particular house, and wanders around as a free agent for hire. The knight is named Dunk, or Duncan the Tall, he is played by Peter Claffey. Dunk is a very tall young man, and built solidly. He was a squire to another roaming hedge knight, named Ser Arlan of Pennytree, who passes away in the first frames of episode one. Dunk was knighted before the old man passed away. Dunk buries his master, and sets off with horses and a sword. In short order he comes upon a young bald child who is working in an inn. His name is Egg, and played by Dexter Sol Ansell. The story carries on with a focal point being a jousting tournament in a nearby town.

Dunk “the Lunk” as he calls himself is naive about the world, and his part in it, but he has been taught good lessons growing up. His takes his Knight’s pledges to heart like “defending the innocent” and being honest and true. I see quite a bit of Brienne of Tarth in him, from his large size, but also his commitment to doing things right, and seeing them through. Egg is a young smart lad, who wants to be useful in assisting Dunk as a squire but he is also a source of good information. He knows things, knows people and houses, and he can make things better for Dunk. Overall, the story is a bit slow, and that is reflected in the book too. Of course we can’t just see Dunk as an ordinary knight plodding through towns and farms and gain any insight into the larger houses and issues at play in Westeros for the time. So things happen which are fortunate for Dunk, and can be a surprise to the viewer. In George R R Martin’s world, it is never too wise to become too attached to any one character. He likes surprises and he likes to change direction. This happens here too. This story will succeed if you like Dunk and you like Dunk and Egg together. I do. I think that both do admirable jobs in showing their relationship as it grows and their affinity for one another. They are both young and naive in the world and take for granted a number of things. There is still more to come in the book that hasn’t been shown yet. This story doesn’t have the depth or breadth of Game of Thrones with all the houses and so many stories on so many fronts. This is simpler in scope which is welcome. Westeros has already been well explained, and so a more narrow focus can still tell a good story about two seemingly inconsequential characters, who according to a random woman soothsayer will be more important than expected. I will continue to watch and look forward to a Season 2.

Hamnet and Frankenstein: I saw for a second time both Hamnet and Frankenstein this weekend. I can say that the second viewing re-affirmed my feelings about both films. I still maintain that Hamnet is the best film of the year. I simply love this film, and the places where it goes. It is a love story, both romantic love but also love for children and family. It is about grief, and dealing with loss. It also focuses on an absent father who uses his tremendous gifts to pay tribute to his son, with a wife who watches on and can see his contribution. It moves me, from the music to the performances where Jesse Buckley shows a range of emotion which will earn her the Best Actress Oscar award. I am so very glad that I saw this again with people who had not seen it at all, and relied on me for a movie recommendation. I will admit that their immediate first reaction was “well that was different”. I will also say that the child actors were all excellent, and contributed well to the overall feel of the film.

Frankenstein: I saw this again with someone who had not previously seen it. Her reaction was a question to me about “did you like this?”. The answer is that I didn’t and don’t think that this was a Best Picture nominee. I think that the awards for Production, Costumes, Make Up, Cinematography are all well warranted as this is beautifully made and shot. Del Toro has a certain vibe and feel through his films. I find that this one more closely resembles his earlier film Crimson Peak with Jessica Chastain. He has a good cast, with very busy Oscar Isaac playing Victor Frankenstein, who we learn is the real monster. But my assessment remains the same as earlier reviewed. It is a long film and it is dark. But it is a dark tale. Funny that a doctor who finds a way to cheat death doesn’t give his creation the desired ability to, in fact, die which causes him endless torment. Interestingly, Jesse Buckley from Hamnet is not promoting her new movie The Bride which is a Frankenstein story set in the 1930s.

December 8, 2025

Hamnet: Sometimes a movie can provide a fresh new perspective on a familiar story. In this instance it is a new surrounding story about William Shakespeare and his life along with the creation of the masterpiece tragic play Hamlet. In truth I will admit that from high school many years ago that I didn’t like this play. For me it was infuriating because of Hamlet’s inability to act; he suffered from analysis paralysis in exacting revenge for his slain father. That, of course, was the point and the tragic flaw for the young Prince.

Along comes director Chloe Zhao and the interpretation of the bestselling book from Maggie O’Farrell (unread by me). It starts with a young Shakespeare (played excellently by Paul Mescal) meeting up with a local girl who is known for being strange and “of the forest”. It seems her deceased Mom was known for being the same. The girl is played by Jesse Buckley. The two begin a relationship that moves along quickly. They are very attached and children arrive soon after. A daughter, named Suzanne and then twins (Hamnet and Judith). These are the actual real-life offspring of Shakespeare himself. I won’t delve further into the plot developments to avoid spoiling important aspects of what occurs. The family is well connected it seems, with loving parents and a caring rural community. The story continues and culminates in the final act with wife attending in London for the first performance of her husband’s new play.

This is a remarkable film with tremendous performances. The people involved are real. They act authentically and show real emotion when life happens to them. They struggle and are creatures of their times. Shakespeare has a strained relationship with his father, who wishes his son would take up his the family business rather than engage in this theatre nonsense. His mother played by Emily Watson struggles with the bohemian attitudes of her daughter-in-law. His wife is a rebel, which was an endearing feature about her when they courted. There is such emotion with these characters as they interact, and we see much like the recently reviewed Sentimental Value that a father who spends much time away from the family can express to those he clearly loves his emotions and how the events have impacted him through his work. Shakespeare as father is reaching out and reconnecting to show that he cares and he sees those he loves, despite protests to the contrary. Jesse Buckley in my view with this performance has won the Oscar. It is excellent. Such emotion. Such devotion and dedication. She shows a woman who struggles in her times while balancing motherhood and pressures of her family (including in-laws) and station. She suffers herself with the relationship with her mother. The scenes in the final act at the theatrical performance are just excellent as we see how the words of the play can reveal so much more if viewed from a different lens. In short, go see this. I have lamented that Hollywood is not creating enough human stories (unlike more independent and generally European filmmakers) but we have Steven Spielberg (who is as Hollywood as it gets) executive producing this masterpiece. Go see it. Immerse yourself in an emotional story that just may have you seeking out Hamlet one more time.

Jurassic Park Rebirth: My goodness this was bad. It was unnecessary. I had such low expectations too. This is the seventh movie in the franchise. It is remarkable to think that this is the case. For me only the original Spielberg movie is memorable. But that aside there was a discussion in the movie between Scarlett Johansson, playing a mercenary project manager, and a paleontologist (who studied under Alan Grant from the original film) who talks about dinosaur bones and packing up a museum display. It seems according to him that “people don’t care about dinosaurs any more” and “exhibits that once would have had huge crowds are now having few visitors”.

For me Johannson is out of character as a cut-throat mercenary with dubious morals about international laws who simply seems to be in the movie to fill out a tank top. Yet surprisingly she also seems to grow a conscience very quickly after initially agreeing to an enormous sum of money for completing the task at hand.

The task is to retrieve real live blood from three types of dinosaurs (air, land and sea) in order to study their hearts to produced an expensive “cure” for heart disease. The bad guy is “big pharma”, personified by actor Rupert Friend who is as slimy as you would expect. This team must go into forbidden air space where the dinosaurs have limited environmental conditions to sustain them, which makes them filled with the dinosaurs and dangerous. The team adds in (Mahershala Ali) to the team, and then by happenstance a family (father, two daughters and a young boyfriend) who have their sailboat have an encounter with the very large sea-baring dinosaur. Ironically of course it is the one that Johansson and team seek out.
The challenge through all of this is that it has been done before. Sure some of these “engineered” dinosaurs which were made at a facility on another island are bigger and more strange but they aren’t new, nor exciting. It is much the same again and again. Even the star power involved can’t save this effort. I saw this on a plane and I am glad that I didn’t spend any real money on it. This is a hard pass for me.

Black Mirror: I am steadily going through each of these episodes. Some I have liked more than others. Generally I like them all as a collection of individual stories. Each stands on their own with the Star Trek theme USS Callister having a follow up sequel which was itself excellent.
The last couple I have watched were the space themed Beyond the Sea in Season 6, and within Season 3 both Playtime and Nosedive.

Beyond the Sea stars Josh Hartnett, Aaron Paul (who I haven’t seen much since Breaking Bad ended) and Kate Mara. The two men are astronauts heading out for a long journey. Technology has been developed, almost like The Matrix or Avatar where by sitting in a special chair the man’s consciousness can be transported back to earth. On earth there is a synthetic version of him to interact with his wife, kids and environment. It keeps the astronauts grounded and helps the families to cope for the time that has a husband away in space.

Something happens to one of the synthetics on earth and his family which was unforeseen. The other astronaut and his wife decide to help him out and share some time back on earth. Without giving a lot away, this episode goes places that was unexpected for me. It is a dark place but very satisfying. The acting is good in this episode and generally in the series as it attracts some big star power. I liked this and it certainly makes one think about technology and benefits as well as unintended negative consequences.

Nosedive stars Bryce Dallas Howard and Alice Eve. They live in a world where, much like today, every interaction one has throughout a day is rated on a 1-5 scale. See the picture below, does this look familiar? The added feature is that the scores are compiled and the person then becomes the sum of their ratings. The higher the number, the perception is that the person is better. At least more desirable. But it also becomes the basis for discrimination. A person whose scores are trending down is shunned by those around them.

Howard lives with her brother but wants to move out into a place of her own in a desirable neighbourhood. She is sitting at 4.2 and pleasant with those around her. In order to get into this new condo and obtain favourable financing she needs a Person Score of 4.5 or higher. It is a challenge. A potential solution presents itself from old friend played by Alice Eve. She is getting married and the party is all exclusive 4.6 and up. If Howard can deliver a killer speech as Maid of Honour from higher pointed people, then her life would be (in her mind) better. Things happen from there that conspire against her. It was good. It makes me think from time to time now about whether I want to rate a particular transaction.

The next episode was Playtime where a young man with a strained relationship with his Mom heads off suddenly to travel the world. After some globe trotting near the end of his trip he is in London. He meets a young woman who he finds out works for a gaming company. They sleep together and the next day he is out looking for cash for his trip home but his bank card has been hacked. He needs money for his last few days. He meets back up with the young woman and she recommends he test out some next software from this well known company. He decides to do it. The game being tested is virtual reality which includes a temporary technology attachment to the back of your neck. The device engages with your memories as part of the simulation. Things happen with interesting consequences for the affable young man. Although not the strongest episode it was still worth checking out.