Da'ud Bob's Movie Review
for
  February 2026


Back in late 2008 I had picked up a little DVD set of short re-tellings of four of Shakespeare's plays, entitled "ShakespeaRetold". All four are interesting, but my favorite remains, 17 years later, "The Taming of the Shrew." And I felt that I just had to share again! So enjoy this review of it, first published in February 2009!



It’s always been a conundrum.  Is it Shakespeare if the story is changed, the settings are changed, and if the language is so changed that it hardly uses any of Shakespeare’s words?  Admittedly, even Shakespeare didn’t originate most of his stories; the vast majority of them are what we would now call “based on the novel”, or more appropriately much of the time, “based on the short story.”  So it’s not like the tales are sacrosanct, never to be meddled with or changed about.  After all, meddling with them and changing them about is part of what made Shakespeare famous.  So if someone takes one of these same stories, sets it in a different time and place, changes the story line a little to better fit into the modified milieu, and writes their own words (mostly) to it, does that mean that it’s no longer Shakespeare?

Whew!  Okay, that was probably overly philosophical.  Especially since the movie that caused all of this cerebration is supposed to be a comedy.  As in, “hah, hah!  That’s funny!” comedy.  And it was.  It made me laugh all the way through it.  (Though I think it helps if you’ve seen one of the more “standard” versions of the play before, so you can appreciate what’s been changed better.)  But so it is, that after a lot of philosophical ruminating, and a bunch of belly laughs, this month Da’ud Bob reviews ShakespeaRetold: The Taming of the Shrew.

Starring Shirley (Moaning Myrtle of the Harry Potter movies, but all grown up now) Henderson as Katherine Minola, Rufus Sewell as Petruchio, Jaime Murray as Bianca Minola, Twiggy Lawson as their Katherine and Bianca’s mother, Mrs. Minola, David Mitchell as Tim Agnew, Santiago Cabrera as Lucentio, Federico Zanni as Tranio, Stephen Tompkinson as Harry Kavanagh, and Bruce Mackinnon as the Vicar, this BBC production of the play is set in modern England.  Katherine is an up and coming star of the opposition party in Parliament, her younger sister Bianca is an international super model, Petruchio is a down on his luck (and out of money) Earl.  Katherine, of course, is a four-star b***h whose friends and mother suggest she marry to improve her career chances.  Petruchio, of course, is willing to marry for money.  But will she, or won’t she?  That is the question.  (Oops, sorry wrong play!)

Good points: Twiggy as Catherine and Bianca’s mother.  Bianca’s teacher of Italian, Lucentio.  The entire script stays very close to the story.  Petruchio’s arrival at the church for the wedding – he’s a cross-dresser.  (There’s a lot of male actors out there who couldn’t pull it off – Rufus Sewell does.)  The priest performing the wedding.  Petruchio’s “I will!” waking the baby up and making it cry.  (I’m a parent, I know this isn’t funny if it’s your child, but I had to laugh anyway.)

Bad points: For the most part, it’s not Shakespeare’s words.  (Sometimes, I really miss iambic pentameter.)  Catherine may be too much of a b***h. 

Zero breasts.  No blood.  No dead bodies.  (It’s a Shakespeare comedy; nobody dies.)  Tire rolls.  Luggage sinks.  Gratuitous flipping someone the bird and saying “Swivel.”  Academy Award nominations to Rufus Sewell as Petruchio for ordering a drink “Double.  Triple.  Big”, and for “If she want’s a bad marriage, I’m going to give her one.”, and to Stephen Tompkinson as Petruchio’s put-upon friend Harry Kavanagh for “Everyone thinks she’s a dyke, or mad, or Hitler, or something,” and to Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell for their early morning exchange: [Petruchio] “How brightly shines the moon.” [Katherine] “That’s the sun, you pillock.” [Petruchio] “Oh.[Pause] Is it? [Pause] Well. [Pause] You shouldn’t contradict me.” [Katherine] “You shouldn’t talk bollocks.”  A 42 on the Vomit Meter.  3½ Stars.  Da’ud Bob says, “I laughed all the way through it.  Check it out!”



Upcoming movies and miniseries to watch for!


A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
Now streaming		 Set a century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wander through Westeros ... a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends. A(nother) Game of Thrones prequel. Streaming on Max.
Othello
March 4, 2026		 Another remake of Shakespeare's classic tale of jealousy and betrayal. This one stars David Harewood, Toby Jones, and Caitlin FitzGerald. Directed by Tom Morris.
Hamlet
April 10, 2026		 A modern adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', set in London. Starring Riz Ahmed, Morfydd Clark, and Joe Alwyn. The setting may be modern London, but the words are Shakespeare's text.
The Odyssey
July 17, 2026		 A new film version of the epic poem by Homer. Directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, with Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, and more. Quite the impressive cast! I hope the script will let their talents shine. The plot is exactly what you'd expect: "After the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Circe along the way."
The King, the Swordsman, and the Sorceress
Said to be released December 30, 2025, but I can't find it anywhere		 Starring Donna Hamblin, Deborah Dutch, Jeffrey Schneider, and Nick Dent, still no plot synopsis has been released. But given the title, surely it must be a Da'ud Bob kind of movie, yes? Well, maybe. AI seems to think it is a remake of 1982's The Sword and the Sorcerer, a movie which featured, as I said in my review of it, "the amazing new Ronco Rocket Sword.  'It slices!  It dices!  It makes mincemeat of your enemies in minutes!')". If AI is right, we are all in serious trouble.
Highlander
2026? No release date announced yet.		 Starring Henry Cavill, Russell, Crowe, and Karen Gillan, with Dave Bautista as the Kurgan. This is a remake of the 1986 original starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery that no one I know of is asking for. "An immortal Scottish swordsman faces off with other immortal warriors in order to obtain a coveted ability." Director Chad Stahelski confirmed the movie will be using Queen's soundtrack from the original, but "Probably in a different way than you think, but hardcore yes." [Da'ud Bob says, "How about 'hardcore no'?"]


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