Now that you've seen the Baz Luhrmann (he's the director) version of "Romeo and Juliet", you are going to write a review. It should have three coherent paragraphs (no more!). You need a catchy title and the best sort of title is one that makes use of a Shakespearean phrase (make sure you understand the phrase).
The opening paragraph should say what you thought of the movie in general (you liked it or didn't like it and a general reason why).
The second paragraph should deal with something specific (the locale (Venice Beach, instead of Verona), the performances (name the actors you are talking about and say who they played), the music, the tempo, the set pieces (like the abandonned theatre at the beach).
The third paragraph should explain whether it is a good version of the play or not and who might like it or not like it and make a suggestion or two about how it could have been better or say why it is great.
Here's mine:
Luhrmann's Version Doesn't "Kiss by the Book"
Baz Luhrmann has created a thoroughly enjoyable, intensely energetic production of Shakespeare's great romantic tragedy, "Romeo and Juliet". The show starts with a wild encounter at a Venice Beach gas station, between the young Montague lads and the terrifying gang of Capulets, led by the Prince of Cats, Tybalt. All the young actors in the scene perform at top speed, with dramatic gestures and poses and vivid expressions of youth gone completely insane. It is dangerous, and out of control and it sets up the rest of the show in exactly the way Shakespeare would have loved.
All the performances are terrific, but particularly outstanding are John Leguizamo as Tybalt and Harold Perrineau as Mercutio. Every time either actor appears on the screen, the result is crackling electricity. They take incredible artistic risks in their complete embodiment of both young men and present Luhrmann and Shakespeare's thesis that the impulsivity of young men brings about the destruction of all the lives they touch. DeCaprio and Danes, as Romeo and Juliet, provide respite from the violence in the streets and inhabit the youthful infatuation of the two star-crossed lovers and are nearly (but not quite) as interesting as Perrineau and Leguizamo.
The beauty of Shakespeare is that the plays are endlessly adaptable and applicable to situations in our own lives. Luhrmann has given us a visceral rendition of the play, with over-the-top performances, giant sets and costumes and unceasing drive and I am sure the "immortal bard" would love it as much as I do.
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