The Crucible

My Rating: 2 1/2 stars

So, this casting will be a little different than the rest of my typical posts.  I have decided to take an older movie, and re-cast it as if I was casting it in 2014.  The Crucible is an interesting movie in that it somewhat pulled away from the Arthur Miller script.  While this movie was excellently cast, it still had some issues with critics for its' writing.  However, I have been a huge fan of this play ever since I read it in middle school, and was also in the play myself in high school.  I have always had a dream that a director like Tim Burton or someone of that nature would take this script and remake it into something that is relevant for our generation.  Don't worry, I did not cast Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, like Burton typically would.  However, I have found my own cast that might prove to be somewhat argumentative, but is my personal choices for who I think would do best.  If you know this script, there are a lot of characters, so I'm just going to stick with the most prominent characters.
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The first character to cast would be for the role of John Proctor.  Proctor is respected in the town and is known also for not necessarily agreeing with the rest of Salem's ideals.  He has been unfaithful to his wife with Abigail, but he has been forgiven by his wife and wishes to put all of that behind him.  However it comes back to haunt him when Abigail cries witch on everyone in town.  John Proctor is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who is one of my all time favorite actors, and of course did phenomenal in this role.  I have chosen to go with Michael Fassbender.  Fassbender has certainly proven himself, racking up several Oscar nominations, and I believe he would definitely take another nomination in this role.
  
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Next important character to cast is the source of most of the problems in Salem, and that is Abigail Williams.  Abigail is extremely jealous of John Proctor's wife, and will stop at nothing to get back with him after their fling.  When things don't go her way, she takes the matter in her own hands, which as we know is a very dangerous path.  The role of Abigail is played by Winona Ryder, who also does a great job in this role.  I have chosen to go with someone that maybe some people would strongly disagree with.  I am going with Kristen Stewart.  I don't much care what people say about Stewart, because I have seen her in some great acting roles such as Welcome to the Riley's.  And even if people don't like her that much, it'll be perfect considering that Abigail is very much a hated character.
  
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Elizabeth Proctor is the next character to cast, who is John Proctor's wife.  She is very similar to John in that she doesn't necessarily agree with the ideals of the people in Salem.  She is a very strong woman, and deals with more than a typical person could handle and she makes a lot of difficult choices in the movie.  She is one of the last ones to be accused of witch craft by Abigail, all with the intention that she be hanged.  The role of Elizabeth Proctor is played by Joan Allen, who I wish I would see more of today.  I have chosen Jennifer Connelly.  Connelly has also been an actress that has played strong women, and she and Fassbender would work together well.
   
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The next character does not come into play until about half-way through the movie, but is equally as important to the plot of this movie.  The character is Judge Thomas Danforth.  While Danforth's character is somewhat frustrating sometimes, because you just want him to stop believing that Abigail is telling the truth, he is a very fair judge in that he goes for the argument that is most convincing.  The role of Judge Danforth is played by Paul Scofield.  I have chosen to go with Bill Nighy.  Nighy is an actor that is renowned for his work, and would be perfect playing a judge in a tough situation.
  
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Reverend Hale would be most important to cast next.  Reverend Hale was asked to come to Salem by the main Reverend in Salem in order to see if there are indeed signs of witch craft. Hale comes in confident that he can help this town, as he has helped many other towns.  However, when he starts to become more connected to the people of Salem, he starts to realize the ulterior motives of Abigail, but also doesn't want to turn away from his duty to God.  Reverend Hale is played by Rob Campbell.  I have chosen to go with Peter Sarsgaard, who would be perfect for this conflicted Reverend.

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One of the last main characters to cast would be for the role of Mary Warren.  Mary is friends with Abigail, but mainly because she is scared of her.  She is very timid, she doesn't like breaking the rules, and is strongly against all that Abigail is doing.  She almost becomes brave in the end when she accuses Abigail of lying, but then she takes a turn for the worst, and saves her own skin.  She works for the Proctor's, but she eventually stabs them in the back, which is influenced by Abigail.  The role of Mary is played by Karron Graves. I have chosen to go with Shailene Woodley.  Woodley has really broken out of her shell and proven herself as an actress, and would play this timid girl well.
  
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One of the last characters that I will cast will be for the role of Reverend Parris.  Parris is the one who catches Abigail and the girls in the village, dancing in the woods around a fire naked.  He is the main Reverend in town.  He cracks under pressure, and is even at one point called, "a brainless man." The role of Reverend Parris is played by Bruce Davison, and I have chosen to go with Jason  Isaacs.
  
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I hope you enjoyed me changing it up a little from what I am used to doing, by taking an old movie and casting it as if it was being made today.  I am a big fan of this play, and I hope that someday a director will take this script and put it back up on the screen.  Thanks for reading who I would have cast, for The Crucible.

Prisoners

My Rating: 3 1/2 stars

As some may have guessed, I am a big fan of dramas, dark comedies, and similar genres.  I watched Prisoners the other night after hearing a lot of good things about it, and decided to check it out.  It was definitely a suspenseful and very difficult movie to sit through.  It's long running time, and twists made it seem like the movie was never going to end.  However, I really enjoyed it in the end, and liked that it didn't have a clear and concise ending.  The acting of course was fantastic, and while it didn't get any nominations for acting it is certainly an interesting character study.  This film really makes you stop and think what you would do in this awful situation, and it shows just how far someone will go to rescue their child.  These roles are hard to play, and while they were acted well, this is the cast that I would have gone with.
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The first character to cast would be for Detective Loki, who plays the detective in charge of the case of finding the two missing girls.  Loki is very stern and looks like he has had a hard life, and he also has a nervous tick.  He is very dedicated to his job, but of course he runs into issues with the parents of the daughters, because they feel as if he is not doing all that he can do.  He wraps himself in his work, and comes very close to solving the case the entire time, but always narrowly misses it, which makes his character that much more frustrated.  The role of Detective Loki is played by Jake Gyllenhaal.  I have decided to go with Tom Hardy.  Hardy has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw him in Bronson.  He would play this hardened detective well, and it would really show off his acting chops.

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The next character to cast would be for the role of Keller Dover.  Keller is the father of one of the daughters captured.  As any father would be in this situation, Keller will do anything to find his daughter.  It's all he thinks about, he rarely gets sleep and obsesses over every detail in what happened the day his daughter was captured.  He drives himself crazy trying to find out who committed this act, and it leads him to capture the man who is believed to have captured his daughter. He does not think very clearly and he tends to lean more towards violent methods of trying to get the suspect to talk.  The role of Keller is played by Hugh Jackman.  I have decided to go with Bryan Cranston.  Of course we all know Cranston was great in Breaking Bad, and he would be able to do equally as great in the troubled father role.
  
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The next important character to cast would be to cast Keller Dover's wife, Grace Dover.  Grace grieves her child's disappearance much like any other mother would, but she also gets to a point where she can't handle it anymore.  She starts to take pills to sleep, and is extremely moody, going from somewhat hopeful to completely hopeless and a wreck.  She tries to keep it together in front of her son, but finds it hard to focus on anything else except for their missing daughter.  She is a little oblivious as to what is going on with her husband, and she feels like they are slipping away in a time when they truly need each other.  The role of Grace is played by Maria Bello.  I have decided to go with Connie Britton.  I have been a fan of Britton since I've seen her on American Horror Story, as well as Friday Night Lights, and she would be a good match with Cranston as well.

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So this next character is a pretty important character to the plot.  The character is Alex Jones, and he is the young man who is suspected to have captured the two little girls.  He is very troubled, and it seems as if he has some type of mental problem or maybe a social disorder.  He drives around in his mom's camper, and gives off a very uncomfortable vibe anytime he arrives on scene.  He even starts to hang his own dog by it's leash at one point, but releases it before it dies.  He doesn't have a very good home life, and his mother doesn't really help with the crazy.  Alex is played by Paul Dano, and I have decided to go with Evan Peters.  Don't mean to go on an American Horror Story kick here, but he is great at playing a troubled young man, and his acting talents are a little over looked currently.  This role would be a great chance for him to show off his talent.

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The next character to cast would be for the role of Franklin Birch.  Franklin plays the father of the other girl captured and him and his wife are very close friends with the Dover's.  Franklin is very kind hearted and deals with his daughter's capture in a much different way than Keller does.  Franklin is not at all for capturing Alex, and truly believes that what they are doing is wrong.  However, he is similar to Keller in that he will stop at nothing to find his daughter.   Franklin is played by Terrence Howard.  I have chosen to go with Idris Elba.  I believe he can play the type of character that is afraid to speak his mind on what is wrong with the situation, and would be good at playing more of an ignorant character.

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Franklin's wife, Nancy Birch, is the next character to cast.  Nancy is also very apprehensive towards Keller's plans, and she plays more of the angel on her husbands shoulder.  Nancy is more inclined to rely solely on the help of the Detective, but when she doesn't get answers soon enough, she starts to get desperate.   She keeps in close contact with Grace, but like most of the relationships in this movie, their relationship starts to become strained due to the stressful situation.  The role of Nancy is played by Viola Davis.  I have chosen to go with Thandie Newton.  I really enjoyed her performance in Crash, and think that her role in that movie would carry over well for this movie.

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And the last character to cast would be for the character of Holly Jones.  Holly is the mother of Alex Jones, and is equally if not more crazy than Alex.  She kind of sets fuel to the fire, but also remains very under wraps during this entire predicament.  She supports her son, and convinces everyone that it truly is not her son doing this.  But then of course in the end, we find out she is just as guilty if not more guilty than her son ever was.  The role of Holly is played Melissa Leo, who at first I thought was unrecognizable because she did so great in this role.  I however have chosen to go with Sissy Spacek, who would play a great tormented mother.

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Thank you for reading who I would have picked for the movie Prisoners.  If you like extremely dark dramas with a lot of twists and a cliff hanger ending, than this movie would be perfect for you.  Plus the acting is well worth the watch.