Finally got to see Julie Taymor's film version of The Tempest, and enjoyed it immensely. She takes a lot of liberties in some ways, but everything is done with real intelligence and style. The treatment of the play's songs, for instance, I found very fresh and interesting. (I wonder if there's another work of literature that comes so close to exposing the essence of music.) In fact, all of the thematic content resonates really strongly. There are some terrific performances as well, with Ben Whishaw as Ariel (his John Keats in Bright Star from 2009 was equally excellent) and Djimon Hounsou as Caliban standing out in particular. Also liked Russell Brand's Trinculo a lot, and Felicity Jones' Miranda was very strong. Her listening ability (crucial in Shakespearean acting) points to a big future. Some of the bigger names, Helen Mirren, Chris Cooper and David Strathairn, were surprisingly reserved in their interpretations now that I think about it, but I enjoyed them as well. I'm going to watch it again soon, and write more about it at that point, but I can certainly recommend it right now. Check it out as soon as you can, and the same goes for her version of Titus Andronicus (Titus from 1999).