Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

gradyharp Alan Brown (Superheroes, Book of Love, etc) has adapted a poignant capsule of Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET and directs his version as a little film that is full of riches. Not only has he allowed Shakespeare's lines to be delivered intact but he has the courage to embellish their meaning by placing the story in a military academy, a move that has a lot of punch considering the recent advances in the military attitude toward gays. Brown very successfully mixes this contemporary all male setting with bits of contemporary dialog and music and academy activity with sports etc to offer a very different look at the tale of forbidden love, has cast a highly gifted cast of New York stage actors to play all the roles, and has the courage to make this all work quite successfully. As one PR summary puts it, 'When eight cadets are left behind at an isolated military high school, the greatest romantic drama ever written seeps out of the classroom and permeates their lives. Incorporating the original text of 'Romeo and Juliet,' YouTube videos, and lip-synced Indie rock music, Private Romeo takes us to a mysterious and tender place that only Shakespeare could have inspired.'Once the setting is established, we are privy to a classroom (English literature) where the men/boys are reciting Sjakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet and from there the readers take on the roles as they move outside the classroom. The extremely talented Seth Mumrich plays Romeo and his gifted costar in Broadway's WAR HORSE Matt Doyle is Juliet. Hale Appleman is given the combined roles of Mercutio and Lord Capulet, Sean Hudock shares both Benvolio and Lady Capulet, Adam Barrie is Friar Lawrence, Chris Bresky plays the Nurse, and the magnetic Bobby Moreno plays Tybalt. Of course each of these characters, being military academy pre-soldiers, has a common name and Alan Brown manages to intermix the reality of these students with the Shakespearean characters deftly. The love that Seth Mumrich and Matt Doyle display is very real and touching and while there is kissing here there is no other manifestation of Shakespeare's perfect but doomed love affair: this movie is for all audiences. After the 'tomb scene' and to bring us back into reality, the very talented Matt Doyle sings 'You made me love you' directly to the audience. A fine way to bring this experimental piece to an end.Everything about this film works well - the Shakespeare excerpts are well molded to provide the essential story and are delivered expertly by the cast, the variations of the military academy theme (especially in these times) is a powerful statement, and the use of contemporary entertainment media enhances the story very well. This is a smart, beautifully acted, well devised and delivered 'update' of one of the oldest love stories in history. Grady Harp

arizona-philm-phan Brotherhood and Love....and not about the bashing....and not about the hate....and not about the struggle. Because...I think we need more films like that....I think we need more things saying that Love is Universal....and it is beautiful, no matter what. And I'm really proud to be a part of this project." (( These words are the heartfelt expressions of Matty Doyle (Glenn / Juliet), in preparing to give an encore rendition of "You Made Me Love You", at the following YouTube address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25_D9qvxJ0c ))Bringing life and passion to a 400+ year old play is a gutsy, yet potentially tricky endeavor. In doing so, Director Alan Brown had a "Nice" idea (he's had them before). BUT...will raw Shakespeare (let alone with a cast not-trained-in-Shakespeare) pull in everyday Gay viewers around the world? Time and return on expenses will tell. Though I personally hunger for the success of this film work, that "BUT" remains a potential killer for his efforts.Still and all, if anything can keep this film work alive...and long remembered...it will the touching, yet sizzling, Love Story given us by Seth Numrich (Sam / Romeo) and Matt Doyle (Glenn / Juliet). They hold absolutely nothing back in both their emotional and physical lovemaking. Their scenes together are oh-so-easy for this reviewer to play, and replay again.BUT, now I must be honest...and say that about the basics of this Story---the basics of Shakespeare---I am ill-equipped to give you more. Yet, there is someone....someone from the several existing reviews of this film, whose deeply descriptive and perceptive words say it all. And those words belong to Rachel Schweissinger, and can be found in her May 19, 2012 review at Amazon.com, entitled: "Outstanding, Heartbreaking, Haunting, Beautiful". Do yourself a favor and read them.PS--Thank you, Matt Doyle, for giving us a today's-rendition of "You Made Me Love You." It's right up there with another favorite---Harry Nilsson's 1973** track of that same song. And perhaps you'll consider another visit to "Feinsteins" and give us your go at R & J's true Signature Song: "Always" (the perfect lyrics for J. to sing to R.). Oh, and Harry needs the competition.**Audio CD/MP3---"A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night"

moviesilike i loved this movie !!! it was so intense ,unique and authentic-original ! for me this movie is a must see !I mean the dialogs between the actors .The re-edition of the classic Romeo and Juliet , the acting , everything ! I could say it is a fresh romeo and Juliet adjusted to the present.Actually i loved the fact that all the dialogs were taken from the original (with some changes) and the way the actors pronounced them . it was the best movie i have seen for a long time .it captured me from the first time because i was watching something for the first time ,and the acting was so good . i watched it in one breath . sorry for my English.

walypala I have a couple of pet hates when it comes to Shakespeare: 1. Forced constructs (a lá Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It set in feudal Japan - WTF!?!) 2. Americans (I know it is harsh but I have yet to see an American production that I've not cringed at - Did you see Ethan Hawke in Hamlet?) And then along comes Private Romeo to force a group of American military cadets into Romeo and Juliet.Shakespeare, forced context, Americans.Shakespeare, forced military academy context, hot semi-naked Americans.So I went. I was unprepared. The performances here completely disarmed me. The cast, led by (Seth Numrich - incidentally, Julliard's youngest ever drama student) is phenomenal. Their command of Shakespeare's words is masterful, finding the perfect balance between the flow of natural dialogue and the meter of the verse.Hale Appleman is especially good as Mercutio, and he relishes the early scenes, absolutely smashing the Queen Mab speech. Chris Bresky, too, who takes on the nurse's role has a lot of fun with his role, aided by some clever set up. But, in truth, it is hard to fault anyone in the cast.And the context? That's a bit more tricky.The film kicks off with the students doing a read through of Romeo and Juliet in their class. Thankfully, Brown moves away from the standard 'lives mirror performance' format, as the cadets start to slip into verse with little warning. The military academy works as a setting because the action that is taking place isn't strictly 'Romeo and Juliet'. Shakespeare's dialogue is used to accentuate the action rather than drive it. It soon becomes clear that the masked ball is not going to be a masked ball and that daughters are not going to be girls. Importantly, there are no rival houses, they are mentioned but they are not the cause of the tragedy here, that role is taken up by the undercurrent of homophobia and standard high school pack mentality.If you accept this construct then the world of Private Romeo maintains a concrete internal logic. The cadets can change roles because the speech is more important than the character. Director Alan Brown cleverly signals character changes by flashing back to the classroom scene, re-introducing the boys in the new role.Coming to the film with a solid grasp of the play will certainly benefit. Brown has pared the play back to an extremely fast moving 98 minutes and he has used many techniques to keep the pace moving. Characters are excised or collapsed into single characters, actors double up on roles, and whole plot lines are removed or altered. This is nothing new in producing Shakespeare but it is certainly less common producing his works for the screen.SPOILERS I won't deny that Brown has taken some liberties with the play. The tweaks that Baz Lurhmann made in his excellent 1996 version have been taken a step further here, with both the boys surviving. I didn't find this as jarring as I would have expected. Following on from Tybalt and Mercutio's fight (where neither die) the altered ending maintains the relationship between the traditional play and the play on the screen. Brown's decision also sidestepped the propensity of gays to die at the end of films, a comment in itself.END SSPOILERS There are of course choices that didn't work especially well; a series of lip-synced YouTube videos filmed by the cadets were effective but oddly placed and a song by 'Juliet' over the films credits needs to be hacked off the end (and will be once it reaches my DVD-r).Private Romeo is a fluid, astonishingly acted and relevant addition to the library of 'Romeo and Juliet' on film. Brown's film can sit proudly next to Zeffirelli and Lurhmann as an adaptation that has captured the true beauty of the text and adolescent love.Do not miss!