Lemony Snicket Review: Shaddup and Let the Kids Play!
The new Lemony Snicket movie is a classic case of a great story with obvious love behind it being unable to avoid the screaming Hollywood Bullet Train. There are times when the fantastic dour mood of the film is dimmed or blacked out entirely by overacting, bad editing and quick cameos by famous stars that wreck the continuity.
Case in point: Jim Carrey as Count Olaf is a wise casting choice, but there are several moments in this film where his hamming literally stops the show. One very glaring example is about halfway through the movie, when the Baudelaire orphans are facing a Moment of Great Peril (no spoilers here - you'll definitely know it when it happens.) So, Olaf enters the scene at the highest point of tension and the Moment of Great Peril grinds to an abrupt halt, and we are treated to about three minutes of Jim Carrey mugging his fool head off at the expense of the rest of the film.
But when he's on, he's fantastic. A role like Count Olaf is perfect for someone like Carrey, who can squeeze a million different reactions out of a script. But considering this is a tale of Poe-like woe about orphaned kids, we don't need a million. We need a select few to buoy up the younger actors, who are good but not great. Their reaction scenes need help a lot of the time.
However, the three kids doing the Lead Orphaning are exactly what you'd expect if you're familiar with the Lemony Snicket books.
The other thing that didn't help this movie at all is the insistence of famous actors doing bit roles that do nothing for the movie and reek of "my point percentage and take from this part will be?" Dustin Hoffman, Cedric the Entertainer (radically miscast as a constable of all things) and Catherine O'Hara are all in this movie and all do nothing whatsoever. The kids who are fueling the Snicket marketing scheme couldn't care less who they are, and the parents will say, "hey, there's Dustin Hoffman!" but forget about what's going on in the movie.
Lemony Snicket could have been a marvelous film, like the first Harry Potter was. No suspension of disbelief - just pure fun, awe and wonder. Instead, we're dropped in and out of Snicketland because of bad editing, hamfisted scenes that grind everything to a halt, and the inclusion of famous cameos that don't serve the story.
That all said, definitely go see the movie - behind all of the noise there's a fantastic story going on.
Pay for Meryl Streep and Billy Connolly as the caretakers of the orphans.
Pay for the jaw-dropping way the movie looks - the cinematography and sets are wickedly fun. Pay for having Jim Carrey crack you up the way Jim Carrey always cracks you up.
And, if you're like me and tend to stay through the credits, you'll be rewarded then also - there's a nifty little animated chase scene happening throughout that is a delight as well.
***
Also, today I was overwhelmed by the outright commercialism and ludicrous tie-in merchandising that goes on in the name of entertainment. For example, Regal Cinemas is now selling these outsized jumbo deals with Seinfeld episodes attached. What the hell do old Seinfeld reruns have to do with popcorn or anything playing at your local multiplex? What knucklehead got that one of a conference room on two legs? It was absolutely surreal seeing the Seinfeld gang smiling away on the side of a 3-gallon size tub of popcorn this afternoon.
Not to mention that there are now drinks waiting for you at the Cineplex that have names like Lavafruit Avalanche. What the hell is a Lavafruit Avalanche supposed to be? I could understand paying 5 bucks for a 16-ounce gulp of Berry Blast or Strawberry-Kiwi Kamikaze or whatever, but Lavafruit Avalanche? Maybe the guy who came up with the Seinfeld tie-in was force-fed this stuff by his supervisor, had some kind of synthetic liquid vision, and that's how it all started.
I guess I'm just getting old or something. I still go out to the movies like it's an adventure, a magic ritual almost. I enjoy it tremendously - but I despair now that most movie houses are built with airport level interior design, and by all this random merchandising. I feel like I'm taking part in some sort of deep-cortex sensory challenge - "how much of your surroundings can you ignore in order for your inner child to come out and play?"
I just wish the movies, even the big blockbuster movies like Lemony Snicket had the chance to speak for themselves.
Case in point: Jim Carrey as Count Olaf is a wise casting choice, but there are several moments in this film where his hamming literally stops the show. One very glaring example is about halfway through the movie, when the Baudelaire orphans are facing a Moment of Great Peril (no spoilers here - you'll definitely know it when it happens.) So, Olaf enters the scene at the highest point of tension and the Moment of Great Peril grinds to an abrupt halt, and we are treated to about three minutes of Jim Carrey mugging his fool head off at the expense of the rest of the film.
But when he's on, he's fantastic. A role like Count Olaf is perfect for someone like Carrey, who can squeeze a million different reactions out of a script. But considering this is a tale of Poe-like woe about orphaned kids, we don't need a million. We need a select few to buoy up the younger actors, who are good but not great. Their reaction scenes need help a lot of the time.
However, the three kids doing the Lead Orphaning are exactly what you'd expect if you're familiar with the Lemony Snicket books.
The other thing that didn't help this movie at all is the insistence of famous actors doing bit roles that do nothing for the movie and reek of "my point percentage and take from this part will be?" Dustin Hoffman, Cedric the Entertainer (radically miscast as a constable of all things) and Catherine O'Hara are all in this movie and all do nothing whatsoever. The kids who are fueling the Snicket marketing scheme couldn't care less who they are, and the parents will say, "hey, there's Dustin Hoffman!" but forget about what's going on in the movie.
Lemony Snicket could have been a marvelous film, like the first Harry Potter was. No suspension of disbelief - just pure fun, awe and wonder. Instead, we're dropped in and out of Snicketland because of bad editing, hamfisted scenes that grind everything to a halt, and the inclusion of famous cameos that don't serve the story.
That all said, definitely go see the movie - behind all of the noise there's a fantastic story going on.
Pay for Meryl Streep and Billy Connolly as the caretakers of the orphans.
Pay for the jaw-dropping way the movie looks - the cinematography and sets are wickedly fun. Pay for having Jim Carrey crack you up the way Jim Carrey always cracks you up.
And, if you're like me and tend to stay through the credits, you'll be rewarded then also - there's a nifty little animated chase scene happening throughout that is a delight as well.
***
Also, today I was overwhelmed by the outright commercialism and ludicrous tie-in merchandising that goes on in the name of entertainment. For example, Regal Cinemas is now selling these outsized jumbo deals with Seinfeld episodes attached. What the hell do old Seinfeld reruns have to do with popcorn or anything playing at your local multiplex? What knucklehead got that one of a conference room on two legs? It was absolutely surreal seeing the Seinfeld gang smiling away on the side of a 3-gallon size tub of popcorn this afternoon.
Not to mention that there are now drinks waiting for you at the Cineplex that have names like Lavafruit Avalanche. What the hell is a Lavafruit Avalanche supposed to be? I could understand paying 5 bucks for a 16-ounce gulp of Berry Blast or Strawberry-Kiwi Kamikaze or whatever, but Lavafruit Avalanche? Maybe the guy who came up with the Seinfeld tie-in was force-fed this stuff by his supervisor, had some kind of synthetic liquid vision, and that's how it all started.
I guess I'm just getting old or something. I still go out to the movies like it's an adventure, a magic ritual almost. I enjoy it tremendously - but I despair now that most movie houses are built with airport level interior design, and by all this random merchandising. I feel like I'm taking part in some sort of deep-cortex sensory challenge - "how much of your surroundings can you ignore in order for your inner child to come out and play?"
I just wish the movies, even the big blockbuster movies like Lemony Snicket had the chance to speak for themselves.
posted by Stefush at 3:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home