MOVIE MARATHON 2

note: MOVIE MARATHON 1 is February 23, 2005 entry.

***Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

---This film is entertaining but DARK. When I say dark, I mean the Gothic imagery, the morbid humor and the mystifying plot. Its overblown and dramatic scenes, however, can keep one loyally tuned into the movie. As a movie that endeavors to entertain adults, it can be pretty much okay. But mulling over the fact that it is based on a children’s book series is quite another matter. There is implied violence and minor profanities. It practically spells out the major fears of children, like having their parents dead in circumstances they don’t understand or having atrocious foster parents or worse, telling adults their predicament and no one believes them! I don’t mean to be such a spoiler…but having a villain attempt to marry a 14-year-old girl and to toss sly innuendos at her aunt--ALL for the interest of money—now this tells much of an uncensored truth most parents would not want to poison the minds of their children with! And to think millions of kids read these books. To be fair though, the movie is rated PG (and rightfully so)…and parents should take that rating seriously.

*** Million Dollar Baby ***

---It sure is one good fight film. But the downside of it far outweighs that aspect. Aside from the fact that it is terminally depressing (no movie has probably depressed me more than this!), it’s a sucker punch that will send you crashing into some very sensitive moral matters. What’s so NOT great about this movie is that despite the quality of acting and directing, it goes downhill in its plot. The concluding message is a complete turnaround from the film’s initial implication of working hard for your dreams, never giving up and protecting yourself at all times. In the end, all of the characters curl up like cowards. They give in and quit. They play God. I found no redemptive value in the film’s ending. It was not heroic—none of the actors’ dilemmas could justify what they chose to do in the end. And that makes it not only depressing but disappointing as well.