Movie #402 - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

2004 - Rated PG - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Brad Silberling
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jude Law, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Timothy Spall, Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Meryl Streep, Luis Guzman, Jamie Harris, Craig Ferguson, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Adams

Hey, little Emily Browning... before you were that girl from Sucker Punch! As the eldest Beaudelaire child, she's quick-witted and self-assured here.  Also caring to her kinda-weird younger siblings.  The family unit formed here is believable, which makes the movie really work.

With a cast of big-named stars parading by, it would otherwise be very hard to focus on the point of this movie.  Carrey's Olaf is big, bold, and pretty eccentric. Over the top, as is his usual. Billy Connolly gives a nice, heartwarming Uncle Monty and Meryl Streep's worry-wort Aunt is a joy to watch as well.  But the focus stays nicely on the kids, who pass through this Series of Unfortunate Events with gusto. Poor things.

I did like this one -- although I haven't read the books -- and I had hoped the franchise would carry on, turning more of the books into movies.  It doesn't seem like that's going to happen (seven years later), so if I want all those questions answered -- what is the deal with the spyglass? -- I guess I'll have to read the books.  Maybe they'll make good bedtime stories for my kids some day.

Movie #159 - The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada
2006 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 49 min
Director: David Frankel
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Adrian Grenier, Tracy Thoms

Yay, a chick flick!

I love this book. I love this movie.  The cast is fabulous, the clothes are amazing (and I'm not even into couture), and Meryl Streep deserved every inch of that Oscar.  The best part about this movie is how true it stays to the book.  The ending's a bit different, but I was happy to see some of my favorite bits make it in, like hunting down the unpublished Harry Potter book or picking up the dog from the groomer.  Emily Blunt is also a great page-to-screen success, capturing the character of Emily with every fiber of her being.  And yay for Gisele Bundchen, who apparently tried to have an acting career before popping out kids for Tom Brady.

Yes, it's a chicky movie.  It's a good one, though.  Who doesn't appreciate a good story about the struggle between good and evil, the little guy standing up to the goliath, the unsung hero standing up for herself? We can all relate to having a nightmare boss, and after watching this movie, I bet the one from your past doesn't hold a candle to Miranda Priestley.

Movie #154 - Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her
Universal Pictures
1992 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 44 min
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini

Oh boy, this one was fun to revisit.  I feel like I only caught this one on TV in bits and pieces until I recently got my hands on this copy.  I suspect this might have been the first time I've seen all the scenes in a row. 

Bruce Willis in his least flattering role is adorably hopeless, until these dead chicks push him too far.  Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, locked in a life-long feud, are so selfish and disillusioned that you almost feel bad for them. Almost.  An eternity stuck together, trapped in your own rotting body? Well, as long as your brows are done right, I guess.

Movie #15 - Adaptation

Adaptation
Columbia Pictures
2003 - Rated R - 1 hr 54 min
Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper

This movie is just weird, from beginning to end. But Chris Cooper won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for it, so there's that...

It's a movie about a book being adapted into a screenplay and the screenwriter who can't quite get it done. Written by Charlie Kaufman, it focuses on Charlie Kaufman and his twin brother Donald. In real life, there is no Donald. In the movie, both Kaufman's are Nicolas Cage. Balding Nicolas Cage.

Meryl Streep is the author of the book and the movie goes back and forth between her experiences recounted from the book and her real life in the present (3 years after living the content of the book). Still with me?

Anyway, the title is clever, the acting is good, but the premise is a bit daunting. In one sentence, the movie really is about learning how to adapt yourself. But it sure takes it's time getting you to that message.

Not a bad movie, just not something too watch when you want to be entertained mindlessly.