Weekly Review -- Easter sweetness

Children painting eggs, bunnies going on egg hunts, colorful chocolates all around... with imagery this cheery and sweet, I had to dedicate this weekend to some candy coated, happy, fabulous movies. I recommend them if you would like to experience pure, wide-eyed cinematic enjoyment. Happy Easter everyone! I hope you enjoy the holiday.


Enchanted (2007) -- This charming movie seemingly came out of nowhere last November and went on to conquer audiences and viewers alike. And with good reason. It is sweet without being cheesy, clever without being pretentious and puts a new spin altogether on the traditional fairy tale. Princess Giselle (Amy Adams) is catapulted from 'Once upon a time' into the real world by the evil stepmother (Susan Sarandon) of her husband-to-be, Prince Edward (James Marsden). She lands in New York City, in the middle of Times Square, and soon happens to meet a jaded divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey). Who will she choose in the end? The movie is peppered with references to fairy tales, which it successfully and playfully lampoons. The true magic of the film is in the details -- beloved clichés being skewered, inside jokes referring to various characters we know and love and, of course, that talking chipmunk -- as well as the sparkly dialogue and the actors' inspired performances. Adams is radiant as Giselle and there is genuine chemistry between her and Dempsey. After Hairspray, Marsden gets another chance to show off his singing, and he does a fantastic job as the vain Edward, while Sarandon seems to relish the role of evil Queen Narissa. The musical numbers are practically smiling -- you will be humming "That's How You Know" for at least a week afterwards -- and the entire film is happiness personified. See it if you want to escape to another, happier world.

9/10


August Rush (2007) -- A whimsical fantasy if ever there was one, this Kirsten Sheridan movie looks and feels as though it came from another dimension. Cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and rock musician Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Myers) have a one night stand, which produces a son. Eleven years later, Evan (Freddy Highmore), who was put up for adoption, embarks on a journey to find his parents using the gift of music he has inherited. While Evan is exploring the world through his music and his otherworldly connection to his parents, we meet a host of people influencing his quest, including a caring social worker (Terrence Howard) and an amateur musician (Robin Williams). The film finds its centre in the infinite realm of cosmic happenstance and possibilities. It is set up as a modern fairy tale; attempts to see any aspect of it realistically are sure to fail. The story may be too convenient for some viewers' liking; however, one has to remember the context of the narrative and fully commit to the film's alternate universe for two hours. The screenplay is fanciful and sentimental, but it fits the world of August Rush to a T, being that any matter-of-fact dialogue would only break the fourth wall to the phantasm, rendering it effectively sappy and pointless. The acting is adequate. Highmore and Williams stand out, but Russell and Myers -- who, incidentally, were co-stars in the very different Mission: Impossible 3
-- do have a good, albeit underdeveloped, rapport. See August Rush if you want to see an unusual movie, one that depicts innocence in its purest cinematic form.

7/10