Happy Easter - Open Thread

[filkertom]

May those of you who celebrate this day find peace and joy in your hearts.

May those of you who do not celebrate this day also find peace and joy in your hearts.

And, may those two groups coexist in love and friendship.

Comments

[shannachie.livejournal.com]

and amen in any language to that.
(except perhaps in the original Klingonese)

[barbarakitten-t.livejournal.com]

what a lovely thought...

*HUG*

Here Here

[illusionmajik.livejournal.com]

Sagely said!
Happy no denominational spring day :)

[braider.livejournal.com]

Happy Easter, and welcome to spring!

Tom Reasonably Enchanted

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Wow. I've actually seen two first-run films this weekend. That hasn't happened in a heck of a long time.

As mentioned, Hellboy (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/hellboy/) is pretty darn good -- near excellent if your a comics fan (not even of that comic, just comics in general). Three stars.

And, I went all by my wonesome to see Ella Enchanted (http://www.miramax.com/ellaenchanted/index.html), which was pretty much exactly what I'd surmised from the preview. If you are looking for high fantasy, fire up that DVD of LOTR. If you are looking for a live-action Shrek, you'll probably be okay.

There are several performances that stand out. Fortunately, the first and foremost is our heroine, Anne Hathaway, who as Ella easily carries the movie. If I had seen here in anything before this, I would've probably had the same reaction I had to Christina Ricci in The Addams Family, i.e., "Wait till this kid grows up". (Okay, what I actually said was, "I can't wait until puberty smacks into her.") She's funny, innocent, good-hearted, and beautiful as all get-out.

Hugh Dancy as Prince Charmont does a little more than expected, and Aidan McArdle cracks wise quite well as Slannen, the elf who wants to be a denti- lawyer. Minnie Driver actually helps to ground the film -- her Mandy the House Faerie loves Ella very much, and that shines through in every frame. The guys playing the ogres are also having fun. Eric Idle is splendid as the Narrator. But it's Cary Elwes, playing the evil Baron Dennis Miller, who is obviously having the most fun breaking type.

A lot of the rest of the performances, and jokes, are what you'd think they would be, and that's not necessarily a good thing. There's also some obvious humiliation shtick, especially in the first twenty minutes. But even so, some shtick rises to the top; while the movie is very deliberately over the top in some places, it's actually better in the places where it just gets close to the top. F'rinstance, the preview has Ella doing some Matrix-style martial arts moves -- obvious pandering, right? And indeed it would be, were it not for the fact that she was encouraged into the fight by someone else, who was doing a "Give 'em a left! and a right! and another left!" bit, and Ella's shocked expression at what she's doing sells the scene.

Besides, I'm a sucker for the occasional well-done slip into the Hammerstein Zone. There are two here: a decent version of a song I adore, "Somebody To Love" by Queen, and the grand finale of "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" (yes, the Elton John/Kiki Dee song, and I didn't even have to looking her up -- god, I'm pathetic) which feels almost exactly like the cast taking its bows.

I really can only give Ella Enchanted two stars, but I'll admit to a soft spot for it, whether in my heart or in my head I'm not sure. If you go in the right mood, I think you might enjoy yourself a lot.