Family Movie Night
by Karyn Bowman
One of the problems of renting movies from the store in town is that the movie I want to see is not always back and ready when I am ready.
Case in point, Sunday I was ready to watch The Odd Life of Timothy Green starring Jennifer Gardner and Joel Eddgerton.
I wanted to watch a life re-affirming movie, one that reminds me a of the joys that are mixed in with all of the sorrows. The story is about a childless couple who write down all of the aspects of their dream child that they have not been able to conceive. Then they take the papers, put them in a box and bury the dream in the back yard. Imagine their surprise when a child comes from that spot who slowly reveals himself to be all of the things they dreamed. That was the movie I was hoping to see.
What I saw instead was the movie box with an empty hook for the tag.
Someone had beat me to the movie, someone was enjoying it but I was not.
Bummer.
That is when I went with my second choice, Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp.
I had put this movie on my list of safe scares. Trust me, there are things here to scare a little kid but not a tweener or anyone older.
Poster Image from IMDb.com
A re-vamp of the 1960s soap opera, this movie brings Barnabas Collins (Depp) back to his mansion in Maine after being trapped for nearly 200 years. His goal is to bring greatness back to his surviving family members. Elizabeth Collins (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the strong matriarch raising her daughter while Roger (Jonny Lee Miller) is the weak willed patriarch more interested in lifting money than making it. Nor is he interested in his son, David, who misses the mother who died at sea.
The family appears to be plagued by a curse. Their livelihood has failed, they are barely keeping the manor together. Elizabeth hires a new nanny for David who fits in perfectly, maybe too perfectly. But the curse is really a series of problems caused by vengeful former lover of Barnabas who has lived as long as he has and worked to create a fishing empire.
What works is Johnny Depp as Barnabas. He delivers lines well and remains true to the character, with the exception of one or two scenes that are entertaining but do not work. However, when he is paired with Pfeiffer the air crackles and pops. They share the same goal and intensity of saving the family. There are hidden layers for nearly every character that makes you want to keep watching.
However, I find there are some glaring problems with big holes in the plot and characters that do not stay true to themselves. I wanted more Victoria, David and Liz, less Doctor Hoffman. I wanted more gothic atmosphere and less killing.
For me this movie was a miss while my 15-year-old thought it was a hit. Perhaps it is a case of great style, little substance.
Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.
Did you watch Dark Shadows when you were younger, Karyn? I loved the original serial. I’m not sure if I was watching reruns or the original – I was so young. I don’t remember the plot lines much, either. I just remember the creepy and spooky nature without being overly scary.
I’ve yet to see the movie – perhaps one day. I am finding watching a ‘remake’ of something you really liked is a gamble, and I’m not a big gambler.
The boys and I watched “The Lighting Thief” after reading the book. What a disappointment. The boys and I talked about how much the movie got wrong – how much the movie left out – and how much better the book was than the movie.
Perhaps Dark Shadows will remain unseen by me, so I can cherish the good that was the original.
Diane, I think you had better put this off your list then. I has in grade school when the show was one and remember the atmosphere and not much else.
As for Percy Jackson, I had not read the book beforehand and really enjoyed the movie. I have come to terms with the fact most of the time the movie can never compare to the book, especially when you consider the amount of condensing that must happen.
HAve been wondering how the new one compared with the TV series. The old Dark Shadows is available on line…think I’ll just keep going through those episodes.
Have a happy New Year – and may the rental aisles be filled with great finds for you to discover next year!
I will write about this next week but we finally saw Timothy Green and loved it!
Johnny Depp–sometimes I love the guy, and sometimes he’s a bit too “out there” for me…
I know what you mean…
If it weren’t for Depp, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed ‘Dark Shadows,’ but that guy is amazing. He’s such a chameleon and can play so many different roles. Love him. And I hadn’t realized until reading this that Johnny Lee Miller was in it. I’ve been watching ‘Elementary’ and really like him in that.
Thanks for the visit to my blog.
Jonny Lee was the rotten brother and did not look like his Sherlock character at all. I am loving him in “Elementary.”
I remember when the TV show was popular. It was too campy for me so I thought the movie might be too. I think I’ll skip it.
I remember reruns of Dark Shadows when I was a kid. Thanks for the review.
Tim
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