What I Watch Recently

I finally got around to watching the movie of A Series of Unfortunate Events.  I enjoyed the book series, but for one reason or another, I just wasn't in a hurry to check out the movie version.  Probably a good thing in this case, as I've forgotten most of the finer details of books, so I probably enjoyed the movie more than I would have otherwise.  In truth, the reason I finally got down to watching it was less because of the book series and more because of the all-star cast, including a surprise Jane Lynch:

She's only on-screen for a few seconds, but that's still a definite plus.  Also a plus for me, the DVD included not one, but two commentaries, both interesting in their own right.  The first one, with just the director (Brad Silberling), was the better of the two as far as I'm concerned, and a lot better than most commentaries I listen to.  It was a near perfect blend of background information, how certain effects were pulled off, and why certain story elements were changed.  Very informative.  The second commentary, between the director and Lemony Snicket, author of the books, was occasionally funny, but the script needed a little work.  For one thing, Silberling kept flipflopping between actually forgetting what happened during the shooting and leading Snicket on just to be a jerk, and really, he should have picked one or the other.  For another, too much of it was just Snicket moaning and groaning due to the aforementioned Silberling stuff.  But I can forgive it all due to the absolute funniest thing I've ever encountered on a commentary track: Lemony Snicket, to avoid paying attention to the film, playing the accordion and singing about leeches.

I also rented Gnomeo and Juliet, and was surprised that I actually liked it.  I mean, I was surprised that I liked it enough to watch it again almost immediately, even though there wasn't any commentary track, which is usually the only reason I rewatch a movie these days.  Of course, now I've been going around with Crocodile Rock permanently stuck in my head (when it isn't taken over by Equestria Girls).   While I liked the movie overall, I'm annoyed that *spoilers* Tybalt came back during the Dance Party Ending.  For one thing, it cheapened his death, and for another, he wasn't a character who particularly needed to come back.  But on the other hand, I seem to remember the commentary on Monster House mentioning that they had to have a scene where all the people "eaten" by the house came back in order to keep the movie PG, so that could be the reason for it.  Still doesn't mean I have to like it.