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Zeher / Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events





Movie: Zeher
Actors: Emraan Hashmi, Shamita Shetty, Udita Goswami
Director: Mohit Suri

I have no idea why the Bhatt House tries to potray this man called Emraan Hashmi as the seducer high on libido and eager to jump into bed with any female allergic to clothes. Though he does the smooching act with a mad man's frenzy, he is far from being any woman's dream guy.

So this movie is about three non-actors. The police chief Emraan who is adept at breaking bottles, chairs and tables and has neither the wits nor the composure that befits such a designation. His ex-tough-cop ex-wife Shamita Shetty who is too stiff to say a dialogue and the movie doesn't give her a chance to dance. She gives up her career first for a family and then gives up her family for the career. And finally the sexy siren Udita Goswami who lusts for Emraan and/coz has a bad husband who beats her up.

This is supposedly a thriller wherein Emraan and Shamita play the estranged married couple still very much in love with each other but love this alienation phase better. Emraan thinks of Shamita when he climbs into bed with Udita and tries to gain the audience's sympathy as to being loyal in love. And finally a murder with all evidence pointing to Emraan as the culprit who finds himself increasingly falling into a trap. And it is his ex-wife trying to handle the case and untangle the mystery.

Lets not forget to mention the soulful rendering of the song "Woh Lamhe". Newcomer singer Atif does real justice to the melody.

As for the movie, the only good point is that it ends.

-arundhoti
******

Movie:Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Actor:Jim Carrey


Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is the story of three awfully clever children, Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken) and Sunny (Kara and Shelby Hoffman) who are orphaned and forced to live with their closest relative Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who plans to do away with them in order to seize the vast fortune they have inherited subsequent to the tragic death of their parents in a suspicious fire that burnt down their house.

If you get lost in children’s flicks, like me, then go for this one. The plot has all the possible ingredients of the last two centuries of children’s books charmingly mish-mashed together. That includes Dickensian England's set and costumes, the loving family bonding that reminds you of The Railway Children, rich kids who suddenly lose their parents and are subject to the mercy of strangers (A Little Princess).

The Baudelaire children are intelligent, well-read, and like the narrator mentions, reasonably attractive. What might force you to suspend disbelief are the following : (a)The Dickensian setting is juxtaposed with the naughty usage of gadgets like car remotes, possibly a deliberate incongruity (b) the obvious inclusion of contemporary American slang in the script, not to mention the accents (c) Jim Carrey, who did another weird evil-semi-evil character in Dr.Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie.

Count Olaf is the ever-present wicked uncle who pursues the children through their search for a trustworthy guardian and a safe haven. Aunt Josephine, played by Meryl Streep, drowning in a lake of Lacramose Leeches was a nice touch, wish they had more of those. Thus they are swept from one unfortunate event to another, from one adult to another, who just never listen to children and are never worthy of their trust. Much like the real world.

Together with the use of common sense and ingenuity, and amazing communication skills, the three Baudelaire children extract themselves from several life-threatening situations. What is particularly cute is the youngest Baudelaire, Sunny, with her garbled baby talk, perpetually dragging along with the skirt of her little dress billowing behind her. The ending is mildly weepworthy when you listen to the narrator (who sounds suspiciously like Jude Law) praise the bravery of the Baudelaire children.

Incidentally, Lemony Snicket is the pseudonym for Daniel Handler, a young American children’s book writer, which would explain the mish-mash of costume, set, and script. This isn’t exactly Jumanji with its SFX and heart-thumping excitement around the corner, but like I said earlier, charming feel-good children’s movie, and not all that tragic as the narrator implies. Plus, personally, Tim Burton is the king of the morbid creepies.

-rhea daniel

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