A Couple of Movies

We rented "The Brothers Grimm" over the weekend. It's a strange film, filled with some eye-popping special effects. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger star as the famous brothers. Ledger, as Jacob, is ever the dreamer, living in the world of books and fairy tales. Damon, as Will, is the down-to-earth practical brother. During the Napoleonic era, the two brothers concoct a scam in which they chase away (or exorcise) various demons, witches, and other assorted spirits that the uneducated peasant folk of Germany tell them about. Jacob records these stories. They have a couple of henchmen who help them trick the simple folk.

However, there is a real curse on a forest in the Thuringian area (Marbaden Forest). The brothers are kidnapped by a French general who is tired of hearing about missing children from the townsfolk and he tells the Grimms that either they find out what is going on or else he will execute them for their scams.

I liked this movie, but I could see the ending coming a long way off. Perhaps I have read too many fairy tales.


Another movie I watched this weekend was "Mermaids." From 1990, it stars Cher, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci as a semi-dysfunctional family. Cher is Mrs. Flax, a single mom, who is trying to support two daughters during the early 1960s. Charlotte (Ryder) is a confused 15-year-old, who wants to become a nun, even though the family is Jewish. Kate (Ricci) is a 5-year-old whose dream is to be an Olympic swimmer.

Mrs. Flax can never settle in one place for long, usually because something happens, like the end of a relationship, that she wants to run away from. Charlotte holds onto a dream that her father may return for her someday, even wearing boots that are too small for her just because it was one of the few presents he sent to her.

Much drama ensues, including Mrs. Flax making out with a 19-year-old guy who Charlotte has a crush on. Charlotte needs her mother to understand her need for roots. It's also as if Charlotte is the mother figure, but she needs Mrs. Flax to become an adult.

I like this movie. It has a happy ending. I always wonder what happened to Charlotte after the movie was over.