Marie Antoinette, Lemony Snicket, and Poor Poor Jennifer Connelly

Marie Antoinette:
Dude, I do not care if it's historically accurate or even socially responsible. This movie was like one looong piece of fancy pastry. Colorful, sweet, and low on dialogue. I loved it.
When I say the movie was low on dialogue, consider that there is almost no dialogue whatsoever for like the first twenty minutes of movie. Merciful! After that, they do make with a little bit of the old talky-talky, but who cares? What we like seeing are the "Oh the excess!" montages, the flossy haired children cavorting in the French countryside, the clothes, the shoes, the wall murals. Punk rock and chamber music, Kirsten Dunst pretending to be kind to that guy from Rushmore. The fact that the French people love Francis Ford Coppola so much that they let Coppola Jr. use the actual palace to shoot the movie. THAT is what we want to see.
Know that I am aware of the weakness of the statement being made in the movie. It's a thin statement, and weak. In a way, it's made in the first scene, and the rest of the movie exists only so we can appreciate the sets, props, and costumes. And the marzipan. Don't expect any stunning revelations or subtle messages. The movie is right there, with whatever it has, in sherbet colors, repeating its simple themes and idea. What saves it? Kirsten Dunst. She's relentlessly good, just sweet enough, just ruthless enough, a tiny bit vulnerable, a tiny bit awful -- she was a fantastic queen. See it. In high-def if possible.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
I had misgivings. I was so over Jim Carrey, and I had read things about how he upstaged everyone in the movie and kind of took it over. Well, forevermore. He was awesome. This is for sure my favorite Jim Carrey performance. It was smart, funny, varied, interesting... I forgive him for The Grinch. I do not forgive the producers of the Grinch, but I absolve Jim Carrey of his involvement. The best thing about his "Count Olaf" was that he had me paying attention, close attention, to every second of his screen time -- it was that quick and that interesting. Loved it.
Add to this the gorgeous visuals, very Tim Burton, very true to the books. The children did well, particularly Violet, and I loved how Sunny was portrayed in all her biting joy. Meryl Streep was hilarious. I loved the whole thing, didn't want it to end, and Benny loved it too. Sadie wandered off to play on the computer, but she wasn't terribly alarmed by it. There was a pervasive sweetness and beauty in the movie that surprised me. I thought the books were a little violent for the kids, but I read them a while ago. The fact that the threat of violence is actually real and he actually does hit them... that makes it a little bit intense. If you get this on DVD, do not neglect to watch the extensive extra footage of Count Olaf and his theater troupe. Yes, a little indulgent. But hilarious.

Dark Water
Jennifer Connelly is very very good at acting. This movie is terrible, though. Poor, poor Jennifer Connelly.