WCBE 90.5 FM: "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," Kinsey"

WCBE #196-FINAL
IT'S MOVIE TIME with John DeSando & Clay Lowe
Producer/Director: Richelle Antczak, WCBE

Reviews: “Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Kinsey”
Taped: 4:30 pm, December 15, 2004
Air Time: 3:01 pm and 8:01 pm, December 17, 2004
Streaming live on the web at http://www.wcbe.org .

The Script:

Clay
“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” is everything a holiday movie should be, and much more . . .

John
Hear, hear, all you Catholics: The sex in Kinsey is GUILTLESS . . . . . .

MUSIC UP AGAIN, THEN UNDER FOR:

Richelle Antczak
"It's Movie Time" in Central-Ohio, with John DeSando and Clay Lowe . . .
MUSIC UP, THEN UNDER AND SLOWLY DOWN AND OUT

John
I'm John DeSando

Clay
And I'm Clay Lowe.

John ("Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events")
Clay, “Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events” features three wealthy orphans shunted from relative to relative while their evil uncle Count Olaf connives to gain their fortune by becoming their guardian.  Daniel Handler’s immensely popular books (think the Harry Potter series without sweetness) have been successfully adapted with stunning set design and most importantly the genius of Jim Carrey as the villainous count.

When he cozy’s up to the daft Aunt Josephine, played by an obviously enjoying-her-own excesses Meryl Streep, the price of admission has been duly rewarded.

Because “Lemony Snicket’s” is about the dark side of survival in a corrupt adult world, the challenge for young moviegoers is to enjoy the irony and sarcasm, or even to recognize it.  Moreover, young children may not understand the Panglossian optimism.  It’s the educated, irony- feeding adults who are the winners in this audience.

Clay ("Lemony Snicket")
Well, John, while you revel in your own eternal Panglossian optimism, I continue to be haunted by the Manichaen demons of my evangelical childhood. Is the goodhearted, Jim Carey, who has embedded himself in the myriad disguises of the evil Count Olaf, really as bad as he seems?Or has he been victimized by his own uncontrollable greed?

Shadowy dark, and deliciously wicked, Jim Carey’s serpen-tí-genous Count Olaf plays one of the handiest, dandiest, and most deceitful villains ever to be seen on screen. Taking a page from the shadow dramas of Indonesia and Malaysia, director Brad Silberling, fills the screen with shadows of darkness and shafts of light, [as we are invited to watch the movie’s three innocent children fight off, all alone, the minions of darkness.]

Brilliant sets, imaginative costuming, and very clever, play-it-to-the-last-row-in-the-balcony acting makes “Lemony Snicket” one of this year’s very best over-the-top holiday treats.

John ("Kinsey")
Steve McQueen's Boon Hogganbeck in The Reivers says to his young companion about a bordello's sexy painting of a reclining nude, "It's a mystery."

Before Alfred Kinsey most of the American population thought the same about sex.  Nothing was the same after him. Director Bill Condon's masterful "Kinsey" presents the joy of sex discovered and disclosed by a curious scientist and the censure of those who found the truth too painful.

Kinsey is a flawed hero, clumsy on his wedding night and obtuse about human emotion, especially when it comes to understanding the conjugation of love and sexuality.

But the hero also has glorious moments, such as when he guides his staff through the art of interviewing.  This anatomy of a genius goes even beyond  Ray in revealing the influences and inspirations for a culture-changing icon.

Clay ("Kinsey")
Folks, “Kinsey,” as portrayed by Liam Neeson, is a refreshingly naive man who believes in science, but who also believes that human beings are capable of engaging themselves in an endless variety of human experience. Not one to judge others, the ever cool Kinsey, does on occasion, find his own behavior sometimes surprising and shocking. [Audiences themselves may have problems with some of those moments. ]

In contrast to the showy performance of Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, Neeson’s portrayal of Kinsey is subdued and evenly measured, though I might add, it is also sometimes quite witty. Laura Linney, as his ever supporting wife, is equally up to the task of matching her wits against those of her genius husband. [Giving him no ground, she may often stoically smile, but in the scene where she discovers he has betrayed her, she cleverly gives him back, tit for tat.]

A brilliantly designed movie: the settings, the costumes, and the film’s flawless directing combined with the perfectly controlled directing of the actors has resulted in another minor masterpiece that matches that of Condon’s early “Gods and Monsters.”

But enough of gods, monsters, and spooky shadows on the wall, because it’s grading time.

John
Hooray!

HIT DRUMS

John
"Lemony Snicket's"  earns an A because kids learn life  AINT  ALWAYS sweet. . .

Clay
"Lemony Snicket” gets an “A” because it’s ADVENTUROUS, ABSORBING, and fully AQUAINTED with our need for ACQUISITIVE behaviour . . .

John
"Kinsey"  is an A because sex isn't just for ANALLY compulsive scientists--It's for ALL of us . . .

Clay
"Kinsey” gets an “A” from me because not ALL bio pics need to be boring, and this one sure AINT . . .

John
Clay, I'm going to field test Kinsey's results in Russia.  St. "Peters"berg sounds right. I'm outta here 

I'm outta here.

Clay
Well, John, while you’re exploring the mysteries of sex in Saint Pete, I’ll be at home enjoying the abstemious holidays of Saint Nick . . .

See you at the movies, folks.

HIT MUSIC, ESTABLISH, THEN UNDER FOR

Richelle:
The Award Winning "It's Movie Time" with John DeSando and Clay Lowe is produced by Richelle Antczak in conjunction with 90.5 FM, WCBE in Columbus and 106.7 FM in Newark.

MUSIC UP AND OUT

© 2004 by John DeSando & Clay Lowe