Pushing Daisies
Once upon a time, in a quaint little town called Couer de Couer, we see a young man named Ned (9 Years, 27 weeks, 6 days and 3 minutes old) come running down a field of daisies with Digby, his dog of 3 years, 2 weeks, 6 days and 5 hours when suddenly, a truck runs over the dog.
It is this very incident that Ned discovers his extra-ordinary ability, when, crushed at the sight of his canine best friend lying dead by the road, Ned touched Digby and Digby comes to back to life!
Back home… while Ned explored his new ability, not the least bit concerned of its origin or to what extent is its use, we find his mother in the kitchen baking pies, when she suddenly drops dead. Ned uses his powers on her and she is alive again. She goes back to baking pies, as if nothing happened. And while Ned looks out the window, observing his neighbor, best friend and the eternal love of his life, Chuck (who was 8 years, 42 weeks, 3 hours and 2 minutes old) her father, who was watering the garden while Chuck played, drops dead on the ground.
There came the second realization — that he can only bring the dead back to life for one minute. “Any longer and someone else has to die,” so says the Narrator. In effect, it was as if Ned has traded the life of his Mom with Chuck’s dad.
That night, when it was time for bed, Ned’s mom kissed him in the forehead, as usual. But this turned out to be her last. For at that instant, his mother died (again).
This was Ned’s third realization — that those he touches to bring back from the dead will return to their dying state if they are touched by Ned again.
Narrator: First touch life, second touch dead. Again. Forever.
Both Ned and Chuck’s parents were buried the same day. Ned was sent to boarding school and Chuck lived with her aunts with personality disorders. But not before the two shared their first and only kiss.
Years later…19 years, 34 weeks, 1 day and 15 minutes to be exact, with the effects of what has happened imprinted on Ned who has become fearful of physical contact, we find that he has become obsessed with pies and was now known as the neighborhood pie maker. He keeps his own establishment, the Pie Hole, and his ingredients always remain fresh. Ned is helped by Olive, who happens to also be his neighbor. His store is frequented by Emerson Cod, a private investigator.
One day, Emerson accidentally discovers Ned’s amazing power. And knowing that Ned’s Pie Hole was struggling with the finances, he proposes a win-win situation — that Ned helps him solve murders by using his powers to ask the victims who has killed them. Murder cases pay well when they are solved, apparently.
Their newest case involved a man who was suspected to have been killed by his own dog. And the family of the deceased was willing to pay a big reward for anyone who can actually prove who killed the man. And naturally, the “investigation” was a success.
Later, while fetching Digby at Olive’s house (who dogsits for him when he is away), Ned saw the news on TV which would later change everything.
A woman was found floating in the ocean. She was murdered on a cruise ship. He learned her name from Emerson, who told him there was a $50,000 reward for whoever solves her case. And her name was Charlotte Charles, also known as Chuck.
Ned, together with Emerson, returned to his hometown of Couer de Couer after 19 years to “talk” to Chuck at the funeral home. There Ned’s old feelings for Chuck re-surfaced and he almost kissed her. Realizing he doesn’t want her gone forever, he devised an escape plan, even while someone has to take Chuck’s place in death.
Ned explained to Chuck the circumstances they are in and she was willing to go with the plan. Later on, she also made herself partner in their crime-solving exploits, much to Emerson’s disdain (that’s one more person getting the piece of the pie, no pun intended!).
The trio then visits the travel agency, Boutique Travel Travel Boutique where Chuck bought her tickets from. But they found the agent also murdered… so Ned has to bring her back to life. But before they could ask her the important questions, the travel agent just had to pinch Ned in the cheeks since she thought he was adorable. And then of course, she immediately dies again.
Their last recourse was to visit Chuck’s eccentric aunts to check the things the cruise ship has sent back, particularly a silver briefcase with monkey figurines. But just then, a stranger/burglar comes into the house and tries to kill one of them.
But then Aunt Lily who, despite not being able to step out of the house for several years, knew how to defend with a shotgun and did, solving Chuck’s murder in the process. And since the trio was careful to not let the aunts see Chuck is ali
ve, the aunts were able to collect their $50,000 reward. And for the first time, the sisters ventured the outside world.
Meantime, the monkey figurines in Chuck’s luggage? It’s goooooold!
All is well that ends well. By the end of the episode, we see the trio of Ned, Chuck and Emerson, in another murder case.
And, oh yes, Ned and Chuck held hands.
When Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) grows up into an odd yet attractive young woman, she moves out and finds a job in a bar, and her own apartment. She may be an adult, but her overly-curious and wryly strange personality hasn't been tempered any by age. When she finds a hidden box of toys in her apartment, left behind by a boy who lived there fifty years before, she decides to go on a quest to restore the lost box to its rightful owner. After tracking him down with the tenacity of a waifish French Terminatrix android, the owner recieves it joyfully, and she decides to make it her life's mission to bring happiness to those around her, and to wreak vengeance on those who do wrong through a series of elaborate pranks. But while she is so intent on bringing happiness to others, who will bring happiness to her?
Amelie is fascinated with Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), a young man who grew up in her neighborhood with a similarly lonely childhood. He works in a porn shop and at a carnival spookshow, and in his spare time likes to dig through the trash outside of photo booths, hunting down discards for his bizarre photo album.
"Pefectly normal, perfectly healthy."
Naturally, these two attractive oddballs are soulmates, but just don't know it yet. They're aware of each other, but too shy to pursue it, until Amelie instigates one of the most arduously drawn out courtship rituals in the history of le Cinema. We are, of course, supposed to feel all anxious with butterflies in our stomach, just as Amelie does as she approaches Nino, then runs from him - over and over again.
Despite all the setbacks and fumbled attempts, there's never any doubt that the two lovebirds will end up together for a ridiculously sappy and over-cute finale' - which they do. But it's all the funny little interactions along the way, and the strange charm of Amelie herself, that keeps things intriguing. The pixie-like Tautou is like a French Winona Ryder in the role . In many ways, she represents the ultimate in the "attainable" woman. Pretty, but not gorgeous. Unconventionally sexy, but not overtly so. Intelligent, but not intimidating. Amelie is also enhanced by some off the wall direction by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (who brought usDelicatessen and City of Lost Children - and who also brought us the debacle known as Alien - Resurrection, though we'll let that slide for now). Jeunet uses some interesting feats of cinematography, and a surreal atmosphere populated by talking photographs, imaginary animal friends, and various other bizarre yet amusing occurences.
While Amelie is an ensemble piece with uniformly convincing performances, Tautou is definitely the heart and soul of the picture. After seeing her as the slender, innocent, and precocious Amelie, it's hard to imagine her in any other role
When Willy Wonka decides to let five children into his chocolate factory, he decides to release five golden tickets in five separate chocolate bars, causing complete mayhem. The tickets start to be found, with the fifth going to a very special boy, called Charlie Bucket. With his Grandpa, Charlie joins the rest of the children to experience the most amazing factory ever. But not everything goes to plan within the factory. Written byFilmFanUK
Charlie Bucket comes from a poor family, and spends most of his time dreaming about the chocolate that he loves but usually can't afford. Things change when Willy Wonka, head of the very popular Wonka Chocolate empire, announces a contest in which five gold tickets have been hidden in chocolate bars and sent throughout the country. The kids who find the tickets will be taken on a tour of Wonka's chocolate factory and get a special glimpse of the wonders within. Charlie miraculously finds a ticket, along with four other children much naughtier than him. The tour of the factory will hold more than a few surprises for this bunch. Written by rmlohner
Charlie Bucket is a young boy who comes from a poor but loving family and would love nothing more than to find a golden ticket to enter the amazing chocolate factory run by inventor and owner Willy Wonka. As luck would have it, Charlie finds the last golden ticket and goes on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure with his grandpa Joe. Among the other four winners are Veruca Salt, a spoiled rich girl; Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous kid who stuffs his face with sweets; Violet Beuragarde, a champion trophy gum chewer; and Mike Teavee, a kid who spends more time watching TV and playing video games than anything else. Most fascinating is the mysterious Willy Wonka who in turn had a troubled childhood and has a special grand prize at the end for one of the kids. Also along the tour are Wonka's staff the singing, working Oommpa Loompas. Written by van_whistler@hotmail.co.uk
Charlie Bucket, a boy from an impoverished family under the shadow of a giant chocolate factory, wins a candy bar contest and is given a tour, along with four other children, of the amazing factory run by the eccentric Willy Wonka and his staff of Oompa-Loompas. Written byaustin4577@aol.com
The eccentric manufacturer of chocolates and candies Willy Wonka promotes a tour through his chocolate factory, the greatest in the world, through five golden tickets hidden in the bars of chocolate. The poor and sweet boy Charlie Bucket finds one, for the pride and joy of his very supportive family, and he spends the day in a mysterious competition for an unknown award with four other nasty boys and girls.Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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