Ondine– ***
Directed by Neil Jordan
Starring Collin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry
Release date: June 5, 2010

A wearisome fisherman just happens to come across a lady in the water by way of his fishing net, and no, this is not a remake of the M. Night Shyamalan film Lady in the Water. Neil Jordan directs Ondine as if he is trying to perceive a bygone vision, almost as if he is harkening back to a great Greek mythology for his framework. Perhaps he is, and that is what makes his newest film resonate emotionally. The first hour convulses magnificently with a unique and innocent idyllic romance mixed with a beautiful bombardment of lyrical imagery. While the latter part of the film plays out rambunctiously, offering up a series of important events that cascade abruptly without us fully realizing what has occurred.

Jordan weds both fantastical and realistic elements to create a celebrant vision of a man who is still contaminated by his unfruitful and impure past. His name is Syracuse (Collin Farrell in a subdued performance in which he still maintains his effortless charisma), and he seems to be immune to luck but then has his senses enlightened by his discovery of this mysterious woman who says her name is Ondine (Alicja Bachleda). He has reservations about her — can she possibly be a mermaid? She carries with her the ability to leave an indelible mark on Syracuse, but the platform of her standing, her existence, is accompanied by intense ambiguity.

We’re huge, huge fans of Neil Gaiman here at Geeks of Doom, so it’s always exciting to hear about another one of his wonderful books being turned into a movie. No, it’s not easy to adapt a two-hour film from the incredible stories that this man creates, but even so, it’s worth trying!

The trades are reporting that Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book has finally found some backing. Chris Columbus and his 1492 Pictures are teaming up with CJ Entertainment to bring the story to life. Columbus, of course is a well-respected director responsible for movies like Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Author Neil Gaiman made an appearance on The Today Show this morning, where he announced that Neil Jordan will write and direct the big-screen adaptation of his latest award-winning novel, The Graveyard Book.

Jordan is best known for his work on the 1992 Academy Award-nominated film The Crying Game, which he wrote and directed and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Jordan also helmed Interview with the Vampire and most recently directed Jodie Foster in The Brave One.

Gaiman will produce the live-action film and Framestore, the UK studio that handled the The Dark Knight Harvey Dent/Two-Face work, will handle the visual effects for film, which has yet to be renamed. The author had said that he hopes the cast will be filled with well-known British actors, similar to the Harry Potter franchise, but the lead role of Nobody Owens — the little boy who’s raised by the inhabitants of a graveyard — will probably be played by several unknown actors at various ages.