Make your own choices about Dances with Space Smurfs, but take my word on this: You should go see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, on the big screen, as soon as possible.
If Heath Ledger had to leave us, as the Irish lament goes, before he could comb grey hair, it’s a very fine thing that he left us this as his final appearance — and a tribute to the gifts and the hearts of Depp, Law, and Farrell that the transitions within the film are so seamless. Christopher Plummer is in fine form, Lily Cole is both scrumptious and heartbreakingly vulnerable, Vern Troyer gets to act, Tom Waits gets to play the sideshow freak of his twisted dreams, and Andrew Garfield has a great future ahead of him.
As the critics have said, Terry Gilliam gets full scope for all his marvelous tricks in this movie. (I only wish it could have been done in IMAX 3-D!) Monty Python fans, Terry Pratchett fans, those who loved Time Bandits when they were young and those who loved Twelve Monkeys when they were not so young, all need to see this movie. It is simultaneously packed with surprises, and so meticulously engineered that you recognise every twist as having been signposted along the way. I’m looking forward to seeing it again while it’s in the theatres, and I can hardly wait for the DVD version (hopefully with a full Director’s Commentary track).
Be sure to sit through the end credits, and remember that the Trickster always tells us one true thing:
“There is no black magic, only cheap tricks.”
asiangrrlMN
Hm. I only glanced at this when I saw that it was coming out, but with your description of it, I am intrigued.
Sharl
Intriguing to me as well…
And with Tom Waits in the cast? Just realized today that the dude gets around, outside of purely musical venues, and has for quite some time. Here he is on Fernwood Tonight from way back when (70s? 80s? I fergit).
FlipYrWhig
I hear this is the Terry Gilliam movie about the power of imagination. And this season of _House_, according to industry buzz, will have something to do with medical mysteries.
Hob
Just saw this tonight, really loved it… and hadn’t thought I would, because I can’t help reading reviews. Gilliam’s movies are never perfect but this is one of the better ones for sure. And Ledger was pretty interesting but the two younger leads were great.
Also, we had the interesting fate of sitting next to three 16-year-old boys who were very chatty at the start, then quieted down after a cranky nudge, then just seemed kind of quietly bewildered… then when we first got a good look at the stage during the big “Imaginarium Mark II” upscale mall scene, one of them whispered: “Dude, is she like totally naked?” So I got to chuckle at them as if I hadn’t been thinking the same thing.
jenniebee
It’s agonizing having to wait and watch for the one week this is eventually going to show up at our art movie house. In the meantime, we’re left with nothing better to amuse ourselves with than Big Hollywood’s denouncement of Casablanca as communist propaganda. No, really.
h/t alicublog
My favorite comment: “Looking at the larger question, I do believe a lot of liberals are not intrinsically evil.” Comedy gold.
FlipYrWhig
Was Troy McClure in this one? I remember him from such films as _The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel_.
Ripley
This looks cool, thanks. (I’ll keep my eye out for McClure….)
Hob
FlipYrWhig: Whatever. See it or don’t. You can still make funny jokes if you don’t see it, but if you do, it does have a story and some fairly cool things in it.
Little Dreamer
Lily Cole? Ummm, wha?
John’s dog is a movie star now?
asiangrrlMN
@Little Dreamer: British movie star.
Blue Raven
That’s Farrell as in Colin. Not Ferrell as in Will. Dear gods, the very idea of the latter man trying to do a part Heath or Colin essayed… brr
Anne Laurie
@FlipYrWhig: For the Brawndo demographic, Gilliam also included fart noises, really tacky cross-dressing, and a bird-poop incident. More to your tastes?
freelancer (itouch)
Gilliam is a hit and miss genius. 12 monkeys is a work of brilliance with staying power, as is fear and loathing, and of course, Holy Grail.
As an aside, the doc Lost in la Mancha is currently on Netflix streaming.
freelancer (itouch)
@asiangrrlMN:
You back home yet? Enjoying the single digit temps?
Alien-Radio
Saw it a few months ago. I’m convinced in 10 years this will be seen as up there with Brazil, Andrew Garfield was amazing, and while the film can be quite harsh and uncomfortable, in the end It really comes together.
Batocchio
I’m seeing it this upcoming week. From what I’ve heard, this is a welcome return to form for Gilliam.
geg6
When Terry Gilliam first branched out from Python to make his own films, I was excited as I am a huge Python fan. Other than “Time Bandits,” I have been sorely disappointed. Don’t think I’ll be seeing this one as I just don’t “get” Terry Gilliam. Too weird for me and I never quite understand his point of view. Guess I need him in Python mode to enjoy him.
El Cid
“There is no black magic, only cheap tricks.”
For me that’s what I’d say about American political life since Reaganism.
Tom G
I’m definitely looking forward to this…Tom Waits always is worth watching in movies, and while I understand that not everyone “gets” Terry Gilliam, I’ve appreciated most of his work that I’ve seen.
Cat Lady
I loved Brazil. Thanks for the review, I’ll try to see this at the theater, but next up is Up in the Air.
Also, there will be a cohort who will think this is Mister Magorium’s Wonder Emporium still hanging around in the theater.
BR
OT, I know: I really hope some dems have a true winning instinct on the Scott Brown nekkid photo spread and Rove him to a loss. Basically dems need to think what would have happened if Coakley had done the same thing – what would the GOP have done? Ok, now dems on every blog everywhere need to write about it the way the same thing had happened with Coakley but about Brown.
I’m tired of dems not having the killer political instinct to finish the job. Losing or almost losing the MA senate race would unfortunately fit that bill – let’s try to avoid that.
geg6
Tom G: I’m guessing my not “getting” Terry Gilliam is related to my inability to “get” most sci-fi. It mostly leaves me cold and bored stiff. I’m a huge Star Trek fan and I enjoyed the early Star Wars trilogy, but that’s pretty much it for me. Nothing is more tortuous to me than trying to read sci-fi or watching something like “2001: A Space Odyssy.” Seems to me that Gilliam is huge with people who love that kind of stuff. But I’ll always have a soft spot for Gilliam simply as a matter of being a member of Python.
Cheryl from Maryland
Great news that Mr. Gilliam has rebounded from the boring Brothers Grimm. I watched the Fisher King during the holidays to see the great Grand Central Station dancing scene and wanted so much for this film to be wonderful.
jeffreyw
[yawn] blink blink] [slurp] Ah…coffee-is there anything you can’t do?
Keith G
I note from my iTunes subscription download was the latest from Bill Moyers Journal:
Being a KD reader for many years, I can’t wait til this eve. when I can watch.
daryljfontaine
@freelancer (itouch):
I put Brazil in highest esteem, in part due to what many fail to see as its true “happy ending” (Sam escaped the system in the one way that they couldn’t pursue him), and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen as the most pure example of Gilliam’s overall theme and vision (prior, apparently, to the new film).
The Brothers Grimm was gawdawful; I can’t believe that was a Gilliam film. And Lost in La Mancha (the documentary) was heartbreaking — you got the sense from it that Gilliam might never get the license to explore his vision again.
D
Svensker
I’m confoozled. Is Johnny Depp in this movie? (Which would be the #1 reason not to see it, ever,in a million years.)
aimai
Lost in la mancha was an amazing film. Just heartbreakingly awful–when you compare it to the backstory/film they made about the making of the Lord of the Rings you see the difference between Gilliam’s self indulgent, absurdly amateurish approach to film making and Peter Jackson’s incredibly disciplined focus. Where gilliam can’t get a thing to go right Jackson is working with teams of type A craftspeople who are drafting designs right down to the hidden embroidery on the king’s robes.
I’ve never really enjoyed Gilliam’s films. (But I admit I’ve never seen Brazil). Its not that I don’t get sci fi, its that its all so fakey I can’t lose myself in the fantasy of it all–Time bandits and Munchausen made me gag with boredom and disbelief.
aimai
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw: what, no picture of your coffee? What about the rest of us, huh?
arguingwithsignposts
Ladies and gentlemen, based on a recommendation from last night’s open thread, I give you Na’vi Smudge.
Top that, jeffreyw. :)
jeffreyw
@SiubhanDuinne: uh..er..um..the camera is still asleep-yeah that’s it, the damn camera is lazy, too.
SiubhanDuinne
@Cat Lady: I saw Up in the Air over the holidays. Highly recommended. Also, try to see A Single Man. Colin Firth gives an extraordinary performance, as does Julianne Moore — in fact, everyone in it deserves acclaim. Beautifully done.
Based on this thread, I may go see Dr Parnassus this afternoon. Sounds intriguing. Like geg6 I am a Gilliam/Python fan but not in general a sci-fi fan (with some notable exceptions) but I’m in a mood to have someone play with my head today, and this might fit the bill.
jeffreyw
@arguingwithsignposts: I cede yer mastery of the medium. I bow now and bow low. And bow wow to the dog.
SiubhanDuinne
@arguingwithsignposts: OMG it is a *SMURFkitteh* !!
jeffreyw
@SiubhanDuinne:
Your complaint has been referred to the wish fulfillment department.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw: I guess there’s still payoff to being a squeaky wheel. And that coffee looks so good I am licking the BlackBerry screen. AND in a C&L mug! Joy!
Notorious P.A.T.
@Little Dreamer:
Hehe )
Notorious P.A.T.
@arguingwithsignposts:
She should have boobs!
signed James Cameron
asiangrrlMN
@freelancer (itouch): Yes and YES!
@Svensker: Blasphemy! Depp is yuuuuuum.
@arguingwithsignposts: Gah! I prefer the white Smudgey, thankyewverymuch.
jeffreyw, you even make coffee look irresistible.
matoko_chan
not just the power of imagination….but the mytho-poetics of Faust.
doctor faustus, doctor parnassuss, heh.
looks very good.
But an entirely different film from Avatar.
One more time….Cameron’s goal is to make us fall in love with Pandora. Our love becomes the vector that carries his messages. It is his movie, he can do that.
If you want to deny yourself that experience, okfine wid me.
I think Avatar II is going to be a deeper exploration of the Pandoran world.
I can’t wait.
Montysano
As a Tom Waits aficionado, I’m there. I just hope that the movie actually plays here in deepest, darkest Red State.
Adam Holland
I saw it last night and agree with Anne’s assessment. This is a great movie, beautifully directed, great acting, great spirit. You gotta see it on a big screen.
Brachiator
Why not see both?
Cassidy
Didn’t Gilliam sign the Polanski petition? No thanks.
Hob
Svensker: Depp, like Farrell & Law, is in it for one scene, playing sort of a dreamland avatar of the character Ledger plays in the real world. He’s meant to be sort of a charming shmuck, so you might be OK even if you hate Depp.
Jesse
Cool. It comes out only in early February in Portugal, so I’ll have to wait. Thanks for the recommendation.
Tom Hilton
Munchausen is one of my favorite movies ever, and this looks like it’s in the same vein. I’m excited.
I liked Anthony Lane’s description of Gilliam as “not so much a movie director as a carnival barker with a bent for motion pictures.” IMO, that’s a good thing.
asiangrrlMN
@Cassidy: Oh. Crap. You are right. There goes that idea.
Neil Jordan is on the list, too. Damn.
FlipYrWhig
I saw _Time Bandits_ somewhat uncomprehendingly as a kid, loved _Brazil_, and enjoyed _Munchausen_, then got tired by _Fisher King_ and gave up when each subsequent description sounded about like this one. Has he ever made a movie that wasn’t about imagination/madness vs. modernity/rationality? I have the same issue with Tim Burton.
FlipYrWhig
@Anne Laurie: If I were a Gilliam character, I could just _dream_ my way out of many bird poop incidents, but, alas, my extraordinary vision will be taken for madness by a harsh and cruel world. “Coincidentally,” it’s a parallel for the perils of visionary filmmaking doomed to be unappreciated by those who lack the ability of wonderment.
monkeyboy
Bhah, you Gilliam detractors. I’m seeing it tomorrow.
Cassidy
Have fun supporting those who think the drugging and sodomizing of a young girl is an okay thing.
jenniebee
@Cassidy: How many film credits has the Pope?
Cassidy
@jenniebee: Shoot, tell us.
Hob
@FlipYrWhig: Call me crazy, but I wonder if it’s possible that some of the reviews you’ve been reading are not entirely adequate descriptions of the movies. I can understand going “eh, that doesn’t sound like something I’d like” — that’s what I do with 99% of the movies out there — but it’s just weird to me that you would like those earlier Gilliams so much and then just flat out refuse to see the rest because of someone else’s summary of them. I mean, you’re coming across as having a really strong and pissy opinion of stuff you haven’t seen. Also, we must not be reading the same reviews, because out of the 5 movies he’s made since Fisher King, I don’t think Twelve Monkeys or Tideland have ever been described in terms of the pigeonhole you’re talking about– and if they were, the reviewer was smoking crack.
Still there are a lot of lazy reviewers out there (don’t get me started on Anthony Lane, the Dennis Miller of film critics) and a lot of them are saying the same thing about Parnassus: it’s all about the power of imagination, Parnassus is Gilliam’s idea of himself as a misunderstood hero, etc. I think this is pretty far wrong & is based on the reviewers’ prior opinions of Gilliam more than what’s in the movie. The story makes it really clear that Parnassus, although he’s on to something with his life-changing thingamajig, is a really bad artist— he’s rejected by the public because he has no freaking idea who the public is or how to connect to them, and he doesn’t particularly care; half the time he’s doing what he does either for totally selfish reasons or to fix the consequences of his terrible decisions. He goes only to places where there’s absolutely no chance he’ll find any appreciative weirdos, and he’s so clueless about how his ideas come across that he thinks a Monty Python singing police drag act is a good way to entertain Russian gangsters. His whole magic thing requires that he be unconscious throughout the show, so he relies on a backup crew of people who actually have some theater skills, except they’re still not able to make the show interesting or popular because they’re so blindly devoted to the old guy and his vague vision. I’d be really surprised if Gilliam, who despite his history of erratic productions has had a pretty successful career and a huge cult following, either sees himself as Parnassus or thinks that would be a good way to be.
That’s how it seems to me at least.
kamper
Boy, I’m shocked that anyone liked this movie. And this is coming from a huge Terry Gilliam fan. This movie was an utter mess – just too much ‘vision’ and ‘spectacle’ with no story to back it up. Can anyone please tell me what the Imaginarium does exactly? They were a traveling show that never performed any kind of show. The old guy sat on a stool in a trance?? If the goal was to lure people into the mirror, then why were they horrified whenever anyone stepped inside? And at what point in the proceedings did the Heath Ledger character become aware of the true nature of the mirror? The fantasy visions were fine but the rest was a bloated, boring mess. And Verne Troyer is a horrible actor, incapable of delivering the simplest line with any conviction. The young girl was quite good, though.
Cassidy
Well, considering his size, he can only muster up so much conviction from his diaphragm.
Seriously, most of Gilliam’s movies have been total suck-fests. He’s only eclipsed by Wes Andersen. I’d rather sit through a Micheal Bay movie called “People shooting at each Other” than suffer through the pretentious crap those two have shit out.
FlipYrWhig
@Hob:
I do that a lot.
I actually wanted to see 12 Monkeys but never got around to it. Wasn’t there another taken-for-insane truth-teller in that one? And I hadn’t heard of Tideland but just went to IMDB and saw this plot summary: “A lonely girl gets trapped in an eerie fantasy world after her irresponsible parents die.” It’s the “eerie fantasy world” stuff that gets old fast for me. That’s why I brought up Tim Burton, who also hammers that “eerie fantasy world” button altogether too much. And I really like Edward Scissorhands. But when your thing is fables, I think it’s valid to get criticism for the similarity of each successive fable to the last one.
Anyway, I’ve been making some version of the Gilliam/imagination crack for roughly 15 years. It was more like an inside joke to myself.
FlipYrWhig
@Hob: Actually, your summary seems a lot more interesting than I would have expected the movie to be, because it sounds like Gilliam is at least aware that his whole escape-into-imagination thing can unfold in creepy ways rather than liberatory or dissident ones.
matoko_chan
Avatar was #1 at the BO again and broke 3 billion in revenues, Annie Laurie.
I saw it a second IMAX time yesterday with my young cousins…they gasped at the dire horses and banshees and reached out with wonder to touch luminous spores (apparently) floating in front of their faces.
All you whiny grups sneering at it as Dances with Space Smurfs or Pocahantas Blue are missing the point.
Cameron’s goal was to make us fall in love with Pandora.
heh, think of the sequels.
sweetgreensnowpea
love gilliam…
don’t forget “jabberwocky”
don’t know about his signing of “the polanski petiton”…if he did, it does present a moral dilemma…
the rape occurred at jack nicholson’s house. are they still friends? should he be boycotted too?