The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Before even entering the cinema, you must first accept that it's a Terry Gilliam film. Because if you have no idea how a Terry Gilliam film would play, you might get lost.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, from the title alone, will already tell you more or less what the movie is about. I can only describe it as the cinematic equivalent of a Pink Floyd album, or a Salvador Dalí painting. Well, you can also compare it to the animated classic Yellow Submarine, only a little loonier. And like I said, it's Terry Gilliam. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest watching the old Monty Python shows. The animated segments there were all done by Gilliam. And this movie has a lot of those (quoting my friend Myka) where-did-that-come-from? moments. So it's basically Gilliam's Python sketches in live-action and CGI. That'll give you an idea how much of a head trip this is.

This film also plays on the level of mythology. An old man, doomed to immortality, and a brash young newcomer -- that's just some of the archetypes the story uses. It has that timelessness to it, sort of like a legend, and if Verne Troyer hadn't mentioned the word "telephone", you wouldn't even be able to date the film.

Anyway, I shall force myself to say something about the actors.

Heath Ledger, you were so good, that ten minutes after you first appeared, I already forgot you were Heath Ledger.

Christopher Plummer, you were great, but the last time I saw you onscreen was in The Sound of Music.

Johnny Depp, do I even have to say anything?

Jude Law, I appreciated your acting after Sherlock Holmes, so you're safe now.

Colin Farrell, okay, you didn't talk much, so I wasn't able to hear if you used your indecipherable Irish accent.

And Verne Troyer, I'm sorry. You will always play roles like that. Such is the curse of Hollywood midgets.


*some info from IMDb
pic from sceneunseenpodcast.com


The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. UK. 2009.


Rating: Eight out of ten.

Coming Soon: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Oh yes. Man-crush time again.



Heath Ledger, why did you leave this Earth so soon?


*video from strah48 at YouTube

The Four Feathers

Yay for Hollywood big-budget flicks!

Director Shekhar Kapur helms this project, and he does seem to know his way around merry old England, being the director of the two Elizabeth films (which starred the beautiful Cate Blanchett). Well, there's a lot you can do with a huge budget.

Kate Hudson doesn't seem to shine at all in this film. Again, probably because this is a guy film, and she's the only woman in it. Djimon Hounsou by this time was already Hollywood's go-to guy for roles involving huge African slaves. Talk about stereotypes and racism.

Heath Ledger, on the other hand, stands out. Not because he was Hollywood's new poster boy during this time. Ledger's performance is so subtle that he doesn't even try to steal scenes, despite being the sole lead actor in this movie (you'll forget everybody else's names). This film is about cowardice, and it's cowardice that Ledger shows in his eyes and his facial twitches. Absolutely brilliant. And although the beard made this look like a Biblical film, I'm sure he grew it for thespic purposes. These method actors are damn brilliant.

So, you can either watch this film for two things: exciting war scenes, with the British army fighting it out in the deserts of the Sudan; or Heath Ledger's brilliant performance. Or both.


*some info from IMDb
pic from media.thedaily.com.au


The Four Feathers. USA. 2002.


Rating: Seven out of ten.

The Dark Knight

Oh where to begin...

And you all thought Christopher Nolan can't tell a straight story. Apparently he can, as The Dark Knight follows a more linear narrative path than its predecessor.

Of course, the glory shouldn't all go to the director (where would he be without the actors?), and let me tell you that all of them were brilliant. All of them. So let's go through them one by one, as there are only a few of them anyway.

Christian Bale: Mr. Bale (who gives meaning to the word "man-crush") was the embodiment of what a billionaire playboy should be─cool, rich, and good-looking. And he fights crime too. But that Batman voice of his─you can justify it as Bruce Wayne's way of protecting his identity.

Gary Oldman: The ultimate team player. Gary Oldman knows how to pace his acting. For loud roles, he becomes wild and obnoxious; but for subtle roles, like soon-to-be Commissioner Gordon (spoiler warning!), he just blends in. No overacting, and no underacting either. Just perfect. A possible contender for the Acting Hall of Fame.

Aaron Eckhart: Again, excellent acting (did I mention how many great actors this film has?). Okay, everybody knows Harvey Dent will become the villain Two-Face, but I'm not spoiling anything. All I can say is that his transition from good to evil was well-portrayed. You'll finally understand where his hatred comes from.

Michael Caine: That's Sir Michael Caine to you. You would think that a knight would hog the spotlight, but if there is anything that Caine knows how to do, it's stay in the background. And he does it really well. Though of course you really can't get rid of that sophisticated British accent.

Morgan Freeman: Again, Morgan Freeman is just Morgan Freeman. Not really a bad actor, but somehow he will always be Morgan Freeman, on and off screen. Does that make any sense?

Heath Ledger: Last but definitely not the least, Heath Ledger delivers a performance worthy of an encore. He leaves us with a bang, at the top of his game, and no one should be allowed to top his role as the Joker, as it would be a desecration to his memory. I say let the Joker role die with him. Anyway, you will be so mesmerized by his performance that you'd even forget he was Heath Ledger. Every second of that guy's screen time is worth millions. May God bless his soul.

And finally, the women of Gotham─wait, there's only one. Ms. Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the void created by Katie Holmes, who starred as the original Rachel Dawes. But honestly, I see no real impact that this character brings, aside from being the love interest of both Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. Which strongly suggests that Gotham might indeed be a man's world. My movie buddy in fact couldn't stop swooning over all the men─she swooned over Bale, Eckhart, Ledger, even Oldman. Which of course was nothing to how I swooned over Bruce Wayne.

Now story-wise, The Dark Knight might seem to be a tad too long, running two and a half hours. Quite noticeable is the denouement. The average movie-goer would expect the action to slide down at around the two-hour mark, but the prevalent theme is "Wait, there's more!" The action rises and falls, then rises again, then just when you think it'll fall, it rises again. A bit tiring for the average viewer, but again, the die-hard fans won't even notice it. But the title is very apt, as nothing comes close to the darkness painted by Nolan─for starters, we have a lot of deaths, and near-deaths (spoiler alert number two!), but the character of each and every individual in the story is totally fleshed out. They become real, and veer away from the realm of comic book superheroes to the real world.

A toast to Nolan, for a successful sequel. But we must all realize that the success of The Dark Knight would not have been achieved if it wasn't for the failure of its predecessors. Only by portraying Batman in several not-so-good adaptations does this franchise successfully reinvent itself.

Oh, and Christopher Nolan doesn't go linear all the way. He slips into his trademark non-linear style in the last ten minutes of the film. I guess he just can't help himself.


Rating: Five stars.