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While working out after work, I got a yen to see a movie (since the weekend is a bit overcommitted on "productive' stuff), so I pulled up Flixster on the iPhone and determined that of what's showing at the two local theaters, it was a tossup between Imaginarium and Percy Jackson. Since time was short, but their start times were staggered, I figured I'd choose based on how long it took to shower and change and get over there.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was ... ok, let's not mince words, it was bleeping weird. No, scratch that, it was just short of incoherent. I think the target audience must have a much higher consumption of mind altering substances than I do. This is probably a personal taste issue, though, since I seem to be seriously immune (if not actively allergic) to Terry Gilliam in general.
Oddly enough, the parts of the story that weren't incoherent were tediously predictable. I'm not even going to attempt a plot summary.
The one high point of the movie was Lily Cole, playing Valentina. She has a wonderfully individual face, in the way that British actresses often do (and in strong contrast to Hollywood's cookie-cutter notion of acceptable leading lady looks). Ordinarily, I have this odd sort of face-blindness that causes me no end of everyday problems with failing to distinguish or identify people (even people I see everyday). For example, although I'd heard something in advance (but entirely forgotten) about the "other actors playing the Imaginarium version of Heath Ledger's character" gimmick, while watching the movie, the whole bit about the character appearing different only confused me because I didn't actually perceive any significant difference. It wasn't until I was back home and looking up some details on IMDB that I remembered/was reminded that there were multiple actors involved. So when someone stands out as having a very individual face, I really appreciate it. But I digress.
It's impossible for me to give a recommendation on whether to see this movie. If, in general, you like Terry Gilliam's material, you're probably like it. If, like me, you don't, you very well may not.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was ... ok, let's not mince words, it was bleeping weird. No, scratch that, it was just short of incoherent. I think the target audience must have a much higher consumption of mind altering substances than I do. This is probably a personal taste issue, though, since I seem to be seriously immune (if not actively allergic) to Terry Gilliam in general.
Oddly enough, the parts of the story that weren't incoherent were tediously predictable. I'm not even going to attempt a plot summary.
The one high point of the movie was Lily Cole, playing Valentina. She has a wonderfully individual face, in the way that British actresses often do (and in strong contrast to Hollywood's cookie-cutter notion of acceptable leading lady looks). Ordinarily, I have this odd sort of face-blindness that causes me no end of everyday problems with failing to distinguish or identify people (even people I see everyday). For example, although I'd heard something in advance (but entirely forgotten) about the "other actors playing the Imaginarium version of Heath Ledger's character" gimmick, while watching the movie, the whole bit about the character appearing different only confused me because I didn't actually perceive any significant difference. It wasn't until I was back home and looking up some details on IMDB that I remembered/was reminded that there were multiple actors involved. So when someone stands out as having a very individual face, I really appreciate it. But I digress.
It's impossible for me to give a recommendation on whether to see this movie. If, in general, you like Terry Gilliam's material, you're probably like it. If, like me, you don't, you very well may not.
