02/02/2012 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

"The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus" by Yojimbo

An amnesiac with a shady past falls in with a troupe of actors who are engaged in a wager for souls with Lucifer. I have long been a fan of Terry Gilliam's work and even his weaker films up to this point can be regarded as heroic failures that still have much of merit contained within. Up to this point. I'm loathe to say it because of my loyalty to him and respect for Heath Ledger's memory, but this film is an absolute disaster. It's an incoherent mess of weak ideas that lurches from one ill-conceived vignette to the next and is populated by utterly unlikeable characters; Andrew Garfield in particular was so insufferably irritating I ended up wanting to gnaw his vocal cords from his throat with my bare teeth. Gilliam's work has always been identified with his wicked and surreal sense of h...

Rating of
0.5/4 

06/24/2010 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

A Bit Strange

This film was interesting to say the least. I think it got a little bit confusing at times, but once you start to catch on it really is a brilliant story. I think one of the most amazing thing about this was the "replacements." It's no question that Ledger was one of the incredible actors of our generation, so his fill-ins better be good--and they were. I was extremely curious to see how Gilliam was going to work Depp, Farrell, and Law into the film and actually have it make sense. It all made perfect sense, and they all did a wonderful job. I'm usually not a fan of fantasy movies such as these, but when they are good they are good. Also, I must make mention of Wait who did an excellent job of playing the devil. He was clever, smooth, sarcastic, and all the things you love to hate. He was...

Rating of
2.5/4 

06/22/2010 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

Ledger's last..but not the only reason to see this

In my opinion, one of the most underrated films of the past year. Another brilliant effort by Terry Gilliam. It's a story of Good vs. Evil, God vs. Satan. That is done with outstanding visuals, the best of the year quite possibly. (Even though this had a wide release in '10 it was eligible for the 09-10 Oscars because it hit the major cities in '09 and was nominated for two Oscars losing both). Of course, the main story behind this is the death of Heath Ledger during the making of this film, but the addition of Depp, Law, and Farrell to finish his scenes works wonderfully. But, the performance of the movie was Tom Waits as Mr. Nick (The Devil). I would've liked to have seen more scenes with Depp, in fact just use him, not Law and Farrell. My only complaint with the film, as in alm...

Rating of
3/4 

01/17/2010 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

Film Review: The Imaginaruim of Doctor Parnassus

When your lead actor dies in the middle of shooting it is the biggest hurdle any filmmaker has to jump. Terry Gilliam resurrects his film from the ash and presents a stunning fantasy film that dazzles, and amazes, another solid piece by the man who brought us Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King and Brazil. Replacing Mr. Ledger even part time is no easy task and the idea of breaking up the role with three other great actors was the way to go. This was not the first time this has happened in the cinema, the acclaimed Spanish director Luis Bunuel was forced to do the same for That Obscure Object of Desire.

My favorite performance in the piece was Tom Waits’ portrayal of the Devil. I don’t know if this is a complement or an insult but he was perfect for the part, he was dashing, elegant, s...