Thursday, July 13, 2006

The Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm is another movie I stayed away from for quit a while. Not that I thought it wasn't good, really. Fact is, I typically hate movies that are set back in the day, and those where the characters have thick accents or dialect. I usually can't follow the dialogue; I'm just not that bright.

Terry Gilliam directs Matt Damon and Heath Ledger in The Brothers Grimm. Because I like Gilliam's work, I decided to give his latest a shot. Mostly, I'm glad I did.

Jake and Will Grimm play hustlers, circa lat 1790s, who find themselves hip deep in a supernatural mystery where children are being stolen and used, ultimately, for the resurrection of an evil queen. The plot isn't that interesting, really. The best aspect of this movie is Gilliam's use of imagery and visual technique. The forest in which the Brothers Grimm travel is a character in and of itself, and the atmosphere sets a disturbing tone that lasts throughout the flick.

The Brothers Grimm ain't a great flick, but it's nowhere near as bad as I expected. It may be best watched late at night, with really low lighting. **

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Peter Stormare also made that film watchable. I loved him as "Karl Hungus" in The Big Lebowski.

I'm here to fix eine plumbing.

Classic.

jedijawa said...

Speaking about plumbing...how about when Gilliam used Robert DeNiro as a bandit air duct repairman in "Brazil"! I'm also a Gilliam fan and was so jazzed about this movie only to be let down by the lame plot. Yes, it was very good imagery and all creepy-werid like Gilliam likes to do, but it isn't the sort of thing that I'll watch over and over again like "12 Monkeys" or "Brazil". The new one that is coming up by Gilliam doesn't sound that appealing either. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

The Film Geek said...

Brazil is a great movie, of course...but my favorite Gilliam movie is 12 Monkeys. I might have to rent that again very soon. Thanks for the reminder.

jedijawa said...

I once had a sci-fi related website that I didn't update enough where I talked about how Gilliam said he directed "12 Monkeys" in a way that you could either view it as the ravings of a delusional schizophrenic (I'm not claiming that to be a clinical diagnostic) or you could view it as a time travel movie and there are elements in the film that contradict both interpretations.

I'll have to dig that up again if I still have it. In the mean time, the next time you watch "12 Monkeys" ask yourself if he's crazy or if he's really traveling back and forth in time. BTW, that film had a great soundtrack.