Terry Gilliam is a brilliant designer. In most cases, he's a miserable director. His films a stuffed with visual goodies, and quirky performances, but they are completely lacking in any emotion or humanity. His films rarely investigate anything meaningful, instead they chase down esoteric philosophical points or overly complex plot situations. Gilliam is capable of some very good moments, but his overall body of work is over-hyped by people who confuse interesting with meaningful.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus tells the tale of the titular Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who runs a theater troupe that travels London. Parnassus has made a deal with the devil (portrayed by Tom Waits) and has a wager to snare or save five souls. The ante? Parnassus' daughter Valentina (Lily Cole).

Patrons are lured into a mirror onstage, behind which they enter into a supernatural world where their morality is tested and they find pleasure or damnation.

The goofy plot provides Gilliam with plenty of canvas on which to apply his visual flair. The plot unfortunately also gets easily convoluted. Gilliam makes the error of presenting the universe of Parnassus without explaining the details early on. Instead, Gilliam loads the first half of the film with fantastic, but obscure imagery and scenes without explaining what is going on in a logical fashion. The average audience member will most likely tune out of the film before the plot's hook is revealed. For those willing to hang on, the explanation seems more like a cobbled together excuse than a intentional narrative.

The film had a short cinematic shelf life. It would have been completely ignored, like many of Gilliam's other films, if it were not for Heath Ledger's untimely death.

Ledger was working on this film at the time of his drug-induced passing. To complete the film, Gilliam introduced a cheesy element where Ledger's character Tony transforms into different physical forms. This permitted Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to step in and complete Ledger's scenes.

The inclusion of these other actors is conspicuous. These scenes are also, mostly, unnecessary. The added actors are put into scenes where they deal with surreal chase sequences and conflicts. They all give stunted performances Their disconnect with the material is clearly seen in their work.

Ultimately this is a disjointed and unemotional film. Gilliam may have the ability to create quirky and strange designs but he has always flounder giving them any humanity.




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Labels: Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Lily Cole, Peter Stormare, Terry Gilliam, Tom Waits

Like all Gilliam's films this is visually overwhelming.

Hopefully, unlike many of Gilliam's films, this will be watchable.





Screenwriters: Terry Gilliam (Brazil) and Charles McKeown (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)
Director: Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys)
Actors: Heath Ledger (The Patriot), Johnny Depp (The Libertine), Tom Waits (Domino), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Andrew Garfield (Lions for Lambs), Colin Farrell (Phonebooth), Verne Troyer (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Christopher Plummer (Dracula 2000) and Peter Stormare (Fargo)

Labels: Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, film, Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, movie trailer, Peter Stormare, Terry Gilliam, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer

Screenwriters: Linda Woolverton (The Lion King)
Director: Tim Burton (Planet of the Apes)
Actors: Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Anne Hatchaway (Brokeback Mountain), Crisin Glover (Back to the Future), Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Michael Sheen (Underworld), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Stephen Fry (V for Vendetta) and Mia Wasikowska (Defiance)

Labels: Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee, Crispin Glover, film, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Michael Sheen, movie trailer, Stephen Fry, Tim Burton

Johnny Depp portrays John Dillinger. Johnny Depp and his precious mug and girly frame portraying a harden criminal is like having Steven Seagal portray Richard Simmons. You need someone to be quirky? Need someone to be pretty? Hire Depp. Need someone to look like it will hurt if he hits you? Depp ain't on the list.

Depp's casting isn't just a problem because he's plainly not a good match for the role. Depp is a limited actor. I know, I know, we're all supposed to agree he's one of the most brilliant actors of our generation. I don't think so. He is gifted at quirk. Give him a over-sized role where he gets to play and ham it up, there is no one better (Pirates of the Caribbean, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Edward Sissorhands). Give him a human being? He doesn't seem to be able to grow beyond his own skin. If you look at his straight roles (Secret Window, Finding Neverland, Blow) he is incapable of giving a memorable performance. It seems he needs the protection of a clown nose to ply his trade.

The film as a whole is not one I can recommend. It is flat, miserably flat. The movie trails the violent and wild final thirteen months of Dillinger's life but it never digs into the man. We are given a disjointed history lesson without motive or emotion. The bank robbers rob a bank, they shoot it out with cops, they drive away, there's some hollow scenes between Dillinger and his gal Billie (Marion Cotillard). Every once in a while there are interjections of Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) squinting his eyes and grumbling as he trails the criminals. Plenty goes on but nothing really happens.

Director Michael Mann tries to straddle making a star-driven Hollywood movie and a patient "serious" movie. Mann is careful to keep his content somber but can't help but drift into typical Hollywood cheesiness. His "Hollywood" choices stand in stark contrast to the rest of the film. An example is the over-produced twangy guitar riffs that blast during running gun battles. The out of period music jumping in from nowhere stinks of someone following the notes coming from the studio demanding they try to liven it up for the kids.

Screenwriters Mann, Ann Biderman and Ronan Bennett fail to condense Dillinger's whirlwind crimespree into a digestable narrative. The film is terribly choppy with criminals and characters passing in and out as the story moves from town to town. The relationships between the characters are assumed instead of developed because there is so much rushing to the next scene. We are never given a chance to hook into any of the characters so their efforts have no depth and their deaths have no impact.

Given that the two leads, Dillinger and Purvis, only spend five minutes together on screen there isn't much of a conflict. Yes, Dillinger is confronted by cops but its all very faceless. Dillinger's and Purvis' scenes are seperate and never meld to build any momentum. By the time Dillinger's infamous death comes, Mann tries to make the tension swell, but there is none there. We are left with a numb scene of a man being shot to death and having his death mean nothing.

Skip this one. You're bound to forget you watched this in a few months anyway so save your time.


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Labels: Billy Crudup, Christian Bale, film, Johnny Depp, movie review

Short Review: A very quiet and pleasant film. That’s the polite way of saying I found it to be painfully boring.


This film has received high praise from other critics and has been nominated for about a hundred awards. I think this may be due to critics being embarrassed that they fell asleep before the second act kicked in. This is not a bad film. It’s actually pretty good, but it is certainly not as great as some have claimed it to be. It is a safe, timid film without much to offer other than the simpleton’s prayer “if you believe in something hard enough, it will happen.” This is an passable movie that is worth a look if it’s in front of you but worth the praise and accolades it has received.

Johnny Depp once again shows that he is a talented and resourceful actor and delivers the goods once again. His portrayal of Sir James Barrie is interesting and likable. He is the only reason to see this film.

Some of you may love this film. Knock yourselves out. I found it to be dry and without much life. I give it a moderate recommendation but only with the understanding that I am a complete crank who doesn’t react well to touchy-feely, sentimental movies like this.


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Labels: film, Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, movie review

Screenwriters: Ronan Bennett (The Hamburg Cell), Michael Mann (Miami Vice) and Ann Biderman (Primal Fear)
Director: Michael Mann (The Insider)
Actors: Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Billy Crudup (Watchmen), Marion Cotillard (A Good Year), Stephen Dorff (Blade), Giovanni Ribisi (Boiler Room), Rory Cochrane (Right at Your Door), Stephen Lang (Gods and Generals) Lily Taylor (Household Saints) and Matt Craven (Jacob's Ladder)

Labels: Billy Crudup, Christian Bale, film, Giovanni Ribisi, Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, movie trailer, Rory Cochrane, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang

A straight-up undercover cop movie. There's really not too much new here, Johnny Depp offers a passable performance as an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the mob by playing low level doofus "Lefty" Ruggiero (Al Pacino). Brasco gets emotionally involved in his work and delves too deep into his role which all leads to a predictable final act. The performances by Depp and Pacino help move this otherwise pedestrian production forward and make this a watchable film. It's not masterful filmmaking but it good enough to see if you can find it for free.


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Labels: Al Pacino, Anne Heche, Bruno Kirby, film, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, movie review

Screenwriter: Alex Gibney (The Trials of Henry Kissinger)
Director: Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room)
Actors: Hunter S. Thompson, Pat Buchanan, and Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

Labels: documentary, film, Johnny Depp, movie trailer

I know since this is a big budget rendition of a Broadway hit, I'm supposed to bend over backward in my praise. The fact is that, other than a humorous appearance by Sacha Baron Cohen, the film has very little personality and even less purpose. The violence is over-the-top and the moral decrepitude of the characters is barely studied. This is just a premise worked out on screen with no meaningful result.

Tim Burton's Mall-Rat Goth style fits well with the subject but his inability to produce three-dimensional characters really makes this film insufferable. Like in his other movies, the people on screen are scribbles of characters who linger far beyond their initial charm and eventually become props to Burton's design work.


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Labels: film, Helen Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, movie review, musical, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tim Burton

This final installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise left me more disappointed than a beer vendor at a Baptist convention. Even if you liked the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies, this one will still probably let you down.

Johnny Depp reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow and fills the screen once again with his performance. The problem is that even a wildly popular character cannot mask a thin script. Numerous loose ends from their previous film Dead Man’s Chest proves too much to for screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot to overcome. To force a resolution to their sprawling narrative, the writers introduce new characters, conflicts and rules that are simply inorganic when held against the previous films. By the end of this outing it is clear that it is a good thing the franchise is going away.

This film is proof that it is possible to have too many spokes in your narrative wheel. It’s a bad thing when your audience needs a scorecard to keep track of all of the competing plots and characters.

Go back and watch the original Pirates of the Caribbean and ignore this fumbling mess.


Worldview: Just like the previous film this movie promotes a view that moral relativity rules the universe. The original film’s line of thought that the pirate’s code is more of a set of suggestions fuels this piece. Everyone is out for themselves, while there are brief moments of sacrifice, any semblance of actual goodness is vacant. When one looks at the behavior of the “good guys” they are not far removed from the villains. The only thing that makes the protagonists good is that our attention is pushed their way. In the world of this film there are no good people.

In the world of this film there is also no God. There are plenty of curses and odd afterlife notions but God is not present. Instead of being rescued from the price of their sins by the blood of Christ, this film shows that their pals can save people – if their pals really try hard. I always find it interesting that filmmakers are likely to casually mention sin, curses and the devil but can’t quite muster the logic to speak of Christ standing against these things.



The characters are the same throughout the films but the story is too transitory to maintain any sense.


Cautions: This film contains cartoon violence, but it is dark. The violence isn’t gory but the nonchalant attitude towards killing may be disturbing. There is a brief moment of sensuality between two characters involving the male lead passionately kissing at the leg of the female lead.

As with the previous films, the biggest concern with this work is the godless worldview which allows for the casual violence and whatnot. The afterlife is considered to be a pliable plane of existence that can be manipulated and molded by human endeavor. Since this is the case one’s morality in this world isn’t of concern. You can always have your punishment absolved if you’re well connected and people will come to your aid.


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Labels: Bill Nighy, film, Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, movie review, Orlando Bloom

It’s just like the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie except without the upbeat tone, rock solid structure, fun or proper lighting.

There is a clear break with the original production. It is apparent this is an afterthought. In other words, the first film wasn’t made to naturally lead into this piece. This leaves this film with a number of awkward moments where they attempt to retain the rules and characters from the first film while also forcing items in to develop a new narrative to set up the next film in the series.

Director Gore Verbinski seems uncontrolled with his action sequences to the point that his sword fighting scenes actually become tedious. Jack Sparrow and company become oddly dressed versions of Jackie Chan in some instances where they perform amazing acrobatics while fighting. The sequences move from interesting, to silly, to belligerently stupid.

This film will probably entertain but it won’t do much else. This is a lesser product than the first film and it is sorely obvious with each frame. This said, its still a better production than most Hollywood efforts these days.


Worldview: It is the same as the first but without all of the obfuscation. Jack Sparrow, a raping, thieving, murderer is celebrated as a positive character. While he is not revered as a good man, the film does promote his wickedness as a mere humorous character flaw.

Unlike the first film, there are almost no good people in this installment. Each character is out for themselves and themselves only. The only person trying to do actual good is Will Turner but he’s a secondary character and in the midst of the pirates his efforts are muted.


Production Notes: This is a dark movie. The reason for that is because it is the second film of three. When you have a trio of films that share the same narrative (the original Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, etc.) you’ll find the second is always the darkest (Empire Strikes Back, The Two Towers, Back to the Future II – the one where Biff controls the world). The reason for this is because this film is in essence the second act if you look at the films as one collective whole. Stories come in a number of acts. The act structure is simple. The first act is the opening, where everything is explained and the hero is given a task. The second act is the middle where the conflict occurs – this is a dark time where the hero may or may not be victorious. The final act is where the hero and company do final battle with the villain and eventually win. Again, this second film is the second act and therefore a dank view of the hero’s world.

Sit back and think of the second film in any series of movies and you’ll see this pattern emerge.


Cautions: There’s plenty of cartoon violence. In the beginning there are a couple scenes of horrific gore. A man gets his eye plucked out by a crow, for example. Following the very dark opening, the violence becomes more goofy. There’s no sexual imagery or cursing to be concerned about. The worst thing to be mindful of with this film is the backward worldview where good is bad and bad is good.


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Labels: Bill Nighy, film, Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, movie review, Orlando Bloom

This production is founded in one of the best written scripts to come out of Hollywood in ages. Screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott manage a complex plot buttressed by thrilling dialog. This is a great script if you are looking to instruct yourself in how to write for the movies.

The film itself is a fun romp. Johnny Depp steals the show in his now famous performance as the wobbly Captain Jack Sparrow. Bright, exciting and perfectly paced, this film is a great pick if you’re looking for something that will leave you upbeat.


Worldview: This sticky wicket here is the treatment of piracy. In the context of the film, it would seem that pirates are a rebellious but relatively harmless lot. With Jack Sparrow (who casually admits to being a thief, murderer and rapist in the film) shown in such an adoring light this film sells a low bill of goods. Be mindful that the overall point of the film is that doing evil is good and being good is stupid. Note when you watch the film who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. What are the qualities that make them who they are? You will find the film is more than it first appears.


Production Notes: I’ll continue with my gushing over the script for a bit. It is a fantastic work. Forgiving the horrible message, this script, on a technical level, is a marvel. It is perfectly balanced and is thoroughly thought out. If you have the DVD on hand, listen to the screenwriters commentary as the final credits roll. You will get a full version of the backstory* to this piece.

* - A backstory is, in essence, the story that happens before the story you’re viewing has begun. Star Wars would be the backstory to The Empire Strikes Back, is a clumsy example.

Cautions: There’s plenty of comical violence and some undead running around. The film is not littered with offensive acts of sexuality or violence. The core issue to contend with is the message of the film. Again, piracy is a good thing is the effective point of the piece. This selling of evil as good deserves some caution before you view the film.


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Labels: film, Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, movie review, Orlando Bloom