One step forward, two steps backward (actually, make that three)

So many movies, so little time. That was the thought that popped into my head over the past few days and realized that as many movies as I try to see in/from a year, there are still so many that it will likely take a while for me to get around to. Though we're five months into a new year and new decade, I'm balancing my viewing selections between what's current, and films from 2009 that I wanted to see. Unfortunately, I haven't had the best luck with my choices; hopefully The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), in some cities now, will be better, because these first two films are 'blah' marks on the otherwise good reputation of 2009, while the third is a disappointment of the moment.

First is The Young Victoria (2009), or as many of us like to think of it, Emily Blunt's Oscar vehicle. All of the elements are there: period setting, romance, courtly intrigue, and pretty things. Yes, there's a lot of prettiness in Jean Marc-Vallee's film, but unfortunately, there isn't much of anything else. Despite having assembled quite the cast, Julian Fellowes' (writer of the wonderful Gosford Park) screenplay doesn't offer much of interest. Aside from some hilariously over-the-top arguing between Blunt and Mark Strong ("You must sign it!" "I WILL NOT!" "How DARE YOU!"), the acting is fine, and it's a shame that someone as talented as Blunt wasn't giving something meatier to work with. The real problem is that it's just, well, plain, and no amount of pretty-but-uninspired costumes can change that. The theme music is lovely, possibly the best artistic aspect of the whole show, but it's over-used, even feeling too strong in scenes that seem to require softer music. In the end, it is a sweet, well-intentioned film, but while its heart is in the right place, the other elements just come off as lazy.

Grade: C+

Next we come to the big puzzler of the triad: Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). Oy, where do I begin? I'm not sure what it is, maybe I've started to lose my hearing (although the results of my latest physical beg to differ), maybe I wasn't being a good audience member, but I don't think I've ever seen a film whose dialogue so poorly explained/clarified its plot. Worse is the terrible quality of sound recording on said dialogue. It's difficult to understand a film when the characters' voices are presented at a volume level so neutral that even with the volume on my TV nearly at maximum, I was struggling to really hear what was being said. I understand that characters shouldn't spend every second spoon-feeding us the plot, but discussing plot elements is nothing new, and it's really not hard to do...it's done in most movies, good and bad. Credit should go, however, to the marvelous production design; once the film finally delves into the heart of the titular Imaginarium (and the first Ledger stand-in, Mr. Depp, appears), there are a few moments of visual delight. Sadly, everything else in Gilliam's film is murkily presented and falls flat, especially the performances (although Tom Waits does have the perfect voice to play the Devil). Had I not read the back of the DVD case beforehand, I would have zoned out a lot quicker than I did.

Grade: C-

We've come upon a trend lately in our blockbuster fare: origin stories coupled with gritty revisions. It's worked marvelously for Batman, but for Robin Hood and his merry men, the result isn't exactly good. It's far from good. It's boring. Taking a look at Robin's "origin" (as an archer in Richard the Lionheart's army), Ridley Scott's film winds up a long, dull, mess. Despite stellar production values and a strong cast, the characters are beyond flat, not helped with the constant switching of locations to cover as many different angles of the story as possible (a great drinking game would be to take a shot every time a location title appears on screen). Crowe is all scowls and gruffness, much like his Gladiator role only without anything remotely interesting to drive him, while Cate Blanchett's Maid, sorry, Lady Marion could have been fun had the role been more fleshed out; these two, like other characters, feel haphazardly thrown together. Three of Robin's merry men practically blend together, while Friar Tuck feels like a non-entity and Oscar Isaac's King John is a rehash of Joaquin's Phoenix's Commodus. William Hurt, Eileen Atkins, and Max Von Sydow are also thrown into the mix, while Mark Strong plays, you guessed it, the kind-of-sort-of main bad guy, since King John isn't quite the villain yet. But the real crime of it all? It's. F_cking. Boring. Hell, at least the god-awful racist robots in Transformers 2 kept me awake (albeit in an irritated state). After the initial castle siege, during which everything is filmed not only in staccato low-frame rate, but also with a shaky camera, it just becomes flat out dull. There's a lot of talk and plot build up, but it's never interesting. The attempts at humor fall flat, and the political/royal intrigue isn't terribly intriguing. As a result, none of the performances register; it's hard to either root for our band of heroes or really hate the villains. And if you can't feel anything, why bother?

Grade: C-

Amazing poster for "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

Sure, this poster may be the headline of one of the blogs/sites listed on the right of the page, but this is so cool that I felt I had to post it as well. Despite mixed notices I am still looking forward to seeing this quite a bit, and little things like a striking poster only magnify my excitement.

Character posters for "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" (click picture for larger view)

Trailers for "...Doctor Parnassus", "Where the Wild Things Are", and "The Lovely Bones

EDIT: FOUR new "...Doctor Parnassus" photos

Am I alone in thinking that this picture of the titular Doctor (played by Christopher Plummer) is eerily similar to Michael Gambon's Albus Dumbledore? Separated at birth, perhaps?

3 clips from "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"!

L'Imaginarium du docteur Parnassus sur Comme Au Cinema

L'Imaginarium du docteur Parnassus sur Comme Au Cinema

L'Imaginarium du docteur Parnassus sur Comme Au Cinema

Variety reviews "...Doctor Parnassus"

A little warning first, however. On my previous post, entitled "First Doctor Parnassus review", someone decided to give me a thrashing for writing what he/she called a half-assed review, that I must have written after only seeing 10 minutes, and then getting a hotdog. I thought it was obvious: I HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE. I'M NOT AT CANNES. IF YOU HAVE COMPLAINTS WITH THE CHARACTER NAME ERRORS OR WRITING STYLES OF THE PREVIOUS REVIEW OR THIS ONE, DON'T COMPLAIN HERE, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WRITE THESE.

And now, to the Variety review by TODD MCCARTHY, WHO DOESN'T WRITE FOR THIS BLOG.

Especially considering the trauma and difficulties stemming from Heath Ledger's death during production and the fact that Terry Gilliam hadn't directed a good picture in more than a decade, the helmer has made a pretty good thing out of a very bad situation in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." Synthesizing elements from several of his previous pictures, including "Time Bandits,""The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" and "The Fisher King," the often overreaching director addresses a mad hatter of a story with the expected visual panache and what is, for him, considerable discipline. With Ledger onscreen more than might have been expected, the film possesses strong curiosity value bolstered by generally lively action and excellent visual effects, making for good commercial prospects in most markets.

"Imaginarium" joined the short list of films interrupted by the death of a star when Ledger died in January 2008, after an initial stretch of shooting in London and before the box office smash of "The Dark Knight." Gilliam struggled to figure out how to proceed before asking three other stars, Johnny Depp (who toplined for the director in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"), Jude Law and Colin Farrell, to step in to fill Ledger's shoes.

Many Ledger fans certainly will turn out just to see his final performance. But it's genuinely interesting to see how, under duress, Gilliam contrived to work the other actors into the role. The way it plays out in the finished picture is that Ledger's incarnation of Tony, a man rescued from death who provides a possible way for Doctor Parnassus to win a wager with the devil, occupies the London-set framing story, while his three successors play versions of the character in the CGI sequences set in fantastical other dimensions. It all comes off well, without terribly disruptive emotional-mental dislocations.

That said, Tony is not a demanding dramatic role, nor a particularly flamboyant one like the Joker, so this can't legitimately be described as one Ledger's most striking performances. Like most of the other actors here, he's antic and frantic, dirty and sweaty, as the principals flail around trying to cope with their desperate straits.

At first, it seems Gilliam's worst habits will get the better of him once again, as the early hectic action centers on a small group of traveling players who move about the seedier neighborhoods of modern London in a 19th-century-style carnival wagon that unfolds to allow the performers out to try to snare its few derelict customers.

At the center of the clan is Doctor Parnassus himself (Christopher Plummer, with a Lear-like countenance), who a thousand years ago made a pact with the devil for immortality. The downside to the bargain, however, as Parnassus is reminded when the devil comes to collect in the person of Mr. Nick (Tom Waits, forever the hipster); is that, when the doctor's daughter Valentina (Lily Cole) turns 16, she becomes Satan's property. Unfortunately, her birthday is imminent, so Parnassus makes another deal, which allows him to save his daughter if he can deliver five souls to his alternate world of the imagination.

This phantasmagorical domain exists as something like the anteroom to the doctor's wagon. Entered through a mirrored partition, it can assume multiple forms, and great comforts await there as well as considerable perils. It's another "Alice in Wonderland"-like playground for Gilliam, and while all the specific action may not be entirely coherent or exciting, it's always visually stimulating and allows the three incarnations of Tony to host assorted guests.

In a morbid touch, Tony is first seen hanging from a noose suspended from a London bridge and presumed dead. Once resurrected and done flopping about in the mud, the young man, who says "mate" a lot, joins Parnassus' small band, which, in addition to his kewpie doll-like daughter, consists of the over-avid Anton (Andrew Garfield), who's smitten with Valentina, and midget Percy (Verne Troyer). Seeing little upside among the drunks and homeless who generally witness and sometimes disrupt the troupe's appearances, Tony suggests a modernizing makeover and a move to snazzier environs.

A lot of the stage business consists of pratfalls and chaotic behavior, which quickly become overbearing, and the plot mechanics are scarcely more engaging. Fortunately, the central conception is sturdy enough to bear Gilliam's sporadic excesses, which in any case are better focused than is sometimes the case with him. Worst are the persistent and ineffectual flailings of Anton, a character poorly conceived in hapless 19th-century romantic mode.

It's 66 minutes into the picture when Depp first appears, and you have to look twice to make sure it's him, so closely has his pulled-back hair, moustache and beard been tailored to match Ledger's. At one point, Depp's Tony conducts a middle-aged woman to the river of immortality and says that there she can join the likes of Valentino, James Dean and Princess Di among those who never got old, which serves to ease Ledger's unspoken admission to that group.

Ledger reappears whenever the action returns to modern London, but the fact that Tony is always dressed in a white suit makes him instantly identifiable when Law takes over to deal with some Russian gangsters who pass through veil. Last and very much the best of the three new Tonys is Farrell, who brings great zest to Tony's efforts to become the crucial fifth soul who will save Valentina for Parnassus.

Pic's second half is resplendent with ever-changing CGI backdrops for the imaginary world the doctor has created with his gift. "Original designers and art directors" Dave Warren and Gilliam no doubt played a dominant role in conceiving the film's look, which is ornate without being a riot of detail, but production designer Anastasia Masaro, visual effects supervisors John Paul Docherty and Richard Bain and costume designer Monique Prudhomme certainly made major contributions as well. Other production values are strong across the board.

Plummer enacts the oldest man in the world with verve, and Troyer, Waits and Cole nicely hold necessarily caricatured work in check.

Pic is dedicated to the memories of not only Ledger but producer William Vince, who also died during production.

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First "Doctor Parnassus" review

Marred by shoddy special effects and half-formed fantastical conceits, Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” has the feeling of a comic fantasia desperately seeking to find its rhythm. Nearly abandoned after the sudden death of leading man Heath Ledger prior to completing production in January of last year, the final result reflects the frantic cobbling together of missing pieces. Ledger’s posthumous status haunts his scenes, as it does in the moments in which various actors replace him. Compounding that problem, the cartoonish CGI and inconsistent storytelling yield a seriously disjointed experience. Still, “Parnassus” deserves to be seen, probed and evaluated as an interesting misfire in Gilliam’s delectably quizzical canon.
The movie revolves around the eponymous traveling stage show, led by Dr. Parnassus (an enjoyably senile Christopher Plummer), a millennia-old magician whose immortality stems from a deal he made with the Devil (Tom Waits, topping his fleeting role as an angel in Tony Scott’s “Domino” with this far more appropriate casting decision). Unfortunately for Parnassus, the contract requires him to give up his daughter when she turns sixteen, a possibility that the younger doctor - at the time, childless - chose to ignore. In the present, though, he winds up with a lovely teenager named Valentina (Lily Cole) - and she’s on the brink of her sweet sixteen as the story begins.
The set up works; the details bump along with incorrigible problems. The bulk of the spectacle in “Parnassus” involves the other side of a mirror on his set, where attendees can venture into a sweepingly lyrical world within the confines of the showman’s mind. From the first scene, the problem of this central prop comes into focus: The world behind the mirror looks more than just fake - it looks cheesy. A psychedelic unreality akin to Tim Burton’s remake of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” this loopy alternate world becomes less of a problem at later points in the movie, but the transparency makes it hard to establish a credible aura of mystery from the outset.

Worse than that, the overall mythology of Parnassus and his magical troupe never truly congeals. There’s no hints at whether the world around him acknowledges the feasibility of his magical prowess or he must keep it a secret, “Harry Potter”-style. Without a steady framework in which to understand the movie, it lacks a much-needed luster from the beginning.

Ledger’s character complicates this glaring distraction. As Mr. Nick, an amnesiac discovered by the troupe and haphazardly added to their lineup, he dons a witty demeanor with enjoyable quirks. But Ledger’s very presence constantly forces the viewer to acknowledge his death, far more so than when he appeared as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” a mere six months after his demise. Nick’s first appearance in “Parnassus” invokes the real world casualty with the unseemly image of the actor hanging from a noose. Additionally, many scenes directly acknowledge his passing. In one, where Johnny Depp plays Mr. Nick - since he appears, in a clever bit of last-minute rewriting, in a slightly different form behind the mirror - the character discusses the current state of dead stars. “They are beyond fear,” he says. “Because they are forever young, they are gods.” It’s the kind of frustrating overstatement that belongs on the cutting room floor. Still, “Parnassus” benefits from all-around solid performances from its entire cast, a factor that helps the wonder eventually settle into place. The other two main supporting actors, Verne Troyer as the troupe’s resident little person and Andrew Garfield as the supporting player in love with Valentina, never hog the screen as overt sideshow attractions. The gimmick of Mr. Nick’s changing faces has an obvious, tacked-on feel, but the two other actors filling his shoes, Depp and Colin Farrell, both know what they’re doing. One of the end credits calls the movie “a film from Heath Ledger and friends,” implying less of a finished product than a memento with shiny wrapping paper, and it definitely achieves that much. Toward the end, in starts to turn into something better than that. The rather lengthy sequence with Farrell as Dr. Nick surpasses everything that came before, not because of his performance but due to Gilliam’s marvelously innovative design. Parnassus’s world falls apart at the seams, thanks to a deliciously quirky soundtrack and the eruption of visual splendor. Culminating with a literal dance with the Devil, “Parnassus” finally discovers a strange and wonderful vibe. The relentless Hollywood outsider, Gilliam’s career is marked by his willingness to fight against impossible odds in order to realize his vision, much like Orson Welles. Despite all its difficulties, “Parnassus” continues to display Gilliam’s distinctive talents, and at least he finished the damn thing. In that sense, “Parnassus” is his “The Magnificent Ambersons,” rather than “The Other Side of the Wind,” if the Welles comparison makes sense. Meanwhile, the potential for discovering Gilliam’s mind as we explore the one belonging to his main character gives the movie an intriguing autobiographic edge. “We need to meet the public halfway,” Mr. Nick tells the troupe, explaining how they can improve the show. “The secret is not to hide, to go places people never expected you at.” On that level, “Parnassus” undoubtedly works as an ongoing quest to generate awe. There are glimmers of it in the finale, which involves a coherent universe of frenzied visuals, leaving us to contemplate the potential for a better result.

First clip of Heath Ledger in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

3 new "Doctor Parnassus" stills, including a look at Farrell, Law, and Depp

Four new photos from "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

5 new character shots from "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

Two new photos from "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (2009)

New picture from "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" (aka, Heath Ledger's final role)