The Fisher King

The opening moments of Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King show shock jock Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) basking in his fame in his own arrogant way. He promptly gets knocked down several pegs when one of his broadcasts inadvertently causes a mass shooting. The next three years have him spiraling out of control.

Enter Parry (Robin Williams), a homeless man who saves Jack from a couple of thugs. What follows is a journey that involves redemption, romance and the Holy Grail. (No, seriously.)

Gilliam is known for his surreal work like 12 Monkeys and Time Bandits. (He is a member of Monty Python after all.) But with The Fisher King, he makes a decidedly more accessible film for the masses. It's a dark film, certainly, but it has its moments of whimsy. (The Grand Central Station scene is why cinema exists.)

And Gilliam also got memorable performances from his actors. Mercedes Ruehl steals every scene she's in. (No surprise on how she won the Oscar.) Amanda Plummer displays a quiet, mousy air to her role. (A stark contrast to her more famed role in Pulp Fiction.) Bridges has a damaged, fiery edge not normally seen in his other roles. But the star is clearly Williams. His performance switches from comedy to drama, sometimes within the same scene. (His declaration to Plummer is a beautiful example.) Oh, did we lose one of the greats last year.

The Fisher King is a charming and dazzling film (though not dazzling in the way you might think). It's a film where all its elements work wonders both by themselves and together. Be sure to see it.

My Rating: ****1/2

12 Monkeys

Terry Gilliam has one weird mind. Has he made a movie that was, you know, normal? From what I've seen, not really.

James Cole (Bruce Willis) is sent back to 1996 to gather information on the origin of a virus that wiped out 5 billion people that year. However, he gets sent to 1990, gets arrested and sent to a mental institution. There, he meets psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and mental patient Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt).

Geez, Pitt is CRAZY in this. I love his crazy look, which is really just his eyes bugging out. He is clearly a scene stealer in 12 Monkeys. Not bad for someone who's going through nicotine withdrawal (I'm not lying, look it up). Willis kicks some serious ass. It has the Gilliam quirkiness, but alas it also falls victim to what usually happens halfway through a Gilliam pic: the story crumples. But still, it holds up for a good chunk of time.

My Rating: ****

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Man, Terry Gilliam has one vivid imagination. Well, what do you expect from one of the members of Monty Python? You ain't gonna find anything normal.

In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) promises to the audiences a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus where dreams come true. In the stories Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), to the midget Percy (Verne Troyer), and his assistant Anton (Andrew Garfield), he claims have more than one thousand years; however, when he fell in love with a mortal, he made a deal with the devil Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) trading his immortality per youth. As part of bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on the sixteenth birthday. Valentina now is almost in the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus bets with Mr. Nick that whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony (Heath Ledger) that was hanging on a bridge by the Russians that explains why he had been chased and he joins the group. Tony and Valentina fall in love with each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his competitor is a liar.

I really liked the movie, but boy was it trippy. I thought it was kinda weird that an American (Johnny Depp), a Brit (Jude Law), an Irishman (Colin Farrell) and an Aussie (Heath Ledger) were all cast for one role, but it doesn't matter. It works.

My Rating: ****

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Why are all cult movies the same? By that, I mean ridiculously quotable and a crapload of merchandise featuring characters from the movie. I'm looking at you, The Big Lebowski and Fight Club.

King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam) are roaming throughout Europe to find his Knights of the Round Table. He manages to get Sir Bedevere the Wise (Terry Jones), Sir Lancelot the Brave (John Cleese), Sir Galahad the Pure (Michael Palin) and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot (Eric Idle) but not without a few roadbumps along the way, both before and after getting the Knights of the Round Table. He comes across a stubborn knight ("Just a flesh wound!"), guards questioning the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow ("Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?"), the Knights Who Say "NI!" ("You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest. WITH! A HERRING!"), among others.

Is there a reason why British movies are usually better than American movies? Just asking, since like one-third of the Best Picture winners are British productions. My point being this movie is hilarious.

My Rating: *****

And now, for something completely different (not really):