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To be honest I was a little surprised when the latest Terry Gilliam movie was getting press time on TV, radio, and print. I always thought of his movies as “left of center” in the movie making sense of the word. I have a good feeling that the two lead stars, Matt Damon and Heath Ledger had something to do with the coverage. The two leading men star as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who are yes the same Brother Grimm who wrote Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and other childhood tales in the 1800s. They start out as con-men who have full knowledge of the legends and folklore of towns in French occupied Germany. They use trickery to rid towns of demons, wolves, ghost and the like. Soon they find out that some of the tales are true. Through out the movie I had to keep reminding myself that this was a Terry Gilliam movie. I would not call myself a huge fan of his, but I have seen and still hold dear some of his works. This movie was not as bizarre as the rest of his body of work and knowing what the subject of the film was about, I expected it to be over the top. With all of that said, I still think the movie was good, but not great. It certainly is a must see for fans of Gilliam OR a great introduction of his work to people who aren’t fans. It was able to tell the story of the brothers and weaving the plots of many other tales without making it unwatchable or too forced (think “Urban Legend”) Once you become a fan, check out “Time Bandits”, “The Fischer King”, my favorite “Twelve Monkeys” and everyone’s favorite “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.

written by tom