The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2008)
Genre : Fantasy
MPAA Rating : PG-13 (123 minutes)
DVD Release Date : April 2010
Overall Rating : 5*/10 (maybe 6)
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This was Heath Ledger's swan song, and has all the ingredients for the making of an epic movie. Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Time Bandits) directs an all-star cast consisting of Christopher Plummer, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer ("Mini-Me"), and the delectable Lily Cole. The London setting is great, and the cinematography (especially the surreal "imagination" scenes) is fantastic. The film received two Academy Award Nominations - Best costumes; Best Art Direction.
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So why the low mark? Because the storyline was both confusing and devoid of tension. Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is engaged in a Faustian series of bets with The Devil (Tom Waits), seemingly winning them all (so far), yet finding himself in desperate straits. The soul of his daughter (Lily Cole) hangs in the balance, and all will be lost unless he can "win" 5 souls before Old Scratch does.
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That ought to make for a great plot, but instead we get lots of sparkle and very little substance. The acting is good, but there's little drama. I knew who was going to win in the end, but frankly, I didn't care. The surreal scenes were psychedelically stunning, but didn't really contribute much to the story's resolution. Objectively, this is a 5 Stars (out of 10) movie, although you could add one star more in tribute to Heath.
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