The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Gool Award: 4 (No Peanuts Chucked)

Goolsby:

I saw this movie by myself and really enjoyed it. Overall this movie has a strange feel to it. I'm not sure if it was seeing Heath Ledger in his last acting role, or if it was the content of the film. I didn't have any strange dreams which is good, considering this movie is like consecutive acid trips. I knew that it would be like that coming in, so I was prepared. The movie is full of color and character. Good, evil, imagination, and reality. This movie constantly forces opposites together.

The basic plot - Dr. Parnassus can expose people to their full imagination by letting them pass through a mirror into an imagination reality controlled by his mind. Dr. Parnassus uses their imagination and multiplies it by a million. Once in the imagination world they are presented with an opportunity, here comes the good versus evil part. The plot pivots on a bet Dr. Parnassus makes with the devil.

Dr. Parnassus is played by Christopher Plummer and Tony is played by Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. Ledger died mid-way through filming and this movie used the imagination world to accommodate his passing. Every time Tony passes through the mirror into the imagination world his appearance changes. It was seamlessly done, and explained well in the very beginning of the movie.

This movie was dark and bright all at the same time. Ledger's performance was very strange. The character Tony is this sort of abandoned misguided guy.

Randomly, there were quite a few funny parts, and I appreciated that. I say go see this movie if you are up for a random crazy ride.

Goolsby overall: 4

I wonder what my imagination world would look like...

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Sherlock Holmes

Phipp Award: 3 (Worth 11 Bucks)

Phipps:
This is my first solo review. I saw Sherlock Holmes with my sister. We were really excited about it. And would you believe it, I didn't like this movie. Let me rephrase, I liked this movie as an action movie, but not as a Sherlock Holmes movie. You could have called the main characters Bert and Ernie...and the movie still would have worked, still would have been exciting, well-made, and in some respects, well-acted. It was, at the very core of it, an action movie. I've come to expect a little more brain with my Sherlock, and less reactionary headless chicken. Let me explain, I grew up with a movie called Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking. Rupert Everett is Sherlock Holmes, and is, in my opinion, one of the best portrayals. He combines the intelligence and the sarcasm, drug-user and strategist - and does it well. This is entirely my own opinion, and I'll be honest - most people disagree. In fact, a coworker looked at me and said, "Were you not entertained?" (Quoting Gladiator, of course.) I had to admit then, parts of Sherlock Holmes did entertain me. Jude Law as Watson is brilliant. If you watch this movie for no other reason than Jude Law, it's worth it. He's the best Watson I've seen. As I said before, this movie was put together well. The CG-Imaging of Old London Town was integrated well, and I thought the use of a dull color palatte was historically accurate. It sounds stupid, but I thought it was just missing something...some Sherlock X-factor. Go ahead, see it for yourselves, and then let us know what you thought of it.

Phipps overall: 3
For Jude Law.

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