60/60 Review #12: Brazil.

Note: For reference, there are apparently 2-3 versions of this film. I caught the longest version, which was about 2 and a half hours long.

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I knew going into this movie that it was a strange dystopian film. But that's about all I knew. But when I fell asleep for about fifteen minutes (tiredness, not boredom) and woke up to see a guy in a suit of armor with wings running from zombie-esque creatures and fighting a giant samurai, I was really like... WTF? Of course, I rewound it and caught what I missed and then finished the movie. But still, overall, the movie is a total mindfuck.

For those that don't know, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) works for a world-running corporation that, due to a clerical error, makes a mistake and takes away (and eventually kills) the wrong man. Who they meant to take was Tuttle (Robert De Niro), one of many terrorists who fight against the oppressive government. Sam must also deal with his overbearing mother (Katherine Helmond), who is getting a major reconstructive facial surgery from her doctor (Jim Broadbent). He also has to deal with other people who work for said corporation, like his boss (Ian Holm), a couple workers (including Bob Hoskins), and a friend named Jack (Michael Palin). Sam ends up in the middle of a conspiracy when he sees a woman of his dreams (literally) named Jill (Kim Greist) and tries to figure out who she is.

That's the sanest way to describe this movie. Visually, it's fantastic. The basic visual style alone looks much more modern and clearer, especially considering this was made in the 80s. But then there's all the special stuff, like all the set designs and the fantasy sequences where Sam imagines himself flying and all sorts of things happen. It's a wonderful film to look at.

It's also pretty funny. Most of its entertainment comes from some wacky comedy. The characters can be a hoot and are written well. And the actors do well to show this. Though the whole thing isn't a comedy. One of the strange things about the film is its inconstant tonal shifts. Sometimes its funny, sometimes absurd, sometimes dead serious, sometimes freaky... it just depends on how it feels at the moment.

I don't necessarily have any major issues with the film. A lot of people complain that the movie takes forever to go anywhere and they get bored. I can honestly say I wasn't really ever bored with it, and it didn't bother me that it didn't seem to go anywhere at first (OK, so the first 30-45 minutes or so did drag at times, but it didn't bug me too bad). I can't even say that the movie eventually went off the rails; the movie was never on the rails. It's just insane through and through.

I honestly don't know how to review this movie. It's... too strange. I think I liked it. I know I didn't dislike it. It's been a day since I've watched it, and I still can't wrap my head around it. I know everything was metaphorical and/or allegorical and whatnot... but yeah. I really have nothing else I can say. So I guess I'll just leave it at that. It's an entertaining and well made yet thoroughly bizarre film.


WTF

(P.S. That wraps up "Foreign" Month. Tune in next week when I transition into "Comedy" month with my transitional film, Kentucky Fried Movie.)

60/60 Review #11: Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

There are probably two movies in existence that have given me the highest expectations for a film ever. One is Citizen Kane. This is the other. Of all the movies on this list, this one was not only my #1 most anticipated, but also my #1 most ashamed I hadn't seen. I had this friend back in high school who would badger me every week about seeing this movie; of course, I never did. Then I went to college and became friends with this woman who--of course--adores Monty Python almost more than anything else. So needless to say, this movie became its own "holy grail" for me. I expected this to not only be one of the greatest comedies of all time, but one of the greatest movies ever made. That is how I went into this movie.

For those of you who don't know, the film stars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin as King Arthur and his knights who go in search of the holy grail. Wackiness ensues.

The best thing about the movie is the writing. The dialogue in the film is fantastic. Between conversations running in circles, getting off track by talking about sparrows, being meta and/or self-referential, or... really anything else, the movie is very funny. It had me laughing in the opening credits with just fake subtitles. That's how crazy good the writing is.

Where the movie loses me, however, are the little animated interludes. After a while, they really started to bug me. I didn't think they were particularly funny, and some of them just seemed to drag (the painting one in particular with the 'weather' stomping). There's one meta joke that comes out of it near the end that's kinda funny, but otherwise, I felt they pulled the movie down a bit.

Also on the down side is the ending. I'm not sure how much I liked the 'modern day' scenes tossed in throughout, especially since they seemed so random. And then the ending comes... and the movie just ends all anti-climactic. I know that's part of the joke, but I didn't care for it. I'm sure that's blasphemy of some sort, I'm sorry.

I think this is a film that I'll enjoy even more once I think back later on all the lines of dialogue or discuss it with friends. As of now, I really liked it, but I think my expectations were set at an ungodly high place for me to have loved it upon a first viewing. I know I haven't really said much here. This was kind of a lame review for y'all. But that's just kinda how I feel. Great dialogue. Fun characters. Definitely check it out.


A Keanu 'Whoa'