The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An ethereal battle between good and evil, which takes place in each character's imagination, as interpreted by the old mystic, Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you've ever seen a Terry Gilliam film, you know what you're in for: a lot of style and theory, with very strange substance. This film is as visually beautiful and imaginative as the storyline is surreal.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: That depends on if you have a subscription to Bizzaro magazine or not. If you do, this humor will fall right in line with your sensibilities. Also if you do, you are the proud owner of a magazine that I just made up.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you're an aspiring actor, you'll cry when you realize that Mini-me has a legitimate acting career and you don't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I might give this movie an award for premonition, because it seems as if they knew Heath Ledger was going to drop out (read: die) mid-filming. They managed to have him in all the "real-life" scenes, where his presence is necessary, and the way they use Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to replace him in the imaginings actually makes a lot of sense for the "logic" of this story.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Tom Waits, as the devil, gets applause just for showing up... Or at least that's what the people in my theater seemed to think.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Lavish and riddled with over-the-top, fun-loving, and sometimes campy special effects-- which begs the question: how does this guy continue to get these giant budgets to make esoteric comedies that nobody is going to see? I guess his financiers are still hoping he'll accidentally churn out another Monty Python film, despite the lack of any Monty Python players.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Terry Gilliam is like a fun and upbeat version of David Lynch. In both cases, it's easier to call them genius, than to admit that you have no idea what they're talking about... But what really makes them genius, is I'm pretty sure that they have no idea what they're talking about either.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus/33122/trailers

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Gentlemen Broncos

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A home schooled teen (Michael Angarano) dreams of being a sci-fi novelist, so he takes a seminar offered by his idol... and then, as is usually the case, his idol plagiarizes his book.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Michael Angarano, Jennifer Coolidge, Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Hector Jimenez, Halley Feiffer, Mike White, Josh Pais, Suzanne May

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. For all you Napoleon Dynamite fans, this is the closest Jared Hess has come to accomplishing whatever he accomplished with that inexplicable hit.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Your ability to find the humor in this film will be directly proportional to your ability to find the humor in Napoleon Dynamite.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Again, I will refer you back to your level of emotion in watching Napoleon Dynamite. And let's be honest, nobody ever cried at Napoleon Dynamite.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Do they still have any avant-guard awards for movies? Or did those go out with the 70s?

Q: How is the Acting?

A: While I never actually enjoy his films, director Jared Hess does seem to bring an interesting quality out in his actors. The strained, awkward, never ending pauses, after which no words are often spoken, demonstrate that he has a style all his own, and he commits to it fully and consistently.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Again, I will admit that while I never actually enjoy his films, I really like the composition of Jared Hess's shots. They capture the strained, awkward, never ending pauses, after which no words are often spoken, quite descriptively. Also, this campy-stylized film has two other films in it, each more campy and stylized than the next, begging the question, "How does this guy come up with so many original ways to make awful looking movies."

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Here's where you'll have to suspend your disbelief. You see, that a teenage boy would write this ridiculous nonsensical sci-fi novel is believable. That someone would read it and like it is much less believable. But that someone would like it enough to plagiarize it is totally preposterous.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: If when I mentioned Napoleon Dynamite, earlier, you thought that I was talking about some Blacksploitation version of the French Revolution, this film is definitely not for you.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/gentlemen-broncos/33271/trailers

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Synecdoche, New York

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A theater director (Philip Seymour Hoffman), whose life starts out fairly normal (bad marriage and a kid), gets a chance to direct his life's work-- quite literally-- as the play gradually becomes a metaphor of his own life examination, and at the same time a carbon copy of his life experiences. The project takes the rest of his life to complete, as he's constantly trying to figure his life out, although it's ambiguous enough that at certain points you wonder if he's already dead... I don't know, it's Charlie Kaufman.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan, Sadie Goldstein, Paul Sparks, Daisy Tahan, Robin Weigert

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Don't go to this movie if you're one of those people who likes to understand what's going on. And if you do go, bring a friend, preferably one who likes psychoanalyzing poetry and extracting from it esoteric innuendo. You'll need that someone there to discuss it with you (read: explain) afterward.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If not for Charlie Kaufman's offbeat brand of humor, this would be a David Lynch movie.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No, but it may move your mind. Sometimes to boredom, sometimes to confusion, and sometimes to insight-- or a headache.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Kaufman is the only person in Hollywood who's allowed to do anything original... so probably.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Emma Watson plays Samantha Morton, and you literally don't know which is the real one and which is the fake at times. As for the rest, if I may refer you to the list of talent under FAQ #2, you'll rightly presume that everyone else is great, too.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Charlie Kaufman directs from his own script, and it still looks like a Charlie Kaufman film. Unfortunately, I think it's less strong than some of his previous scripts, most likely due to the lack of an outside eye/director cutting and shaping the insanity into more comprehensible terms for those of us who don't live inside Kaufman's mind.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: I sat through a Q & A to find out just that, and what I learned is that Kaufman himself isn't quite sure what it's about. It conveys certain ideas about life, or dream-states, or maybe after-life, or stream of consciousness... all of which you won't be tested on.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Cleavage. Lots of it. But not the perky kind, either. More like the fleshy kind. In any case, I think our award winning screenwriter may be a breast man.

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