The Brothers Grimm (2005)

I wanted to but couldn't!

A Masterpiece!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Terry Gilliam and Grimm fairy tales mix incredibly well! Which is not surprising knowing the original versions of those tales were much darker before Disney made them kid friendly. This is a very interesting take on the Brothers Grimm and the tales they wrote. It blends dark fantasy with comedy and adventure really well. This is not based on one particular story, but rather includes elements and characters from many stories, and even more references and winks to other stories that are seemingly happening/happened in the same universe! The atmosphere is very good, dark and gothic, the characters are likable and the main story gripping. Overall it's a very enjoyable fantasy movie that is too often overlooked and underrated!

There have been some great films that were essentially written during filming. Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" comes to mind, a visual & philosophical feast that was born out of 10 short poems. And of course the greatest comedy ever made, "This Is Spinal Tap" was basically improvised from start to finish. Here we have the opposite: a film which was probably carefully planned, but it feels like they're making it up because, oh LORDY, some of the plot points are barely recognizable as sensible.The story jumps around, presumably referencing different Grimm's fairytales (wink, nod, move on) culminating in the worst story resolution I've ever seen since the Magical Mr. Mestopholes hopped on a giant tire and floated up to heaven. You've heard of the phrase "Deus ex machina"? Well, the Brothers Grimm takes that concept to the brink of Dumbass ex machina.But that's not my biggest gripe. My biggest gripe is that the great Terry Gilliam ("Brazil", "The Fisher King", "12 Monkeys", "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas") directs this movie obviously trying his best to be Tim Burton and forcing Matt Damon to do his best Johnny Depp, but really he should've stuck with what he's good at: being Terry Gilliam.I'll explain. Terry Gilliam's (good) movies are subtle; they breathe; they are drenched in sarcasm so deep that punchlines are not necessary. His violence is disturbing in a meaningful way, much like Tarantino does in films like "Pulp Fiction", making us laugh at the horror not the slapstick. Here we get slapstick, but with gross stuff. Big difference. If this is indeed a "fairytale for adults", then the adults for whom it's intended are probably in need of a good fart joke to cap the night.Everyone is trying too hard to be funny (with the exception of Heath Ledger who does a great job as the sole "straight man" in this barrage of silly). And Matt Damon, don't get me wrong, is a great actor and very funny, but not in the straight faced Johnny Depp way that Gilliam was obviously coaching him to do.The result is a weird mix of "The Three Stooges" and some hyper violent videogame, all played by a cast of great actors who should've really been allowed to be themselves rather than playing clowns. Add to the mix the aforementioned scotch taped plot, and you have yourself a bona fide waste of incredible talent.Watch Tim Burton/Johnny Depp in "Sleepy Hollow" instead. I guarantee you that's what Gilliam was trying hard to recreate, but there's only so much you can do with a choppy, silly plot line like we have here. To any Terry Gilliam fans reading this, you might want to run away from this film. Let's just sorta sweep it under the rug like it never happened, sort of like the Star Wars Christmas Special.

Even though this is supposedly a historical fiction film, its fantasy undertow drains all of the comic relief into something absolutely stupid. The plot of the story makes no sense and it took me quite some while to figure out who was who in this movie. And to be honest, this is a story about legendary icons of folklore such as Cinderella, Snow White, The Little Red Ridding Hood, etc, but it brought my hopes rapidly down. Another reason being that given Jacob is the oldest boy in the Grimm family after his father died, he would be more likely logical than Wilhelm. Vis-a-vis, Jacob shouldn't be obsessed with magic beans. Also, my hopes were shot down once again when THE ONLY FEMALE LEAD IN THE CAST turned about to be a random girl named Angelika rather than Henriette Dorothea Wild, Wilhelm Grimm's actual wife.So, when all is said and done, don't watch this movie.

Everything was good until they started to play Vivaldi, and then a little cat appeared, I thought, ohh no, this can't be happening, and it did. They slaughtered the kitten, it is obvious that the kitten was not harmed in real life, it was all made by digital effects, then who cares? It was just made to be funny, but what sickens me is the whole idea of making fun of such vile act, killing for fun an animal is NEVER a fun topic, it should not be, and the only thing that that scenes makes, is to encourage people to keep thinking animal abuse is something to laugh about, I really detested this movie for such stupid idea of fun, and anyone making fun of it should think of the background behind the act.