my rating: One giant face.

what possessed me: When QT makes a movie, I see it regardless of subject matter, weather conditions, dankness of viewing spaces and level of Eli Roth‘s hamminess. This is the first time it took me half a year to see one of his movies a second time.

what i learned: While he’s added cranking the suspense up to eleven, weaving another definitive revenge tale, having the most impressively horrifying screen villain since Unicron and re-writing history to his repertoire, nothing beats an old-fashioned Tarantino-style Mexican stand-off. My jealousy and appreciation of his ability to seamlessly blend genres and styles without ending up with disjointed, steaming poo stands unabated.

you may also enjoy: Pulp Fiction, Grindhouse, Kill Bill, Doomsday and exceeded expectations.

tangential thought: Is it just me or do half the guys in this movie look like Ewan McGregor?

my rating: Two thumbs up. On one hand.

what possessed me: I will tell you what attracted me was the premise of a contest for amassing souls with dreams and imagination on one side and resigned apathy on the other. At least one person who knows me too well may tell you that, if there is an indication that Johnny Depp batted an eyelash at it, I will see it. We cannot both be right.

what i learned: Terry Gilliam has I think, patented his own brand of creepy. Which should make him more money than the CG effects in this movie indicate it does. In a nutshell; Yes people, using your imagination and resisting the urge to succumb to the tedium of reality is neither easy nor is it always rewarding in the way that you hope it will be. But it does make living more interesting.  Also, faith is an amazing and irreplaceable magical elixir. And losing it sucks. And, being a parent must be an staggeringly emotionally draining affair. By the way, I was going to get all up in arms about the statement being made about video games. So, well played, my fellow Minnesotan. Also… well, there’s a lot going on here.

you may also enjoy: Synechdoche, New York, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, Survive Style 5+, and believing.

tangential thought: Oh how the world would shudder with trepidation and collapse in utter chaos and astonishment if Mr. Magorium and Dr. Parnassus opened a theme restaurant… I have never seen Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.

my rating: A handful of interesting stories out of upwards of six-point-seven billion.

what possessed me: Cracka and I were running out of viewing material, so I put in the vote for this over similarly recent award-winning Man on Wire, based on the fact that we can’t already get it on Netflix… for another two weeks. Additionally, I invite headaches.

what i learned: Everyone has a different threshold for their acceptable level of surreality versus grounded narrative. Or, as Cracka put it “There’s only so much of this kooky shit I can put up with.” While I savored just about every disparate morsel of fragmented vagary, my companions longed for a more comprehensible thread to follow. I obsessed over the nebulousness of understanding, and the paradox of intense lonliness in the face of overwhelming possibilities. On the other hand, Cracka and Piopi seemed disappointed and angry respectively, and I fear it may be the last time they let Charlie Kaufman stick a knife in them.

you may also enjoy: Being John Malkovich, Stranger than Fiction, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, attention deficit disorder.

tangential thought: Wouldn’t every movie be better if Keanu Reeves played at least one third of the characters?