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Movies / On DVD / The Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm

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The Brothers Grimm (2005)

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Reviews Counted:175

Fresh:65

Rotten:110

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: The Brothers Grimm is full of beautiful imagery, but the story is labored and less than enchanting.

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: Director Terry Gilliam, who brought his magical storytelling talents to such films as TIME BANDITS and THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, sets his sights on the Brothers Grimm, turning their life... Director Terry Gilliam, who brought his magical storytelling talents to such films as TIME BANDITS and THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, sets his sights on the Brothers Grimm, turning their life into a playfully grim fairy tale all its own. Set in early 18th century French-occupied Germany, THE BROTHERS GRIMM stars Matt Damon as Will Grimm and Heath Ledger as Jake Grimm, siblings who travel the countryside as snake-oil salesmen, convincing unsuspecting towns that they are haunted and agreeing to get rid of the demons--for a price. In the meantime, they set their tales down in writing, creating a wealth of oddball, offbeat, and frightening characters. But after they are caught by General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) and his sidekick, Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), they are sent to the tiny village of Marbaden to solve the mysterious disappearance of a number of young girls, placing them in the middle of a fantasy world unlike any they'd ever invented. They enlist the help of a peasant woman, Angelika (Lena Headey), and they set off for the evil forest to save the lives of the girls--and themselves. Gilliam has once again built a unique, entertaining land where anything can happen, and he throws in references to such Grimm tales as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the Frog Prince for good measure. The movie also features Mackenzie Crook and Richard Ridings as the Grimms' cohorts, Monica Bellucci as the Mirror Queen, and Julian Bleach and Bruce McEwan as two of Cavaldi's henchmen. [More]

Starring: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare, Monica Bellucci

Starring: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare, Monica Bellucci, Jonathan Pryce, Lena Headey, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Mackenzie Crook, Richard Ridings, Julian Bleach, Bruce McEwan

Director: Terry Gilliam

Director: Terry Gilliam
Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger
Producer: Charles Roven, Daniel Bobker
Composer: Dario Marinelli
Studio: Dimension Films

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Reviews for The Brothers Grimm

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141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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If The Brothers Grimm flies apart like a badly designed airplane (and it does), it still has more going for it than most of the movie fare this summer.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
08/25/05
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer

Despite a few early sparks of promise, The Brothers Grimm sputters and coughs along like an unoiled machine, grinding gears and nerves in equal measure.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/25/05
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Terry Gilliam's strong visual sense is ideally suited to this material, and he and his special-effects crew have cooked up some dandy images. Still, the moral of this story is that sometimes slick pictures alone aren't enough.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
08/25/05
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Although Gilliam does bend The Brothers Grimm to his surreal and absurdist will, watching it is little like searching for pearls in pig flop.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
08/25/05
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Although Gilliam has always had a taste for the outre, he has allowed it to get out of hand here and swallow the picture whole.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/25/05
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is magic in The Brothers Grimm but it's hard to locate amid all the … 'stuff,' I believe is the technical phrase.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
08/25/05
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

Easy to recommend but hard to love, distinguished by Gilliam’s extravagant and funny style, but compromised by creative warfare and budgetary limitations.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
08/25/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Heath Ledger gets better with every role, and the chance to inhabit a socially maladjusted introvert like Jacob has resulted in his most winning portrayal to date.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
08/25/05
Brett Buckalew
Brett Buckalew
FilmStew.com

There may be a credible film in here somewhere, but it sorely needs a fully functioning director to pull it out.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
08/25/05
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

It's a muddle, but it's a Terry Gilliam muddle -- and there's nothing like his muddles anywhere in our uptight, color-within-the-lines mainstream.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
08/25/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

It's obvious Gilliam was reigned in a tad...perhaps the big-bad studio had a bit of fear and loathing...

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
08/25/05
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

This is one of the most visually off-putting films ever made by a director who supposedly makes beautiful pictures.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
08/25/05
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

The CGI is absolute crap. It looks like it was just pasted on. And I don’t mean paste like the cut and paste tool on computers. I mean Elmer’s.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
08/25/05
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
About.com

Audiences other than preteens will be sorely disappointed at Gilliam’s over-massaged vision of a tediously gimmicky script.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
08/25/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

The Brothers Grimm is a work of limitless invention, but it is invention without pattern, chasing itself around the screen without finding a plot.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
08/25/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A fractured fairy tale that's both too grim and not Grimm enough.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
08/25/05
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

`The Brothers Grimm' isn't for children but for adults who want to relive the bedroom tales of their childhood.

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
08/25/05
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

The movie makes you yearn for the innocent times that Junior learned about kinky sex from playground stories or late-night Cinemax rather than summer kids' flicks.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
08/25/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Not bad, but certainly not Gilliam at the top of his game.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
08/25/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

It might be Gilliam's worst movie, but it's still okay.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/25/05
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review
 
 
141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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