Monday, December 21

Art

Twelve Monkeys

42 Days of Summer #2

Directed by Terry Gilliam
Written by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples
Starring Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Madeleine Stowe
1995, 130 minutes

Bruce Willis is James Cole, survivor of a global bio-warfare plague unleashed in 1996 by a terrorist group known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys.  He is sent back in time to try track down an unmutated sample of the virus to help scientists in the future - our future, his present - create a cure or a vaccine.  Madeleine Stowe is Dr Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist who helps Cole when he inevitably gets locked up in the nuthouse.  And Brad Pitt is Brad Pitt, a nut who turns out to be [spoilers go here].

But this is a Terry Gilliam science fiction film, and that means two things.  Three things.  First, the future looks like it was disassembled by ferrets, reassembled by raccoons, accidentally set ablaze, and finally extinguished by a tidal wave of moose piss.  Second, the present looks like a Baltimore dumpster fire.  And third, nothing goes well for the hero.

This film has none of the problems of Sky Captain: Smartly written, tightly directed, and with terrific performances from both the leading and supporting casts.  The one weakness is that Terry Gilliam can't help being Terry Gilliam and laying on the fevre dream icing a couple of layers beyond what was really needed to bake this particular cake.  But given the overall craftmanship of the piece, I'm willing to forgive him that foible.

This is not a happy film, though.  It's not entirely bleak, but a consistent theme is that there are some things you simply cannot fix.  If this film and Groundhog Day ever collided, their mutual annihilation would be visible from the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy.

I give it three twelve monkeys out of four.

Next up: Pixar's Brave.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 06:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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Apple pies are delicious. But never mind apple pies. What colour is a green orange?




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