Now, PARNASSUS isn't necessarily a bad film.
It's certainly visually pleasing, for the most part, and I was surprised that--especially after seeing the trailer at last and only recently--master filmmaker/hellion Gilliam went for more than the stock video-game VFX you see in everything from SPIDERMAN to the SPY KIDS movies. No, I will admit, the effects worked relatively well here.
However, it's clear the problems with Ledger having died during production caused more difficulty in the script realm than you'd think, and that, in the end, the rest of the script itself is rather shoddy and filled with far too many holes to enjoy falling in and simply allowing oneself to give in to the tumbling descent down the rabbit hole.
As with most people who would bother to see the film, I am indeed an adamant Gilliam-ite, and in fact find what everyone can agree to be his finest film, BRAZIL, to indeed be perhaps one of the best American films ever made. 12 MONKEYS, F&L, FISHER KING, etc. all break new grounds in American cinema and are each: watchable, artistic, masterful, and wholly entertaining.
TIDELAND was a bit of a let-down, though the story was simple enough to follow if not somewhat dull and at times melodramatic. I was worried after watching it, and wondered if Gilliam has not fallen the way of the likes of Woody Allen: someone who has been, is, and always will be an American master craftsman... but also someone, frankly, growing old and out-of-touch with his audience (at least as a screenwriter).
PARNASSUS hasn't quite confirmed this fear/suspicion (we certainly need the Gilliam of yesteryear now more than ever, what with the slew of treacle they foist upon us in the theaters these days)--Gilliam is no Tim Burton--but, I will simply conclude by saying: (1) That I really hope DON QUIXOTE is the masterpiece we've all been waiting for; and (2) That you really needn't waste your time on PARNASSUS... unless, of course, you're interested in seeing a semi-nude Lily Cole briefly.
Personally, if I were you, I'd opt for your BRAZIL box set and Redtube instead.
It's certainly visually pleasing, for the most part, and I was surprised that--especially after seeing the trailer at last and only recently--master filmmaker/hellion Gilliam went for more than the stock video-game VFX you see in everything from SPIDERMAN to the SPY KIDS movies. No, I will admit, the effects worked relatively well here.
However, it's clear the problems with Ledger having died during production caused more difficulty in the script realm than you'd think, and that, in the end, the rest of the script itself is rather shoddy and filled with far too many holes to enjoy falling in and simply allowing oneself to give in to the tumbling descent down the rabbit hole.
As with most people who would bother to see the film, I am indeed an adamant Gilliam-ite, and in fact find what everyone can agree to be his finest film, BRAZIL, to indeed be perhaps one of the best American films ever made. 12 MONKEYS, F&L, FISHER KING, etc. all break new grounds in American cinema and are each: watchable, artistic, masterful, and wholly entertaining.
TIDELAND was a bit of a let-down, though the story was simple enough to follow if not somewhat dull and at times melodramatic. I was worried after watching it, and wondered if Gilliam has not fallen the way of the likes of Woody Allen: someone who has been, is, and always will be an American master craftsman... but also someone, frankly, growing old and out-of-touch with his audience (at least as a screenwriter).
PARNASSUS hasn't quite confirmed this fear/suspicion (we certainly need the Gilliam of yesteryear now more than ever, what with the slew of treacle they foist upon us in the theaters these days)--Gilliam is no Tim Burton--but, I will simply conclude by saying: (1) That I really hope DON QUIXOTE is the masterpiece we've all been waiting for; and (2) That you really needn't waste your time on PARNASSUS... unless, of course, you're interested in seeing a semi-nude Lily Cole briefly.
Personally, if I were you, I'd opt for your BRAZIL box set and Redtube instead.