Movie #415 - Life of Brian

Life of Brian

1979 - Rated R - 1 hr 34 min
Director: Terry Jones
Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

It's always a welcome change of pace to pop a Monty Python movie into my DVD player.  We don't have many of them, for now at least.

And this one has always been a fan favorite.  It's no Grail, which is coming up in the M's, but the whole ordinary guy caught up in extraordinary circumstances in the time of Jesus is pretty clever.  From the misinformed magi who praise Brian at birth to the Latin grammar-correcting centurion, the off-beat comedy of the Monty Python troupe is very much alive and well here.  It's a great testament to their versatility as well, with most of the actors picking up several roles throughout, sprinkling quotable one-liners here and there.

Granted, this has to be your kind of humor to appreciate it.  But I love a good skit by these guys, so a whole movie is fantastic.

Movie #362 - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 - Rated PG - 2 hr 6 min
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams

From the weird, imaginative mind of Terry Gilliam.... Even though it's based on a book.  This is very much up the same alley as Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, just 20 or so years earlier and with less sophisticated effects.

Visually, for its time, this movie is over the top, but really well done. Elaborate sets and costumes, eccentric characters, loud makeup, and lots of action... it's a well-rounded movie.  It also boasts an excellent cast as well.  But basically, the plot is just a bunch of nonsense strung together... some scenes more realistic than others, some more firmly rooted in myths, and some just more ridiculous.  Like floating head people. Trippy, isn't it?

But I think it was meant for kids, so then I guess that's okay.  I remember enjoying this one way back when and now it's with fond nostalgia that I watch it.  Mike loves this one too, but I credit that love to his own nostalgia too.  If you were to watch this one for the first time as an adult now, I can't say that you'd like it that much.