Movie Crush Monday: Little C and The Brothers Grimm

Readers, CT spoiled everything when she stole Constantine out from under me last week. She also sort of stole Point Break since I can't use Keanu for any conncetions. She's tricky like that. So instead I'm following Peter Stormare from his pitch perfect turn as the devil in Constantine to The Brothers Grimm.

This is a weird one, guys. Not everyone is going to gel with this movies style because Terry Gilliam directed it so it is 20 different shades of bizarre. The basic idea is that Will and Jacob Grimm are con men who create hauntings and monsters in small towns in order to get rid of them. When they accidentally stumble on a real haunting they have to figure out how to stop it without getting themselves and everyone else killed. The movie pulls different elements from a ton of the old Grimm stories, and keeps them at their original level of bloody violence. A child has all the features of her face wiped away, an evil queen bathes in the blood of young girls to restore her youth. This isn't a kids fairy story. 

The best part of this movie for me (other than every single thing that Monica Bellucci says or does) is how grounded all the characters are, despite the fantastic nature of the world they live in. Jacob Grimm is a bit of a dork, Angelika (played by the always perfect Lena Heady) is damaged and has some major trust issues. And Matt Damon's version of Will is an over confident jack-ass. There's none of the typical knight in shining armor or perfect princess to be found. 

Also, Monica Bellucci. 

It's become expected for any movie that is attempting to retell a fairy tale to be highly stylized, but this movie is really where a lot of that trend started. People who should look scruffy and unwashed, do. The queen is set with the best costumes but everyone else wears very rough rags. Compared to the super clean and set way that fantasy was depicted in the 90s, this was a little revolutionary when it came out. Movies like Snow White and the Huntsman or Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters would probably look very different if this movie hadn't come along. I've got to appreciate any movie that really starts a trend in visual style like that. 

Okay, my rant is over and I've come around to being glad that CT did Constantine last week. If only because it gave me an excuse to rewatch this one. 

Happy watching,

Little C