Hm. We got the same trailers (I saw Grimm on Saturday)... and I have about the same opinions.

And I kept expecting Heath Ledger to be Action Boy (probably because I haven't seen Damon's "Bourne" movies)... I freely admit he was the reason I went to see it.

When I first saw the trailer, I honestly didn't recognize Ledger at all. They both done did well, though.

I also thought it was sloppy that the Germans sounded like Englishmen, and the French sounded like Italians.

I actually liked that part. And Cavaldi was Italian, after all (and again, Peter Stormare did awesome.)

But honestly, I expected better from the guy who did Fisher King and Brazil.

Okay, I didn't know he was supposed to be Italian.

I'm going off the name and the accent, and the general's comment towards the end.

Why would a French soldier be Italian? Is this some historical thing of which I am shamefully ignorant?

Like I said, I think this was part of the joke they were going for.

I don't think historical accuracy ever entered the minds of the movie makers, here.

Also, why would the resident expert torturer/executioner be assigned to follow these guys around?

...

...Because it's a Gilliam-movie?

I actually thought Stormare was the worst part of the movie, being ridiculously over the top. I know it was all Gilliam's direction though.

See, I would have liked it more had *more* stuff been over the top. Especially considering the subject matter. ("Little red riding... cape.")

I read an article in Premiere that talked a great deal about that. How it was, as they phrased it, Gilliam Lite because it was a big studio production and they reined him in quite a bit.

Jackanapes!

I was reading today about Terry Gilliam being unable to raise $15 million from backers in Hollywood for his planned Good Omens adaption. He says he had Robin Williams lined up for Aziraphale and Johnny Depp for Crowley and no one would give him $15 million. In Entertainment Weekly, he said "I couldn't get 15 with Johnny and Robin... These two guys, who would have been brilliant were not worth $15 million in America. That was the moment where I went, 'I don't understand this game. I don't understand this town (Hollywood). I don't understand any of the rules. All I know is I don't like it.'" Apparently, he did have $45 from non-US backers, but he wanted at least $60 million before he started filming.

Man, I think I would have wanted to see that version.

Sounds like Mr. Gilliam needs to see this movie called Lost in La Mancha, which explains rather clearly why backers dont' always want to trust him with their money.

That being said, I'm no fan of Robin Williams, so I will withhold comments on that otherwise.

Neil Gaiman was discussing this on the Australian signing tour as well. He had a few other names on as well ( someone in particular for Anathema, but I can't remember who ) and Williams was slated to actually fill a few roles? It's all kind of hazy. I have to agree it's a crying shame.

Also, with regards to the OP:

Aeon Flux - Whoo boy. The best thing I can say is, it doesn't look anything like the cartoon. However, that doesn't mean it looks good.

The implications of this statement are sacriligious in the extreme. I love the way the Aeon Flux cartoon looked. :-(

-- curious

The implications of this statement are sacriligious in the extreme. I love the way the Aeon Flux cartoon looked. :-(

I like the look of the cartoon as well. (OK, I could have done with a little less nipple and bondage-gear look.)

But, how well do you think that hyperstylized look of the cartoon would translate to a live-action Hollywood movie?

Hmm, I concede you have a point. Perhaps they could recapture the sense of 9-head/body proportions by shooting the film in standard 2.35:1 and then doing a compression to TV style 4:3. *shudder*

A friend who went to see Grimm described it to me as being on par with Dungeons & Dragons The Movie, which to me means that it might just be one of the worst movies ever. What did you think of it?

Oh good lord no. This was *magnitudes* better than the D&D movie. *Worlds* better. Whoever that person is, don't listen to them anymore.

I actually liked it a bunch.

Oh, I liked parts of it a great deal.

But as a whole, it felt somewhat lacking.