Reviewers have 'Grimm' showdown

Fairy tales, folk tales, legends, myths; they usually go under the library sign "fiction." Yet the collection of these memorable stories is a very true tale. The Grimm Brothers, Jakob and Wilhelm, were folklorists of the early 1800s, and because of their fine work we remember frightening tales like "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella" and other childhood classics. The Germanic folktales that were once used to present moral teachings to children and reflect social norms have continued to be shared years after the work of the late brothers. \nAlso known for taking an interesting look at reality is film director Terry Gilliam. With films like "Fear and Loathing Las Vegas" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Gilliam has a new film where reality and imagination collide. "The Brother's Grimm" takes the historic Grimm Brothers on an imaginative adventure through a jumbled compilation of their well-known stories. The brothers, now named Jake and Will (Heath Ledger and Matt Damon), write down local myths, but unlike the story taught in history classes today, the brothers are also the creators of these inventive stories. However, the brothers find themselves suddenly in a tale that was not made up by their clever trickery. This time, they are in a tale where the witches and wolves are real and the events happening are unfortunately not from their imaginations. \nWhen watching this film, however, I felt a bit confused. When reviewing a film I usually go by myself to the theater, but this time I invited my housemates to come along. The general reaction was probably best described when one of my housemates said at the end of the movie, "What just happened?" I wasn't really sure. With German and French accents as culturally defining as the euro and a trivial sub-plot where the brothers find themselves fighting against the French, the film does not intimidate the audience. It is difficult to feel for the characters because of a lack of development, but it is humorous enough to watch them run around pretending like they know how to fight enchanted forests. In the end, Gilliam's new film is inventive but not necessarily as memorable as the folktales of the Grimm Brothers.