The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009)

Much as I dug Monty Python in my teens, I get nervous about checking out Terry Gilliam-directed movies. I liked Twelve Monkeys but found Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas unwatchable. This one, despite its so-so reception, intrigued me with the visual artistry shown in the preview; I could at least expect that much.

The titular object is a sort of magic mirror that allows you to step into a realm shaped by the imaginations of you and whoever else is there. Despite this fascinating quality, few modern Londoners show any interest in the old-fashioned carnival-style presentation by Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and his comrades. Those who do enter tend to be given a choice between a tough self-improvement plan and the seductive path of sin...to death, which may explain why the police keep showing up. But these aren't the heaviest things weighing on Parnassus' mind: The devil (Tom Waits), going by "Mr. Nick," is about to call on him for an immortality fee, namely daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), because this is one of those stories where you can sell others' souls. Things start to look up when Mr. Nick offers a new wager: The first to draw five souls to the corresponding goal in the Imaginarium wins Valentina. And the souls start coming fast with an enigmatic new barker, Tony (Heath Ledger*).

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

I have now seen 8 of the 13 movies directed by Preston Sturges -- and I'm not sure why. His humor hasn't aged that well, has it? The only one I've really liked is Sullivan's Travels, primarily for balancing with its serious side. And here I was checking out what Netflix described as a "pitch-black comedy" from him, starring Blithe Spirit's Rex Harrison and having had little commercial success in its day. Sounded like it would be still less my thing. But perhaps I was intrigued at what sounded significantly different from the norm for Sturges.

Celebrated orchestral conductor Alfred de Carter dotes on his wife, Daphne. Because of a miscommunication of his wishes, his brother-in-law has had her tailed during Alfred's absence. Alfred is too furious at this news to listen to the findings right away, but then he learns of evidence of her spending a suspicious amount of time with his secretary, Tony. During the three pieces of his concert that night, he entertains three vivid ideas of how to respond, each of them disregarding a detective's advice to give Daphne the benefit of the doubt. Two of them lethal. After the concert, however, he discovers quite a few differences between his fantasies and his reality.

Time Bandits (1981)

I mentioned that I would see another consecutive movie about a boy. Thankfully, it's quite different. In fact, despite the PG rating, I hesitate to count it as a family flick. IMDb doesn't. (Non-American studios, I find, are more likely to have kid-unfriendly stories starring kids.)

Kevin, 11, suffers from parents uninterested in his interest in history. One night, his bedroom is accidentally invaded by six time-traveling dwarves. They're interested in history, of course, but not for the same reason: They want to steal the riches of the past. Despite his disapproval of that plan, Kevin tags along, with nary a language barrier. He learns that they've worked for the Supreme Being himself on maintenance of the space-time continuum, and since they swiped his temporal map, they have to keep moving. (They've been around for eons but seem as vulnerable as humans.) Little do they realize that the scarier threat is from Evil himself, looking to grab the map for his own ends.