Review of MirrorMask (2005) by Mike J — 09 Dec 2008

The film is burdened with unsympathetic characters and a plot thatâ??s both whisper-thin and heavy-handed: the circus is magical and everyone should want to be a carnie, and cancer is scary. To make matters worse, Gaimenâ??s alternate reality doesnâ??t ever come to life or seem very interesting. A few neat-looking creatures appear zillions of times in a misty, washed out setting; the overall effect is of someone throwing together a world for a video game at the last moment. A was so bored during the first half hour that I almost turned off the movieâ?¦.

â?¦but Iâ??m glad I didnâ??t. The film picks up during its last 45 minutes and provides a few memorable visuals and some creepy moments that make watching (or maybe fast-forwarding through) the first half of the film worthwhile.