The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

At the risk of pandering, this doesn’t perk up until the arrival of Heath Ledger’s character, and subsequently the ensemble of stars who all play the same mysterious guy. It’s an outlandish lark, favoring Terry Gilliam’s signature animation lunacy over pesky things like a coherent plot. The visuals -- the animation and imagination on display here are awesome. The rest of the cast of odd-balls is perfect for Gilliam’s distorted world, including a rascally turn by Tom Waits as the Devil. It’s likable enough and amazing to see even if you do wonder, as I did, what the hell it was all about.