Café de Nuit

The Brothers Grimm, coming later this month, has the potential to be very Ravenloftian or it could end up as Van Helsing II (oh, the horror). Personally, I'm leaning towards the former, and while the "fairytales come real" plot has been used before, I'm looking forward to this movie. So, what do you think?

I'll go see it. I like Heath Ledger in his historical roles. No joke. *The Four Feathers* was one of the most gripping movies I ever saw, and the book's great as well.

The trailer struck me as more of a comedy than anything... well I thought it was hilarious. We shall have to see. Also kinda remoinds me of the novel Dhampir that came out last year with the main characters and how they get thrown into the situation they are

Yes, I think it'll have its fare share of fun moments, but so did Sleepy Hollow, which was still very gloomy and quite dark, and is generally considered a very Ravenloftian movie. As you say, we'll just have to see.

I'm optimistic about this film. Sounds like it will be very ravenloftian as well.

Too bad nicole Kidman turned down the part as the villian.

Wiccy of the Fraternity wrote:The trailer struck me as more of a comedy than anything... well I thought it was hilarious. We shall have to see. Also kinda remoinds me of the novel Dhampir that came out last year with the main characters and how they get thrown into the situation they are

Excellent book. Have you read the sequels, yet?

Mmm... Monica Bellucci... Good enough reason to see it

Directed by Terry G? It'll absolutly have some hillarious moments. I'll be there opening night.

Reginald de Curry wrote:Excellent book. Have you read the sequels, yet?

I have read Thief of Lives, still waiting for me to get a special edition hardback of the third when it appears at the book club I'm a member of I am really enjoying the series. Have you read Dead Witch Walking and the other book(s) from that series by Kim Harrison? If you like the Kelley Armstrong books you should also enjoy them

I haven't seen any Gilliam movies (blasphemy, I know) - wasn't he either in or connected with Monty Python? Anyway, based on what I hear about Brazil, this movie might have a slightly Gaiman-esque feel to it. Is that a good comparison?

Orang Santu wrote:I haven't seen any Gilliam movies (blasphemy, I know) - wasn't he either in or connected with Monty Python? Anyway, based on what I hear about Brazil, this movie might have a slightly Gaiman-esque feel to it. Is that a good comparison?

He was the artist who did the cartoons. Brazil was a weird film. It's part of the Imagination trilogy (Time Bandits being the first and The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen being the last). Gilliam has a uniques style. I thought Hitchhiker's Guide had some very Gillliam-esque moments, even though, AFAIK, he wasn't part of the production crew.

Time Bandits is a classic and still one of my favourite movies

Well, I just saw the movie. It's pretty good, providing great inspiration about fairy tales in Ravenloft, the use of Charlatans on townsfolk, and curses. It has some nice special effects (I especially like the wolf's transformation) and good connections with classic stories (Letting down Rapunzel's hair becomes far more horrific than you'd ever believe).

Unfortunately, it suffers from some bad editing, under explaination of some key points, and a needless complecation of the plot with the inclusion of the French (and the Italian assassin). When a character isn't German they often have accents so thick that you can't understand what they are saying. These same characters also chew the scenary, played completely over the top and taking away from the good stuff.

For inspiration though the movie can't be beat. It shows how to use a extremely powerful lich, vampire or ancient dead as the main boss in a series of mission without ever having your players need to come into contact with the deadliest of it's abilities until the climax.

If you enjoyed Sleepy Hollow, Dark Tales and Disturbing Legends: Noises in the Night, or have ever considered using the Tome of Terror on your players, give it a shot. Expect a fun movie with some nice creepy moments and some inspiration and you'll be all set.

Definitely lighter than I was hoping, but some good ways to twist fairy tales. It did seem to drag in places, and the plot got a bit murky. Overall I thought the scenery and costumes were great, especially the contrast in technology between the Brothers' gear versus the era.

Definitely not a "standard" Ravenloft movie -- although it has its moments -- but interesting nonetheless. It occurred to me after I'd seen this film that it's not a bad example of how a DM could present a lighter, shift-of-tone adventure in a RL campaign that's otherwise terribly dark and gritty: the Grimms themselves could make for a memorable NPC adventuring party (albeit a marginally-competent one), and the dangers involved are just whimsical enough to provide a "breather" from an otherwise somber game campaign, yet mysterious enough to keep cagey PCs on their toes. Plus, even in Ravenloft it's good for player morale to let the good guys genuinely succeed in saving the day once in a while, *without* saddling them with ugly consequences, escaped villains' vendettas, etc.