***Brothers Grimm

Miramax, 119 minutes, PG-13

DVD $29.99

From the back cover: “Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy, Ocean's Twelve) and Heath Ledger (The Patriot, A Knight's Tale) team up to bring you one of the year's most fantastic adventures in this magical tale based on the lives of the legendary storytellers. Will and Jake Grimm (Damon and Ledger) dazzle small towns with their imaginative folklore and elaborate illusions, but when the brothers journey into a real enchanted forest they encounter many of the fantastic characters and thrilling situations found in their beloved fairy tales! From the award-winning director of 12 Monkeys, Brazil and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this fabulous motion picture is sure to leave you living happily ever after!”

This was a delightful way to spend an afternoon. Will and Jake Grimm are con men. They travel through 19^th century French occupied Germany staging fake hauntings and then charging the villagers to save them from the monsters. When the authorities catch up with them they are sent to a village where children have been disappearing with orders to expose the fraud there only to find that they are face to face with real magic and enchantments.

While this film didn’t do well at the theater I think it was not marketed properly. Despite its PG-13 rating, this is definitely not a children’s movie. It is a wonderful dark comedy with spectacular special effects. Part of the fun is guessing which Grimm Fairy Tale is being referenced. Recommended - Stephanie L Bannon