One-Liners: Nothingness

THE ZERO THEOREM (B-minus) -  And now for something completely familiar.

It's been a long time since we've savored a futuristic treat created by Terry Gilliam. Christoph Waltz does the heavy lifting here as angst-ridden Qohen Leth, a computer hacker who seeks nothing less than the secret of man's existence. He lives in an advanced world dominated by Mancom (led by Matt Damon as The Man), a corporate overseer that has co-opted, among other things, the Occupy movement.

Qohen is convinced that he bungled an important phone call in the past -- one in which the voice on the other end of the line was to reveal the point of living -- and he desperately hopes that they'll call back. Meantime, he slogs away pursuing the zero theorem, in which zero equals 100 percent and the meaninglessness of existence would be confirmed.

Qohen lives in a church that he hates to leave, mainly because public life is an unbearable assault on the senses, Gilliam's best touch here. He is befriended by the lovely Bainsley (a raw Melanie Thierry), sent to distract him with literal flirtation and virtual sex. Thierry's cleavage qualifies as a separate character, as she never passes up the chance to lean forward. Gilliam knows that many of us weaned during puberty on images of Carol Cleveland never really outgrow such images. He also tosses in a hot & saucy pizza girl (Dana Rogoz) with frizzy pink hair and, yes, juicy cleavage. 

The Man's teenage hacker son, Bob (Lucas Hedges), shows up to either assist or sabotage Qohen. A bittersweet ending hammers home this "Brazil" clone, which comes tricked out with the usual bells and whistles (and tubes). It barely hangs together, but it works as Gilliam nostalgia and one huge riff for Waltz. 

MANAKAMANA (B-minus) -  Yep. This is pretty much two hours of a camera trained on people riding a tram back and forth to and from a Nepalese temple. Back and forth.

Nothing profound results from this experiment. Two ladies struggling to eat melting ice-cream bars is amusing. Three rocker dudes have a kitten with them. Halfway through a bunch of goats are loaded onto the tram for a one-way trip. A few folks sit glumly.

This is at times a mildly fascinating social experiment but mostly a passing fancy.