Imaginaerum

Imaginaerum is one of those movies that will leave you confused for the first hour in to the movie. The bits and pieces of the soon fading memories of Thomas Whitman will confuse you and give more questions than answers. The last quarter of the movie will offer some explanations, but some will remain and the gaps in the life of Thomas Whitman are left up to the viewer to imagine.

The special effects are beautiful, but cannot compete with Hollywood movies with multi-million dollar budgets. Actors do their jobs pretty well, but some of them are not as convincing as you would like. Especially the young Gem Whitman leaves something to be desired. Francis X. McCarthy on the other hand is very convincing playing the role of the old demented song writer Thomas Whitman.

If you are a Nightwish fan, you'll get a kick out of this movie. If you have never heard of the band called Nightwish, you might enjoy it anyway if you are one of those people who like the fact that not everything is clear at the very beginning.

Overall, the movie is very touching once you get into it. It's not one of those "leave your brains at the door" movies because you really have to think and try to identify with the characters. With this movie, you can't expect things to be handed to you on a silver platter. Though something else might be...

I had no idea what this film was about nor had i ever heard of this film until torrentday. This is truly an epic film and one that i will not be forgetting for a long time.

The acting the graphics are faultless and the music score by for me an unknown nightwish fits the film perfectly. Some scenes may be too harsh for kids.

This is a film that baffles but easy to put together with a truly wonderful and emotionally ending.

Will my friends like it? probably not. But i can truly say i will not enjoy a film like this again for a long time.

My hat is off Stobe Harju.

This very imaginary film is the most visionary depiction of dementia you'll ever see. A Tim-Burton-ish fantasy musical adventure, this is very unique and very different. At first glance not everything will make sense, so the film definitely deserves more than one viewing. If you're a Nightwish fan, there's the added bonus of the band members performing in the film as well. Their music was toned down and very effective. The film's visuals is striking and there's some really awesome super slow motion photography. What an absolutely beautiful film!

I'm not a Nightwish fan. I haven't heard a peep about this movie til I watched it. But having come across it, I was pleasantly surprised. Imaginaerum isn't a flimsy band cash-in, but a stand-alone film, enjoyable by metal and non-metal viewers alike.

Imaginaerum is a fantasy film, a world inside a fading musician's mind. These kinds of movies can be annoying sits for me. But Imaginaerum actually has rhyme and reason to its bizarre images. Heck, they probably explain too much! There is a lot of exposition dialog. By the end of the movie, you get a good grasp of this guy's life and torments. The effects are pretty good, considering the film's budget. I've seen films with over 10 times the money look way worse.

I could have enjoyed delving further into the relationships. The music could have been better, although it was far from awful. Regardless, if you loved films like Pan's Labyrinth or The Fountain, I think this one will quench your thirst.

I went to Hartwall to see the premiere on 10/11-2012. As a longtime fan of the band it was really exciting too see if they could transform a great celebration to life such as the album Imaginaerum to a full time (almoast) movie. They did! For all nightwish fans this is a must see. For others that don't know much about Nightwish this is a weird movie indeed. A mixture of The classic Snowman (1982) and some Tim Burton mixed with Holopainens (I guess) fear for what will happened after his roller-coaster has stopped with Nightwish. The Imaginaerum album is for me an emotional journey within myself. The movie projects that journey to Whitman thankfully. (My fear was that the movie should touch me as deeply as the album. But thankfully it did not. ) Still its a great Nightwish movie and the score is also beautifully arranged. I believe the movie will have some reference audio class for the home movie enthusiast. Could be wrong, but the sound and volume was impressive in Hartwall! And if you like me also love the moodier instrumental arrangements by Nightwish you must go buy The Score. Animations (lots of them and green screen effects) was also well done if you consider the budget. A great step forward compared to the Nightwish videos you have seen with animations.