Wow Jeff Bridges must get asked about this character as much as the Dude. I for one went and read the book AFTER i saw the film. 2006 I THINK. & the book is a work of genius. So how brave to make a film from such source material as this. Not easy. And its not an easy watch. I saw it at 2 am at my parents house after a day of swimming, so it REALLY transported me out of the holiday like home I was enjoying so luxuriously ! I heard this film caused people to walk out because the brilliant actress who carries the whole movie was prepping the works for her daddy. Well he WAS an errant junkie rockstar has been, lives with his stripper junkie wife & yes the young daughter is supposed to be 12 or something but come on! I am sooooo glad that i DIDN'T read the book first and didnt know a thing about this film when i fell down the rabbit hole.made it SO much better and i never knew where it would go or how it may make me feel, that's great filmmaking. Being unpredictable is hard for most filmmakers. I dont love every film Gilliam made but hes a solid 9 out of 10 hahaha so this a test. If you can find the beauty and sweetness in this creepy sunny yet crazy world of Jeliza-Rose her crazy new neighbours etc., you are in my tribe. She reminded me of me and so did her dolls! See it. Then see it with SOMEONE else...you can thank me in firefly sparks...Book was wondrous too! You wull never forget this one. Thats for sure.

After spending too long trying to decide which movie to watch last night, I chose a duff called Tideland. Here we have a movie that surrounds and involves a young girl in a world of hard drugs, abusive parents, sex, death, violence and strong language - all things we should be protecting children of her age from. The director, Gilliam, clearly thought he could get away with this so long as it's acted out with playful Disney-esque music dancing away in the background and with the odd hint at humour. Humour which barely raised the corner of my mouth into a smile. No, this is deliberate and nihilistic and I can only imagine perverts or communists enjoying watching this degrading junk. You can of course try and search for an inner message if you want - but I doubt you'll make it to the end of the movie, considering how painfully boring it is. It drags on for 2 hours, I only regret that I dedicated a whole 1 hr 20 mins to this turd.

Tideland is one of the most unique, emotionally charged, and sophisticated films I have seen to date ( and I've seen quite a few). Terry Gilliam has been in the business a long time, so here he knew what to do...and what NOT to do. Tideland is a tale of fantasy and reality, and where the lines between fantasy and reality are completely blurred. To some, I can see this movie torquing with a lot of peoples heads, although I am certain that was never the intention. To others, it could be disturbing and frightening. For me, I found it to be a clever take on Alice In Wonderland. In fact, I can see this being an adult version of Wonderland altogether. The film wastes no time, taking us immediately into the life of a little girl, and her repulsive parents. Her mom is a junkie who cares more about her chocolates then her own daughter, and her father is an equal drug junkie who spends most of his time in his favorite recliner chair. From here, we begin a journey, seen through the eyes of a child. When mom is found dead in her own home, dad takes his child to another place...where he thinks he will be safe, because he fears that he will be charged with murder. Now things quickly get interesting, when some new characters are developed, particularly Dell and her mentally challenged son Dickens, who wants to build a ship ( he also wants to be the captain!) With the combination of talking dismembered doll heads, shifting land surfaces, and alternative under water human life conditions, we are in for a very bizarre, but touching experience...and it's one you will never have again. The film is very emotional, and the takes seem to be done with expertise and care, flawless from any error that I could find. So check your reality at the front door, and let Gilliam take over everything that you are about to see and hear, because this is one mind blowing, amazing film. The direction that the film goes is...unpredictable, to say the least. For a good hour, it seems to focus mainly on the relationship between the child and Dickens, which is tender and sweet, in my opinion, some may want to see more sickening things into it, I myself do not. For example, the girl is seen giving a friendly kiss on the lips of Dickens several times, in each instance, she comments "silly kissers." Aside from doll heads, the viewer should understand...this is the only friend she has, and being completely robbed from her child hood by her own parents, its very difficult for her to think in linear way, despite her intelligence appearing to be quite high. I think this is a well made film from the 2000's, however, I'm not sure what to make of the ending...it seems to leave a few things unresolved, however, that could be the intention, leaving the viewer to their own imagination as to what is to come for the future of all. ( That's all I can say without spoiling anything important, the movie has to be seen to be believed.) A bit uneven, intelligently quirky, and something you will never forget, I give this 7 out of a possible 10 stars. Welcome to Tideland!

I don't know what to say about this film. I'm not saying it's bad...I think. But I'm not saying it's good...I think...I don't know! Terry Gilliam said most of us will hate this movie and some of us will love it, and some of us won't know what to think of it. I'm one of those people; I don't know what to think of it. I don't like it but I also don't dislike it...it's very confusing, I know, but that's what's going through my head after watching this. 'Tideland' disturbed me, but not like 'Freddy Got Fingered' did where it was shockingly bad. This is so bizarre, so creepy, so awkward, so uncomfortable...that there is no way to tell you if it's a good movie or a bad movie or a decent movie. First, lets talk about the only thing I know is good like our protagonist, Jeliza-Rose played by Jodelle Ferland. As far as child actors go she's actually pretty damn good. The first time I saw her was on a short lived TV series called 'Kingdom Hostpital' by my hero Stephen King, and she was pretty creepy but also innocent. Then I saw her in 'Silent Hill' where she was, once again, creepy. She did pretty good. Then I saw her in this when I was 14. I didn't know what to think then and nothing has changed when I saw it the second time. Jodelle plays a little girl who, raised by her irresponsible parents, lives in her own little fantasy world. And that's where everything gets awkward and corny. But I honestly think this the most realistic child character I have ever seen but then it goes a little too far with her imagination; she may seem like a kid just stuck in her little fantasy world where she can't tell what's real or what's in her mind, but I think she's completely lost it. She ignores the big things happening in the real world like her dad being dead instead of sleeping or a train blows up and she thinks it's a monster shark that needed to die, completely ignoring the hundreds of people that almost died. She befriends this young guy (who sets up the dynamite to blow up the train) where it gets very uncomfortable later on. There's a scene where he's on top of her and they're both sticking their tongues out at each other in a licking motion. What the f#ck? Was nobody freaked out by that scene? Then, there's this scene where these doll heads are inside Jeff Bridges' belly and one of them is getting a new brain? It comes right out of nowhere and it is only referenced once and then forgotten. Weird. So...yeah this movie is very, very, very bizarre. I get what Gilliam was trying to do but that doesn't make it any better...or worse...you see what it's doing to me? He wanted it to be his own little 'Alice in Wonderlan', an experience. A delusional little's girl's view of the world. But to me, she seems a little more...insane. So this is a little bit different from Gilliam's other works but it kind of reminds me of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'; a surreal experience. I can't tell you to to avoid it because you won't understand until you've actually seen it. Again, good? Bad? Okay? I don't know. I just don't know. Between you and me, I think this is Jodelle Ferland's cutest yet creepies performance of her life.