Guillermo Del Toro's Film Noir & remake of a classic film about a grifting sideshow carny. Permeated with a dark ambience, great set pieces and props, good performances by Cate Blanchett, Ron Perlman, Willem Dafoe, that said it grows a little stale and old when you can see the ending clear as day a mere 20 minutes into the film. After which it becomes a tired exercise in seeing how it realizes itself. Meh. Although - the sideshow attractions, the tarot cards, the good Psychiatrist's office - they all serve to inspire, merely a less predictable plot would have driven it along a lot better.
a miscellany of completely unrelated thoughts...