Micmacs à tire-larigot [Micmacs] (2009)

The makers of Amelie (aka Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain) return with this whimsical comedy of a shooting victim who sets out to destroy the weapons manufactures responsible for making the bullet that's still in his head and land mine that killed his father.  Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a genius at visual mischief.  Visual gags fill every frame of this movie.  It's so fun to watch that I found myself having to rewind at some parts because I had stopped reading the subtitles.  The film's only flaw is that Jean-Pierre under develops some of the relationships on screen, especially the love story which kind of pops up out of nowhere.  In Amelie he proved to be brilliant with ensembles but here he introduces his characters and then moves on, not allowing us anymore interactions that might allow us to fall in love with them.   Which is unfortunate because there are some really great characters in this film that remain two-dimensional clowns.   Still if you like quirky characters and inventive film making, this sort of satire on Mission Impossible like adventure films is a blast.  Grade: A-