The Prestige

The Prestige: What do you know – another magician movie like The Illusionist – very unlike Hollywood to give us 2 similar movies so close together ……(Deep Impact/Armageddon anyone?). The Prestige tells the story of 2 rival magicians who were once friends (Hugh Jackman/Christian Bale). Jackman becomes obsessed with figuring out how Bale does one of his tricks and devotes his life to finding the answer. The movie then gives us twist after twist after twist. The movie starts out strong (The Pledge) and finishes strong (The Prestige), but the middle (The Turn) runs a little long. Michael Caine and David Bowie both give good performances, but Scarlett Johansson was not needed for the small role she provided. In the end, I enjoyed it – it is a film I find myself thinking about after it is done – now that is magic.

“Pick it up”

Saw II

Saw II: I am not up to date with the Saw series as I am only now getting around to seeing Saw II. I liked the first installment, which is saying a lot –(I am hard on most horror films). Saw II however is nowhere near the quality of its predecessor. The same element is back – characters that are trapped by Jigsaw, have a choice of doing something gruesome to their body in order to live or die a cruel death. This time around the plot is much hokier and the mystique of the shocking predicaments the characters are in starts to get stale.

“Kick it on the Floor”

Hollywoodland

Hollywoodland: Unlock the mysteries surrounding the death of the actor who played Superman on TV - George Reeves. Well, actually this film may not unlock anything, but it does shed light on the case that was ruled a simple suicide back in 1959. Adrien Brody plays a detective hired by Reeves’ mother to investigate her son’s death. He instantly finds out that Reeves was in a complex situation in both his career and personal life. For starters he was having an affair with the wife of Bob Haskins - an MGM executive. The film interweaves between possible murder scenarios and the parallel life of the detective investigating the death. The film does a lot right and I liked it overall, but I had higher expectations……still a good rental.

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L' Enfant

L’ Enfant: This is a tough movie to sell to my normal subscribers of this blog. Seeing as most people would not want to see this small independent film from France. The story centers on a very young and immature couple who have a newly born baby in their lives. The father lives on the streets and is a small time thief. The mother has no job and looking for some stability and meaning in her life. The Film is a sad look at how lost some people in this world truly are. I found this to be a very gripping movie…….so if you’re willing to give it a spin – you will be happy you did.

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Running with Scissors

Running with Scissors: This film is based on the strange memoirs of the same name by Augusten Burroughs. The story is odd indeed - a crazed mom (Annette Bening) gives her 13 year old son Augusten to her therapist to be raised. The therapist’s house is filled with strange people including his own family. The major problem this movie had was it did not know what it wanted to be – a dry humored comedy or a bizarre look at mentally disturbed individuals. The result was a movie that was VERY BLAH.

“Kick it on the Floor”

11:14

11:14: I finally got around to giving this sleeper a spin and was happy I did. The movie follows 5 different story lines and we see something significant happen in each at the exact time of 11:14. Each of the story lines are connected and woven together which is what makes it fun to watch. The comedy the filmmakers where going for was just about off the "corny chart", but I let it slide. The run time is only 84 minutes, but I found to be an enjoyable 84 minutes.

"Pick it Up"

Dreamer

Dreamer: Raise your hand if you are one of the few not sick of Dakota Fanning. This movie was like a really bad after school special. I was hoping for some "Seabiscuit" type moments and instead got Kurt Russell looking into the eye of a horse and asking him how his hair looked. Very predictable from start to finish - the horse gets hurt, but comes back to win the big race = roll credits. In all seriousness I would not see this unless you have a kid under the age of 10 or you lost a bet and you have to watch all of the great Kurt Russell's work.......

"Kick It on the Floor"

The Proposition

The Proposition: In the mood for a western? who is ever in the mood for a western, especially an Australian western. When I give one of these a spin I am hoping for one of the best and most of the time I am let down - as was the case with The Proposition. Guy Pearce mumbles his way through the movie and the small time plot is drawn out. The little "shoot out" action there is in the movie is done well, but not enough to recommend.

"Kick it on the Floor"