It's Friday again... Which means another FilmFriday recommendation! Today I'm going to review "The Prestige". Now this is one my favorite films and it comes from my favorite director of all time Christopher Nolan; who directed brilliant films like "Insomnia" and "Memento" but he is probably most famous for directing the Dark Knight franchise. I adore all of his films and I think he is a visionary for modern cinema and I believe this film does live up to his high standards. "The Prestige" is set in late 19 century Britain and America (in places) and it is portraying the careers of two magicians; Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). So much happens in this film that it is hard to tell you a basic plot without revealing any twists (this film is FILLED with them). Basically these two young magicians start as friends but due to unseen events they become bitter rivals with the desire to see the other fail. Throughout this film these two characters are constantly trying to uncover each others secrets but in doing so they hurt the people around them. This film is filled to the brim the twists and turns from the very beginning, it is impossible to guess what will happen and the finale is so unpredictable and astonishing that the last scene left me speechless.
The acting in this film is good, nothing terrific but it is very good. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are both good actors so I didn't expect anything less. On screen these two had great chemistry; they seemed to have a full understanding of everything the other one was doing I didn't think that Wolverine and Batman would work so well together. The supporting actors in this film are just as good as the stars; we have Micheal Caine as the mentor and best friend of Robert Angier and Scarlett Johansson as the leading love interest in the film. Both are class and do a very fine job.
However, a person does not watch this film for the acting a person watches this film for the mystery the secrecy and the challenge to guess what the hecks going to happen next. And this is mostly down to the fantastic script and direction. This movie was directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Christopher Nolan along with his brother Jonathon and they do an utterly breathtaking job. Christopher Nolan likes to try new and different methods when making a film and this is no different; the story is told in three different times the present, the past and the older past so if your going to watch this film (you should!) your going to have to "watch closely". This method of directing is misleading and confusing but intriguing at the same time much like a magicians performance and I think that's the impression the Nolan brothers were trying give.
Overall I love this movie and recommend it as a "must-see before you die"; I think it's a treat for anyone who can understand and follow it. Please watch it this weekend or any other time if you have the chance.
Oh and I watched Oz The Great and Powerful; I was going to review it but I have so few good things to say about it I shan't bother, if your under the age of 10 I think you might enjoy it but to be honest watch "The Croods" instead, that comes out today I think the 22nd and that looks like the better film all round.
Friday, 22 March 2013
Friday, 15 March 2013
The Invasion (first Review)
The Invasion Film Review
My first filmfriday recommendation, sorry it is so late but been really busy but finally I got round to re-watching it and I can start writing this review. The film I started with is not a blockbuster and it's not a "must-see" its just an enjoyable film that I think asks a few questions. The movie I'm reviewing is "The Invasion". For those who haven't seen this movie, it is based on the the novel by Jack Finney, The Body Snatchers. I have not read this book so i cannot compare it to the film but to be honest i don't think that people should compare films to books anyway because what makes a good book will not always be what makes a good film. "The Invasion" is set in modern day and is centralized around a psychiatrist called Carol Bennel (Nicole Kidman) and her best friend Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig), these two characters are trying to survive an outbreak of a deadly alien virus that takes over the mind of the people it infects, pretty much making the human race very sophisticated zombies.
In this story Nicole Kidman plays a desperate mother who wants to track down her son and protect him no matter the cost, and even though I'm not a great fan of Nicole Kidman after she was below par in "Batman Forever" and only average in "The Others", I must say that she was impressive in this film. She was very good at portraying her inner emotions on screen, I could almost tell what her character was thinking, this made the story a little bit more believable which is difficult considering the premise is ridiculous. Her supporting actor, Daniel Craig, was only OK nothing special. Daniel Craig has a tendency to go from being brilliant (The Girl With Dragon Tattoo) to being average (Every thing else hes done), we know he can act it just appears he's a little lazy on screen, but that's just my opinion, i know he has a lot of fans out there who would disagree.
So the acting is OK, good in places but the main reason I enjoyed this movie and would watch it again is because the direction is top notch. The director of this film was Oliver Hirschbiegel, now I don't know a lot about this director all i know is he is German and he has made a lot of German films, however i have not seen any so i don't know whether he's a good director generally or if this was just a well directed film. But oh well in this film he was good, he built up the tension and suspense well and kept me on the edge of my seat. There are a few cheap jump scares but only one or two, personally I think jump scares are a bit cheap if over used (Woman in Black) but they are used to good effect in this film. I also like some of the styles he uses to tell a story, for example in places where a character would be saying something on screen there would be time jumps and images of different events, i found it quite an interesting quirk to add to the film. I also liked how the contrast in colours gets more and more vivid the longer the main character goes without sleep (major plot to movie) its not a big thing but i like the small details in films.
As a film overall there is nothing much wrong with it, the ending feels a little forced and rushed to try and tie up ALL the loose ends and there are some plot holes but you really shouldn't go into this film expecting a masterpiece or for it to be perfect because its not, However it is interesting and gripping which is what it aimed to do, there are some moral questions asked towards the end which i think give it some depth. But i know some people won't enjoy it and even if u don't please come back next week where i will review another film, probably a much better one to be honest i just wanted to start with something different and not so mainstream.
I may also put a review out tomorrow of "Oz the Great and Powerful" but you may have to wait until Sunday for that. Anyway thank you for reading and please tell your friends if you enjoyed my review or found it helpful and please comment if u watched the film and want to tell me your opinion.
My first filmfriday recommendation, sorry it is so late but been really busy but finally I got round to re-watching it and I can start writing this review. The film I started with is not a blockbuster and it's not a "must-see" its just an enjoyable film that I think asks a few questions. The movie I'm reviewing is "The Invasion". For those who haven't seen this movie, it is based on the the novel by Jack Finney, The Body Snatchers. I have not read this book so i cannot compare it to the film but to be honest i don't think that people should compare films to books anyway because what makes a good book will not always be what makes a good film. "The Invasion" is set in modern day and is centralized around a psychiatrist called Carol Bennel (Nicole Kidman) and her best friend Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig), these two characters are trying to survive an outbreak of a deadly alien virus that takes over the mind of the people it infects, pretty much making the human race very sophisticated zombies.
In this story Nicole Kidman plays a desperate mother who wants to track down her son and protect him no matter the cost, and even though I'm not a great fan of Nicole Kidman after she was below par in "Batman Forever" and only average in "The Others", I must say that she was impressive in this film. She was very good at portraying her inner emotions on screen, I could almost tell what her character was thinking, this made the story a little bit more believable which is difficult considering the premise is ridiculous. Her supporting actor, Daniel Craig, was only OK nothing special. Daniel Craig has a tendency to go from being brilliant (The Girl With Dragon Tattoo) to being average (Every thing else hes done), we know he can act it just appears he's a little lazy on screen, but that's just my opinion, i know he has a lot of fans out there who would disagree.
So the acting is OK, good in places but the main reason I enjoyed this movie and would watch it again is because the direction is top notch. The director of this film was Oliver Hirschbiegel, now I don't know a lot about this director all i know is he is German and he has made a lot of German films, however i have not seen any so i don't know whether he's a good director generally or if this was just a well directed film. But oh well in this film he was good, he built up the tension and suspense well and kept me on the edge of my seat. There are a few cheap jump scares but only one or two, personally I think jump scares are a bit cheap if over used (Woman in Black) but they are used to good effect in this film. I also like some of the styles he uses to tell a story, for example in places where a character would be saying something on screen there would be time jumps and images of different events, i found it quite an interesting quirk to add to the film. I also liked how the contrast in colours gets more and more vivid the longer the main character goes without sleep (major plot to movie) its not a big thing but i like the small details in films.
As a film overall there is nothing much wrong with it, the ending feels a little forced and rushed to try and tie up ALL the loose ends and there are some plot holes but you really shouldn't go into this film expecting a masterpiece or for it to be perfect because its not, However it is interesting and gripping which is what it aimed to do, there are some moral questions asked towards the end which i think give it some depth. But i know some people won't enjoy it and even if u don't please come back next week where i will review another film, probably a much better one to be honest i just wanted to start with something different and not so mainstream.
I may also put a review out tomorrow of "Oz the Great and Powerful" but you may have to wait until Sunday for that. Anyway thank you for reading and please tell your friends if you enjoyed my review or found it helpful and please comment if u watched the film and want to tell me your opinion.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
New Start
Hi. I'm creating a blog called "Film Fridays" where every Friday I'll review and recommend a film that I really enjoyed and think others will enjoy. I felt the need to do this because I've been reading film critics opinions and I'm so bored of them being wrong all the time! So I thought I should have a go. I'll also review films that I watch at the cinema but I don't get to the pics as much as I would like to (I'm broke) and if this all goes well I may start doing other things like review trailers or give my take on up coming films, I could do anything, if you have any suggestions feel free to comment... Well I'll probably put up another post on Friday but I might do one before, who knows, I got a lot of time on my hands (basically no life).
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