Plot
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences. From the time that they first met as young magicians on the rise, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden were competitors. However, their friendly competition evolves into a bitter rivalry making them fierce enemies-for-life and consequently jeopardizing the lives of everyone around them. Set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century London
Review
I have seen this before and thought I would watch it again as hardly anything has come out this week.
Still love it and every time I watch I'm never bored as always with a Christopher Nolan film.
As with most of Nolan's films the story is told in non-linear which is used to further the viewers experience of the world of the antagonist. In this film it is used in logic of a magic trick which according to the film consists of three parts, the pledge, the turn and the prestige.
Some have criticised that the Prestige uses non-linear as a gimmick rather than something which adds to the film, but I disagree.
It's used to withhold information from us in a manner as if a magician was explaining a magic trick, similar to Memento except that film was withholding information to get us in the mind frame with no short term memory.
The stand out performance for me in this film was Christian Bale who plays essentially four roles in this film and all four have completely different characteristics and body language, I'll leave you decide which four roles as I'm talking about ;)
The story got better and better and better as it went on, topping itself again and again with twist after twist.
And another thing about a Nolan film is that with repeated viewings, as well you'll pick up on clues that you probably completely missed the first time around. Needless to say, I was blown away by the ending when I first watched it
Even after a few years and several viewings, I still enjoy every moment of it.
Final Word
Great film that will appeal to everyone with a great ending and a great final speech by Hugh Jackman, which to me is on par to Roy Batty's death speech in Blade Runner.
Chariots of Fire
Plot
The true story of two British track athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics. One is a devout Scottish missionary who runs for God, the other is a Jewish student at Cambridge who runs for fame and to escape prejudice.
Review
Vangelis did an iconic opening score to this film which will always be cemented in cinema history, but I have no idea why the film is considered a classic by so many.
I just found it another Channel five/Straight to TV film for me that felt flat and with a tired overused formula.
Maybe lots of films have copied elements of Chariots of Fire over the years like so many great films, that I needed to watch it when it came out to truly appreciate it. On a positive note I think it's beautifully made with some stunning cinematography especially a lot of the scenes on the beach where they would train.
I also thought Nigel Havers and Ben Cross were fantastic in this film and I can see how this film launched their careers and quite rightly so.
Final word
Not terrible but clearly not for me this one, but a stunning film with a great and an iconic score by Vangelis
The Other Guys
Plot
Terry Hoitz's past mistakes in the line of duty and Allen Gamble's reluctance to take risks have landed them the roles of the "Other Guys", disgraced New York City police detectives relegated to filling out paperwork for cocky hero cops Danson and Highsmith. The mismatched duo must look past their differences when they take on a high-profile investigation of shady capitalist David Ershon and attempt to fill the shoes of the notoriously reckless officers they idolize
Review
Well it's a Will Ferrell film and you either love him or hate him, I love him. Loved him Anchorman, Zoolander and Talladega Nights. As you may have gathered The Other Guy's is in the same vein of those films but nowhere near as good as those films.
Will Ferrell plays a geeky police offer who gets picked on by the other offices but still manages to be a ladies magnet. Marky Mark plays his partner who is desperate to move up in the force and hates Will Ferrell except for his stunning wife played by Eva Mendes. Well like the film RED last week this is an action comedy but where it defers from RED is that this film does work, but only now and again mind.
The biggest problem with the film is that Will Ferrell's character is incredibly annoying at times. He's supposed to annoy Marky Mark's character in the sketches but also end's up annoying me as well most of the times. This was the main reason why the film failed to me as a comedy and the main plot of the film involving Steve Coogan, took too much of a backseat making it drag even more for me. Just a shame really as the opening ten or twenty minutes promised so much but never got going again.
Final word
Very flawed film and will be forgotten about very quickly.
Film of the week
Well it The Prestige for me never bored and just worked for me, I just think Chariots of Fire is a film I would have enjoyed more at the time. The Other Guys has it's moments but in all fairness isn't a film I would recommend to someone.
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