Reviews: The Prestige / Sherrybaby / After the Wedding
136. The Prestige (2006): It's really hard not to compare The Prestige with The Illusionist since they came out within months of each other, and I watched them both in the same month. They're both great and engaging films . . but is one better than the other? Tough call. I think I enjoyed The Illusionist a bit more, but The Prestige is better and grander as a film.
Watching The Illusionist first prepared me for The Prestige, which I found easy to follow even with all the time line skipping. I was also ready for the inevitable twist, which seemed so obvious that I'm pretty sure the writer/director INTENTIONALLY made it predictable . . for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Strange move, but I like it . . leave the shockers to the horror movies. ;) It also shows you how entrancing this film is because even after you know the twist, you still keep watching because you want to see how the characters react when THEY know.
The Prestige also answers my big request from The Illusionist: real magic tricks. Sure, the big Tesla trick is kinda impossible, but otherwise, you could probably do most of the magic in the movie yourself (if you don't mind getting your hands dirty anyway. ;) )
I was a bit unsure with Batman Begins, but I'm now on the Nolan bandwagon after seeing The Prestige. 9 out of 10
137. Sherrybaby (2006): So shortly after watching Half Nelson, a movie about a drug-addict teacher, I'm now watching this movie about a drug-addict mom. Indies Hollywood sure loves crackhead guardian figures. ;) I personally liked Sherrybaby more since the addict here seems more sincere about changing her life (although she also fails miserably! -100% miserably!). Plus, this was my second Maggie Gyllenhaal movie and she's quickly becoming my favorite actress. Her character is really complex, the strongest weak female I've ever seen, and she handled it very well. The girl who plays the daughter was also amazing -- is she a Gyllenhaal too? ;)
However, the movie did seem to be missing *something* because it didn't really connect with me. Maybe I'm just not feeling the Indies vibe yet -- it did feel more like a TV movie than a movie-movie. Or maybe they needed a better composer; the score was distractingly bad and didn't channel the emotion on-screen.
Still, based on the powerful performances of mother and daughter, and a story that was interesting enough to keep my attention, the movie squeaks by to a 7 out of 10.
138. After the Wedding (2006): I hate weddings, and any movie that has the word "Wedding" in the title terrifies me. So this film was a big surprise: it's the best wedding movie I've ever seen! Then again, it's the ONLY good wedding movie I've ever seen, though maybe it's because there isn't much wedding at all.
I don't like clear cut bad guys. I like them flawed, misunderstood, with a chance at redemption. So the "antagonist" here is my kinda bad guy: you hate him at first, but once his motives are revealed, he turns out to be an alright guy. The actor who portrays him is fantastic and I hope he won an award for this incredible performance.
By the way, if you love eyes, this is the movie for you! I didn't know you could read so much from eyes: love, uncertainty, fear, suspicion, etc. There's a lot of attention on mouths too, which are equally readable too.
So my first Dutch Danish! movie is a great one, with perhaps the only flaw being the choice of "It's Raining Men" as the centerpiece song. :P 9 out of 10 P.S. I couldn't stop thinking of the "History of Violence" guy when I saw this dude. Just me?
Watching The Illusionist first prepared me for The Prestige, which I found easy to follow even with all the time line skipping. I was also ready for the inevitable twist, which seemed so obvious that I'm pretty sure the writer/director INTENTIONALLY made it predictable . . for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Strange move, but I like it . . leave the shockers to the horror movies. ;) It also shows you how entrancing this film is because even after you know the twist, you still keep watching because you want to see how the characters react when THEY know.
The Prestige also answers my big request from The Illusionist: real magic tricks. Sure, the big Tesla trick is kinda impossible, but otherwise, you could probably do most of the magic in the movie yourself (if you don't mind getting your hands dirty anyway. ;) )
I was a bit unsure with Batman Begins, but I'm now on the Nolan bandwagon after seeing The Prestige. 9 out of 10
137. Sherrybaby (2006): So shortly after watching Half Nelson, a movie about a drug-addict teacher, I'm now watching this movie about a drug-addict mom. Indies Hollywood sure loves crackhead guardian figures. ;) I personally liked Sherrybaby more since the addict here seems more sincere about changing her life (although she also fails miserably! -100% miserably!). Plus, this was my second Maggie Gyllenhaal movie and she's quickly becoming my favorite actress. Her character is really complex, the strongest weak female I've ever seen, and she handled it very well. The girl who plays the daughter was also amazing -- is she a Gyllenhaal too? ;)
However, the movie did seem to be missing *something* because it didn't really connect with me. Maybe I'm just not feeling the Indies vibe yet -- it did feel more like a TV movie than a movie-movie. Or maybe they needed a better composer; the score was distractingly bad and didn't channel the emotion on-screen.
Still, based on the powerful performances of mother and daughter, and a story that was interesting enough to keep my attention, the movie squeaks by to a 7 out of 10.
138. After the Wedding (2006): I hate weddings, and any movie that has the word "Wedding" in the title terrifies me. So this film was a big surprise: it's the best wedding movie I've ever seen! Then again, it's the ONLY good wedding movie I've ever seen, though maybe it's because there isn't much wedding at all.
I don't like clear cut bad guys. I like them flawed, misunderstood, with a chance at redemption. So the "antagonist" here is my kinda bad guy: you hate him at first, but once his motives are revealed, he turns out to be an alright guy. The actor who portrays him is fantastic and I hope he won an award for this incredible performance.
By the way, if you love eyes, this is the movie for you! I didn't know you could read so much from eyes: love, uncertainty, fear, suspicion, etc. There's a lot of attention on mouths too, which are equally readable too.
So my first Dutch Danish! movie is a great one, with perhaps the only flaw being the choice of "It's Raining Men" as the centerpiece song. :P 9 out of 10 P.S. I couldn't stop thinking of the "History of Violence" guy when I saw this dude. Just me?