Caught this movie on Friday. I remember hearing mixed reviews of it from when it came out originally. I would tend to agree.

The storytelling is a little disjointed, jumping from flashbacks to now, never really knowing who the first person perspective is that we are hearing the story from. Needless to say, it was a little confusing. Not that I want to piss of Clint Eastwood, but after watching Million Dollar Baby, I expect more.

Watching to learn a little about history, I found it very interesting. To see how our Nation rallied around a photo and the stress and strain it put on those individuals who were in it put the photo (and the memorial it inspired) into a whole new perspective. The portions showing the beach landing were also very interesting. Much like the opening of Saving Private Ryan, I thought they were very well done, probably just a notch below the level of intensity in the opening of Ryan. They make you realize just how horrible war is.

To summarize this already brief review, I found the historical portions of the movie interesting but the story telling a little hard to follow. Worth watching a some point, you’ll learn something new, but no need to run to the theatre.

Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima as shown in Flags Of Our Fathers

Are you watching closely?

That is one of the opening lines of The Prestige, if not the opening line of the movie. It would be if you did, because if you don’t watch closely, you’ll be left behind wondering what just happened.

I managed to catch this movie a while back. It was a movie I was anxiously waiting for because it was directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins). I wasn’t disappointed. It was a little strange to see a movie starring Bruce Wayne and Wolverine and have them not be super-heroes, but this shows that they do know how to act.

The movie’s premise is the competition between two magicians and their desire to one up the other. Nolan has proven himself to me to be a very crafty story teller. He has resurrected the Batman series and told one phenomenal story in Memento. Much like those movies, he weaves a very interesting story. It took me a while to really understanding how he was telling the story, but about half way through I knew what he was doing and am happy to say I figured out the end before hand, if only by a little bit. Although I did get the feeling that the people behind me were still confused once the credits came up.

I won’t go into many of the details of the story, other than to say I thoroughly enjoyed it and how it wove itself into some of the real history of the world. Much like the magic tricks in the movie, this movie has three parts and the third part is worth the wait.

If you like Memento, go see this movie. If you like a movie that keeps you thinking, also go see this movie.

I’ve had a very busy October. I did manage to catch a few movies, but haven’t had time to write anything about them. So here’s three brief movie reviews.

The Departed. Saw this opening night. What can I say except I loved this movie. And I don’t even care for Damon or DiCaprio that much. I accept that they are good actors, I just don’t always like them. But in this movie, along with Nicholson, they were great. If you like mob or crime movies, this movie is awesome. Great story, kept you guessing just a bit. Lots of plot twists. In my opinion, the Best Movie of the Year so far. Should kick ass and take names in the Oscars. Only thing that might hamper it is there were so many good actors, chances are there are going to be multiple nominees from this movie in either the Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor categories and they’ll steal votes from each other. Go see this movie. It is what movies are supposed to be.

The Grudge 2. Saw this on opening night as well. Sent shivers down my spine a few times. Still, not really sure what happens in the movie or why the Grudge is now spanning continents, but it accomplished its goal of being a scary movie. Nothing to write home about though.

The Marine. This brought back memories of “Old” Schwarzenegger movies. By this I mean, big muscled guy gets pissed off and starts beating everyone up. It accomplished this goal well. Weak story, weak acting, but fun to watch once. Probably never watch it again though. Watching the guy be a security guard was rather funny.

Some movies I’ll be seeing soon…
The Prestige
Saw III [this one is a guilty pleasure]
Flags of Our Fathers
Babel

Some movies I might catch…
The Guardian
Maria Antoinette
Bugs in 3-D