THE ILLUSIONIST

I saw THE ILLUSIONIST, starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti, last night, and I must say that it's one of my favorite movies so far this year. I get the feeling it's going to be a bit of a sleeper hit though. It has 72% on rottentomatoes.com, with 86% from the cream of the crop... and yet, I imagine the general public will probably forego seeing it in favor of Chris Nolan's foray into the world of period magic tricks, THE PRESTIGE, starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. A shame, because after seeing THE ILLUSIONIST, compared to what I have seen in the trailer for THE PRESTIGE, the two films are drastically different.

THE ILLUSIONIST combines elements of romance, political intrigue, and magic to tell a tale that is both solid and engaging, if slightly predictable. Performances are excellent all around; even Jessica Biel keeps up with Norton and Giamatti, and the primary antagonist of the film is played perfectly by Rufus Sewell (John Murdoch from DARK CITY, and Fortinbras in Branagh's HAMLET). Visually, this film is stunning; I found myself immersed in the story from the moment it started, and never once did the cinematography become dull or distracting. Despite a distinct lack of action sequences (not a bad thing in my opinion, but likely the reason I saw one couple get up and leave the film halfway through), the pacing of the film never falters. All things considered, it provides excellent entertainment likely to be appreciated by a perceptive audience willing to watch a movie in which the battles are fought with the mind.

In fact, my only negative complaints are that, like I said, the plot is slightly predictable, and in the end, the trick is revealed in the same way THE USUAL SUSPECTS tells all. I kinda wish that weren't so, because I felt that there were enough clues presented throughout the film that an attentive audience could piece it all together themselves, in multiple viewings certainly, if not the first time. I think leaving that shadow of mystery would have made it more fun for many who so greatly enjoyed the presentation of THE ILLUSIONIST to sit and watch it all over again. I know I would!
 
Sounds promising. Edward Norton is one of my favourite actors, although I haven't seen him in anything I really liked since Red Dragon in 2002 (though others might argue otherwise).

Even in the movies he was in that didn't grip me, his acting was often considerably better than the co stars. Will take a look ASAP. 
 
I absolutely LOVED The Illusionist! An absolutely fantastic movie. I left the theatre speechless.

I'm definitely going to see The Prestige too. Christian Bale and Edward Norton are two of my fav. actors.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Sushi Fish said:
Christian Bale and Edward Norton are two of my fav. actors.

Hmmm, Norton would have been an interesting choice for the Joker, actually... oh well.

Anyway, I'll be the Switzerland of the 19th century magician movie wars by seeing neither. I still need to watch Dante's Peak/Volcano, Deep Impact/Armageddon, Antz/A Bug's Life, and any number of other random and totally arbitrary movie concepts that are strangely made and released around the same time for no reason. BTW, this is one of my favorite movie phenomenons; like, it's not as if we get magician movies evey year, and now here we have two. Remember when they made back to back Columbus movies? =)
 
"Griffith No More!" said:
BTW, this is one of my favorite movie phenomenons; like, it's not as if we get magician movies every year, and now here we have two. Remember when they made back to back Columbus movies? =)

Yeah, you get pairings like that every now and then. It's the exact reason THE DESCENT's release in the U.S. was delayed. They didn't want it to fall victim to this phenomenon in light of THE CAVE being released before it.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Auturgist said:
Yeah, you get pairings like that every now and then. It's the exact reason THE DESCENT's release in the U.S. was delayed. They didn't want it to fall victim to this phenomenon in light of THE CAVE being released before it.

I actually noticed it anyway, "Didn't they release this fucking movie last year!?" Even had the same lame invocation of the proverbial "best suspense/horror movie since Alien, said some guy!"

I actually think it works against the movies to try to distance themselves, particularly the second one out.
 
My co-worker saw this movie and told me it was awesome. Right now it's only in limited theatres and the closest theatre to my house that's showing it is about 23 miles away. I'll most likely wait for the nationwide release to go see but I'm really looking forward to it.
 
"Griffith No More!" said:
I actually noticed it anyway, "Didn't they release this fucking movie last year!?" Even had the same lame invocation of the proverbial "best suspense/horror movie since Alien, said some guy!"

I actually think it works against the movies to try to distance themselves, particularly the second one out.

The Descent was actually good though and sorry to get off topic.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
HawaiianStallion said:
The Descent was actually good though and sorry to get off topic.

Hey, if someone wants to talk about the magic dude movie, they can, but my point is that when these odd pairs are released, it creates a kind of buzz of it's own.

Anyway, did it have actual monsters in it or was it all in their heads? I mocked the ads for going with the psychological angle because after the cliched showing of words like FEAR and PARANOIA all scary and shaky like, it seemed like monsters really attacked them, which makes the focus on one's irrational fears seem kind of rational, and therefore moot. =)


FEAR...

PARANOIA...

AND FUCKING MONSTERS! NO SHIT WE'RE SCARED, ASSHOLE!
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
drorpheus.jpg

Edward Norton... prepare to face the TRUE master... of ILLUUUUUUUSIONS!​
 
"Griffith No More!" said:
Hey, if someone wants to talk about the magic dude movie, they can, but my point is that when these odd pairs are released, it creates a kind of buzz of it's own.

Anyway, did it have actual monsters in it or was it all in their heads? I mocked the ads for going with the psychological angle because after the cliched showing of words like FEAR and PARANOIA all scary and shaky like, it seemed like monsters really attacked them, which makes the focus on one's irrational fears seem kind of rational, and therefore moot. =)


FEAR...

PARANOIA...

AND FUCKING MONSTERS! NO SHIT WE'RE SCARED, ASSHOLE!

The monsters were real.

The Descent really was a very good horror movie.

I saw The Illusionist tonight and really liked it. Brick and V are still the year's best, but this one was excellent.
 

Vampire_Hunter_Bob

Cats are great
coolerimmortal said:
I saw The Illusionist tonight and really liked it. Brick and V are still the year's best, but this one was excellent.

I enjoyed Brick, but V? I thought it was good then I actually read the graphic novel and saw how much the movie sucked. I WANT MY POISONED COMMUNION WAFFER!

The Illusionist was awesome, but what is this other magic non-Norton movie everyone is talking of?

- Bobbo
 
Vampire_Hunter_Bob said:
I enjoyed Brick, but V? I thought it was good then I actually read the graphic novel and saw how much the movie sucked. I WANT MY POISONED COMMUNION WAFFER!

I thought I was one of the only people who had seen BRICK. Good to know I'm not... and yeah, I love that film too! ^_^

V FOR VENDETTA was decent at best, but it's hard for me to care very much having read the book. Hugo Weaving made a damn fine V, and the prison scene was done quite well, but the rest of the adaptation suffered considerably.

The Illusionist was awesome, but what is this other magic non-Norton movie everyone is talking of?

The other movie is Christopher Nolan's film THE PRESTIGE, starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine. It looks good, but I dunno if it'll be better than THE ILLUSIONIST.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Auturgist said:
I thought I was one of the only people who had seen BRICK. Good to know I'm not... and yeah, I love that film too! ^_^
With all the press it got after Sundance, I don't really see how you could make that statement. It's pretty high on the Netflix rental numbers too.

The other movie is Christopher Nolan's film THE PRESTIGE, starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine. It looks good, but I dunno if it'll be better than THE ILLUSIONIST.
Hahahahaha, we'll see :ganishka:
 
Walter said:
With all the press it got after Sundance, I don't really see how you could make that statement. It's pretty high on the Netflix rental numbers too.

Well, it wasn't playing in many theaters around here and I don't do Netflix, so I don't keep up on the rental numbers. It's entirely possible it just went under my radar as far as its popularity is concerned; the only people I know who saw it were the guy who told me about it months before it was released, and a few friends to whom I'd said good things about it afterwards.
 
Auturgist said:
I thought I was one of the only people who had seen BRICK.  Good to know I'm not... and yeah, I love that film too!  ^_^

Brick was the shit. It was better the second time around when i watched it. None of my friends really enjoyed it as much as me, but then again, none of my friends knew what "noir" meant, so that was the type of people i was dealing with. :miura:
 
TheBeast43105 said:
Brick was the shit. It was better the second time around when i watched it. None of my friends really enjoyed it as much as me, but then again, none of my friends knew what "noir" meant, so that was the type of people i was dealing with. :miura:

I've always been a fan of the film noir genre superficially (I've seen only a couple, but not enough to say that I'm a bona fide, die hard fan of the genre), and I love intelligent high school stories, because I've always thought high school is the perfect microcosm for the real world of adults in films and short literature. When I'd heard about this movie that was "film noir in high school", I was immediately sold on it, and waited eagerly for it to come out in theaters. I ended up driving down to D.C. from Baltimore to see it, and wasn't disappointed.

I loved that the language spoken by the characters was so esoteric. In that regard, the film slightly reminded me of a David Mamet film (see HEIST or SPARTAN, if you aren't familiar with his stuff). Anyway, yeah... great flick! I'm glad other people dig it too!

It would be tough for me, thinking about BRICK being released this year, now, to say which film is my favorite of the year thus far. THE ILLUSIONIST might be a bit better all things considered, but I dunno... they're both so good.
 
Top Bottom