There's a reason I call this blog "Exploring the Magic of Movies", and I suppose it has more to do with how I watch movies than the movies themselves, at least these days. In the early days of cinema, moving pictures truly looked like some kind of wizardry, and if you saw Martin Scorsese's Hugo a couple of years ago, you might have noticed the bit where audience members watching one of the first movies got up out of their seats and ran away in terror at the shot of an oncoming train. [youtube … [Read more...] about Who Doesn’t Love A Good Magic Trick?
magic
A Local Exploration of the Magic of Movies
Recently I was invited to appear with Jason Pankoke and Luke Boyce on UPTV's series, Art Now!, to discuss preparations for an upcoming annual film festival, the New Art Film Festival. There is such a flourishing culture of locally-produced cinema in my area, and it was only natural that I wanted to help spread the word about this special event. When I arrived at the taping, I learned that I was also going to have the opportunity to talk about my company, Psychic Joker Entertainment, whose goal … [Read more...] about A Local Exploration of the Magic of Movies
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Comedy About Magic
I love magic. Let's just establish this from the start. I love seeing something amazing and feeling that tremendous sense of wonder that comes with it, when your rational brain can't really "sync" with the information it's getting from your senses. You know you've seen something truly unbelievable, and yet, you did just see it, so it had to be real. Right? In much the same way that a good story can transport you from the drudgery of your everyday world, experiencing good magic can inspire you … [Read more...] about The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Comedy About Magic
The Illusionist, Revisited
I spent a good portion of yesterday going through and cleaning up old and forgotten blogs, removing what I no longer wanted to keep, and reposting items I felt were worth keeping. Among the old posts was my review of one of my favorite movies, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. At the end of that review, I made mention that my next planned viewing was The Illusionist, a film starring Ed Norton, which was also released at around the same time as The Prestige. I don't remember it getting nearly as … [Read more...] about The Illusionist, Revisited
Finding Neverland…Again
Last night I had the privilege of rediscovering an old favorite of mine, and afterwards came to my blog, found that I had somehow never written about this beautiful film, and decided today to remedy this oversight. On the surface, Finding Neverland could have played out as any romantic drama, period or otherwise. There's the somewhat typical couple whose relationship is in trouble, a new love interest causing another somewhat typical love triangle, and various other dramatic plot points. … [Read more...] about Finding Neverland…Again
The Imagination of Doctor Gilliam
This evening I was finally able to indulge in a film that represents the ultimate movie-going experience for me. I am very much a lover of fiction, and the farther the journey I can take, the more I enjoy it. It is with this in mind that I offer my review of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It seems to me that this is a film which many, many people heard about (having the distinction of being the film which Heath Ledger was shooting before he died) but not many people have seen. In the … [Read more...] about The Imagination of Doctor Gilliam