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?
twist ending
The Happening
Slightly expanded review, mostly a repost from my old Flixster set Never let it be said that I only blog about movies I like. I do enjoy movies immensely, and so I do go into every one prepared to love it. Why wouldn't you? Plus, I'll admit, I'm pretty much a sucker for M. Night Shyamalan - intriguiging stories that are edgy and kind of creepy, and the promise (usually!) of a twist ending? Yep, I'm going. The trailer for The Happening was wonderfully compelling, and I once again fell victim to … [Read more...] about The Happening
Shutter Island
I first became interested in Shutter Island through some Facebook buzz, mostly about how the movie played so differently from the trailer. I will admit, I normally pass on most movies with Leo DiCaprio--probably because the last thing I saw him in was Titanic, so I've dismissed him as a rather pretty-boy one trick pony. I have been happily corrected in his fantastic and unnerving performance in Shutter Island. I found out that yet again this is a film based on a book, though perhaps a not … [Read more...] about Shutter Island
My Review of The Prestige
[originally published on an old blog, April 27, 2007] Spoilers abound! There, you've been warned. I finally got to see a movie I've wanted to see for months now - The Prestige. It took me a couple of days to watch the entire thing; now I need to rewatch it all at once, to get the full effect. The entire movie was just filled with tension, not unlike the tension I feel watching a good illusionist. You spend the entire movie not really knowing what to expect, what will happen next. Rather than … [Read more...] about My Review of The Prestige