The Prestige (2006)

Date watched: October 20

Review: The Prestige started off as one of those movies where you've seen the whole movie by watching the trailer. Christopher Nolan wouldn't dare be so trite though. There are plenty of surprises throughout the whole story to amaze the viewer. The elements of the genre are seemingly changed throughout the story. When you think it is going one way, it introduces a plot element that changes the whole genre of the movie. While many people would see this as a flaw, this is what saved the movie, and in fact turned it into one of the most spectacular movies of this year. Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Michael Caine deliverd brilliant performances. Scarlett Johansson could have used some improvement, but was sufficient for her part.

Rating: 9.7/10.0

Capote (2005)

Date watched: October 14

Review: Very slow. Very boring. Philip Seymour Hoffman saved Capote from being a disaster of a movie. It is interesting how Truman's and Harper Lee's lives intertwined, and one of the only high points of the movie worthy of noting. When the ending credits hit, I was cheering that it was finally over.

Rating: 6.5/10.0

The Boondock Saints (1999)

Date watched: October 13

Review: After hearing so much good about The Boondock Saints, I expected more out of this film. When I watch a film full of blood and vulgarity, I expect something special to go along with the movie. That's not to say that the movie was boring. It had moments of hilarity and even moments that make you think. Willem Dafoe's role was very strange, and it worked out well. The acting in the movie overall wasn't brilliant, but it was good enough to keep you watching. David Della Rocco's character as Funny Man was annoying for the most part. The only enjoyable scene he was in, is the one with the cat.

Rating: 8.1/10.0

Hanover Street (1979)

Date watched: October 13

Review: After watching movies like Pearl Harbor, I have low expectations of movies in the genre of war romances. Good performances by Harrison Ford and Lesley-Anne Down helped make up for this. What really helped was the comedic parts added in. They didn't seem forced, while you wouldn't expect such a plot element in this kind of story. The plot was basic, with foreshadowing of Ford's Nazi fighting attitude that would show up later in the Indiana Jones' movies. The romance in the movie wasn't as contrived as most easy to predict romance movies are since the beginning of movies.

Rating: 8.0/10.0

Memento (2000)

Date watched: October 7, 2006

Memento is easily my favorite Christopher Nolan movie, beating out Insomnia and Batman Begins soundly. The juxtaposing of the scenes worked out perfectly because of the condition the main character, Leonard(Guy Pearce), had. The acting by Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss seals the deal on the greatness of this movie. This movie is originality in a sea of untalented and unoriginal movies.

Rating: 10.0/10.0

The Departed (2006)

Date watched: October 6, 2006

Martin Scorsese has been my favorite director for some time now, and this movie reasserts why that is. He doesn't shy away from showing the violence of real life. Although this isn't an original story, it's a remake of Infernal Affairs, Scorsese adds great direction as usual. The peak of the movie is the comedic performance of Mark Wahlberg's character Dignam. While the story was simplistic enough, the characters made this movie complex. Scorsese explores the theme of the blurry line between good and bad. The movie also inlcudes top notch performances from Jack, Leo, and Matt. While Alec Baldwin's part was small, it was very effective and funny.

Rating: 10.0/10.0