I'm starting to really like Christopher Nolan. Just saw "The Prestige"

[jobycom]

Nice film. Intelligent script, good acting, and all that, but more importantly, the directing was interesting. Nolan uses the same pacing and cutting that he uses in Batman Begins. As a result, this film starts off a bit slow and a bit hard to follow, but the pacing creates a tension that builds until the end. There are several clever twists, some of which you suspect, some of which you almost but not quite figure out before they spring them, and a couple that are visible from a ways out.

But overall, it was just an intense character sketch centered around what seems to be Nolan's favorite topic--obsession. Both characters go through periods of being sympathetic and being revolting. You'll have to watch to see which, if any, redeem themselves. There are fascinating bit roles, too, like David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, or Piper Perabo as a charming magic assistant.

Overall, I really liked it, though I wasn't sure I would until at least halfway through. The story was intelligent enough to be worth bearing with the slow set-up, and as with other Nolan films, some of the most interesting aspects of the story have nothing to do with the usual suspense and climax of the movie. Nolan uses some of the usual Hollywood devices, but he also tells a better story between these devices, giving the story a depth not normal in films these days.

Just my thoughts. In case anyone cares. :)

[Hissyspit]

1. It was a movie for our times. About being lied to and wanting to be lied to.

Also about drowning, but not really drowning, if you get my drift.

This will all go over the heads of 99% of the audience, but overall, it was a fun flick, too. I would recommend it.

[jobycom]

2. Hm, didn't think of the drowning angle.

It is a movie about our times, though. A couple of times I thought of Moore's comments at the Oscars, about us living in a fictitious times. That the audience doesn't want to know the secret, and doesn't care about the man in the box.

Batman had a lot of modern commentary, too. Not as heavy-handed as the Wachowsky brothers, with Matrix and Vendetta. More mature, more complete. It was a comment on the difference between extreme measures and complete extremism. That's what I like about Nolan's films--they aren't just about the pretty movies he can make, they have a message, or at least the exploration of an idea, behind them. The difference between Thomas Kincaide and Pablo Picasso, in a way.

And on top of the complex storyline, he can make his pictures very pretty, too. I didn't like Insomnia much, but he seems to be getting better.

It was funny after the movie hearing people leaving the theater, trying to explain what had happened to people in their groups who missed it. Ten minutes after the film, I heard a woman in the parking lot trying to explain to a couple of guys what had happened. And I was still working on bits of it when I woke up this morning, remembering a line earlier in the film that foreshadowed the conclusion. I didn't get the bird trick, or the little kid figuring it out, until hours later (Don't want to give a spoiler). Not many movies can do that for me anymore.

[distantearlywarning]

3. The Bird Trick

I never made that connection until just now. You're right, though, it was relevant.

[Hissyspit]

4. Wait, what about the little kid figuring it out?

Are you just talking about what happens in the trick or does the little kid turn out to be someone else?

Insomnia was a remake, if I'm not mistaken, or am I thinking of a different movie?

[jobycom]

5. (SPOILER)

Foreshadows the end. Borden shows the boy that the bird is alive, and the kid asks "What about his brother?"

[wildhorses]

6. I thought it was a very good movie, also.

TheSmoker did not like it and, we did not discuss it. I wonder if he did not understand it because, why else would he NOT like it? :shrug: