'The Prestige' is a tale of trickery and obsession

The Prestige (2006)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johannson, David Bowie, and Piper Perabo
Director: Christopher Nolan
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

From the time that they first met as young magicians on the rise, Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) were competitors. However, their friendly competition evolves into a bitter rivalry making them fierce enemies-for-life. When Borden invents what seems to be the ultimate magic trick, Angier embarks on an obsessive quest to find its secret, over the advice of his longtime associate Cutter (Caine). Eventually, he finds his way to Nikola Tesla (Bowie) and discovers the means to best his rival once and for all.


"The Prestige" is a brilliantly constructed movie that manages to tell its story in flashbacks nestled in flashbacks within flashbacks, yet the viewer never loses track of what is going on in the film. It also manages to present a cast of characters that both seem intimately familiar to the viewer as the film progresses, and who turn out to be very different than what we thought when their secrets are revealed, while evoking the sense of the late 19th century music hall circuit and the intense competiton that existed between performers for bookings.

Although the film exists mostly within the realm of the realistic, it is at its best when it introduces the weird science of Nikola Tesla--and the fantastic and twisted applications it is put to in persuit of creating the ultimate illusion. In fact, one of the film's "big reveals" that make up the climax is so twisted, and the nature of Tesla's wonder-tech so strange that I almost put this review in Terror Titans instead of here. Ultimately, though, I think it fits mostly in the mystery movie category, even if it almost defies classification.

'Batman Begins' is a great new start

Batman Begins (2005)
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, and Gary Oldman
Director: Christopher Nolan
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Bruce Wayne (Bale) returns to Gotham City after spending several years under the tutalage of Henri Ducat (Neeson), a member of an order of martial artists that claim to be devoted destruction of corruption and criminals using any available means. Wayne proceeds to put the skills he has learned, his family fortune, and his access to the applied sciences department of the family company to create Batman, a second identity through which he hopes to avenge the murder of his parents and bring law and justice to corrupt Gotham. Aided by the faithful family butler, Alfred (Caine) and one of the few honest cops in the city, Jim Gordon (Oldman), Batman takes on the powerful Falcone crime syndicate and a strange plot being orchestrated by Dr. Jonathan Crane of Arkham Asylum (Murphy).


I avoided seeing this movie for a long time, because it's been at least ten years since I've read an issue of the monthly "Batman" comic I liked (some of the graphic novels and spin-off miniseries have been spectacular, but the core titles have not been anywhere near to the Batman stories I enjoy) and because other Batman movies from the last 20 or so years have been beyond bad. I was also afraid that this movie might be as drab as the "Batman: Year One" story from Frank Miller.

I am glad that I finally decided to heed the rave reviews of friends and take a look at it. It's an excellent chronicle of Bruce Wayne's start as Batman that manages to incorporate some of Batman's most terrifying foes in a sensible way--R'as Al-Guhl and the Scarecrow--and weaves an excellent thread about the power of fear through the film. The use and portrayal of Jim Gordon is in line with how the character has been used in comics like "Gordon of Gotham" and even "Batman: Year One" (Gordon's portrayal was one of the better aspects of that storyline). The treatment of Alfred was also excellent, and it was great to see Lucius Fox (played by Morgan Freeman) make an big-screen appearance. And then there's the Batmobile; the one in this movie has got to be the funkiest, funnest Batmobile that will ever appear on screen!

The acting was great all around, although I think Cillian Murphy was somewhat miscast as Jonathan Crane, because he's too young for the part; his performance was otherwise excellent. (I wonder if Oldman might not have made a better Crane, despite the fact he was a fine Jim Gordon.)

Finally, Gotham City looked better than it has any of the previous Batman movies; it actually seemed like a real city instead of a movie set or a model.

"Batman Begins" is a great action flick and perhaps the best screen adaptation of Batman so far. It stays loyal to the best aspects of the comic books while telling a unique story.

'Deathtrap' is perfect adaptation of play

Deathtrap (1982)
Starring: Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, and Dyan Cannon
Director: Sidney Lumet
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Sidney Bruhl (Caine) is a celebrated playwright who is suffering from burnout. If he has too many more failed plays, his career will be over. Fortunately, a solution has just presented itself: A young writer (Reeve) has sent him a brilliant play for comment. All Bruhl has to do is kill the young man and pass his play off as his own, and he'll be on top again. It's a simple enough plan, but as Bruhl sets about executing it, it becomes unclear who is actually trapped in his death trap.


"Death Trap" is playwright Ira Levin's masterpiece. It's a thrilling parlor mystery with such unexpected twists and sudden reversals that you will sit amazed as the story unfolds and you will be kept guessing up until the very end. What's more, the film has moments that are scarier than what is found in most modern horror movies, and funnier than most modern comedies. It's a classic that is as exciting today as it was when it was released three decades ago.


And it could hardly be anything but a masterpiece, as it remains almost totally faithful to Levin's original script, and it is being performed by two very great actors--Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. The two are spectacular together, playing off one another with great effect. (Interestingly, Caine was in a movie with a very similar plot years earlier--"Sleuth"--where he played the young writer!)

Usually, when I write the words "the film's origin as a stage play is plainly evident", I mean it as a negative. Here, it's very much a postiive. The way most of the play takes place in one room eventually starts to feel like the titular death trap. If you can't see a well-mounted performance of this play, then this film adaptation will forever remain a worthy substitute.

Churchill targeted in last-ditch Nazi plot

The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
Starring: Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasance, Jenny Agutter, and Jean Marsh
Director: John Sturges
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

As defeat looks increasily inevitable for Germany, Heinrich Himmler (Pleasance) greenlights a long-shot mission to kidnap Winston Churchill. An elite force of German paratroopers under the command of Colonel Steiner (Caine) infiltrate a village near where Churchill will be taking a vacation, and with the aid of German agents already in place (Sutherland and Marsh), get everything in place for their audacious strike. However, when a series of events cause Steiner's force to be revealed, Steiner takes one last desperate gamble and turns the kidnap mission into one of assassination.


"The Eagle Has Landed" is a great WW2 suspense movie. It's got good acting--even if Sutherland's assumed Irish accent was irritatingly inconsistent--excellent pacing, and characters that for the most part are believable. (The only truly weak aspects of the story involved an insta-romance between Sutherland and Agutter's characters, and a twist at the end that I think the film could have done without.)

If you like WW films and spy thrillers, I think you'll enjoy "The Eagle Has Landed."

Double Feature: The Miss Congeniality Saga

During the early 2000s, Sandra Bullock starred two movies as Gracie Hart, an FBI agent who went undercover as a beauty queen. Like the "Speed" movies in the 1990s, Sandra Bullock starred in one excellent film and then signed up for a sequel that was nowhere near as good. In this post, I review both of the "Miss Congeniality" films.



Miss Congeniality (2000)
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Cain, Heather Burns, and William Shatner
Director: Donald Petrie
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

When an unknown madman threatens a beauty pagent, life-long tomboy FBI Agent Gracie Hart (Bullock) must master all the feminine graces and go undercover as a pageant participant to unmask the killer.

"Miss Congeniality" is a funny fish-out-of-water comedy, with the standard theme of characters who have their preconceived notions of each other (and even themselves) challenged and emerge at the end of the story having learned valuable lessons and gained a deeper understanding of themselves and everyone around them.


In the case of Gracie, she learns to embrace a part of herself that she's denied since she was a girl, and she learns to respect the hopes and dreams of those who might not want the same things she does. It's actually a rather touching transformation that the character undergoes, and it's a testament to Bullock's acting ability that Gracie comes across like a three-dimensional character in a movie that is otherwise populated with outrageous stereotypes and excuses for slapstick comedy. (And speaking of slap-stick, Bullock also displays a great talent for physical comedy in this film.)

Although Bullock is definately the star of the film, she is ably assisted by her co-stars and supporting players, all of whom put in excellent comedic performances (with the exception of Benjamin Bratt, who is the films only straight man... but he fills that role admirable). Bergen and Shatner are particularly fun as a pair of aging pageant organizers, and Caine is fantastic as the beauty expert tapped by the FBI to infuse Gracie with some grace.

"Miss Congeniality" is definately a comedy that's worth seeing.



Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Murciano, William Shatner, and Heather Burns
Director: John Pasquin
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

In "Miss Congeniality 2", Gracie Hart (Bullock), too famous for fieldwork after her adventure with the beauty pageant, and with slightly more refined manners, is tapped to be the FBI's "celebrity face". With her romantic life coming unglued for reasons she can't understand, she throws herself completely into the life of an empty-headed PR flack. But then two of the friends she made during the pageant caper (Shatner and Burns) are kidnapped, so she flies to Las Vegas in an unauthorized attempt to rescue them.


As much as I loved "Miss Congeniality", I find very little to recommend the sequel. The biggest problem is that everything that made Gracie Hart a likable and sympathetic character in the first film are absent for most of the sequel, because she spends most of the story playing at being someone she is not. It doesn't help matters that her new partner (King) is just plain obnoxious and completely devoid of any interesting character qualities.

With Bullock playing someone who is playing a lame character, we're left with the supporting cast for most of the laughs in the movie. Shatner and Burns (who spend most of the film tied up in a little shack) are very, very funny, and they're worth two of the tomatoes I gave the film. Likewise, Murchiano (best known for deadpan, ultra-serious performances on the crime drama "Without A Trace"), as a nebbish FBI Agent who learns to stand up for himself once Gracie rediscovers who she is, displays some fine comedic talent. However, everyone has limited material to work with, as the story is very flimsy.

I think all the performers do the best with what they have to work with, but it just isn't enough. The film has no heart, but just feels like a string of badly told, fairly tired jokes. Worse, Bullock and the Gracie Hart character are so badly wasted that this film almost makes one forget what was so charming and fun about the original "Miss Congeniality."

Sherlock Sunday: Without A Clue

From now until I run out of Sherlock Holmes movies and TV series (or until I drop dead, which is more likely to happen first), I will be posting a review of a Sherlock Holmes movie every other Sunday. I'm kicking off the series with a favorite of mine, a Holmes spoof actually.

Without A Clue (1988)
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine, and Lysette Anthony
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

In "Without A Clue," Dr. Watson (Kingsley) is the real master-detective, and Sherlock Holmes (Caine) is just an actor that Watson hired to put a more markatable face on the consulting detective business. But Watson finds himself trapped by his PR effort when he tries to get rid of Holmes and start taking the accolades for the mystery solving himself: When Scotland Yard comes to Watson with a case that may well ruin the British Empire if it isn't solved, they will only accept the services of Sherlock Holmes. Watson reluctantly brings the actor back onboard, but soon Watson falls victim to foul play, and the bumbling, lecherous, drunkard actor is left struggling to find just one clue that will help him save the day.


"Without A Clue" is one of the better "reinventions" of the Sherlock Holmes mythos that has been made. It is funny, charming, and respectful of the whole idea of Sherlock Holmes' pretty outrageous deductions while still managing to say "it was all made up, here's the real story." The film is a bit slow in the middle, but the third act really fires on all cylinders when it falls to "Holmes", Wiggims, and Mrs. Hudson to save the day.

A final benefit to this version is that anyone who was annoyed by the Universal Pictures Holmes films in the 1930s and 1940s--where Nigel Bruce played a Watson who was just this side of retarded--will really get a kick out of the fact that "Holmes" is the nitwit

I recommend this film highly if you enjoy Sherlock Holmes and British comedy.