Movie Magic

I went to see "The Prestige" last night. What a terrific movie. Christian Bale and Michael Caine were amazing, and Hugh Jackman wasn't far below the (very high) bar they set. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan (he of "Memento" fame), it takes you down roads you can't imagine.

Nolan likes to mess with your head, that's for sure. Like "Memento", the story is not told chronologically....but it is told in order. By that I mean you are told what you need to know when you need to know it, and if what you need to know happened 4 years ago, so be it.

It seems to me that movies shine brightest when they happily embrace the medium. Movies are not stage plays; nor are they literature or concerts or any other entertainment. They're celluloid moments of directed attention. In this, they are much like magic itself -- your attention must be directed in a particular direction for the trick to work.....and we willingly allow it since, really, we don't want to look.

High talk and foo-foo philosophy aside, "The Prestige" is monumentally entertaining and thoughtful, and among the best movies I've seen this year.

See it. Bring your brain.