I'll do this one Memento-style, and take you backwards through my last few days like my name was John G.
To start with, last night I saw The Prestige, and I have a lot of thoughts ...
... unfortunately most of my thoughts are actually questions, and most of those questions have to do with the specifics of the story, and if I were to get into said specifics it may in fact spoil the movie for any who haven't seen it. And since my ultimate thoughts on this movie include a plea for any and all of you to run out and see it if you haven't already, I don't really want to spoil it for you. Got it?
THE PRESTIGE Review
- Let's face it, The Prestige is a walking geekgasm of a movie. Batman, Wolverine, David Bowie, Scarlet Johansson. The director of Memento and Batman Begins. A Victorian London setting. Nikola Tesla. Magic. What's not to like? But those going into this movie expecting some kind of comic-bookish, Joel Schumacher-esque cluster#$%* are going to instead be presented with something much different. Something dark and twisted and haunting, that reminds you of something that Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman might have conjured up whilst in a particularly sinister mood. If anything, this movie will remind you of Christopher Nolan's own Memento - because, like that masterpiece, The Prestige is a winding, labrynthine movie - shifting timeframes and perspectives, building intensity as the movie methodically but powerfully leads you to its shocking final act. This isn't Harry Potter, people. The Prestige is one dark, messed-up, mind-$#$& of a movie.
To sum up without giving away too much, The Prestige centers around two stage magicians, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, each apprenticed by the same mentor - a saavy veteran illusionist played by Michael Caine. While Bale is the one with the innate talent for magic, Jackman is the natural showman. While training for their own acts, Bale and Jackman act as audience plants for another magician, whose apprentice is Jackman's wife. During one performance, a water-tank trick goes awry, and Jackman's wife is killed. Jackman blames Bale, and a rivalry forms between the two magicians that spirals deeper and becomes increasingly more vicious. Things really reach a head when Jackman witnesses Bale perform a confounding trick known as the Transporting Man, which even to his trained eye seems impossible to pull off. Desperate to know the secret of Bale's trick, Jackman is led to the eccentric American inventor, Nikola Tesla - played by David Bowie.
What happens from there - well, that would be revealing too much ...
Suffice to say, a LOT happens. And you can't help but be enthralled as Nolan weaves yet another Memento-esque yarn, with each turn of the screw leaving your jaw hanging on the floor. This is an ambitious movie - from the way the narrative is framed to the spiralling structure to the scope and lofty implications of the plot - this is a movie that leaves you with profound moral and social questions flitting through your head as you leave the theater. But is it trying for too much? Does it drown under the weight of its own ambition? Honestly, it's very, very ahrd to say after only one viewing. I don't think there is any kind of consensus yet, as only repeat viewings will allow for the kind of scrutiny that this movie's plot demands.
To be honest, if you asked me right now what, exactly, happened in this movie, I'm not sure if I could tell you the correct answer. Already I've heard differing theories, contradictory interpretations of the various plot points. It's just too early to say if this movie is, in fact, an amazingly put-together mind-trip that fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, or simply an only sem-decipherable riddle that doesn't lend itself to one particular narrative conclusion. I think that one of the big complaints about this movie will be that, while it started as a grounded character study of two magicians, it soon takes a sharp left turn into twilight-zone territory that never quite gels with the tone of the rest of the film. I think that criticism is valid. Unlike Memento, there seems to be a lot of extraneous stuff in this movie that ISN'T a part of the larger narrative puzzle. Some of the pieces don't "click" in the end. Unlike Memento, where the final scene is a grand "aha!" moment - The Prestige left me similarly breathless but also pretty confused. And it might be that this is a movie that can only be judged after multiple viewings - already I've re-examined certain scenes in my head and realized how they in some way fit into the larger picture. But some things still don't gel, like the relative ambiguity of Michael Caine's character, for example - whose side was he on - what was his motivation?
Anyways, forgetting the twists and turns of the plot for a moment - this film was pure enjoyment to watch in many ways thanks to the greatness that Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman brought to the precedings. Like the duo of Damon and DiCaprio in The Departed, there is something so natural yet exciting about seeing these two face off against one another. Bale in particular brings a Batman-like intensity to his role, and seeing him here brought my level of anticipation for The Dark Knight to a new level. I think Jackman is only slightly less interesting, maybe simply because he (and Johansson) have just been in SO many movies lately. In fact, The Prestige is an odd melding of the casts of Batman Begins and Woody Allen's Scoop - in any case, there's a lot of familiar faces here. But hey, if there's any role that Scarlett Johansson might have been born to play, it's that of a seductive, corset-clad magician's assistant - so, um, yeah, you won't hear me complaining about that one. And of course - Michael Caine - basically gravitas in a bottle, is great as always. Like I said, his character is tough to get a read on, but there's no denying what Caine brings to the performance.
Then, there is David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. I have to admit, I've always been fascinated not only with Victorian times, but with Tesla in particular. I remember I used to get these catalogs in the mail - you know, probably from subscribing to Nintendo Power or something. They had all kinds of stuff that thrills the imagination of a young boy - magician's kits, practical jokes, remote control cars, and books. I remember seeing in those catalogs these ads for books on Tesla - "Read the true story of the man who, over 100 years ago, discovered the secrets of teleportation, anti-gravity, and even time-travel!" Who was this guy, I remember thinking. Anyways, Tesla is a key figure in The Prestige, and played by David Bowie no less, sporting an oddball German accent looking appropriately creepy. I will say, there was something a bit jarring about Bowie's performance here - he definitely stood out amidst a cast and story that up until Tesla's introduction, was grounded in grim Victorian reality. Bowie as Tesla is really kind of an oddity in this movie, seemingly out of place, but in many ways I guess that's the point.
After reading all this, you're probably wondering what I actually thought of this movie. Well, as of now, there's no doubt in my mind that this is a must-see, a spectacular journey into the unknown. This movie is grim, disturbing - don't expect Jackman or Bale to be playing typically heroic characters - both magicians are driven, vicious, downright twisted people by the movie's end. But that's part of what is so captivating about The Prestige - it goes places that no other movie has gone, carrying out its plot to the absolute extremes - examining the grotesque implications of its characters actions in a manner both captivating and highly distrubing. I got the feeling that the people in my theater wanted to clap out of appreciation when the film ended, but were so stunned into meditative silence by the film's wrenching third act that most of us were just sitting there, trying to wrap our heads around what we had just seen. But is this movie a classic, or just an extremely ambitious but flawed attempt at creating a magical epic in the twisiting narrative style of Memento? Again, I can't say, not yet at least. Like I said, I'm still digesting what I saw, and still wondering how it will hold up to repeat viewings. For now, I would just say to go see it, because even if my grade doesn't reflect it (instead reflecting my latest train of thought, in which I almost love the movie but question certain aspects of its plot), this is one that, as the years go by, may indeed become a movie to revisit over and over again.
My Grade: A -
Now, continuing my backwards voyage through time, I take you back to last Thursday, when I got to attend the opening night of The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D at the El Capitan in Hollywood, thanks to a bunch of tickets made available on the cheap via Boston University. The scene was crazy, with hardcore Burton fans lined up dressed as their favorite characters from the film, and all manner of Disney-provided street performers walking and dancing around, as skeletons and other creatures of the night roamed in front of the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. Inside, as smiling pumpkins and other Halloween-themed decorations filled the halls and main auditorium, we were treated to a Q and A with a number of the personnel involved with the film, including the voice of Oogie Boogie, Ken Page, who did a live rendition of his featured song from the movie. Pretty cool ...
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN 3-D Review
First of all, the 3-D technology used for this movie is amazing - definitely the best 3-D I've seen, in terms of the sheer clarity and sharpness of the images on screen. The screen at the El Capitan is fairly small compared to that of a big multiplex, but as the movie started I was amazed at how the 3-D effect seemed to make the entire screen pop out at you, giving the illusion that you were looking at a much bigger image than you actually were. Aside from the opening logos and intro, there weren't really any traditional "stuff popping out at you" style 3-D scenes, but the overall effect was incredible. The stop-motion animated puppets felt completely vibrant and real, and everything just took on a seamless, larger-than-life, totally immersive quality thanks to the depth of the 3-D visuals.
As for the movie itself - well, it's Nighmare Before Christmas - in my estimation one of the true modern classics in terms of family entertainment, and Tim Burton at the height of his mad-genious-like creative powers. The story is simple and immediately intriguing. The characters are instantly lovable and captivating and funny and just plain cool to look at. The songs mix the whimsical catchiness of classic Walt Disney with the breadth and pathos of the best broadway musicals. Finally, the movie, visually, is simply an unmatched work of art - the entire production bleeds with gothic style and drips with carefully-constructed atmosphere. The character design is perfect, timeless. Just from looking at this movie, the care, and heart, and precision and detail that went into every painfully and delicately arranged shot is just remarkable. Even after all these years - Nightmare looks and feels like nothing else that has come before or since.
If you live anywhere near a theater playing The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D, I can't think of any better way to usher in Halloween than by revisiting this newly-improved classic.
My Grade: A
TV STUFF:
- Man, so much stuff to catch up on. I still have to watch last week's Smallville and I've been meaning to watch my recorded Night of Too Many Stars that Comedy Central aired last week. All I've seen so far is the Borat segment, which is, predictably, gut-bustingly funny.
- Really liked both My Name Is Earl and The Office last week. The Office in aprticular had some simply hilarious sequences with Dwight's initiation for hapless former-temp Ryan. Dwight demanding that Ryan metaphorically wrestle his fears by fighting Dwight's cousing mose, decked out in a "Fear" t-shirt, had me dying of laughter. "Get in the coffin!" Bwahahaha .... hilarious. The Office is on a total roll with me lately ... I can't understand why more people aren't watching! Hey, at least it's the number 1 show on I-Tunes! In ya face, broadcast TV, I-Tunes users clearly have better taste than the typical TV-watching tube-zombie.
- I'm very curious to see what kind of episode Heroes comes up with tonight. I think the sheer cool-factor of last week's ending made many (me included), willing to ignore the fact that the rest of the episode was not exactly A-level material. So Heroes has raised its own bar a little, which is a good thing. But I hope it can build off of that momentum and not disappoint. We'll see. A random internet review I read said it best - it's like Hiro is the star of his own much cooler, much better show that somehow got downsized to simply being a subplot within the tapestry of Heroes. Let's hope the rest of the show catches up.
- Also curious about tonight's Studio 60. I thought last week's ep built a lot of positive momentum that looks to continue into tonight's installment, and the inclusion of Lauren Graham as a guest star can't hurt things. NBC needs to get this show to a different timeslot, pronto.
- I also never got a chance to write about last week's Locke-centric episode of LOST. To sum up, the episode totally captivated me for the first ten minutes or so. Locke's hallucinatory dream sequence was tres cool and was a definite TIVO moment, but it was all downhill from there. The flashbacks seemed to add an unnecessary additional layer to Locke's character, and didn't seem to tie organically into anything else about Locke's past that has been revealed to this point. Also, i think this show far too often falls back on meaningless conversations about faith and destiny in place of actual insight into characters or plot points. The entire search for Mr. Eko and the crazed polar bear was just so random and in many ways lame, as were the various explanations for what happened to the castaways caught in the hatch "implosion." Charlie was fine and acting like nothing had happened. Eko was randomly near death in a bear cave. Locke inexplicably couldn't speak for all of ten minutes. And Desmond was randomly wandering around naked on the island, raving like a lunatic (moreso than usual) and apparently gained the ablity to forsee the future? Whaaaa?!?! This ep exemplified many of the key recurring problems with Lost by just throwing about a dozen different concepts against the wall, seeing if they stick, and asking us to just throw all logic out the window and go along for the ride. Part of my disappointment with the ep probably stemmed from how much I've enjoyed previous Locke eps, but this was also undeniably an uneven and ultimately frustrating installment of Lost, a definite come-down after the relative high quality of the last few weeks.
- I am continuing to like 30 ROCK, and Tracy Morgan continues to make me laugh more than anyone on network TV not named Dwight Schrute. While the sitcom as a whole is still not completely gelling, as much of the cast seems to be lost in the shuffle, the humor has been spot-on. I mean, the NBC Page, in full uniform, smiling like a dope while being grinded on by an overeager female intern? Comedy gold. Yep, NBC Pages are inherently funny. As for 20 GOOD YEARS, I did get a few hearty chuckles from last week's ep, as the situational comedy veered into only-in-sitcomland-style craziness, with Lithgow and Tambor contemplating sharing a mutual love interest, going so far as to almsot have a threesome. You can imagine the zaniness that ensues ... EW this week had a funny little Love Him or Hate Him piece about Lithgow. Personally I'm a fan but can see how he can be annoying. But in the case of 20 Good Years, I think Lithgow's sheer enthusiasm and energy is what saves the sometimes uninspired comedy at play.
- Alright, that's all I've got for now. If you've seen The Prestige, hit me up and let me know what you make of the ending, it's one of those movies I'm chomping at the bit to discuss in detail. And with that, I say Abracadabra, and goodnight.
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