Movie Review Monday

Ever since my brother got us started on a Netflix subscription as a Christmas gift (thanks, Bro!), Rob and I have been watching a movie almost every Friday night. I forgot how much fun it is to put the kids in bed, pop some popcorn, and snuggle up with Rob in front of a talkie. It's a cheap date, plus we get to wear pajamas, stretch out on the couch, and pause for bathroom breaks. Stadium seating's got nothing on movies at home.

I didn't think I was going to enjoy Netflix as much as I do, but I do not miss dragging the kids through the video store. In our area, if you do not get to the video store and pick up your movie by Friday afternoon, you'll never get your hands on any new releases. That meant that Rob would be too late if he stopped by after work, and the movie procurement fell to me. Now I just click the mouse a few times, fill up my queue (they sound British! it must be hi-klass!), and wait for the movies to come to me. I drop it in the mail on Monday, I get the next movie in line by Thursday, and we have a ready-made date on Friday. All I'm sayin' is: me-likey! (And, no, Netflix did not pay me to endorse them - although I'm not above being a sell-out if it will pay for the braces that are in my budget's not-too-distant future).

Since we've been watching so many movies, I thought I'd start doing a Monday Movie Review. Too pretentious? Too much gratuitous bad language? Too long? Just right? I'll dish - but, as Levar would say, you don't have to take my word for it. I rarely agree with movie/book reviews - I'm usually a little less hard-nosed than the reviewers. I'm just spending my two cents, as usual, so remember to take this with a grain (or shaker) of salt.

I will use a rating scale from one to five loads of laundry (get it? loads!); one basket being a real stinker and five baskets being one I might consider adding to my private collection (of course, that's assuming I had a private collection of dvds that did not involve trains, virtuous vegetables, or other animation).

Without further ado, I give you the inaugural Monday Movie Review!:


The Prestige rated PG-13 (for some "disturbing" images)

starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Sir Michael Caine, Scarlett Johanssen

I am not known for my love of suspense movies. I much prefer knowing the outcome of a situation, and, to that end, I have read final pages of books first and purposely sought out reviews with "spoilers." If Rob has seen a movie before me, I make him tell me the end. I don't like to worry while I'm watching a movie, so if the characters meet an unhappy end, I like to know ahead of time.

So you would think that watching a suspense film about illusionists and their secrets would just about drive me over the edge, what with the not knowing and all. I hardly noticed it, my friends, because it was very good. In a nutshell: Robert (Jackman) and Alfred (Bale) are friends and rival magicians in turn-of-the-century London. Following an incident during a shared magic act, they become enemies trying to out-do each other's stage shows. Tormented by jealousy and obsession, the two men become bent on sacrificing everything to learn the other's secrets. As with all things, their obsessions threaten to destroy them. To say anymore would ruin it for you (unless you are like me, in which case, email me and I'll tell you the whole enchilada!) - I'll just say I had fun trying to figure it out. There was no gratuitous violence, language, or nudity, plus, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale aren't too bad on the eyes (and there was a little Scarlett Johanssen for my hubs!)
If you want to pare it down even further, you can go with my brother-in-law's review:
It's Batman vs. Wolverine. (Brevity is the soul of wit, people.) Any way you look at it, The Prestige is a good night at the movies.



The Mother Load Rating: 4 Baskets