Two forgettable Flicks

I liked the X-men trilogy. In fact I liked it more than the Spiderman series. Then add all the media hype on X-men Origins: Wolverine, there was no way I was going to miss X-men origins: Wolverine.

Wish I had missed it. This movie was a disaster. With cheesy stunts, an inane plot and terrible dialogs, this would easily be among the worst movies I had seen. Even Hugh Jackson could not revive this one. This movie is a disaster. Skip it.

Now lets look the second, Street Fighter, Legend of Chun Li. Well, there is nothing much to look at. This movie was hilarious, without any such intention. It was so bad- it was good! The dialogs were an anachronism. They belonged in a bad martial arts movie from the 80s with all the new age cliches about finding one's real self.

If you ever wanted to relive your Grindhouse memories a la Tarantino/Rodriguez, rent these movies on the same night and invite friends over. You are guaranteed to have a blast if you follow the plot and dialog carefully.

Only one question persists after I watched the second movie: What was an actor like Michael Clark Duncan of the Green Mile fame doing in the movie. The big guy plays a side kick to the caricature of some sort of mob boss.

On second thoughts, steer clear of both these flicks.

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Movie Review: The Prestige

This is a spellbinder from Christopher Nolan, director of Batman begins and Memento. Like the former its atmosphere is dark and like the latter its plot moves continuously from past to present, keeping the viewer gripped to the screen.

The movie reunites Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and veteran thespian Michael Caine, the cast of Batman Begins, easily the best Batman movie to date. Joining them is Hugh Jackman, of Wolverine fame.

The movie revolves around Bale and Jackman, two former friends but rival magicians each trying to outdo the other. Bale's character is the better illusionist while Jackman's character is the better showman, who elegantly add pizazz to each of his shows. An accident on stage leads to the death of Jackman's wife. The event creates a bitterness in Jackman which turns into obsession and hostility towards his rival, the master illusionist. Bale retaliates by sabotaging his opponent's shows. Each magician will stop at nothing to win. No price is too big to pay for either magician to trump the other.

Caine plays the old master who tries to help the showman and Scarlet Johanson plays the woman caught between the two illusionists. David Bowie plays an enigmatic inventor whom Jackman turns to for a contraption to add a winning edge to his show.

A very unique plot, terrific performances from a great cast and great directing make this movie a hidden jewel. Christian Bale is shaping up to be an actor who can do some of the most memorable roles in the vein of Christopher Walken and Johnny Depp. My verdict: This movie is a must see!

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