The Prestige

Somewhere along the way I've started to like Michael Caine, go figure.

Caught the Prestige finally. Excellent movie. I had to see it over the course of a couple days, so that's probably why it felt choppy. I'll have to read the novel at some point. Some of the tricks that were sabotaged where incomprehensible on the small screen (the dove cage apparatus looked cool, didn't understand how it worked, and seemed elaborate for a sad little trick).

Christian Bale is an okay actor, despite the back teeth thing. He kind of slips in and out of character a little bit. I saw his arc halfway through and find it a bit unbelievable, so no surprise with that one.

Hugh Jackman is great. His arc was a surprise (nice twist of mystic realism) and quite a bit disturbing.

I wasn't sure if Bale's character was going to use the machine to replace his you-know-what (avoiding spoilers).

David Bowie is a scene stealer (didn't even know it was him). Tesla has always been an intriguing character (anyone who has all their notes, plans, and goods stolen by the government in quasi-legal manner, and which is STILL under secrecy despite the secrecy laws saying it should have been opened up long ago HAS to be an interesting fellow. His story needs to be told, but no one knows what his story really is...)

Filmmaking-wise this was excellent. The script turned in on itself wonderfully if not a little predictably (mystic realism is a bit of a cheat because you can't predict it, but it's fun anyway).

Not a film for kids, BTW. (Though I expect certain hands-in-his-pockets-while-others-work teenagers have seen it...)

The author of the novel, Christopher Priest, is an editor and writer at DC Comics under different names, by the way. A very nice and unassuming man who rarely trumpets his accomplishments. Met him at a trade show when some of his comics were the hottest things in the industry and he shunned the spotlight. Rather amazed he was in the extras of the DVD...