Movie #186: The Prestige

Movie #: 186
Movie Title: The Prestige
Year Released: 2006

Director: Christopher Nolan
Notable Cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, Andy Serkis

Short Description: The rivalry between two magicians becomes more exacerbated by their attempt to perform the ultimate illusion. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #69
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 10/15/2013

What I Liked: Trying to figure out the trick behind the prestige of Christian Bale’s character is a fun puzzle that keeps you thinking and engaged throughout the movie. The back and forth one-upmanship between Bale and Hugh Jackman is thrilling, especially when one attempts to sabotage the other.

What I Disliked: Nothing major that I can think of.

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: The ah-ha moment when the prestige is revealed at the end of the movie delivers a sense of satisfaction and perfectly wraps up some loose ends you didn’t even notice along the way.

Movie #187: The Seventh Seal

Movie #: 187
Movie Title: The Seventh Seal
Year Released: 1957

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Notable Cast: Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Inga Gill

Short Description: A man seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #69



Date Watched: 9/17/2013

What I Liked: N/A

What I Disliked: N/A

Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: The parts with Death were the most interesting of anything in the film and unfortunately they were too few and far between.

Movie #188: Three Colours Red

Movie #: 188
Movie Title: Three Colours Red
Year Released: 1994

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Notable Cast: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit

Short Description: Final entry in a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns a model who discovers her neighbour is keen on invading people's privacy. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #69
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 8/22/2013

What I Liked: N/A

What I Disliked: N/A

Grade: 1.5 out of 5 (Marginal)
Rationale: Another hard to follow foreign film (French) that I couldn’t connect with and failed to capture my interest on all levels.

Movie #189: Tootsie

Movie #: 189
Movie Title: Tootsie
Year Released: 1982

Director: Sydney Pollack
Notable Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray, Geena Davis

Short Description: An unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult disguises himself as a woman to get a role in a soap opera. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: #69
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 8/21/2013

What I Liked: N/A

What I Disliked: N/A

Grade: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
Rationale: Sort of the original Mrs. Doubtfire, Dustin Hoffman pulls off a convincing woman and the film teaches a valuable lesson about equality, though the film lacked the humor that Robin Williams brought to Mrs. Doubtfire.

Movie #190: Cool Hand Luke

Movie #: 190
Movie Title: Cool Hand Luke
Year Released: 1967

Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Notable Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin, Dennis Hopper

Short Description: A man refuses to conform to life in a rural prison. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #70



Date Watched: 8/18/2013

What I Liked: N/A

What I Disliked: N/A

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Again, another movie I can’t recall very well since 11 months has passed since I watched it, but I did like what I saw and found Paul Newman and the plot to be entertaining.

Movie #192: The Breakfast Club

Movie #: 192
Movie Title: The Breakfast Club
Year Released: 1985

Director: John Hughes
Notable Cast: Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, John Kapelos, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy

Short Description: Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where the pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have more in common than they thought. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: #79
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: #93
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 8/8/2013

What I Liked: N/A

What I Disliked: N/A

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: I watched this 11 months ago so I don't recall specifics very well. When I was forced to watch it in high school English class I hated it and thought it was among the worst movies I’d seen. Now that I’m older I can appreciate it a bit more and realize it’s good, but still not as great as some people claim it is.

Movie #193: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Movie #: 193
Movie Title: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Year Released: 1984

Director: Stephen Spielberg
Notable Cast: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri

Short Description: After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees, and stumbles across a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: #71



Date Watched: 8/7/2013

What I Liked: The mine cart chase is iconic in my opinion. There are some pretty cool Easter eggs in the movie, like the night club name “Club ObiWan” at the beginning of the movie. Dinner time at the palace and Willie Scott’s reaction to the local delicacies, like monkey brains, was humorous.

What I Disliked: Willie Scott in general but especially every time she yelled out “Indy” with her whinny tone. She really ruined some of the best parts of the movie for me. The entire opening song and dance sequence felt unnecessary.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)
Rationale: Third best of the three Indiana Jones movies (I refuse to recognize Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and overall just slightly better than an average action flick.

Movie #194: The Wild Bunch

Movie #: 194
Movie Title: The Wild Bunch
Year Released: 1969

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Notable Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brian, Warren Oates

Short Description: Short Description: An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the “traditional” American West is disappearing around them. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: #79
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #94
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 8/6/2013

What I Liked: N/A

What I Disliked: N/A

Grade: 3 out of 5 (Good)
Rationale: It’s been 11 months since I watched this movie so I can’t recall it very well, which plays into the fact it got a 3 out of 5 at the time. It wasn’t bad but not at all memorable.

Movie #195: Das Boot

Movie #: 195
Movie Title: Das Boot
Year Released: 1981

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Notable Cast: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengschü

Short Description: The claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat; boredom, filth, and sheer terror. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: #72
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 8/4/2013

What I Liked: For as bad as the first half was, the second half was very compelling. After the U-boat is damaged in a skirmish and sinks, the majority of the second half follows the crew's frantic attempts to fix the submarine before they all suffocate from a lack of oxygen or drown from water flowing in through leaks. The acting job was superb throughout but especially during the second half, specifically from Jürgen Prochnow as the captain and Klaus Wennemann as the chief engineer.

What I Disliked: Dive, dive, dive. That completely describes the entire first half of the director’s cut of Das Boot, which was 107 minutes alone. When the IMDB description mentions the boredom that the crew of the U-boat endures, it's also applies to the viewer. Other than the occasional diving or rising to the surface to see if they could find an enemy ship, there was nothing remotely interesting going on. I'll admit that I didn't finish this movie until my third attempt at watching it because I fell asleep twice during the first 107 minutes.

Grade: 2 out of 5 (Fair)
Rationale: This was really a tale of two movies and it's a shame I can’t judge it solely on the superior second half.