The Illusionist 2/5 reviewed by Chris
I have a magical talent. I have an innate ability to sense a movie’s quality before seeing it. It is like a “good-movie-radar,” if you will. More often than not it is reliable. BOY, DID IT FAIL FOR THIS ONE!!!
The Illusionist
-Now in theaters-
Chris’s review:
To elaborate on my intro…there is a sad fact about the Critic Crew that I must divulge. Mike and I are just average Joes with little to no money and we do this out of our love of film, not because we are being paid to do it. Thus, we shell out the same hard earned cash that any moviegoer must shell out when we want to see a movie. Now, having little to no money and yet having to pay to go enjoy an art form that I know and love I often find myself in a bit of a conundrum. Hence, I have developed a 6th sense when it comes to evaluating the potential quality of a film before I see it. I use this ability in hopes that I will not have to pay the painful 12 to 18 dollars to go see a BAD movie unnecessarily (note that I am unfailingly accompanied by my lovely companion Taryn to movies, thus it is a sure thing that I will be buying two tickets often).
Unfortunately for me, my ability to weed out bad films and only spend money on something of higher quality failed miserably yesterday.
By all signs The Illusionist should be a good film. Maybe not GREAT, but in the very least GOOD, with strong potential to be GREAT. The signs were WRONG. This movie was wretched!!!
The story is trite and redundant, the plot is lame and regurgitated, and even the characters being played by very capable actors seem thin and underdeveloped. The ONLY saving grace of this film is the cinematography. The film has a very cool look but it hardly makes up for all its other shortcomings.
It pains me to say so, because I have a strong love for both Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. I will say that both perform well, but with little or NO character to develop it is hard to give them a big nod.
More disappointing is the apparent rave reviews this movie is garnering. WHY?!?!? Every part of this movie has been done before and BETTER! It is a hodge-podge of characters, story “twists,” period, and feel that are anything but original!
Disappointment is the word that will best conclude this review. Not only in this flat and boring film but also in my previously reliable talent for seeking out only the best films to spend my hard earned dollar on.
Sigh...kill me.
Chris’s recommendations:
See this movie if…
-Just don’t, ‘nuff said.
Don’t see this movie if…
-You really like Edward Norton or Paul Giamatti…you will be disappointed because a failed director/screenplay adaptor has given them NOTHING to work with as far a REAL characters.
-You value 2 hours of your life and would rather not waste it.
-You have my phone number…call me instead and we’ll watch a DVD or something.
The Illusionist
-Now in theaters-
Chris’s review:
To elaborate on my intro…there is a sad fact about the Critic Crew that I must divulge. Mike and I are just average Joes with little to no money and we do this out of our love of film, not because we are being paid to do it. Thus, we shell out the same hard earned cash that any moviegoer must shell out when we want to see a movie. Now, having little to no money and yet having to pay to go enjoy an art form that I know and love I often find myself in a bit of a conundrum. Hence, I have developed a 6th sense when it comes to evaluating the potential quality of a film before I see it. I use this ability in hopes that I will not have to pay the painful 12 to 18 dollars to go see a BAD movie unnecessarily (note that I am unfailingly accompanied by my lovely companion Taryn to movies, thus it is a sure thing that I will be buying two tickets often).
Unfortunately for me, my ability to weed out bad films and only spend money on something of higher quality failed miserably yesterday.
By all signs The Illusionist should be a good film. Maybe not GREAT, but in the very least GOOD, with strong potential to be GREAT. The signs were WRONG. This movie was wretched!!!
The story is trite and redundant, the plot is lame and regurgitated, and even the characters being played by very capable actors seem thin and underdeveloped. The ONLY saving grace of this film is the cinematography. The film has a very cool look but it hardly makes up for all its other shortcomings.
It pains me to say so, because I have a strong love for both Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. I will say that both perform well, but with little or NO character to develop it is hard to give them a big nod.
More disappointing is the apparent rave reviews this movie is garnering. WHY?!?!? Every part of this movie has been done before and BETTER! It is a hodge-podge of characters, story “twists,” period, and feel that are anything but original!
Disappointment is the word that will best conclude this review. Not only in this flat and boring film but also in my previously reliable talent for seeking out only the best films to spend my hard earned dollar on.
Sigh...kill me.
Chris’s recommendations:
See this movie if…
-Just don’t, ‘nuff said.
Don’t see this movie if…
-You really like Edward Norton or Paul Giamatti…you will be disappointed because a failed director/screenplay adaptor has given them NOTHING to work with as far a REAL characters.
-You value 2 hours of your life and would rather not waste it.
-You have my phone number…call me instead and we’ll watch a DVD or something.
posted by Joe Punchface at 11:31 AM
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