FALL MOVIE VIEWS

Here's a couple of quick movie reviews to ponder over what's left of your Thanksgiving leftovers:

Fast Food Nation (my grade: B)

Stars: Greg Kinnear, Wilmer Valderrama, Catalina Sandina Moreno, Patricia Arquette, Kris Kristofferson, Ethan Hawke, Avril Lavigne & Bruce Willis.
Written by: Eric Schlosser (based on his non-fiction best seller) and Richard Linklater.
Directed by: Linklater
My Take: An ambitious, Robert Altman-esque look at many facets of the business of producing and selling fast food in America that makes an analogy between the bad stuff in (and behind) fast food and the rot, greed and lack of moral value endemic in American society today. Sometimes the movie is as dry as I have made it sound. Other times it isn't. And for the faint of heart, you'll want to close your eyes at the inevitable slaughterhouse scene, although anyone's who's ever eaten a burger probably needs to see just how inhumane it is to kill a cow.

For my money, FAST FOOD NATION probably has a few too many celebrity cameos and it bites off a lot more narrative than it can chew, pun intended. A couple of characters never develop, one or two subplots don't sufficiently pay off. Still, the movie is thought provoking, well-acted and if anyone is on the fence about eating fast food burgers, this picture might push them right off.

The Prestige (A)

Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine & Scarlett Johanssen.
Written by: Christopher and Jonathan Nolan.
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
My take: One of the great overlooked movies of this year, THE PRESTIGE is yet another Christopher Nolan-opus on identity and how we determine who and what we are (if you look at every Nolan movie except for his work-for-hire adaptation of INSOMNIA, all of his movies are about this in some way, including BATMAN RETURNS). Nolan being Nolan however, this theme is brilliantly interwoven into a Victorian-era tale about rival magicians, their loves and an obsession with a trick called the "The Transported Man" that threatens to destroy both of their lives. The opening narration of the movie cleverly tells you everything you need to know about the film's central mystery, without of course revealing anything at all: "Every magic act has three parts..." Pay close attention and the ending will reward you and feel very poignant--don't pay attention and the ending will feel forced, abrupt and ridiculous. The onus is on you, film viewer. I haven't said much about the performances, but they're all top notch, especially Bale as magician Alfred Borden. It probably won't be in theaters much longer, but if you can find it THE PRESTIGE is well worth your nine or ten bucks.

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday...I know I sure did. Check you later in the week.

Peace...