1985 - The Prestige

My son has become quite interested in magic, and we were watching some David Blaine stuff on the weekend and it made me desperate to re-watch this.  I love the idea of magicians - part con-arts, part showman - it's a very exciting and thrilling thing.  This film features a fantastic cast set amongst this tragic story of greed and pride.  I love the way that Nolan weaves the story in and around - he's playing a beautiful magic trick on you of his own.
If you like films that make you think and keep you guessing, this is easily one of the best.  Top notch entertainment with a lot more going on beneath the surface.  A must see :)

1915 - Now You See Me

I am a sucker for a big flashy con-film - and throw together a cast like this and I'm all-in.  It's the story of four-magicians brought together - why?  They aren't entirely sure - but they're about to become Robin Hood-esque Magicians on a heist that even they don't understand.
To talk about this film properly requires me to go into SPOILER MODE.  But before that I'll say - I liked it - I will absolutely see a follow-up if they make it (although it felt like this whole con had been someone's life's work) - but I did find that the characters were a little one note - and it was almost entirely plot based - nothing wrong with that - I just think the film could have been a lot richer otherwise.

Okay.  Now SPOILERS...

You know that the film is going to end with the twist of us realizing that one of the characters is going be the mastermind - it's not going to be a new character - films don't do that.  They kept pointing at the French lady (also this film seemed to have a bizarre racist slant agains the French...), so it's too obvious to make it her - she's the assistant - and Morgan Freeman's character is too obvious as well.  Ruffalo seemed like the biggest twist, and so to me it only made sense to make it be him.  That said, I just don't know about this twist - I'd have to re-watch the film to make sure it fit and wasn't just parlour tricks.

All that said, it was good popcorn entertainment and I will, indeed, take second helpings should they come my way.

1782 - Muppet's Christmas Carol

This is one of my favourite Christmas films and while it made me feel super old to realize that it's the 20th anniversary of this film it was my delight in being able to share this with my little guy for the first time.  He's a fan of the muppets and his only concern was whether Sweetums would be in the film or not (he has a love/hate relationship with Sweetums).  Ultimately he dug the hell out of it despite the 3rd Ghost terrifying him.  The film ended and he declared "I loved it! And we're NEVER GOING TO WATCH IT AGAIN. EVER!"  We'll see next year...

For me, it's a pure and constant pleasure.  The music, the jokes, it's all working and Michael Caine fits in perfectly with the madness and yet gives it a poignant touch.  Outside of Bill Murray he could very well be my favourite Scrooge, and it terms of the classic approach, I think he safely is.

If you've never seen this version of this classic then you really owe it to yourself to - they put it out on Bluray this year for the anniversary and at $20 it's a pretty good price, although I'm sure you can find it on DVD even cheaper.  If you watch this and don't love it, you have no soul...

1740 - Hannah & Her Sisters

I've always said that Annie Hall is my favourite Woody Allen film, but I can't help but wonder if this one isn't sneaking in there.  It doesn't have all the wonderfully surreal stuff that it does, but as a straight-story, it could be his finest.  It's a lovely ensemble that's full of some wonderfully comic moments, and then some really dynamic drama (I'm looking at you Max Von Sydow!).  I was watching this mostly to look at the visuals again and think about it purely from that stand point.  The film I'm currently working on is similar to Woody's films in that it's quite dialogue driven, and so it helps me a fair deal to watch the films of similar wordy writers, and this is just simply one of the best. 
I always point to Annie Hall as the film that non-Woody-believers should check out if they don't think they'd like him - but I think this one deserves a mention just as much.  Please, oh please, if you've never seen it - treat yourself.  You won't regret it - and if you do… we probably can't be friends.  Sorry. 

1710 - Hannah & Her Sisters

I'm sure that I've commented on this film several times at this point, it's one of the many Woody Allen films that I revisit on a regular basis.  It's one of the best ensemble comedy films out there, and it's not surprise that it won an Oscar for screenplay that year.  Annie Hall is always my go-to favourite Woody film, but this one might just be the close second the more that I think about it. 
I'm revisiting it at this point as I start to plan the visuals for my next film Sex After Kids.  I'm going to be re-watching a lot of relationship films in the next little bit, particularly ones that are heavier on the dialogue front just to compare styles and get some more inspiration.  What's interesting about Woody is that he likes to shoot mostly in just big master shots.  He hardly, if ever shoots coverage and very sparingly shoots close-ups.  I like how a lot of his shots go from wide shots to medium shots to close-ups just by following the actor's natural rhythms.  I honestly think that there's something to be said for not getting in the actors way when it comes to a visual style and sometimes that simply means letting a scene play out and not destroy it with too many shots and interruptions. 
If you've never seen this, you really should, in a catalogue of great films, it's one of Woody's best.

1664 - The Muppet Christmas Carol

It's funny, having revisited a lot of the Muppet collection recently this may very well be one of my favorite among them.  I think the original is still tops, but this might be my second favorite (will confirm that when I revisit the newest film...).
I was a teenager when my mother passed away at Christmas time and so it was always a bit of a gloomy time of year for me, but if nothing else this was one of those films that could always put a smile on my face and get me into the holiday spirit.  I really do need to find a DVD version of the film as my VHS is starting to get a tad worn...
If you've never seen this it's a real treat - it stays extremely true to the Dicken's story and is easily the Muppet's best (and probably only good) adaptation of a classic work.  Full of catchy and delightful music, and a really solid performance from Michael Caine, this is a holiday classic that you just can't miss.  I love it to pieces!