The Prestige

The Prestige- PG-13

By Jonathan Goodsell

Wow, what to say about this movie. It reminds me of The Sixth Sense in the fact that you can't tell much without giving the whole movie away. The Prestige is the story of two friends, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), who become rival magicians. Borden gets the perfect trick, and Angier becomes obsessed with figuring out the secret and making it better. I know it's vague, cause there is so much more to the movie. You'll just have to go see this one for yourself

The whole movie was fantastic. There is nothing bad I can say about it. Christopher Nolan creates another masterpiece that you'll watch time and time again trying to figure it out. It makes you think just like Nolan's later movie Inception does. The acting was all fantastic. The all-star crew of Jackman, Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson are really what made the movie great. I don't think it would have been as good if the cast was different. Wow, I've actually run out of things to say. The movie was just.... stunning. It was, dare I say, perfect; or as perfect as a movie can get. Christopher Nolan really knows how to make a good movie. I'm excited to see more of his work come out in the future.

The whole show was mysterious and a little dark. There are several disturbing scenes. Unlike other reviews, I'm not going to give examples or details cause I can't without ruining the show. There is nothing inappropriate, but several scenes are kind of disturbing. Definitely not a family show,  it's something for your older teens and up.

I just can't express how much I loved this show. It's just so amazing. I feel so bad about such a short review for such an excellent movie, but it really just speaks for itself. I highly encourage everybody to go see it for themselves if you haven't seen it yet. So in my reviewer opinion, The Prestige gets a magical 9/10

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane- PG

By Jonathan Goodsell

Citizen Kane is considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made.And while I wouldn't say the greatest, it is definitely up very high on the list. Starring and directed by Orson Welles, Citizen Kane is the story of Mr. Kane as he grows a newspaper company into a massive industry. The story is told in flashbacks as a reporter, after the death of Kane, tries to figure out the meaning of Kane's last words.

This film was rather stunning to watch. Orson Welles did an excellent job depicting the conflicted Kane. His direction of the film was also really well done. The plot was thick and really well thought through. It left you wondering what was next and kept you watching throughout. Part of it was kind of confusing though, at parts you wondered where in the world it was taking you, or what it had anything to do with the plot. But in the last ten seconds of film when it all wrapped up, everything came together and it all made sense. Once that happens, you see why it's considered one of the greatest movies of all time. At least that's when the feeling finally hit me. 

This movie was completely clean, no language, no violence, and no inappropriate scenes. It's a little dramatic at parts, but other than that there is no problems with this movie.Though even though it's perfectly clean, it's not a movie that would interest kids, they would get bored in five minutes flat.So if your looking for a good family show, look somewhere else.

It doesn't surprise me that this movie is considered one of the best ever, it is excellently made.It's definitely worth seeing once. So in my reviewer opinion, Citizen Kane gets a classically deserved 9/10

Rear Window

Rear Window- PG

By Jonathan Goodsell

Rear Window is a classic Alfred Hitchcock film. It's not a horror like some of his other films, but it's an interesting mystery. Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, Rear Window tells the story of a magazine photographer (Stewart) who, after breaking his leg, is stuck in his apartment with nothing to do. He takes up the nasty habit of sitting at his window and watching all his neighbors across the alley. His girlfriend (Kelly) and landlady both complain about this nasty little habit, but nothing will dissuade ever stubborn Stewart. Eventually, Stewart gets the idea that one of his neighbors murdered his wife. So the stake out begins as he tries to convince Kelly and his detective friend that he's not crazy. 

This was a really well done movie. You never could tell whether or not Stewart was right and it kept you at the edge of your seat until the end. The acting done by both James Stewart and Grace Kelly was spectacular, and as always, the story line done by Hitchcock is a masterpiece. This is well deserving of it's place on the list of Top 100 movies of all time as chosen by the American Film Institute.

This movie is completely clean. There is no language at all. Yet you do see one of Stewart's neighbors dancing in their under garments, its not bad and completely in humor. It is a little tense to watch the mystery resolve and the ending scene is a little frightening. 

This movie is fantastic and a must see. Alfred Hitchcock pulls off another classic. So in my reviewer opinion, Rear Window has earned a well deserved 8.5/10

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows- PG-13

By Jonathan Goodsell

A Game of Shadows is the squeal to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes. Returning stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law take on the roles of Holmes (Downey) and Watson (Law) as they take on the mastermind criminal Professor Moriarty played by Jared Harris. The story once again follows Holmes and his shenanigans, disguises, and unorthodox techniques as he and Watson go head to head with the brilliant Moriarty and try to stop him from starting a premature world war.

Now, I'm personally a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan. I also really love watching Jude Law. So the two Sherlock Holmes movies have been one of my favorites of the past few years. I even went to the midnight premier for Game of Shadows. But now,enough about me. Downey played a brilliant Sherlock Holmes. He portrays, rather well, many of the characteristics of Holmes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books. Many disprove of Downey's portrayal and believe in Jeremy Brett's portrayal in the original Holmes films.Though through their differences, as they both are rather different, I believe they both did a great job and I full love and appreciate the artistic license used by both to personalize the character. But enough on my rant about Holmes, lets talk about the rest of the film. The rest of the acting was excellent. Jude Law once again did a good job with Dr. Watson, and Noomi Rapace did a fun job portraying the gypsy maiden Madam Simza. However, I was really disappointed in the killing off of Rachel McAdams character of Irene Adler. I really enjoyed her in the first movie, especially the extremely awkward love interest between her and Holmes. I was really excited for more in this one, only for them to get rid of her in the beginning scene. Oh well. Now for Jared Harris. His acting on Moriarty was absolutely stunning. He provided a true villain, a bad guy you could really love and hate, all at the same time. His equally strong intellect matched with Sherlock's was very fun to watch and kept you at the edge of the seat the whole movie.

The story line was pretty good in this one, though rather different from the first. Guy Ritchie, the director of both of the two films, did a great job of laying out the plot and leading you through in an entertaining and complete way. Some of what they put into it, a lot of the guns and weaponry portrayed in later scenes, weren't around during the time period portrayed. However it's an error I'm willing to look over as the main battle is probably the coolest scene in the whole movie. The usage of camera angles and equipment through out the whole film was very creative. The script was also well done and a lot of it extremely humorous, in continuity with the first film.

So in the end, the best part of the film was the casting and acting. Though the rest of the film was rather entertaining, I loved it. The show was rather mild for a PG-13 rating, yet still deserving. There are a number of fight scenes, a couple hand to hand with Holmes (similar to the first film) and one intense scene with guns and a lot of explosions. The worst scene though has to be a torture scene when Moriarty captures and interrogates Holmes. Though not bloody, it may be rather disturbing to some people. The language was mild, though there are a couple uses of mild exclamations. Guy Ritchie, in order to follow the books themes, wanted the characters to appear as a high class of English society and hence use high forms of language, meaning less foul language. Part of the movie is based around Watson marrying his fiance Mary from the first film, and there is a brief sensual scene on the way to there honeymoon. There is also a short scene where Sherlock's brother Mycroft, played excellently by Stephen Fry, is walking around his house nude. However, there are stacks of books and tables every where blocking your view of anything offensive. The scene is more for comedic relief. So all-in-all, the movie wasn't that bad. This isn't a movie for littler kids, but it is one one to be enjoyed by pretty much anyone else. So in my reviewer opinion, this movie had amazing acting and fun dialogue though it left a little to be expected, so I'm giving it a 8/10