The Illusionist 9/10:
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In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician (Norton) uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
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Down-right entertaining. Norton delivers a stellar performance as Eisenheim, the magician. Paul Giamatti's Chief Inspector Uhl is the perfect character to play both ally and enemy to Norton. I don't believe I'm going to say this, but Jessica Biel of 7th Heaven
gives a believable performance, though Elanor Tomlinson, who plays a younger version of Biel's character does a better job. The storyline is riviting and classic in the area of a magician based mystery/thriller. I won't give too much away, but at the end you'll leave happy.
Crank 7/10: This was so much better than what I was expecting. I came to this movie with the understanding that it was intended to be an action flick (i.e. no real story line, character development, etc.). While I was right, the rest of the movie managed to make up for the action movie cliches. The visual effects really enhance the sense of being on cocaine and the mystery drug. Spoiler:
Pay careful attention to Frank's pattern shirt. It's a fricking trip. If you like action flicks, you'll probably like this.
The Protector 8/10: At this point, I think I can safely say that Tony Jaa is the most talented martial artist in movie making today, second only to Bruce Le in cinima fighting. I only wish he could have been discovered before the Matrix trilogy. That would have been something. The Protector has an elephant based storyline that is hidden benieth the real reason everyone will see this film: Tony Jaa doing things that superheros would have trouble with. I'm beginning to wonder if Tony was bitten by a radioactive spider. Nedless to say, The Protector is filled with thrilling martial arts battles and stunts that are really entertaining. Don't see it if you like storyline. See it if you like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, etc.